King Of War: Starting with Arms Dealer

Joe Ga arrived at the barn and found the atmosphere rather eerie...

The four Russians captured yesterday—three men and one woman—were now sitting obediently on the floor in a corner of the barn.

Their bodies bore no bonds such as ropes, yet their mental state seemed particularly poor, as if under the influence of some drug.

The woman was better off, but the three men sat there, heads swaying left and right, chasing something in the air; they looked as if they were under the influence of hallucinogens.

Thompson was sitting on a worn-out chair, flipping through a stack of documents. His frequently furrowed brows suggested he was not particularly satisfied with what he was finding.

Joe Ga walked over and patted Thompson on the shoulder, smiling as he asked, "What's wrong? No leads?"

Thompson looked up at Joe Ga, stood up, and offered his chair to his exceedingly tired boss, then said, "Boss, we found the hitman who attempted on Eric's life, but there's not enough evidence to bring in the people behind him."

Joe Ga glanced at the dazed-looking Russians and nodded slightly, "That's normal. If every hitman could be traced back to their employer, those people wouldn't have gotten to their current positions."

As he spoke, Joe Ga glanced at a Russian woman with platinum blonde hair and a seductive figure. He stroked his chin and said, "Let me guess, Eric fell by this woman's hands..."

Thompson smiled and nodded, "You have a better eye, boss..."

Joe Ga stood up, reversed the chair, and sat astride it, arms draped over the back of the chair and his chin resting on his arms as he watched the captives, chuckling, "Don't flatter me, it's pointless.

Since the assassin is among them, it certainly can't be these gentlemen, because if I saw them in a bar, I would definitely clutch my wallet."

The three Russian men were not particularly unattractive, but the 'villainous' aura on them was too apparent.

Gang leader Boris dressed decently, but he emitted an unstoppable mafia aura—it was almost as if 'I am mafia' was written on his face.

The other two men might not look fierce, but with thick necks and towering over six feet three inches, their shoulders were much wider than even the stout Boss Joe.

If Eric, that little bird, encountered such guys in a bar, he would undoubtedly take a detour.

Looking at the Russian woman who remained silent and downcast, Joe Ga smiled and asked, "What's this woman's name?"

Thompson put away the documents in his hand and said, "Her name is Anna Zakharova, I'm not sure if this is her real name, but her information is in the FBI and CIA's databases.

According to her records, she was an agent of the Russia's Ministry of Internal Affairs, and for unknown reasons, defected to America five years ago.

Intelligence suggests she might be linked to fifteen homicides in New York.

However, the police and FBI have never found direct evidence to prosecute her, and her boss has some clout, so she has remained active until today."

Joe Ga listened and nodded slightly, "Then it's none of our business. Since there's not much intelligence, let's dig a hole and bury her. That'll count as avenging Eric."

As soon as Joe Ga uttered these words, the woman raised her head and stared fixedly at Thompson, saying, "You promised, you would spare me…"

Thompson spread his hands and said, "But I have to listen to my boss first…"

As Thompson drew his gun and aimed at Anna just as she seemed ready to explode, he looked up at Joe Ga and said, "Boss, I previously sent Eric her photo. I think you should listen to Eric's opinion regarding this woman."

Joe Ga paused, curiously asked, "Don't tell me Eric was involved with her?"

Thompson sighed and explained, "Obviously he was, otherwise Eric wouldn't have been so careless, almost died without knowing who did it.

They had been in contact over the past two months; it was this woman who leaked Eric's movements.

She's a professional spy, and evidently, Eric, being the CIA's Africa head, was not qualified."

Joe Ga looked at the beautiful-faced Anna, shaking his head, "She's a Black Widow…

What was Eric thinking?"

Upon saying this, Joe Ga stroked his own chin, adding, "Eric has a low tolerance for deceit; he almost died yet he spoke for her, could it be because he already knew this woman's identity?

Dragging decent women down, encouraging women of ill-repute to reform, that's a taboo for men.

Did Eric violate the latter?"

Thompson, hearing such philosophical words for the first time, paused, then laughed, "Pretty much…

Eric and his ex-wife once adopted a child, and Anna is that child's mother.

Anna left the Ministry of Internal Affairs and came to America for that child, but because Black Hand Yuri has something on her, she must work for him.

