This was indeed a life-threatening proposition.
If Major General Peter did indeed hold so information, and Song He concealed it during their face-to-face interaction, he feared it might affect future collaboration.
But what exactly did he know?
Gold?
Or arms dealing?
The most critical issue here was the gold.
Only then ca the arms dealing.
Song Heping's mind began to race.
Soon, he arrived at an answer.
It couldn't be gold.
If it were about the gold, Peter wouldn't be sitting here with him, enjoying a leisurely breakfast face to face, and babbling so much about wanting to rope him in.
If it wasn't about the gold, then it had to be about arms dealing.
You could say that arms dealing was against the rules, and it would be considered a violation, but to say it was serious, heh, it wasn't all too severe.
Many of the AAFES company's arms were purchased from the Illigo Governnt and resold to local defense companies and rcenaries.
The only difference was that theirs was a formal trade, while his was a clandestine one.
Arms dealing in a war zone, what was that but a trivial matter!
"General, I am very willing to be candid, if you ask, I will definitely provide a response, with a no-quibble guarantee."
Song Heping felt confident now.
If Peter truly asked about the arms, then he would just admit it.
After all, he had long devised excuses.
"You previously sold a batch of arms to South Arica, didn't you?" Peter had a smug control over the situation; Song Heping's answer clearly pleased him.
"General, you are indeed well-inford." Song Heping's heart had actually settled, but he still feigned a sowhat shocked appearance as he replied, "Indeed... I once sold a batch of second-hand arms to Colombia."
Peter laughed and said, "You really dare to make money from anything, huh? You sold them to a drug trafficking group—don't tell you didn't know?"
Song Heping responded calmly, "You can't talk about morals when doing arms dealing."
Peter suddenly began clapping, "Good, good, good! Well said! I have the least regard for hypocrites."
Then his tone shifted, "Do you know why your arms were intercepted by the AUC Ard Organization?"
"There was a leak." Song Heping said, "To date, that batch of arms still hasn't been recovered; it can only be considered a loss."
Peter said, "Don't you want to know who leaked the information?"
Song Heping paused.
This old fox...
Could it be that he knew?
He indeed had always been unclear about where the AUC's intelligence ca from.
Arms transactions were very secretive matters.
Even if Ivan was in charge of them, he wasn't ignorant of the rules.
Initially, Song Heping thought it might be because the AUC Ard Organization's local inforrs had picked up so information, which led to the heist.
Now, listening to Peter, it seed there was more to it.
"Of course, I want to know, but my capacity is limited, so I can't investigate it," Song Heping pretended to be modest, because if he approached Chris Chen, he should be able to get his hands on such intelligence.
But doing so was pointless.
How the goods were robbed was no longer the key issue; at that ti, the priority was to rescue people.
Peter leisurely sipped his coffee, deliberately withholding speech as if to tease.
Song Heping knew he was being tantalized.
But he wasn't afraid of being tantalized.
Ultimately, Peter had to provide an answer, or else the buildup would be utterly aningless.
"It was the CIA."
Sure enough, Peter quickly gave the answer.
"You thought that obtaining proper exit procedures for your arms ant safety? The CIA had their sights set on you long ago, and perhaps you're unaware that the arms market in South Arica is being controlled by the CIA, aren't you?"
"I learned of this during my trip to South Arica," Song Heping said, "General, I'm grateful for you sharing the truth with , otherwise I would still be wondering why I was targeted, but if it's the CIA, then it's not surprising. The CIA station chief in Illiguo, Simon, and I have a bit of a feud, naturally, he wants to see dead."
"It's because of the big news about Mr. J, right?" Peter said: "At that ti, the young lady you were protecting was Nancy's niece; you got involved in political disputes all the way in Washington—don't even ntion the CIA. We were sowhat displeased with you at the ti, and if it weren't for later cooperation, we might still be looking to kill you."
Song Heping said, "I certainly don't wish to beco an enemy of the General."
Peter said, "If you wish to deal in arms in the future, you'd better let know in advance. There are rules in this circle. If you barged in with no regard for the rules, you could beco the target of public criticism."
"Thank you for the reminder, General," Song Heping muttered to himself.
He always felt that Peter was hinting at sothing.
Thus he probed, "General, I am still interested in dealing in arms. As for the rules of the circle, I would also like to seek your advice."
Peter said, "If arms dealing is just small-scale, we won't interfere, but if you wish to go big, neither the military nor the intelligence agencies will leave it be. It pertains to the concept of 'control'. Even if it's a business ant to be hidden in shadows, if it's uncontrollable, it might result in severe consequences later. So, you need soone to vouch for you."
Upon hearing this, Song Heping had an epiphany.
"General, I would like to request the military's endorsent for my arms business," Song Heping laid his cards on the table.
Peter asked, "Do you know what you're saying?"
Song Heping nodded, "Of course, I do. Just like the AAFES company; they can surely trade arms legally only because they have your endorsent, right?"
