"What I an is, since your plan states that the aircraft must be destroyed and scrapped, what if I am willing to purchase those dismantled 'scraps'?"
There was a profound aning in Song Heping's eyes.
"What do you an?" Musfata had a vague idea of what Song Heping ant, but wasn't sure if that was actually his intention.
Song Heping said, "There are many ways to destroy it, such as dismantling the aircraft into parts and shells; it still counts as dismantled, doesn't it?"
Musfata understood now.
He knew exactly what Song Heping ant.
However, he was still evaluating the feasibility of this idea.
"Mr. Song, if you want to avoid liability, it has to be dismantled very thoroughly," he tentatively reminded Song Heping.
Song Heping spread his hands, "Thoroughly dismantled can be done in various ways, such as having it broken down into hundreds of parts and then shipping it as scrap tal through different companies to different countries, with all contracts and docunts perfectly in order. Do you think that would work to avoid liability?"
Musfata's brows furrowed slightly. He looked at Song Heping, then his gaze drifted to Yusuf standing nearby.
After a long while, he posed a question, "Mr. Song, how much would you pay for one Sukhoi SU-24?"
"My budget is 500,000 US dollars."
Song Heping had initially budgeted one million per aircraft, but since they were now dismantling, naturally he had to account for the cost of assembling the team.
He had decided to buy the aircraft in pieces and have them reassembled at their base in Venezuela by technicians.
After all, he could just hire a Russian team to co over, and they could finish the job within days.
"500,000?" Musfata was sowhat disappointed; his face dimd and beca more business-like again, "That's too cheap."
Song Heping said, "I'm buying scrap tal, of course it's cheap. A higher price would be unreasonable. After all, I can only claim to be selling these parts to other countries that have SU-24 aircraft for spare parts use. However, for each plane, I'll add an extra one million US dollars in commission."
This last statent truly hit ho for Musfata.
His eyes reignited, his whole persona revitalized, and a hint of joy returned to his face.
"Ah... I see..."
He sat back in the sofa, seemingly deep in thought once more.
After a while, he suddenly stood up and said to Song Heping, "Mr. Song, from now on you should contact Yusuf. He will arrange everything. As for here..."
He revealed a sly smile.
"Let's pretend we never had this conversation."
Finishing his statent, he turned to Yusuf, "Please, see Mr. Song out. I still have other matters to attend to."
Upon leaving Musfata's office, Song Heping felt reassured.
"Yusuf, your minister is a real sly fox," he comnted.
The implication was that Yusuf should remind the minister that although he agreed with the plan, he didn't want to show it publicly or formally endorse it.
Essentially, it was Yusuf's responsibility to handle things as he saw fit.
This was an instance of turning a blind eye.
"Hmph!" Yusuf said sowhat discontentedly, "He gets the bigger share of the money, and I'm left to carry the burden!"
Song Heping patted his shoulder, "Don't worry. You aren't planning to retire here anyway. Work for a few years and then emigrate to enjoy life in another country."
Yusuf's mind drifted to the numbers in his overseas bank account, which cald him significantly.
"Right, disassembling an aircraft is a technical job; it requires professionals to do it without damaging the parts."
Song Heping said, "Don't worry, first take to see the aircraft. I want two in good condition. As for the technicians, I'll have everything arranged within a week. They will co to dismantle the aircraft, and I'll handle all the arrangents. You just relax and count the money."
Yusuf smiled, "Oh, doing business with you, brother, is always a pleasure! By the way, co to my house tonight. You've been away from Illiguo so long, and our circle of friends has been asking about you. Many tis people have asked where you went, and I didn't know what to say... By the way, where have you been lately?"
"I went to Venezuela, bought so land. I'm planning to build a rcenary training school. Once it's up, you can go there for vacation and play with guns."
"Let's skip the guns; if I ever leave Illiguo, I don't ever want to see a gun in my life."
"If you retire, you could move to Venezuela. I've got you covered there; it's very safe..."
"Really?"
"Really!"
