Mercenary Black Mamba

Chapter 271: Chapter 31, Episode 2: National Treasure

“I’m desperately hoping for that too. Black Mamba is our country’s national treasure. He might have also discovered some important information from the CIA, which makes his loss even more disappointing. There must be a reason why Langley went into a frenzy looking for him. It’s truly regretful.”

Kabaye was a DGSE man. He groaned about the loss of important information more than the loss of a human.

“Losing such a person is truly regretful. Even he couldn’t have done anything about the natural disaster triggered by the dam explosion and collapsing cliffs. I truly wonder if he’s alive. Hoo!” Lagos groaned along with director Kabaye.

“He’s a natural disaster himself. Black Mamba is someone that cannot be described logically. To be frank, he’s like Ocelot but with sanity. Not the kind of person to die easily. I’m not giving up until the end.”

Bonipas remained stubborn. A dying man wouldn’t die without resisting. A man fated to live would survive falling into the crevasse of Mont Blanc’s Aletsch Glacier.

Deep down, Bonipas was anxious. Black Mamba’s value was a realm’s worth of difference compared to the launch of a reconnaissance satellite. He resolved France’s unsolvable problems effortlessly. Black Mamba was a national treasure who couldn’t be replaced with someone else.

Black Mamba, you need to come and collect your money. A dead man would rise from the dead for 300,000,000 francs.

Bang—

Amid Bonipas’ longing for his precious treasure, the office door opened. Manager Ariba shot in with a red face.

“Manager, please! Mind your manners.”

The secretary came in after him and grabbed his arm.

“Damn, it’s an emergency!” Ariba shook his arm away.

“Aah, it’s fine.” The director waved his hand.

The secretary silently closed the door and left.

“Excuse-moi. It’s the particular class, Ange de la Mort.”

“Quoi!”[1]

Bonipas’ mouth hung open in shock.

Crash—

The coffee cup shattered into 1,000,000 pieces on the floor. His arms and legs immediately turned weak. Even Lagos and Kabaye froze for a while.

“Where?”

“There is an emergency call from the Syrian Embassy.”

“Hehehe!” Bonipas laughed eerily and turned to look at Lagos and Kabaye, whose mouths were agape.

Bang—

Bonipas left the room and slammed the door.

Lagos and Kabaye turned to look at each other.

“It’s the return of the Angel of Death. Director Bonipas was right. It seems like he picked up fortune telling after being traumatized by Black Mamba.”

“Director Kabaye, you’re in big trouble now. That guy’s specialty is shattering chins and shaking out corn kernels. Your chin’s about to be smashed in! Hahaha!”

A smile spread across Lagos’ face. Black Mamba’s appearance cleared away the reconnaissance satellite problem from his mind.

“Even the president knows how dangerous Black Mamba is. I deserve punishment for giving him the wrong information. Introduce me to a talented plastic surgeon, won’t you?”

Even director Kabaye was smiling.

“The return of our national treasure, hm? Or is it the return of a monster? Maybe the predator will turn docile once Bonipas gives him plenty of food. Bonipas is better than I am at walking on tightropes. Kahahaha!”

A smile crept up on director Lagos’ face too.

“England joked about how Shakespeare was non-exchangeable for India, but Black Mamba is someone we can’t substitute for Africa.” Directory Kabaye agreed.

Bonipas jumped down the stairs, three steps at a time. He slammed the office door and gathered his breath. Even the cold-blooded man called the serpent lost his composure over Black Mamba’s revival.

“Director!”

Ariba pointed him to a red phone.

“Yes. I should greet the demon king.”

Bonipas picked up the phone.

“Ange de la Mort?”

“Nice to hear from you, director Bonipas.”

An irritated voice traveled down the line from several 100 kilometers away, hitting on his eardrum.

“Hum!”

That was Black Mamba with his deep voice. His head swayed as though he had fallen off a cliff.

“It is really you. Did you go to another dimension? Did you crawl out from hell after pulling out Hades’ teeth?”

“Woah, did you pick up fortune telling while I was gone? How did you know that I crawled out from another dimension?”

“Hehe, nothing could hold back Black Mamba for 52 days unless it’s a dragon from another dimension or the King of Hell. Did you have some fun?”

Bonipas soon regained his calm, living up to his nickname, the serpent.

“It’s no fun when you’re on the receiving end of things. The food was horrible. You should know the situation in Kaparja, right? You must have sent out a lot of informants.”

“Of course. Your success has already been reported to the president. Mitterrand is burning with desire to flaunt before Turkey and Israel. Even Assad’s attitude has changed. We’ve been supporting the opposition by leaking information to Mossad and the MIT. You’re France’s national treasure.”