Over the past few years, Anna has intermittently kept in contact with Eric and his ex-wife, only recently her contacts with Eric became frequent due to a task given by her boss."

After listening, Joe Ga frowning, said, "Then she deserves to die more…"

Thompson shook his head noncommittally and stated, "Boss, I suggest we listen to Eric's opinion on this matter.

"

He is awake now. I have called him, and he wants us to detain Anna until he recovers and decides how to deal with her."

Thompson said while looking at Joe Ga with a furrowed brow, smiling, "Boss, I'm not sympathizing with her, but in reality, Anna is just the knife; the handle is in Yuri's hand.

Eric said he called for emergency services before he passed out, but in fact, the ambulance that arrived was called by Anna.

I checked the emergency call records, and what she said is true...

Furthermore, I discovered that Eric's ex-wife took their two kids to Montana, arranged by Anna as well."

Upon hearing this, Joe Ga seemed to understand. He curiously looked at Anna and said, "Your boss used your kids and Eric's ex-wife to threaten you, right?"

Hearing this, Anna lowered her head with a bitter expression...

Seeing Anna, who seemingly did not want to defend herself, Joe Ga gestured and said, "Find a single room and lock her up, and also bring back Eric's ex-wife and the kids.

We have an existing witness protection system which is better than letting them roam around in Montana."

Thompson nodded in agreement and said, "I will arrange this.

But, boss, to find Yuri, we might still need Anna's help."

Thompson looked at Joe Ga's curious expression and helplessly said, "Boss, we are very limited in manpower.

Department of Homeland Security's resources are all occupied, and the FBI is overwhelmed in New Jersey.

Now, to find this guy Yuri, we need Anna's help.

Yuri definitely wants to know what exactly happened last night."

Joe Ga frowned and said, "Who exactly is this Yuri?"

Thompson spread his hands and said, "FBI, CIA, Department of Homeland Security, none have records of this guy; I don't even have his photo, but based on Anna's description, I believe this Yuri might be a 'cleaner' who does dirty work for big names."

Upon hearing this, Joe Ga scoffed and said, "So, a hitman essentially!"

Thompson nodded and then shook his head, saying, "There are distinctions among those who do the dirty work, mercenaries or ordinary assassins are just the lowest group.

Those who truly do the work need to leave no traces; for example, engineers are among the elite.

Yuri's job is a bit more complicated, according to the information Anna provided, they not only engage in assassination but also mediate for clients against their opponents.

Boss, this guy is formidable; he has his team and network!

To bring him down, we need to be extremely cautious, otherwise if we encounter a backlash, it could be troublesome for us since we are exposed."

Once Thompson explained, Joe Ga understood. He hated dealing with such elusive individuals because just 'tracking' them wastes a lot of effort.

Looking at Thompson, one could tell that Yuri had no fixed assets, no stable address or clear photos, digging him out from a huge city like New York would indeed be very challenging.

Running here eagerly only to receive not-so-good news left Joe Ga a bit frustrated.

Then he pointed to the remaining three Russians and said, "What about them?"

Thompson pointed at the two thick-necked Russians and said, "These two are Anna's partners, or rather, her monitors, I think they could be useful…"

Thompson then looked towards the mafia boss Boris, and said with a smile, "Actually, we all got something wrong. This guy isn't just with the Russian Mafia but a member of the Belarus international criminal organization.

The person standing behind him is from the Belarusian elite; his boss holds significant power in Belarus.

His mission in America is not only to make money but also to launder money for the Belarusian higher-ups.

This guy is both Yuri's collaborator and client.

These guys dare sell anything. You wouldn't believe it, but from his confession, I found clues about terrorists in New Jersey.

Just with a brief comparison with the intelligence we currently hold, I was able to roughly determine the terrorists' location."

Joe Ga, curious, asked, "You said this guy dares sell anything; what has he sold?"

Thompson shrugged his shoulders and said, "Arms, drugs, human trafficking, and even some hazardous chemical materials.

His boss can acquire many things in Belarus.

He has a warehouse in Yonkers that not only stores arms but also several kilograms of drugs."

Thompson looked at Boris and said with a laugh, "I had a chat with Mr. Boris, and he is willing to cooperate with us in accusing some corrupt cops in New York.

In exchange, we will let him face the legal consequences in New York!"

Joe Ga laughed and said, "What's this, a briber suddenly becomes a whistleblower?"