277: Chapter 275: Fighting Pirates, A Lucrative Path.
277: Chapter 275: Fighting Pirates, A Lucrative Path.
Professional ethics may indeed be a luxury for most mercenaries, but for those who are famous or aspire to become famous, reputation is more important than anything else.
Therefore, a minimum level of professional ethics is essential.
The reason is simple, when an employer hires a mercenary group and is at war with the enemy, if the enemy offers a higher price and the mercenary group turns around to fight against their employer, such an incident would make future employers hesitant to hire mercenaries.
Those mercenaries who can be bought for a mere one or two hundred dollars may not adhere to professional ethics, and makeshift mercenary groups may lack them entirely, but mature and stable mercenary groups, whether famous or not, must have some level of professional ethics.
Mercenaries can surrender when conditions are unfavorable, they can retreat, and they can even flee without firing a single shot if the situation looks dire.
After all, they are fighting for money and can’t be expected to have lofty ideals, but turning against their employer is utterly unacceptable.
Gao Yang knew about Vulture’s background and reputation, so he was not surprised that Vulture had offered to help them fight against the Mokadi faction.
However, Glolov and the others probably didn’t know, which is why they were so astonished by Vulture’s actions.
Gao Yang had no intention of reminding them of anything; after all, Vulture’s fate wouldn’t be too good in the end.
He might as well let him cling to a sliver of hope, which would be convenient for squeezing out the last bit of utility before saying goodbye.
Gao Yang put on a very satisfied expression and said to Vulture in a deep voice, “It seems that you are indeed cooperative, but how can I know whether what you say is true or false?”
Vulture immediately raised his hand and said loudly, “I swear to God, everything I have said is true.
You can verify every word I’ve spoken.
If I have lied, you can kill me.”
Gao Yang shrugged and replied, “Alright, I’ll trust you for now.
So tell me, how much did Mokadi pay you?
I want to know that.”
Vulture hesitated for a moment before saying in a deep voice, “One hundred thousand US dollars a day, that’s the basic rate paid daily.
If there’s combat, the price is additional.
This time’s combat fee was five hundred thousand US dollars, but it’s postpaid, and we haven’t received the money yet.”
Just as Vulture finished speaking, Cui Bo came running up with his men, panting.
Upon seeing Gao Yang, Cui Bo raised the map in his hand and said, “Here’s the satellite map, and here’s your gun.”
Once Cui Bo finally brought the map and the spare gun, Gao Yang’s first action wasn’t to take the map, but to remove the M700 he had on his back.
After slinging the HK417 handed over by Cui Bo, and after switching out the magazines on his combat vest from the Army-type M14-EBR to those for the HK417, only then did he reach out to take the map.
It couldn’t be helped; Gao Yang still considered himself a combatant rather than a commander.
He didn’t feel at ease without his main weapon on him, so when the most urgently needed items arrived, Gao Yang would first take the gun and then the map.
After slinging the gun and feeling a bit more settled, Gao Yang said solemnly, “You go up and arrange their sniper positions, then come down to discuss the next combat plan.
Go.”
After sending Cui Bo with the ten snipers to the rooftop, Gao Yang placed a stack of maps in front of Vulture and commanded, “Draw out where Mokadi lives, as well as the distribution of his forces.
I’m talking about the loyal part of his forces, and be detailed.”
Vulture took the map, immediately knelt on the ground, and spread the maps piece by piece.
He quickly located the required map and pointed to a cluster of buildings by the port, saying, “Here, Mokadi mostly lives here, very close to the port.
Give me a pen.”
Frey handed Vulture a marker, and Vulture immediately outlined a frame along a street on the map, saying, “Mokadi is definitely within this area, and his loyalists have established their positions along this line here, in the area with large, square rooftops.
We were first stationed here, and Mokadi also lived here, but after another mercenary group arrived, Mokadi should have moved to this spot, over here, the same square-shaped white rooftops.
Not in this building with the white rooftops, I don’t know exactly where, but it’s definitely nearby.”
The location that Vulture marked was on the south side of Bosaso’s port, very close to the docks and shipyards.
The Mokadi faction’s controlled core area was lush with vegetation and the buildings were intact.
It was very easy to recognize this area from satellite photos, and even at maximum zoom, it was evident from the numerous vehicles on the streets that this was the most bustling and well-kept area in Bosaso.
The area Vulture pointed out was also the area to which Gao Yang and his group had been paying close attention, as the main source of income for the Mokadi faction was hijacking merchant ships, and the ships they hijacked were parked in the port.