“What treasure? I’ll give you the details in my report later. I have a request. I’m applying for the asylum of 460 Syrian Orthodox Christians.”

“What? What kind of nonsense is that?” Bonipas, who was taken aback, asked in a shrill tone.

“Ah, there’s no need to be so surprised. They’re migrants who have helped me. The starting point will be from Maydanki Lake of Aleppo city, moving along the route of Camuzk??las? and ?skenderun Harbor of Hatay province and Toulon. Our last landing point can vary according to the situation. I need you to negotiate with Turkey to let them pass the border. I’m looking forward to a transport bus in Camuzk??las? and a passenger ship at ?skenderun Harbor. I’ll handle the rest. The mission name will be Cutting Bamboo. Will it be possible?” Black Mamba asked.

“Dude, the asylum for Orthodox Christians? What kind of nonsense is that? Everyone’s eyes are about to pop out while awaiting your return.”

Bonipas was astounded. Those weren’t words that a person who had gone missing for 52 days should be saying. He couldn’t grasp the guy’s way of thinking. He was a national treasure and a precious one at that.

“You’re refusing?”

It felt as though a hammer suddenly slammed onto his head.

“What are you saying. The date?” Bonipas leaped to his feet.

Refusing? There was bloodlust in that single word. He was the b*stard who had pulled out the intestines of the Airborne Regiment’s lieutenant colonel Miguel because of his betrayal and burned him to death with white phosphorus. He could almost see Miguel’s charred body before his eyes.

“October 13th.”

“Damn, there’s five days left. There won’t be a problem negotiating with Turkey about passing their borders. Syria’s going to be hard. I don’t need to explain, do I?”

“I’ll handle passing through Syria,” Black Mamba assured.

“Please don’t blow things out of proportions. I get a heart attack every time you do something. I’m about to drop dead in an emergency room because of heart failure.”

“Stop whining. I can hear you laugh from all the way here. I’ll believe you and go ahead with the plan.”

“Ok. I’ll do some work this time around.”

“Merci, consider me indebted.”

“Oh, merci!”

Bonipas was smiling from ear to ear. Black Mamba had personally said that he was indebted. Now, he had solid insurance. He rubbed his chin unknowingly. He didn’t have any thoughts of getting his teeth knocked out.

“Any additional requests?”

“I’ve lost all my weapons. A Dragunov, an MP5SD3, 300 darts, two boxes of high-pressure grenades, a bulletproof backpack, and a bulletproof vest should be enough.”

“Non problem. I’ll send the necessary items within 24 hours by international transit. Standard weapons should be available in the embassy.”

“Understood. The level of security of this call?”

“You can trust it 100 percent.”

“The CIA started on an unfamiliar project in Ruman. I’ve secured the related documents after erasing some b*stards called Shire and Dyson. It’ll help.”

“Wow, the intelligence director was right. You truly are the national treasure of France. I’ll help you return immediately by sending in the United Special Operations Command Force.”

Bonipas immediately changed his stance. The White Bear had moved out of Chad because of the documents obtained by Black Mamba in the Sahel. He didn’t mind spending the DGSE’s annual fund if he could flip the scale weighing toward the CIA in the Middle East.

“Don’t make things worse. If you want to help, send an ambulance.”

“Right.”

Bonipas immediately shoved a Gauloises cigarette in his mouth as soon as the phone call ended. His heart was still palpitating.

“Director!”

“Wait a moment.” Bonipas waved his hand and smoked the Gauloises cigarette until its end.

Manager Ariba understood completely. Both of them were the best in their field. His director might argue with Black Mamba, but they had something in common. Similarly, he found himself burning with anticipation, waiting to discover the aftershock that Black Mamba, the natural disaster, would bring.

“Ariba, Black Mamba caused trouble again. He’s going to bring 460 Syrian refugees to France.” Bonipas opened his mouth as he rubbed his cigarette.

“Whaaat?”

Ariba’s eyes widened to the point of tearing. That was an unexpected development. If he had heard the news while eating a sorbet, he would have broken his teeth.

“Are you going to heed to his request?”

“If I don’t? Should I tell Black Mamba you’re against his plan?”

“God, director, please don’t joke about that. Even if I die, I don’t want to die by white phosphorus or get beaten to death. I have a family to support,” manager Ariba spoke in a rush.

“Hehehe!” Bonipas giggled.

Manager Ariba’s phobia of Black Mamba was more severe. He was considered normal.

“There’s a saying that goes ‘bon cheval, bon eau[2].’ A talented person has to be treated with the same respect. Listen.”

Bonipas pressed a button and allowed him to listen to the recorded conversation.

“It’s not that hard of a request. The MIT[3] is in a festive mood. The borders should open with a single phone call.”

