225: Chapter 223: The Skull Gang Again 225: Chapter 223: The Skull Gang Again Gao Yang did not seek out Antoncel but used the intercom to call Antoncel, who was reminiscing with the captain, to their cabin.
After seeing Antoncel, Gao Yang first extended two fingers to him, making a V-shaped victory gesture.
Seeing the gesture made by Gao Yang, Antoncel said with astonishment, “What does that mean?
Are you saying that in such a short time, you’ve already solved all the problems?”
Gao Yang nodded with a smile and said, “You could say that.
We’ve got the money, and there’s a security company waiting to partner with us, unless you’ve thrown out new challenges.
If not, I think it’s time to consider what to do next.”
Antoncel exclaimed, “My God, you surprise me too much.
I feel as if I’m just getting to know you.
Please, Gao, give me the details.”
Gao Yang shrugged his shoulders and said, “It’s quite simple.
I reached out to two friends who are willing to go into business with us.
One has five million US Dollars, and the other, in addition to five million US Dollars, has his own security company, an Israeli one, without too many restrictions.
Adding our contribution, we can come up with ten million US Dollars, so all the problems have been solved.
It’s just that the number of partners is one more than expected, so I need to ask if you’re okay with having four shareholders.”
Antoncel laughed and said, “Buddy, as long as I get my rightful share, I don’t care how many shareholders there are.
The more people we have, the bigger things we can achieve.”
“Very good, now here’s the situation.
We’re putting in twenty million, plus a legitimate security company, and we’ll be responsible for recruiting all the security personnel, while you’ll handle securing business for our company, as well as chartering ships and other daily activities on board.
How much of a share do you think you should have?”
After thinking for a long time, Antoncel said gravely, “It sounds like you’ve got everything taken care of, but I believe my role is irreplaceable.
So, one quarter, I think that a quarter is a fair percentage.”
Gao Yang, being who he was, nearly agreed to Antoncel’s demand on the spot, as it didn’t seem excessive.
However, he promptly remembered Morgan’s advice to him: business is business, and if you’re going to do it, then you should follow the principles of business.
Gao Yang felt that from a business standpoint, Antoncel’s proposal was still reasonable, but since they were negotiating, he thought it was necessary to fight for more benefits for himself, as well as for Bob and Destin.
“Buddy, we’re putting up all the money and taking all the risks, and we’ve solved the most difficult issues, so I think one quarter is a bit too much.
Ten percent, I feel that you having ten percent of the profits is more reasonable.”
Antoncel shook his head with a smile and said, “No, no, Gao, there’s something you don’t understand.
There are already many maritime security companies, and there will be even more in the future.
Me, I can guarantee that we’ll always have a steady flow of business.
You have to admit that, buddy.
This industry is becoming a buyer’s market, and I can ensure we make money until this market completely disappears, so I think a twenty-five percent share isn’t high at all.”
After thinking for a while, Gao Yang said, “You have to understand, I’m not alone here.
I have to be responsible for the investors I brought in.
So, a twenty-five percent stake, I think we won’t be able to agree on that.
How about this, fifteen percent.
That’s a fair share.”
“Twenty percent, Gao, I can’t compromise any further.
I believe my capabilities and responsibilities are worth that much.”
Gao Yang shrugged and said, “Listen, Little Donnie is the key person for our cooperation.
We can’t just leave him out because we know each other and are moving onto higher-level collaboration.
That’s not fair, and we’ll still need Little Donnie’s help in the future.
However, the business we’re making now is big, and it wouldn’t be appropriate to give Little Donnie the original cut.
I think we can give Little Donnie two percent of the shares.”
Antoncel nodded without hesitation and said, “Agreed, we can’t kick out Little Donnie.”
Gao Yang also nodded, then pointed at Bruce and said, “He’s not in the list of shareholders, but he’s the only one who has served in the navy, so he has a very important role.
We need someone familiar with naval operations, right?
And he can bring us a lot of people suited for our operations, so giving him one percent of the shares isn’t too much, is it?”
Antoncel glanced at Bruce, hesitated for a moment, then said solemnly, “One percent isn’t too much, but he has to earn his pay, that’s my only condition.”
Gao Yang shrugged and said, “That’s a reasonable request.
Alright, eighty-five percent was the least we could accept, but to reach a consensus, I am now willing to make a concession.
We will give up five percent of the shares, and in addition to allocating the extra three percent, the rest will go to you, making it a seventeen percent stake for you.
I think this proposal is also very reasonable, don’t you think?”
After pondering for a moment, Antoncel suddenly extended his hand and said, “Deal.”
