The C-17 landed at the military airport just outside of Baghdad, and as soon as Song Heping got off the plane, he t Frank, General Peter's adjutant, face to face.
"Mr. Song, the General invites you to dine with him at the Republic Palace this evening at seven. Please be sure to attend."
"No problem."
When a financier invites you to dinner, Song Heping has no reason to refuse.
Seeing that he agreed, Frank smiled at him and turned to leave.
The few of them, carrying their luggage, quickly spotted the Ferraris near the tarmac.
He and Samir each drove an SUV to pick up everyone.
"Damn!"
Song Heping turned to the chef and asked, "When did we buy Lincoln bulletproof cars?"
Because what Illinois and Samir were driving were bulletproof Lincolns.
It was that kind of bulletproof Lincoln that cost hundreds of thousands of dollars each, the sa type used by the CIA.
"I bought it, with my own money, not company funds," the chef said boastfully. "I spent a lot on these two cars; I was going to have them custom-made, but I gave Harvey an extra fifty thousand per car, and that guy let have the two armored vehicles he was ordering for other clients first."
"Such luxury..."
Song Heping couldn't help but sigh.
Although he himself was not short on funds.
But for him to suddenly spend millions of dollars on two cars like this, he was still sowhat reluctant.
The chef's style was completely different from his own.
This Russian enjoyed life whenever he could afford it and never winced at spending his money.
"Song, in our line of work, you never know when it'll suddenly be the end. If you don't spend the money when you have it, are you waiting to take it to the grave with you?!"
The chef said with a hint of mockery, "Rember, there's a saying in our rcenary world—work in hell, enjoy in heaven. One day you'll understand this."
"Right."
Song Heping suddenly rembered sothing.
"You use this car at the company usually, do you charge rent for it?"
"For our own brothers, it's free! If it's for VIPs, let them pay!"
Song Heping gave a thumbs up, "That's generous!"
The chef laughed heartily and slapped Song Heping's arm hard, saying, "Brother, you're a different man now! Our company's scale will soon change too. Do you believe—"
He suddenly beca serious.
"The news about us getting the $240 million contract has probably leaked. I heard that the contracts were initially AAFES's business, but now the military has handed them to us. What do you think others feel about us?"
"Are you reminding to keep a low profile?" Song Heping asked, puzzled.
"Keep a low profile?!" The chef chuckled and looked at Song Heping as if he were a creature from another planet, "How can you keep a low profile? A firefly at night, as long as they're not blind, who can't see you? Since you can't keep a low profile, why not just go high profile? This world worships the strong, the stronger you are, the more respect you get. I believe you're going to be very busy for a while, and there will be a lot of people looking for you. So, I bought the cars in advance, first for security, and second, co on, as the boss of a large defense company, riding out in a Nissan, what are you thinking!"
Song Heping indeed felt a couple of ounces lighter after being praised by the chef.
But he soon cald down.
High profile was never his style.
And he didn't like being high profile either, sotis high profile was forced upon him.
They joked and laughed their way to the SUV, and Ferrari stood by, looking unhappy, rolling his eyes at the US Army's airport guards not far away.
"Ferrari, what's wrong with you?!"
Song Heping followed his gaze, only to see several airport guards.
"These guys, when I was working for the Temporary Managent Committee before, they were not like this."
"What happened?"
"I wanted to pick you guys up near the tarmac but these jerks wouldn't let get near, saying my security clearance wasn't high enough and I had to wait here! FUCK! They scared of blowing up their planes or sothing?!"
Song Heping understood after listening.
Ferrari hated being disrespected the most, he was a capable but sowhat arrogant man, his mouth could soti be a bit dirty, but he was soone who could sort out issues and definitely wouldn't fall apart in key monts.
"Let's get in the car. We'll talk more when we get back."
As they were about to get into the car, they suddenly saw two black SUVs speeding towards them.
Ferrari frowned upon seeing this.
"Damn, they're not coming for us, are they?!"
He cursed in Chinese with Song Heping.
Song Heping asked him, "How do you know they're coming for us?"
Ferrari said, "The license plate, look carefully! It's AAFES's car!"
Song Heping's mind stirred slightly.
AAFES?
Wasn't that the company whose share of the pie he had just taken?
He imdiately beca alert.
Taking away soone's livelihood was like killing their parents.
Especially when it's a juicy contract worth $240 million a year.
"What are we afraid of?! So what if they're an age-old company, if they don't accept it, we'll take them down!"
The chef was always so explosive.
White Bear also agreed, "Right, if they don't accept it, we'll take them down!"
This really made Song Heping unsure.
The scale of the AAFES corporation is extraordinary, with a background straddling both political and business realms; even Black Water wouldn't dare to act haughty in front of them, let alone a small company like ours.
The chef and White Bear were certainly desperadoes who took life and death lightly and wouldn't hesitate to toss their lives over pride, no matter who you were—even facing imminent peril.
