Ultimate Firepower
Chapter 538 - 517: The Fall

Chapter 538: Chapter 517: The Fall

The man is still in Moscow, but his mind is already in the United States.

Dani is responsible for tracking Rana Gadot’s whereabouts. For such a minor task, he doesn’t even need to leave Moscow, nor does he need Panetta to look for her. By simply checking publicly available information, he can determine Rana’s location.

As for sending Alexander to catch her, that’s even less of a concern for Gao Yi and his team. If Alexander can’t handle such a simple matter, he might as well buy a block of cheese and bash his own head against it.

The operation splits into two teams: one in Saint Petersburg, led by Alexander himself, to capture the CIA spy, and another in Moscow to root out the mole, with Plevenov operating beyond his authority to remote-control the situation.

Then, the CIA spy embedded within the KGB received word and reported back immediately, prompting Panetta to issue an emergency evacuation order.

An imperfect coordinated strike executed across distances—this combination meant accolades all around for everyone involved.

Prince, the captured spy, may know why he was exposed. He knows he was backstabbed by his own people. So, driven by the principle of "If you’re going to make me suffer, I’ll make sure you do too," he begins spilling everything he knows right after Alexander apprehended him.

Prince is a small, inconspicuous guy who looks very young. When Alexander personally led the team to break into his residence, Prince neither resisted, fled, nor attempted suicide.

If Alexander truly wanted to maximize his credits, he could unearth a metaphorical gold mine from Prince.

Logically, Prince shouldn’t know much. At best, he should be aware of matters related to his specific intelligence line. But from the moment he was captured, everything he said pertained to unrelated figures and events.

"I know there are three moles inside the KGB. Their identities are..."

Without waiting for Alexander to ask a single question, Prince started revealing everything he knew right there in the car.

Alexander began to panic. He had no choice but to turn off the recording device on his body, deleting what could have been prime video evidence.

"Shut up!"

Alexander ordered Prince to shut up, realizing that if Prince managed to list names, it would lead to trouble.

As he commanded Prince to stay silent, Alexander swung a punch at him, landing it squarely on the mouth of the handcuffed man. Prince leaned backward to avoid further blows, twisting his face to one side, as he shouted urgently, "Alekayev! He’s CIA’s..."

Alexander lunged at Prince, grabbing him by the neck, then roared at his subordinates, "He’s about to say a codeword! Gag him! Don’t let him commit suicide!"

The two subordinates were bewildered by the unprecedented situation.

They’d only ever heard of efforts to make captured spies talk, not about preventing them from speaking at all costs.

Alexander was on the brink of losing his mind; he hadn’t anticipated things escalating like this. If Prince said too much and too many people learned about it, Alexander wouldn’t be able to contain the fallout.

With no sedatives prepared—even if he had them, there wasn’t time to administer one—Alexander chose to choke Prince unconscious. He then told his two subordinates, "Get out! I’ll drive. Prepare the interrogation room; we’ll handle this right here."

The two men wisely got out of the car. Confirming that Prince wouldn’t regain consciousness anytime soon, Alexander immediately pulled out his phone and called Gao Yi.

"President, I’ve captured a CIA spy, but before conducting any interrogation, he started spilling everything he knew—far too much, far too quickly..."

Alexander disliked addressing Gao Yi as "Boss" or "Gardener," thinking that "President" was a more fitting and intimate term.

Receiving the call, Gao Yi was stunned. Confused, he asked, "What do you mean, too much?"

"He’s begun exposing the moles CIA has embedded in the KGB. Damn it, I desperately want to know who the moles are and root them out. But if he talks, there’s no way the Americans will accept this. I can’t bring Prince back to Moscow, nor can I let him face interrogation directly. If I do, he’ll disclose everything he knows. At the same time, I can’t kill him either."

Alexander was close to a breakdown, whispering, "What’s going on with CIA right now?"

"Internal strife, spreading downward. Listen, no matter what, don’t let Prince speak any further. Keep him under control; I’ll get in touch with CIA and see what arrangements can be made."

Alexander quietly replied, "I’ve got two relatively trustworthy subordinates with me, but they’ve overheard things they shouldn’t have. I can’t kill them, but I’m worried they might leak this information later. Please talk with our American friends and see if we can nab all the moles Prince has identified! In return... I’ll offer compensation!"

Human nature leads down a slippery slope, step by step.

Initially, intentions may be good. Sweet talk arrives wrapped in sugar, but the sugar gets consumed, and the sour truth remains.

Yet once you’re on the bandwagon, the reality hits: sending that payload back isn’t as simple as it seemed.

