Ultimate Firepower
Chapter 416 - 398: The Bar

Chapter 416: Chapter 398: The Bar

Meet at the subway station at eleven o’clock at night.

So far everything has gone smoothly; the KGB is willing to cooperate and provide convenience, but the danger lies after the transaction, so the current smoothness is not reliable.

I don’t know how Luo Changyou will arrange it.

Gao Yi was unable to see Luo Changyou’s setup, and as a middleman, it is both logical and reasonable for him to ensure the safety of this transaction—not the other way around, where the buyer ensures the safety of the middleman.

Therefore, Gao Yi must understand his position clearly.

"The time and place of the transaction are roughly determined. How will you inspect the goods, how long will the inspection take, and what equipment will be needed during the inspection? Are you all prepared for these?"

Inspection of the goods is key to the success of the transaction, and Gao Yi must ask clearly.

Luo Changyou stated with conviction: "We’re all prepared. It’s hard to say exactly how long it will take; it depends on the type of materials. I think, at most, it won’t exceed an hour."

An hour.

In movies, inspection of goods is just a glance, but in reality, it’s not just a glance that’s needed.

This time, the buyer brought three experts to inspect the goods, which in itself reflects their trust in Gao Yi, because if anything happens to these three people, it would be a huge loss.

"I will have the seller provide a place for the inspection of goods. We can’t trade on the streets, but I still don’t know where this place will be. The seller is also very cautious, so you must be mentally prepared. If there really is a problem, then it’s better to cancel the transaction."

Still cautious, Gao Yi gave Luo Changyou a heads-up about the possibility of the transaction failing, and Luo Changyou calmly stated, "Of course, safety first."

"Right, safety first. When the time comes, I’ll drive a car to the subway station to meet with the middleman first. You bring the experts and follow from a distance, not too close. Wait for my signal. Once I feel the environment is safe, then you bring people over for the inspection of goods. Is this arrangement okay?"

Luo Changyou had no objections, but he made a suggestion.

"Don’t use walkie-talkies or any radios. Making phone calls is a bit more troublesome, but it’s better to make phone calls."

"Okay, make phone calls, don’t use radios. None of us will carry radios. As for the car, are you providing it, or should I find one myself?"

In Moscow, Gao Yi’s identity was that of a tourist in a tour group; he had no car, but of course, finding a car was not difficult.

Without any hesitation, Luo Changyou said: "I’ll provide a car for you. Do you need anything else, like weapons or some special equipment? I can provide those as well."

Weapons, that’s a bit interesting.

After thinking for a moment, Gao Yi asked: "Do you have any special weapons or equipment that others don’t have, or something particularly powerful?"

Luo Changyou could not help but chuckle and said, "We truly don’t have such things. To erase any distinct characteristics, we use items with no particular features. Consequently, they can’t be rare, let alone have any special traits."

Gao Yi’s intention to take advantage was so apparent, but since Luo Changyou didn’t have any special equipment, it wasn’t interesting to ask for any.

There’s still a lot of time, but this kind of transaction can’t just go directly at the appointed time. Luo Changyou is now busy getting everything ready.

Before nine o’clock, Luo Changyou had already completed the arrangements, and then he also provided Gao Yi with a car, a very ordinary sedan.

If Gao Yi were the kind of intelligence trafficker who personally took care of everything, he would now have to scout the location in advance, at least figure out the routes, take a look at the environment, and at a minimum know in which direction to run if something happened, and which route to take.

But Gao Yi now relied on relationships, conducting a favor-based transaction, depending on a sufficient network of contacts and relationships to ensure safety. If something really happened, he wouldn’t have to run because there would be no point in running.

So Gao Yi simply took the easy way out. He only left for the meeting place after ten o’clock, splitting into two groups, not caring how Luo Changyou arranged the experts, he just took care of getting there himself.

By the time he got there, it was almost eleven o’clock.

The subway station was located on a busy street. It was now late, and there were far fewer people on the streets. However, the subway station had several entrances and exits, and none allowed parking, making it a bit of a hassle for Gao Yi to arrive five minutes early.

With no place to park the car, parking it directly by the roadside would be too conspicuous.

Then Gao Yi didn’t know where Luo Changyou was with the inspection experts. In any case, he didn’t notice any cars following him along the way.

After thinking for a while, Gao Yi still made a phone call to Sherkin. Waiting for the call to connect, he said directly: "I’ve arrived, five minutes early. Where are you?"

"You’re early. Take a turn around the block and come back. Then meet me at subway entrance A."

The call disconnected.

Gao Yi, having no choice, could only drive away, take a turn around the road, then make a U-turn to come back. He timed the drive so that when he stopped the car near subway entrance A again, it was to the second.