Peter revealed a slight smile, finally saying, "Given the current situation in Illiguo, many weapons circulate in the black market. Instead of strictly controlling those local officials and cracking down on those rat-like illegal arms dealers, it's better for us to manage things uniformly. That's the significance of the AAFES company's arms business. How you get your arms and how you sell them, we don't care, but we must be clear on where they flow to. Moreover, when necessary, we will direct you to sell certain goods to specific locations, and you must execute that. Furthermore, if sothing goes wrong, we will not acknowledge any connection to you; you must bear any consequences on your own. That's the rule."
The two n had truly laid all their cards on the table.
Song Heping didn't hesitate, "No problem, I can do that."
Peter said, "Good, there's a deal that, if you pull it off, we will turn a blind eye to your arms business in Illiguo, and even within Illiguo, I can assure you that you will not be harassed. However, there will be no written commitnts. Should any accidents occur, it will have nothing to do with the military, and we will not acknowledge it publicly—it's your own problem, understand?"
"Understood."
Song Heping nodded, thinking to himself, it's just about being the dark hand doing the dirty work!
Rules are actually about norms.
"So... General, what is this deal you speak of, and what's for sale, to whom?"
Peter placed so docunts in front of Song Heping, "Sell three sets of this equipnt to the Sahel region of Africa."
The Sahel region?!
Song Heping shuddered slightly.
He had a premonition—this was not going to be an easy job!
He picked up the docunts again and beca sowhat unsettled.
It was a picture of the SA-9 missile system!
"Air defense missiles!?"
Song Heping imdiately realized the magnitude of this matter.
The US Army selling air defense missiles to the Sahel region?
Isn't that traditionally France's turf?
Aren't the French buddies with the Aricans?
Looking further at the docunts, the intended recipient was clearly written—Salafi Ard Organization.
Damn!
Song Heping felt like the world had turned upside down, akin to seeing a weasel paying respects at a chicken's New Year.
Dammit, the world is truly marvelous!
To think he, who had eliminated the Salafi Ard's branch in Illiguo, was now going to sell air defense missiles to their African faction.
This motherf*...
He instinctively wanted to refuse.
Then he held back.
This was the first job Peter had assigned him.
If he didn't take it, it would be like the Afghan mission before.
Refusing ant no contract for this transport job.
Likewise, if he didn't take the arms deal in Africa, he figured there wouldn't be many more opportunities coming his way.
But why wouldn't they let AAFES handle this?
The only explanation was that Peter and the military behind him didn't want people to know it was their doing. AAFES had too big a na, and everyone knew it was an Arican defense enterprise. Even establishing a subsidiary to handle it wouldn't be safe.
Using his company, heh, a company ford by Russians and Chinese, even if it was known that he was a scapegoat, the muck wouldn't splash onto the US military and intelligence agencies.
Dammit!
Song Heping cursed in his heart, they just damn well wanted him to be the dark glove.
"What's the matter?"
Peter seed to notice the hesitation in Song Heping's eyes.
"You unwilling to take it?"
Song Heping imdiately cracked a smile, "No, it's just that I want to know if I will receive the money? It's not for free, right?"
"Hahahaha!"
Major General Peter suddenly burst into laughter, leaning forward and back, even laughing till tears appeared at the corners of his eyes.
"Song... you're an interesting guy... really interesting..."
He wiped away the tears from his eyes, coughed twice to regain composure, and then said, "I'm just linking you up. As for the rest, you do it how it needs to be done. You've got the contact thods; do you still need to teach you hand by hand?"
"But this SA-9 missile system, it won't be easy for to get..."
Song Heping deliberately played dumb.
But Peter, the old fox, just smiled subtly with a aningful air, "I know you'll find a way..."
Song Heping felt a chill down his spine.
In his thoughts: Fuck, this old fox knows too damn much!
After leaving Peter and returning to his company, Song Heping went into his office, sat in his chair, closed the door, and thoroughly digested everything Peter had said.
After pondering each word and sentence over and over, Song Heping seed to glimpse so of the patterns behind the fog.
War, for the entirety of the United States, was just a big business deal.
If this big business was seen as a big cake, politicians, intelligence departnts, the military, arms suppliers, Wall Street, energy companies, and other giants all had their share of interests, and any place around the globe where the US had a foothold, there was such a cake to be divided.
These Arican political, military, and comrcial powers ford alliances with each other while also guarding against one another; they fought in the shadows and maintained harmony on the surface, each with their own backing forces and circles.
This could be seen from the fact that the military directly eliminated mbers of the CIA's Black Group during the Afghan operation and from the CIA's attempt to take down Mr. J while Aunt Nancy wished to keep Mr. J alive.
Upon this realization, Song Heping suddenly felt at ease.
At first, he had been very worried the CIA would be detrintal to him; honestly, as a small-scale defense company owner, he couldn't contend with the CIA.
But now, he was no longer concerned.
It was a ga of power and money.
It seed he had already set one foot inside the circle.
If you're in, then settle in.
Just enjoy the ga.
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