After leaving the Republic Palace, the two got into Song Heping's car and headed to the makeshift airport where they had last purchased the SA-9.
The airport was the sa as ever, guarded by the sa few soldiers, who all smiled brightly and bowed in welco upon seeing Song Heping arrive.
"Good day, Mr. Song, we haven't seen you in a long ti."
"What brings Mr. Song here today?"
As the guard opened the gate, he showered Song Heping with various greetings from inside the car.
Heping had visited a few tis during the last missile purchase, each ti rewarding the guards handsoly, more than their monthly salary.
Seeing the generous Mr. Song again, the guards knew sothing good was to arrive. They were eager to finalize any deal if the boss took an interest in sothing at the makeshift airport, hopeful for a nice side benefit.
The airport housed two Su-25s and three Su-24s.
The conditions of the three Su-24s were actually fairly decent. They were covered in tarpaulins and well maintained upon inspection, though the state of the engines, among other things, was unknown.
Song Heping had seen one of the Su-25s during his last visit and was quite taken with it, seeing its potential for expanding his operations to handle bigger tasks in the future.
Using such gear to tackle drug cartels or small ard groups would be almost like playing a ga.
After inspecting the Su-24s and Su-25s, Song Heping stepped out of the hangar and suddenly noticed another hangar at the far east end, its doors closed.
He had never been inside and, curious, he asked, "Yusuf, what kind of aircraft is in that hangar?"
Yusuf glanced over and said, "Helicopters."
Upon hearing it was helicopters, Song Heping grew interested.
He had actually wanted to get a helicopter in Illiguo to facilitate travel from the Green Zone to the oil fields or other locations, especially if the convoys inside Illiguo territory faced any sort of attack, as helicopters could provide rapid support.
Moreover, Dominic had been constantly complaining about the lack of work, getting so bored he might grow moss.
So he pointed at the hangar and said, "Take to see it."
Yusuf said, "What's so good about it? It's broken."
"Broken?"
"Yes. When we found this place, we sent a pilot over who said it wouldn't start. It's broken. Later we saw a bullet hole on the airfra. It was probably hit by a stray bullet during the firefight when this place was captured."
While Yusuf spoke, he gestured for the guards to open the hangar doors.
Song Heping looked and, lo and behold, it was a Mi-171.
This type of helicopter was common worldwide, a star of the Soviet Union arms export era; he had often flown in them during his ti in the army.
Walking around the Mi-171, Song Heping thought it looked pretty good, although there were indeed two bullet holes in the nose, apparently made by 12.7 caliber machine guns.
"Yusuf, are you selling this piece?"
"It really won't start." Yusuf was quite honest, "What use do you have for it? Selling scrap tal?"
"You're actually selling it as scrap? Aren't you going to repair it?"
As Song Heping examined the large helicopter in the hangar, the more he looked, the more he liked it, feeling that the aircraft probably wasn't badly damaged.
"We really can sell it as scrap. The previous maintenance technicians ran off long ago. They were from the governnt army and we don't employ them. Besides, now the Aricans want us to buy their new helicopters. Why keep these old Soviet helicopters? Even dismantling them for parts is pointless." Yusuf said, "If you really want it, I can decide on this broken aircraft. $20,000 and it's yours."
"$20,000?" After examining the helicopter again, Song Heping quickly agreed, "Deal, I'll take it for $20,000."
A Mi-171 for $20,000, cheaper than desert sand.
"What are you buying it for?" Yusuf asked, puzzled. "It's been checked and it's definitely broken. If it needs parts, where will you find them?"
"I have my ways," Song Heping had a plan in mind. If it really needed parts, he could always call the cook for help; that guy should be able to procure them.
Now that everything was settled in Illiguo, they were just waiting for news from the cook. If they could find a suitable flight team, he would imdiately have them co here to train on the helicopter and see how capable they were.
If it was fixed, then it would be kept at the Illiguo company to establish a rapid response support squad, or it could also be used for ergency commuting.
Even if it couldn't be fixed, having it dismantled and selling the parts wouldn't be a loss.
User Comments
0 comments from readers