Gao Yi saw Sherkin; he had just gotten out of a car and was standing by the roadside. He did not look into the car but directly opened the door of the car that Gao Yi was driving and took a seat in the back.

"Let’s go, follow the car in front. Just follow it. Has the buyer arrived? Is the money ready?"

Gao Yi was sitting in the back seat, glancing at Sherkin who carried a small bag, his face showing signs of fatigue and seemingly a bit unwell.

"Everything is ready. Where are we heading? I need to inform the buyer," he said.

"I don’t know either."

Sherkin sighed before whispering, "As long as it’s safe, that’s all that matters. You requested a place to inspect the goods, which forced them to change the transaction location at the last minute. Just follow the car ahead, that’s all."

Sherkin, as the middleman, could not make decisions for the seller, and he clearly did not have full control of the situation.

"Can you guarantee that there won’t be any issues with this transaction?"

Even though he knew it was a pointless question, Gao Yi couldn’t help but ask.

Sherkin seemed quite confident, and he definitely knew more deeply than Gao Yi that the KGB’s reputation in doing business was not very good.

"Don’t worry, there definitely won’t be any problems. I’ve arranged everything. The payment will be delayed a bit. As long as they haven’t received the money, there can be no issues," Sherkin assured.

It seemed that Sherkin was more cautious than Gao Yi, and he had made corresponding preparations.

By now, Gao Yi realized that he and Sherkin were truly in the same boat. If anything went wrong, the seller would look for Sherkin, and the buyer would look for Gao Yi. In the end, it would surely be the two middlemen who would suffer first.

Sherkin spoke with gravity, "No matter what you see later on, keep your mouth shut tight. I’ve paid a great price to have the KGB agree to wait until we get to Baghdad for the full payment. I can’t predict what will happen now, but I warn you, no matter what you see, don’t talk nonsense, especially about the money. Understood?"

"Understood."

Gao Yi began to suspect that Sherkin was taking the lion’s share of the deal. However, it didn’t matter to him; as long as Sherkin could ensure the completion of the transaction, Gao Yi had no complaints.

Sherkin was probably reminding Gao Yi here because he feared he could not hide the details, so he chose to instruct Gao Yi in advance.

Sherkin continued, "It’s not just you, the buyer also needs to know the rules. If necessary, give them a heads-up so they won’t speak out of turn."

Before Gao Yi could respond, Green suddenly said, "The buyer knows the rules very well. No one understands better than them how to be a good buyer."

Sherkin exhaled and said, "Right, alright. As long as everyone follows the rules, the transaction will run smoothly. I’ve paid too great a price to ensure its safety, a very big loss indeed."

Sherkin wasn’t a talkative person, but now he mentioned several times how great his losses were, which indicated that he really had lost a substantial amount of money.

The car ahead stopped, parking in front of a bar.

"A bar?"

Neon lights flickering, the name of the bar was Moscow Red. The parking lot was already filled with many cars, yet it was not full, as there were empty spots.

The car ahead stopped in the parking lot, and Green followed suit, parking his car.

Green spoke calmly, "It’s quite ordinary, a good choice. Contact the buyer, see if they are following. If not, inform them of the location. Don’t rush to get out."

Gao Yi called Luo Changyou, but it was Huang Haisheng who answered the call.

"We’re at the entrance of the bar. Where are you?"

Gao Yi was slightly surprised as he saw another car entering the parking lot, stopping at a distance from him.

Huang Haisheng informed Gao Yi as normally as possible that he was following.

Gao Yi looked towards Sherkin, "The buyer is following. What now, where do we inspect the goods?"

"Right here. Have the buyer follow as well. It’s very safe here, there won’t be problems," Sherkin confidently stated.

Gao Yi hung up the phone and asked, "Why?"

"Because this place is operated by the KGB. If they chose to transact here, it means they’re not planning any tricks. You must understand, I’ve paid a great price. Let’s wait a while; we’ll go in first," Sherkin explained.

Sherkin may not trust the KGB’s credibility, but he was confident they wouldn’t pull any stunts before getting the money. That was his source of confidence.

Gao Yi stepped out of the car and nodded towards the car driven by Huang Haisheng. At that moment, two individuals got out of the car that had led them here.

The two approached Gao Yi and Sherkin, one of them casually smiling and saying, "This is the best bar in Moscow. You guys are sure to have a blast tonight. Go on in."

It looked like the normal way locals would welcome their friends.

No one said anything further, and they headed towards the bar quite normally, then Gao Yi noticed that before entering the bar, they had to pass through a security checkpoint. However, when they entered, the security gate didn’t beep, and they smoothly entered the bar.