Ultimate Firepower
Chapter 95 - 85: Rough

Chapter 95: Chapter 85: Rough

Martin, the smuggling guy, the small-fry operator specifically for the Red and Blue Group with the FBI’s intelligence division.

It just goes to show that even minor characters have their uses—though in the Red and Blue Group, Martin might just be a low-level errand boy, he could be very useful to Gao Yi.

And the best part about locating Martin was that he knew Gao Yi was Busan.

Pulling out his phone, dialing, waiting for the call to connect, Gao Yi immediately whispered, "Hello, remember me?"

Gao Yi’s SIM card had been bought by Martin himself, so the moment he saw the caller ID, how could Martin not know who it was?

"Hey, brother, long time no see, how’s it going?"

Martin’s voice sounded quite enthusiastic, but his rather formulaic response also showed that he was not in a position to talk freely at the moment. Gao Yi didn’t say much, just whispered, "Yeah, long time no see, how ’bout we meet after work?"

"Sure, let’s grab a drink at the bar we used to frequent, see you later."

Martin hung up, and Luca said from the side, "You said the wrong thing, you shouldn’t have asked if he remembered you."

"Yeah, I shouldn’t have," Gao Yi replied, somewhat annoyed.

"How did it go?"

"He said to go to a bar we often visit for a drink."

Gao Yi had just finished speaking when a text message arrived, naming a bar and its address, followed by the time of the meeting.

The notice was too short; right now, Gao Yi’s knowledge about the assassins was sketchy at best. He knew the rough idea, roughly how to proceed, but he definitely lacked the details.

Eight in the evening, 46th Street, meet at Vicali Bar.

Compared to professional information brokers, dealing with Martin was obviously more troublesome, but lingering to keep an eye on trash dog was pointless. So a meeting it would be.

Arriving at Martin’s chosen bar, Gao Yi waited over half an hour. Right at eight o’clock, he entered the bar, and five minutes after his entry, Martin hurriedly entered the bar and immediately began looking for Gao Yi.

This bar was the kind of quiet place focused solely on drinking, without much loud music or a crowd. After just a brief scan, Martin spotted Gao Yi, waved to get his attention, and then sat down beside him.

"Sorry I’m late, got held up with something. What’ll you drink? It’s on me."

After saying that, Martin told the bartender, "A whiskey, large!"

The bartender filled a glass to the brim with whiskey, and Martin gulped down half of it in one swig.

After eagerly chugging half a glass of the strong liquor, Martin turned to Gao Yi again, "What’ll you have?"

"Beer, I guess."

Martin snapped his fingers, "Get my friend a beer, put it on my tab."

A large beer was set on the bar, and Martin, picking up his half-full glass of whiskey, downed the rest of it and set down the empty glass, looking contented, "Another round."

Another full glass of whiskey.

Martin pulled out his wallet, carefully counted out the money for the three drinks, then pushed a tip—roughly ten percent of the tab—toward the bartender and with his glass in hand, said, "Over here, let’s talk over here."

They moved away from the bar to an empty table and sat down. Martin, grinning at Gao Yi, said, "Couldn’t talk freely on the phone earlier because I had colleagues nearby. All good now. What do you need from me?"

Gao Yi spoke in a low voice, "I want to buy some information."

Martin’s eyes lit up; he raised his glass to Gao Yi, and once Gao Yi lifted his beer, Martin clinked his now much smaller whiskey glass against Gao Yi’s, then took a big gulp of whiskey and whispered, "Go ahead."

"There’s a guy called trash dog, a drug dealer and a rapper. Uh, I don’t need all his info—I just want to know why there are cops around his place."

Martin couldn’t help but take another sip from his glass, then grinned and said, "That’s easy, trash dog, right? I’ll check it out for you right away. But I need to ask what you want the information for. Are you planning to off him?"

Gao Yi shot Martin a puzzled look, signaling with his eyes that Martin was prying too much.

Catching Gao Yi’s look, Martin whispered, "I didn’t mean to ask what I shouldn’t have, but different needs mean different details in the information. We don’t want to waste time, eh? If you’re aiming to kill him, I’ll focus on actionable intel. If you’re just collecting information to decide whether to take the job, I’ll get you detailed intel, help you dig out all the potential secrets behind him."

After saying that, Martin nodded at Gao Yi, "I know what you do, you know what I do, so we can keep things simple, right?"

The Martin who sold information and the Martin who served as a guide were like two different people.

Now, Martin looked spirited, brimming with confidence and seeming quite excited—it showed that he liked and enjoyed doing this work.