Gao Yi swore he hadn’t lured Alexander into compromising Russia’s interests; he hadn’t even considered such a thing. Alexander had, on his own accord, sought greater benefit, partly out of survival instinct—and naturally aligned himself with CIA for a mutual exchange.

Gao Yi sighed, speaking softly, "What has Prince revealed so far?"

"A name. There are three individuals, but he only managed to say one—Alekayev."

"Is this person significant?"

"I don’t know. I’ve never heard of the name. It needs more investigation, but it’s unlikely he’s a high-ranking figure. Regardless, he must be important. Otherwise, Prince wouldn’t have named him first."

"Understood. I’ll discuss with the other side. If all else fails..."

Gao Yi hesitated for a moment before responding softly, "If all else fails, you might have to dial down the rewards and eliminate Prince. Prevent him from revealing more names; otherwise, it’ll cause headaches for CIA and undermine both sides."

"Got it. Move quickly. I seriously can’t drag this out. I need to report to Moscow headquarters soon. On top of that, if Prince dies under my care, this’ll completely tarnish any merits I’ve earned. Damn Americans, why did they let their internal chaos spill over into field operations?"

Alexander couldn’t hold back his complaints, while Gao Yi, truthfully, felt like ranting even louder.

Exactly—the whole situation was utterly absurd.

The call had to be made, though. Gao Yi dialed Panetta, waiting for him to answer. When Panetta picked up, Gao Yi whispered, "Is now a good time to talk?"

"Go ahead."

"Prince has been captured, but the moment he was apprehended, he voluntarily started exposing all his colleagues. You know what that means, right? Our Russian friend is very reliable and understands the rules; he stopped Prince immediately, but Prince managed to reveal one name: Alekayev. Does that name matter?"

"Fuck! How does he know about Alekayev? He’s one of our newly developed contacts—damn it. This person absolutely cannot be compromised!"

Panetta was both startled and furious, speaking in a low tone, "Seems we’ve got a mole on our side too. Prince, just a minor intelligence officer, shouldn’t have been privy to such critical information. Investigate him. I need to know how he learned that name!"

Gao Yi suddenly realized he might have stumbled upon an intriguing angle for collaboration.

Russia’s KGB helping purge CIA’s internal betrayal. CIA aiding in KGB’s internal conflicts.

This world truly runs on peculiar logic.

"Okay! That could work. Right now, the Russians want to know if they can seize everyone Prince has exposed. If possible, they’re willing to offer compensation. What do you think?"

After saying this, Gao Yi worried his tone might seem too coercive, so he quickly clarified, "If this doesn’t work, it’s not a big deal. The Russians definitely won’t harm our own people. If we can’t strike a deal, they’ll just eliminate Prince outright."

Panetta exhaled deeply and then spoke in a soft voice, "Alekayev is an administrative clerk in the KGB’s General Affairs Department responsible for reviewing special subsidy requests. His rank is low, but his role—imagine this—special subsidy lists include many of KGB’s overseas agents performing critical missions. His loss would come at an immense cost."

"Indeed, a significant loss."

"However, even if we obtained the list Alekayev possesses, it would still require extensive authentication. Functional agents often operate under aliases, so... while Alekayev’s role is important, it’s not irreplaceable. Ask them what they’re willing to trade."

"Hold on a moment."

Gao Yi hung up and redialed Alexander. As soon as Alexander picked up, Gao Yi asked, "What can we offer our American friends in return?"

"I know about all the American moles cultivated during Nikolai’s era. None of them are particularly high-ranking. Our current funding is inadequate, and ideological motivation only goes so far. But there’s one pivotal figure—a design assistant at Lockheed Martin Company. Through him, we’ve obtained critical equipment data."

Gao Yi scolded him impatiently, "Buddy, we’re all professionals here; you can’t fool people with low-level pawns. At least offer a mole within CIA itself!"

After a moment of silence, Alexander let out a weary sigh and replied, "No—CIA, no. But there’s one in NSA, stationed at the Pentagon. This mole holds substantial value."

"That works! One more thing—Charles, interrogate Prince to find out how he learned Alekayev’s name. Hold on."

Gao Yi rang Panetta again, speaking urgently, "An NSA mole and a Lockheed design assistant—does that work?"

Hearkening back softly, Panetta replied after a moment’s pause: "Yes, an NSA mole at the Pentagon is invaluable. Let’s stick it practical_CHARLEX; I always liked nudge.~ multiple ripple gradual steady reveal.".. Geo explain-policy Chiefly_TAG_FAILURE.