Ultimate Firepower
Chapter 540 - 519: Multilateral Transaction

Chapter 540: Chapter 519: Multilateral Transaction

Does Grasse know how to play his cards?

Grasse certainly does. If he didn’t, he wouldn’t have made it to where he is now.

Although Grasse hasn’t officially joined the Garden Federation, he’s an old friend of Gao Yi. When something comes up, you certainly can’t forget your old friends.

"Hey, Grasse, there’s something I need to tell you. The Pentagon has a mole. The CIA has a handle on it. Now, the CIA is willing to hand the mole over to you, but... you know how these things go."

Grasse was silent at first, stunned by the news, but he quickly responded in a low voice, "Is it important?"

"Of course, it’s important. Otherwise, I wouldn’t go out of my way to tell you. The CIA is willing to negotiate now. It depends on whether you can show enough sincerity."

Grasse’s initial reaction was hesitation, and then he said softly, "But this isn’t just about money, is it?"

"Of course not. It’s not a money issue, buddy. It’s about whether you have enough to offer them in return. If you don’t, talk to your superiors. If the CIA is the one to expose the mole, it’ll be embarrassing for your agency. But if you’re the one to uncover the mole yourselves, buddy, the Secret Intelligence Bureau might actually get some recognition."

Grasse is responsible for that small slice of the Middle East. No matter how many resources he has, they’re geographically limited, and the CIA—especially Panetta—doesn’t think much of the chips he can offer.

So, Grasse wanting to claim all the glory and benefits for himself is a stretch. However, just being able to connect his superiors with Panetta would already be a major achievement. If not a monumental one, it would at least prove that Grasse is someone who can get things done—big things.

Grasse didn’t deliberate for long before deciding. He replied in a low voice, "Let me talk to my boss. Can you give me some parameters for what kind of benefits we should aim for in the negotiations?"

"That’s hard to say. You’ll have to make a judgment call. Just approach this with maximum sincerity and get your bargaining chips in order. This has to happen quickly. The CIA is eager to catch the mole themselves. If they take action, it’ll be too late."

"Alright. Wait for my update. I’ll make contact immediately."

Gao Yi hung up the phone. For now, all he could do was set up the connection for Grasse—just a connection. Whether the deal would go through depended on the Secret Intelligence Bureau’s stance.

It wasn’t easy. Getting the CIA to cooperate with the Secret Intelligence Bureau was even harder than getting the CIA and the KGB to strike a deal. Opponents can sometimes work together, but competitors are always at each other’s throats.

Gao Yi thought he might have to wait a long time, but he didn’t expect Grasse to call back in less than ten minutes.

"We’re willing to negotiate. Anything we can put on the table is fair game. Right now, we know there’s a CIA operative who’s been turned by Northeastern University. The CIA is unaware, but we are. Does this work?"

Gao Yi was momentarily stunned and then asked in disbelief, "What?"

"There’s a CIA spy who was recruited by Northeastern University. It’s a lead we stumbled upon by accident, and now we’ve basically confirmed it. Can we use this intel to exchange with the CIA?"

Should he take a stance? Should he block this exchange?

Gao Yi’s thoughts were scattered for a moment, but not for long. Within three seconds, he had made his decision.

"Don’t do it. Pick something else. I’ll keep this intel for myself. Does this work? Now tell me who the CIA mole is. I have important use for it."

After hesitating for a moment, Gao Yi decided to be upfront to maintain the current atmosphere of pure self-interest. So, he added, "I can use this intel to exchange for more benefits with Northeastern University. Giving it to the CIA would lose me that chance. So, hand this intel to me, and we can make it a three-way deal. I’ll guarantee the CIA agrees to cooperate with you. Does that work?"

Grasse exhaled lightly and said, "I don’t know who the operative is—it’s a bargaining chip provided by my boss. Otherwise, I could’ve agreed to your proposal directly. Let me check with my boss."

"Wait! Don’t check! How about this: if I intercept this deal, would your agency still go after the CIA mole?"

"Of course we would. We were founded to counter the CIA. If we get an opportunity to embarrass them, we’re not going to let it slip. But the intel itself is already highly valuable information, so don’t leak too much. And yes, we’re going to pursue this until the end—whether it’s us or the CIA making the move doesn’t matter."

Gao Yi exhaled, feeling that this was a bit of a missed opportunity.

Gao Yi wanted to block this entirely but quickly realized it was unlikely. It was already exposed, and hiding it wasn’t feasible anymore. All he could do now was ensure the asset was safely extracted.

"Give me ten minutes. I’ll see if I can find some bargaining chips. Meanwhile, check with your boss to see if intercepting this deal is possible. Money isn’t a problem; we can offer extra valuable intel as well. This can be a trade—we can work something out!"

Grasse paused briefly in silence before replying in a low voice, "Buddy, your bias is coming through. That’s... not very good."

Sure enough, Gao Yi was showing signs of being overly eager.

Gao Yi’s heart skipped a beat, but he quickly responded, "Of course I’m biased! Other trades might be several million at best, but with Northeastern University, it’s at least a few hundred million. Tell me if favoring them is worth it! Northeastern University is willing to pay a premium to suppress such information. Here’s the deal: seventy percent is yours. Let me check with them about their price and let’s decide after you see how much money is on the table."