Gao Yang felt like he had scored a big advantage by negotiating Antoncel’s shareholding down from an initially nearly-agreed-upon twenty-five percent to seventeen percent.
According to Gao Yang’s original plan, he had intended to give one percent each of his own shares to Little Donnie and Bruce, but now Antoncel had taken on that part, and he seemed quite pleased about it.
Inwardly, Gao Yang marvelled at how he was finally learning to treat business as business rather than mixing it with personal favors, and he was very satisfied with his own performance.
After shaking hands with Antoncel and smiling, the matter regarding the shareholding with Antoncel was settled.
What remained was for Gao Yang, Bob, and Destin to discuss their own distribution, which was sure to be much simpler than the negotiations with Antoncel, given their extraordinary relationship.
“Now we’re partners,” Antoncel said, “but I have to ask where this ship is headed?
If it’s possible, can we catch a ride to Israel?
Once we reach Israel, we can officially start on the next phase of our work.”
Antoncel shrugged, “I’ve already asked.
First, we’ll stop at Sukhna Port in Egypt on the Red Sea to unload some containers, then pass through the Suez Canal to Izmir Port in Turkey.
If we want to go to Israel, the fastest way is to disembark at Sukhna Port and then fly to Greece or Italy before transferring to Israel.
That’s the quickest method.
However, what do you plan to do with your weapons and equipment?”
Gao Yang scratched his head in vexation, saying, “What a hassle, such a hassle.
We definitely can’t abandon our equipment—I’ll ask Little Donnie, perhaps he can come up with something.”
Antoncel shrugged again, “You’ve got plenty of time to figure something out.
Although this ship isn’t slow, it will take at least five days to reach Sukhna Port.
I think that’s enough time for you, but you’ll need to avoid bringing weapons to the port.
Doing so could get this ship detained, and I don’t want to cause trouble for an old friend.”
Gao Yang didn’t want to bring weapons to Egypt either, as he had no idea what kind of chaos that could unleash.
Yet, the result of his call to Little Donnie was not good; there was no way for them to get rid of the weapons before entering Egypt’s port—not for the time being, at least.
However, Little Donnie had started looking for a solution, and perhaps they could relocate the weapons before reaching the port.
Actually, there was a much simpler solution for Gao Yang and the others: dumping all the forbidden items into the sea, but that option was out of the question for them.
Time flew, and at a little past five in the afternoon, the intercom crackled with the Cloldylin captain’s urgent voice.
“Suspicious targets detected, suspicious targets detected.
Escort personnel, please come to the cockpit immediately.”
Upon hearing there was a situation, Gao Yang and his group sprang up, grabbed their weapons, and rushed to the cockpit at top speed.
Observing their arrival, the Cloldylin’s captain pointed at the radar screen with a grave expression and said, “Look here, five suspicious targets are approaching us rapidly.
We’ve made an urgent change of course, and they’ve followed suit, so they’re definitely after us.”
Gao Yang glanced at the radar screen, where two dots were moving towards the symbol representing their cargo ship from the front left, but he didn’t know how far away they were.
He asked in a deep voice, “How far away are they?”
“Less than three nautical miles, and they’re moving fast.”
After boarding the ship, the first order of business was to become familiar with the ship’s layout.
Gao Yang knew where the key defensive points on this cargo ship were located.
“Test Tube, Toad, the two of you head to the starboard.
Everyone else, follow me to the gangway.”
If pirates were the attackers, the only way aboard was by hanging a ladder at the cargo ship’s gangway; otherwise, it would be impossible to board.
So, Gao Yang and his team’s job was rather straightforward: guard the gangway.
Without much pressure, Gao Yang and his companions quickly reached their combat posts.
Even Antoncel tagged along, as did the Cloldylin’s captain, while the first officer stayed behind to command the cockpit, though there was not much to direct as maintaining the cargo ship’s current course and speed was sufficient.
Once in position, Gao Yang looked through his binoculars and suddenly said, “Isn’t this the same area where we encountered the Skull Gang yesterday?
If we go by timing, it should be here.”
Cui Bo, holding his binoculars, laughed and said, “Stop wondering, it’s right here, and it’s the same old acquaintances— the Skull Gang again.
I recognise that speedboat from yesterday.
Today, there are two more speedboats.
Looks like the Skull Gang is aiming for a pack tactic.”
Gao Yang put down his binoculars and handed them to Antoncel, standing beside him.
Smiling, he said, “No need to worry anymore.
It’s the Skull Gang.
We were just talking about them yesterday, and today you’ll get to meet them in person.”(To be continued.
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