Mercenaries, I Will Be King Chapter 244 - 208: Infighting?

Song Heping had once again encountered Avanti at the military camp on the Persian Border.

It was still the sa camp, the sa room as last ti.

Avanti was even more courteous than during their last eting.

He was very satisfied with the previous gold transaction.

Because of it, his Revolutionary Guard Special Brigade had received a substantial sum.

No matter how lofty Avanti's ideals were, or how grand his plans, the problem was that so many people in the Special Brigade were fighting alongside him, and they couldn't just live on ideals alone.

Therefore, Avanti's Special Forces were also involved in business, taking on any money-making ventures they could.

Their business even included integrated companies in industries such as industrial, agriculture, finance, mining, and consulting, representing a triple-natured ard force that included national security intelligence agencies, special forces, and economic developnt enterprises.

"Old friend, I heard that you were recently helping the US Army in Mosul, assisting them in capturing that long-beleaguered city, and you did it beautifully. Congratulations, your relationship with the US Army is getting closer," Avanti said.

"Mr. Avanti, it seems I detected an undertone in your words again," Song Heping replied.

Song Heping sat down on the carpet, took the tea Avanti handed him, and glanced at him, pondering the hidden aning in his words.

"Hahahaha!"

Avanti burst out laughing.

Then he finally said, "Do you think I was mocking you? No, no, no, the closer your relations are with the Aricans, the happier I am. I'm not a black-and-white type of person. The enemy's enemy can be a friend, the enemy's friend can also be a friend, as long as we aren't enemies, we can be friends."

Song Heping savored these philosophical words, thinking that the old man probably just wanted to use each other.

He wouldn't help without expecting sothing in return.

The closer my relationship with the US military, the greater the value I have for him.

Although the two of them felt a kind of mutual understanding, Song Heping was not naive enough to believe that the half-elder in front of him truly regarded him as one of his own.

"There's an old saying from my hotown, 'Depend on parents at ho and friends when away from ho.' Mr. Avanti, if you treat as a friend, I will certainly treat you as one too," Song Heping said.

Song Heping made his point and stopped there, not saying too much, but he made himself very clear.

Avanti turned around, took a laptop from behind him, and placed it in front of Song Heping.

"The information you need is here, take a look," Avanti said.

Song Heping drank his tea, his eyes fixed on the screen.

It was a standalone folder that contained docunts, pictures, and video materials.

Avanti sat down next to Song Heping, tapped a finger on the touchpad, and opened one of the videos.

The angle was clearly from a hidden cara, and the quality was diocre.

The background was a roadside café, the kind very common in Eastern Europe.

In the fra, two Caucasian n were sitting opposite each other by the street-facing window.

Song Heping recognized one of them at a glance.

"Isn't that Adrian?" he said.

"Take a closer look at who is beside him," Avanti said.

Song Heping stared at the white man, who appeared to be in his thirties or forties, for a few seconds, then shook his head, "I don't recognize him."

"He's from the CIA's Eastern Europe secret operations departnt, belongs to the Black Group," Avanti explained. "He's not an ordinary agent. I'm not sure if you are aware that CIA agents co in many types, even those stationed in the Langley headquarters building are called agents, though overseas agents are divided into the White Group, Red Group, Blue Group, and Black Group."

"The White Group primarily engages in intelligence gathering, considered intelligence agents. They may not need high combat skills, only needing so specific expertise, or even no particular skills at all, just in positions and roles that provide access to high-value intelligence," he continued.

"The Red Group is the action group. These agents have certain combat skills, capable of engaging in protection, apprehension, and dealing with traitors, and are classified as action agents," Avanti said.

"Blue Team is the technical agent, responsible for providing technical support for operations or so technical assistance to White Team, like when intelligence agents need to extract certain information from highly secured premises but can't take it out due to tight security, Blue Team agents would provide them technical sches and ans to help them accomplish their mission. Often, they also provide operational technical support and communication support to Red Team, among others."

"Black Group is different. The agents in Black Group are entirely different from the others; they operate independently, like the 'Watchers' you encountered last ti in Turkey. These people do everything including assassination, kidnapping, raiding, and even money laundering, drug trafficking, smuggling, they only do dirty work. Everyone knows they are under CIA jurisdiction, but the CIA never acknowledges their existence. Adrian is clearly that type of agent."

"Are you so sure?" Song Heping's mouth fell open in shock.

If Adrian was a CIA Black Group agent, then why would the US military want to kill him?

"I'm not sure about others, but for him, I am certain..."

Avanti opened another docunt.

It contained detailed information about Adrian.

"Look here, he established twelve trading companies in Eastern Europe, and we also found that most of his trading companies' shipping routes go through the Middle East. On the surface, they are transporting oil, but actually, once they are near the waters of Oman Bay, they turn off the AIS system on the ship, disappearing from that area, often reactivating the AIS one or two days later to appear on the international ship positioning charts."

Then he opened several other docunts.

These docunts were various trade customs clearances and so real shipping route plans.

"Song, these are our top-secret docunts, showing them to you, I am taking a huge risk. You can question other things, but you must trust completely on this. These materials were obtained at the cost of our agents' lives, and the agents who provided this information have already been killed by the Black Group."

Avanti's words had reached this point; Song Heping knew he could not argue further.

Adrian was undoubtedly a person from the CIA Black Group.

"Now I have a question, Avanti," Song Heping said, scratching his chin with a puzzled expression. "If he was with the CIA, why would the US military want to kill him? Was it an intelligence exchange gone wrong, or was it intentional?"

Avanti shook his head, "This is an interesting matter, but I can't give you an answer. If it weren't for you asking about it, I wouldn't even know the US military planned to kill him. However, in my view, there must be so inside story, definitely not just because the US forces in Afghanistan were threatened by the Revolutionary Brigade and the Student Army Organization collaborating against them."

Song Heping rembered all the details from the data, closed the computer, and handed it back to Avanti.

Avanti asked, "Now that you know the complexity of this issue, do you still plan to take on this mission?"

Song Heping gave a wry smile, "Do you think I have a choice?"

Avanti smiled slightly, "Of course, you have a choice; you could choose to join —I need talents on my side."

Song Heping thought, 'Join you?'

'Am I foolish?'

Joining the Aricans and joining you are both unreliable.

"Thank you for your kindness; if I truly have no way out, maybe I will co and join you."

He didn't make his refusal outright to keep Avanti from losing face.

"Mr. Avanti, I've heard that you are also anti-drug and are fighting people from the Revolutionary Brigade; if I could really go deep into the Golden Crescent and kill Adrian and the two leaders of the Revolutionary Brigade, it seems that would also benefit you," he said.

"I've considered this problem," Avanti replied. "I've consulted the highest leader because this matter is very sensitive, as helping would an assisting the Aricans, which is absolutely incorrect in our country."

Song Heping asked, "What did your spiritual leader say?"

Avanti said, "I think I've persuaded him. The eradication of the Revolutionary Brigade is also important for our border security. Although it helps the Aricans, I think from a higher perspective, it's not a bad thing, as a common enemy remains an enemy."

He spread his hands and chuckled, "Isn't it?"

The implication was clear.

Song Heping extended his hand, "Pleasure doing business."

Avanti also extended his hand, "Pleasure doing business."

He paused and then asked, "What else do you want to help you with during this visit?"

Song Heping said, "If possible, I'd like to devise your support plan, but first, I must visit the Salhad Plateau myself."

Avanti waved his hand lightly, "No problem, I'll arrange everything for you first thing tomorrow."