Covering things up isn’t ideal, but boiling everything down to pure business interests simplifies everything.

Grasse hesitated, but he eventually replied, "When you put it that way, it makes sense. Northeastern University has funds—lots of it. You can ask them first. But this is definitely not just about cash; we need chips heavy enough for the CIA to agree on the deal. If we can cover this up entirely, we’ll abandon this asset. Don’t worry; we’ll absolutely keep our word. Losing credibility in these matters would disqualify us from negotiating in the intelligence marketplace in the future."

In such affairs, credibility is the only currency that matters. Nothing else suffices, so leveraging credibility as assurance is viable.

Gao Yi responded softly, "Alright, I’ll let you know when I find something."

All this just to set up Alexander’s rise, resulting in a significant shake-up in the intelligence circles.

The scenario felt surreal, almost fantastical—but reality is stranger than fiction. Gao Yi’s kind of maneuvering has happened before in history, and frequently.

In the end, it comes down to who’s willing to spend—those who pay the most win the most.

Gao Yi might have dialed Huang Haisheng.

"Mr. Gao, what can I do for you?"

Huang Haisheng maintained his relaxed tone, while Gao Yi responded in a low voice, "We’ve got a three-way deal—or no, wait—a four-way deal now. CIA, KGB, American Secret Intelligence Bureau, and now your agency. Listen, the Secret Intelligence Bureau has discovered one of your moles in the CIA. They intend to exchange this intel with the CIA for another piece of information. I can intercept this deal, but I’d need a counter-bargaining chip to replace their trade. Am I making sense?"

"No problem—I follow. Hmm, so you need us to provide sufficiently weighty intel to use as a counter chip, correct?"

"Correct."

"Ah, this could be tricky. Can’t we just offer money instead?"

"Money’s necessary, yes. But we also need a chip. How about this: tell me how much you can put on the table. Meanwhile, we must ensure the mole’s safety, at minimum arrange their extraction. Ultimately, this is for you to decide—I’ll assist however needed."

Huang Haisheng considered briefly before replying in a low voice, "Money is no issue. But we need to know exactly what the Secret Intelligence Bureau has before we can assign a value."

"Just give me a baseline offer for now."

"We won’t make it hard for you. Starting price: two hundred million dollars. That’s the floor. But, Mr. Gao, you must tread carefully. Don’t let any bias show. Don’t let yourself fall into a dangerous position."

Gao Yi exhaled and replied softly, "The KGB director and Alexander are poised to join the Garden Federation—Yuri already has. The Garden is now operating under the name Garden Federation. As the federation chairman, I have to at least try flexing my influence. Don’t worry, I won’t let myself get burned by this. Besides, sincerity is the ultimate weapon here. It’s just business; with the right price, anything can be negotiated."

"Exactly—any price can be negotiated! Tell them the ceiling is open. Also, I’ll prepare heavyweight bargaining chips for you. Let me give it a shot."

The call ended, and Gao Yi contacted Grasse again, saying, "Starting price: two hundred million dollars—no ceiling. It depends on the value of your intel. Seventy percent is yours."

Grasse drew a sharp breath and replied quietly, "That’s a lot of money, but... let me ask. However, you’d better have something substantial to offer as a bargaining chip. Otherwise, this deal might run into trouble."

"I’ll negotiate with the CIA; you talk to your boss. Let’s make this happen. Hold on a moment."

Before Gao Yi finished, Huang Haisheng’s call came through.

The speed of developments was staggering. Gao Yi answered, and Huang Haisheng spoke softly, "If we can protect the mole and cut the trail completely, we’ll pay five hundred million USD. We’ve roughly identified the mole’s identity—it’s extremely valuable. We want to preserve it."

"Understood."

"Also, here’s another piece of intel: the Secret Intelligence Bureau has someone who was turned at a station in Western Europe. It wasn’t Russia. It was the European Union—but we funded the operation. Tell them that if they agree to protect our asset, we’ll immediately pay the five hundred million."

Gao Yi exhaled and asked, "Alright. Which country was responsible for the recruitment?"

"Not to keep anything from you—it was the UK’s Military Intelligence Fifth Department. But they sold the intel to Germany, and now to us. Only tell the Secret Intelligence Bureau if they agree to the deal. Don’t use this as a lead elsewhere."

"Got it."

Gao Yi hung up.

The web of people entangled in this was growing, and the intelligence world was headed for a major shakeup.

Gao Yi called Grasse and spoke softly, "Five hundred million USD to buy your intel outright—completely sever the trail—never use this lead again. Additionally, I’ll give you intel about a Secret Intelligence Bureau recruit who defected. Does this work?"

Grasse let out a long breath and replied, "Deal. But in such multi-party negotiations, buddy, you’d better handle it properly. If one link in this chain breaks, the entire trade will collapse. It’ll cause trouble—people could die!"

Gao Yi spoke in a low voice, "Leave it to me. I guarantee safety."

"I trust you, but my superiors are worried. I have to ease their concerns before finalizing this deal."

Grasse added in a low voice, "Buddy, one more thing—don’t hide the trade’s details from the CIA. You should let them know what’s involved; otherwise, it could jeopardize your identity."

Gao Yi chuckled, "Don’t worry. I know exactly how to handle this."