As I was pondering this, the car had already approached to within less than ten ters.
A few rcenaries wearing sunglasses and carrying loaded guns got out of the car first, spreading out to occupy defensive positions around the vehicle, each of them not looking at Song Heping and his group, but rather scanning the surroundings; even in this US Army airport, they remained alert.
From this detail, one could see that they were absolute professionals.
Eventually, a rcenary opened the rear door of the second SUV.
When the person getting out appeared, Ferrari muttered in surprise, "That's Francis."
"Who is he?" Song Heping whispered.
"The administrative executive of AAFES company's Illiguo branch division." Ferrari added, "With this guy showing up, it seems he isn't here to cause trouble."
"Why's that?"
"He's in charge of administration, not the military contracting business."
"Oh!"
As they whispered to each other, Francis had already reached the group.
"Mr. Song!"
He extended his hand with a friendly smile on his face.
"You are…" Song Heping pretended not to know the other's identity and feigned confusion, "Who, exactly?"
He sized up the administrative executive before him; an overweight man in his forties with prematurely white hair and a white beard as well, wearing a suit on such a hot day, making Song Heping feel hot just looking at him.
"My na is Francis. Francis Arnold." He withdrew his hand and pulled out a refined business card holder from his pocket, taking out a card and passing it over.
Song Heping looked at it and saw it was exactly as Ferrari had said.
Administrative Executive of the AAFES company Illiguo branch division.
"May I ask what Mr. Francis wants with ?" Song Heping inquired.
Francis spoke politely, "Here's the thing, our branch's head, Robbin, wishes to et with you tonight."
"et?" Song Heping said, "Sorry, Mr. Francis, I have already made plans to dine with General Peter tonight."
"No problem, Mr. Robbin ntioned he knew you were dining with General Peter, so he specially rescheduled for nine-thirty tonight, by which ti dinner should be finished and he has arranged a setting with red wine and cigars."
Francis looked very sincere.
Song Heping's nerves relaxed a bit.
The chef and the others by his side seed to ease up quite a bit as well.
They had thought it was going to be trouble, but it turned out to be an invitation for red wine.
"Just that…" Song Heping feigned difficulty, "I've just returned from Afghan and all of us are tired; we wanted to drink and relax together tonight."
"No problem at all, we can arrange that," Francis, the administrative ace, said imdiately, "Mr. Robbin's wine event is organized at the Tulip Hotel, which has both a bar and a casino. If your brothers are interested, I can handle the arrangents, all expenses will be covered by our company."
"Damn!"
Song Heping thought to himself in amazent.
How generous? An invitation is one thing, but he's even taking care of my brothers...
The hospitality they were offering was of a high standard indeed!
When the chef and his comrades heard it was the Tulip Hotel, excitent was clearly written on their faces.
It was well known that there were many upscale hotels in the Green Zone, but the Tulip Hotel was the most distinctive. Though smaller in size and scale, with only five floors and not as conspicuous compared to other luxury hotels, it held a unique trait—it was never open to the public.
That's right.
It wasn't open to the public.
It operated on a mbership basis.
Those who frequented the place were either wealthy and noble, high-ranking officials from the Temporary Managent Committee, United Security Council or military personnel, or the foremost among the major contractors.
In the Green Zone, there are two places considered as high-end social clubs: the Republic Palace poolside cocktail party and the Tulip Hotel.
The Republic Palace poolside cocktail party leans more towards official color, being more formal and transparent.
The Tulip Hotel is more mysterious, veiled, and private.
Contractors without a certain level of power couldn't even walk through the doors.
That Tulip Hotel was indeed the property of the AAFES corporation.
"I've heard it operates on an exclusive mbership basis, and I'm not a mber there..."
Song Heping pretended to inquire.
Francis promptly responded, "That's easy to fix, I'll handle the mbership cards."
He took out two purple mbership cards from his pocket; there actually was a tulip insignia on them.
"Mr. Song, you can take these two for now, and I'll wait for you at the door tonight to handle the rest."
Song Heping realized then.
Initially, Robbin had only invited him and the chef over, not considering the others.
But when he ntioned wanting to gather with his brothers, Francis probably misunderstood, thinking he was looking for an excuse not to co, so he simply prepared all the mberships to leave no room for refusal.
Since their sincerity was so heartfelt, it seed improper for Song Heping to decline further; that could truly offend them.
The scale of the AAFES was too great for him to afford making enemies, it was best not to erect barriers now.
"I very much appreciate Mr. Robbin's business invitation and will be sure to arrive on ti. Please convey to him that I will co imdiately after dining with General Peter," Song Heping agreed.
Francis bead with joy, shook hands with Song Heping, and then said, "Then it's set for nine-thirty tonight at the Tulip Hotel. I look forward to welcoming you."
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