“Hehehe, you’re right. Hatay would have turned into the land of the dead had Black Mamba not burned down the biological and chemical weapons. Turkey managed to blow their nose without touching it. The MIT should pay him at least 1,000,000,000 dollars for his troubles.”

“It won’t be easy leading 460 people out of Syria.”

“You idiot, he’s a natural disaster. People outside of logic work outside of logic. The destruction of Ruman was 100 times more difficult.”

“That’s true. However, director, you sound like you’ve fallen in love with that fearsome guy,” Ariba teased.

His director frequently swore and threw tantrums, but he would quietly look after Black Mamba.

“Don’t be ridiculous. Did you receive the soft bulletproof material and air defense system from Israel?”

“Yes. Theirs is better than ours.”

“Those damn s*** lumps of technological science researchers! Anything else we received? By the extent of his smile, Mossad might even hand over his wife’s undergarments.”

“We’re negotiating a few things. Mossad is extremely cooperative. It’s an unprecedented gain we’ve never encountered since our department was founded.”

“Hehehe, a national treasure, I say, a national treasure.”

“Director, you’re the national treasure who is capable of moving the treasure. We can throw a feast for those 460 countryside Syrians at Nice hotel every single day. It’s a business in which we’d be profiting 100 times and over as long as Black Mamba’s indebted.”

“Hehehe, Black Mamba personally said he’s indebted. Who else can hear such words aside from me?”

“Won’t Assad realize that everything had been our doing?”

“We’ve already released some information to the MIT and Mossad, so he’ll get to know eventually. Assad won’t be able to say a word. What can he say when the flood and earthquake got rid of all the evidence? I’ve never seen such a clean operation before. Hahahaha!”

Bonipas laughed refreshingly. Assad had lowered his stubborn tail thanks to Black Mamba. Israel and Turkey would be pulling out their livers because of their excessive debt. Black Mamba had given them the biggest gain they had ever received in the history of the DGSE.

Ambassador Jopine kept glancing at Black Mamba, who was sitting opposite him. He’d been eating the whole time, as though a beggar’s ghost had possessed his body. The Kajid Veau[3] plate was emptied instantly. He was already on his 20th serving. Black Mamba emptied two of the two-liters milk carton packs and wiped his mouth with a napkin.

“Phew!”

Jopine unknowingly let out a long sigh. The person before him wasn’t the Angel of Death but a food fighter. He could almost imagine the chef’s tired face.

“Ange de la Mort!”

“Call me, Dong-bang-bull-pae. I didn’t learn the formal language. Please excuse my rough language.”

“Ddu-bai-buru-pa, is there anything else I can do to help?”

“10 large buses, six MP5s, 3,000 bullets, and three boxes of grenades. Within 24 hours.”

“Where is your destination?”

“The abandoned castle behind Gobelaka Village, west of Maydanki Lake, in Aleppo.”

“What about the drivers?”

“I don’t care if there’s one or not. You only need to make sure it all arrives at the location provided.”

“That’s not difficult. I’ll make sure you’re escorted to the border without any trouble.”

Despite being an accomplished diplomat who was older than him, Jopine served Black Mamba well. A truly powerful person deserved to be treated with the same respect. Jopine finished his memo and pressed the interphone to call Ecjose.

“Major Ecjose, you need to move 460 people to the special military advisor’s desired location. Make sure you move them safely. Summon all the agents who were sent to Kaparja immediately.”

“Yes, sir.”

“What did you do with the soldiers who offended the special military advisor?”

“I’ve ordered for the main culprit, Sarco Riverie, to be placed in the holding cell.”

“What are you saying? Place everyone from Riverie’s team into the holding cell and investigate them. Make sure they’re deported back to France once the first investigation’s over. You won’t be able to avoid the responsibility either. I’m simply overlooking yours because the special military advisor said he would. Thank the special military advisor.”

“Thank you. I thank you for your benevolence, special military advisor.”

Ha!

Black Mamba was astounded. While the major didn’t truly offend him, he hadn’t said that he’d forgive him either.

“Focus on moving the Orthodox Christians. I’ll overlook your case with that.”

“Thank you.”

Black Mamba was impressed by Jopine’s quick-witted brain. Jopine managed to save his subordinate, and at the same time, pledged his subordinate’s loyalty to serve Black Mamba’s cause.

By sunset the next day, Black Mamba’s weapons, which were imported from France, arrived. There were two specially-made combat uniforms, combat boots, a bulletproof backpack, a modified Dragunov, MP5SD3, two Glocks, 500 darts...

[1] “What!”

[2] It’s a French expression that means good water for a good horse.

[3] Milli Istihbarat Teskilati, also known as Turkey’s National Intelligence Agency.

[4] Stewed cow’s hind leg.