Gao Yi lifted his beer, took a sip, pondered for a moment, then finally whispered, "Yes, taking out trash dog is the job I’ve taken."

"That’s simple then. Since it’s a job you’ve accepted, you need actionable intel. Got it. Give me a moment."

Martin thought for a second, then took out his phone in front of Gao Yi and dialed a number after hesitating briefly.

Once connected, Martin drawled, "Buddy, need to check on something. You know trash dog?"

After a brief wait, Martin’s lips curved in a small smile, "Great that you know him. Seems like the cops are up to something with him. Got anything to do with us? If so, I’ll stay out of it. If not, I’d like to take a chance."

Still smiling, as if talking to someone right across from him, Martin laughed dryly after a moment, "Okay, can you figure out the police’s surveillance spots? I’ve got a friend here who wants to take him out."

Gao Yi’s eyes widened in astonishment as he watched Martin; he couldn’t believe how brazenly Martin spoke.

Martin waved at Gao Yi, then covered the mouthpiece and whispered, "Five thousand yuan, agreed?"

"I... Falke... agree!"

Martin released his hand from the mouthpiece, "Agreed. Ask around first, then send the info my way. Once it’s confirmed, payment will follow. I’ll handle it—oh, and don’t worry; this friend is a professional killer, reliable."

Gao Yi felt his bones go to jelly.

He wanted to ask: Can you really do business like this? Can you actually buy intel like this?

After ending the call, Martin looked at the dumbstruck Gao Yi, "No worries, any danger stops with me."

Gao Yi’s voice trembled, "Is this how you trade in information, just like this? Buddy, isn’t that a bit too bold?"

"Is this bold? No, no, pal. Twenty years ago we were bolder, now... haha."

Raising his glass for another sip, Martin laughed, "Now we’re so idle we’re almost selling our asses. Hahaha."

Martin abruptly became vulgar, and Gao Yi swallowed nervously, "You’re freaking me out, I don’t know what to say."

"Just wait a while; it shouldn’t take too long."

Sean very much looked down on Martin—not because he didn’t think the FBI was competent, but because he thought the intelligence division of the FBI that handled foreign intel was subpar.

As everyone knows, the FBI is responsible for domestic affairs, meaning the foreign intelligence part is rather sidelined. Now Martin has become a little errand boy for snakeheads; naturally, he wasn’t considered useful.

Gao Yi thought that since they were all part of the same FBI, even if he had no authority himself, he still had plenty of colleagues. Recognizing someone from a government organization could be handy someday.

The proof was in favor of Gao Yi being correct.

But it might also attest to how terribly wrong Gao Yi was.

Because now it had been confirmed: Martin was useful, but his direct and brutal style made Gao Yi worry that he was digging his own grave.

Martin seemed excited and even agitated for having just sold some information—something that should have made him stay calm. Since the sale made Martin lose his cool, it must have been a significant deal for him.

After a moment’s hesitation, Gao Yi finally said, "Buddy, for the sake of long-term cooperation, I think we should be more candid with each other, get to know one another. It would be better for us both."

Martin nodded, "Yes, that’s right."

"You seem overly excited, and I want to know—haven’t you sold information before?"

Martin exhaled softly, admitting, "You’re my first customer. I’ve hinted to many people they could buy intel from me, but nobody showed interest. You’re the first."

Gao Yi looked puzzled, "Why not?"

"I don’t know, go figure."

After agonizing for a moment, Gao Yi finally asked, "Why don’t you sell information on the Dark Web?"

Lowering his voice, Martin replied, "The Dark Web, well let me put it this way: the Dark Web is the FBI’s pond, along with the CIA and the Department of Homeland Security. All intelligence agencies sell and buy information on the Dark Web. If I dared to trade intel on the Dark Web, I’d be internally purged by the FBI right away. So it’s not that I don’t want to go on the Dark Web, but that I can’t, I dare not. Understand?"

Gao Yi started to smile ruefully.

Martin gestured dismissively, "Don’t worry, everyone’s learned their lesson. Unless there’s a real threat to national security, no one’s gonna mess with Dark Web deals. The higher-ups can make big money from it. The most important part is, if we smash this Dark Web site, a new one will pop up tomorrow. So why not control the Dark Web ourselves?"

Enlightened, Gao Yi whispered, "No wonder you didn’t deal in information before, just because you didn’t have the opportunity."

"Exactly, so I’ve been running errands, making a mere thousand yuan each time. But now that you’ve come to me, buddy..."

Holding his glass, Martin locked eyes with Gao Yi, "From now on, you come to me for information. And hey, if you refer business to me, I’ll give you thirty percent. If the amount is small, I’d even give you half. How about it?"