Gao Yang and his team had surmised that Mokadi himself would choose to stay near the port, which is why they had made the area near the port their primary attack target.
The line that Vulture drew almost completely coincided with the line Gao Yang and his team had drawn earlier.
The territory controlled by the Mokadi Faction was relatively small compared to the entirety of Bosaso and was already very close to the building where Gao Yang was now located.
You could go straight down Highway One to make a direct assault, and the straight-line distance was less than two kilometers.
After nodding his head in satisfaction, Gao Yang said in a deep voice, “Draw out their force distribution and the distribution of heavy weapons, and write it all down.”
Vulture circled several intersections, then circled the buildings used by the Mokadi Faction as fortifications, noting approximately how many people and what equipment were there.
While drawing on one side, Vulture also said loudly, “I can only draw what I have observed and heard, so it can’t be completely accurate, but I believe the accuracy rate is over eighty percent.
The only thing is, I don’t know where the mercenary group that provides protection for Mokadi himself is.
I can’t point out their position.”
Looking at the detailed drawing by Vulture, Gao Yang couldn’t help but say, “It seems you’re very familiar with this place, as well as with its satellite imagery.
Knowing that the perspectives from above and being on the ground are different, it’s difficult to accurately pinpoint these locations on a satellite image without having checked the terrain against it.”
While Gao Yang was speaking very calmly and kindly, his attitude greatly reassured Vulture who then said with a relaxed smile, “Knowing I was coming to Bosaso, I definitely had to familiarize myself with the terrain here.
I’ve actually compared satellite pictures with the buildings here one by one.
After all, knowing the terrain could save your life just in case you get defeated, right?”
Gao Yang chuckled and said, “Not bad, that makes sense.
From what you’ve drawn, it seems that Mokadi’s defenses at the port aren’t very tight?”
Vulture nodded repeatedly and said, “Indeed, they’ve focused their main efforts on the land, especially in the direction we are now.
As for the sea, they only have some people guarding the hijacked merchant ships, and at the port, there are roughly less than a hundred people on guard.”
After speaking, Vulture marked a point on the map with his pen and said gravely, “And here, this place warrants our special attention.
I think it could be where they’re holding the hostages.
It’s quite far from where Mokadi himself lives, but the guard is very tight; there are over fifty people watching, and all access is strictly forbidden.
I once heard a guy mention he was being transferred there to stand guard, and he was delighted to say he’d get to eat the goods’ food, which he thought was a happy job.
Since the Mokadi Faction refers to the kidnapped hostages as ‘goods,’ I surmise this must be the place where they’re holding the hostages.”
Vulture was already using “we” in his talk, seemingly completely siding with Gao Yang and his group, which Gao found somewhat amusing.
But right now, he was more focused on the new information Vulture had provided.
“Does Mokadi still have the merchant ships and hostages he hijacked?”
Vulture nodded and said, “Yes, there are.
They’re docked at the port of Bosaso.
For him, that’s a lot of property.
He just received a ransom for one ship, and it was with this ransom that he hired us.
Moreover, he’s boasted to me that as long as the ransom is delivered, hiring ten more mercenary groups wouldn’t be a problem, and he could wipe out all the enemies threatening him without even touching his overseas bank savings.
In other words, this idiot hasn’t been willing to spend any of his savings and is just using the cash on hand to support his current war.”
Gao Yang couldn’t help but rub his chin and said gravely, “Do you know what kind of merchant ship it is and how large?
Can Bosaso’s port even accommodate a ten-thousand-ton giant ship?”
Vulture shook his head and said, “I don’t know.
He doesn’t let us go to the docks, but I think the ship can’t be too small.
After all, Bosaso used to count as a large port.
It’s not that large ships can’t come, just that none are willing.”
Gao Yang nodded repeatedly; he was very pleased with the information he now knew.
It seemed that Mokadi still had quite a lot of cash on hand, and if they could capture Mokadi alive, they might even be able to get more money from him.
Gao Yang knew that in the agreement he had made with Maide, they could forgo their mercenary fee, but they would split all the proceeds from the capture of Bosaso three-seven, with Gao’s group taking seventy percent and the Skull Gang thirty percent.
Although Gao Yang and his group were not attacking Bosaso just for the money, the prospect of obtaining a considerable sum was certainly great news.
Gao Yang immediately made up his mind.
The attack plan needed to change.
He now aimed not just to take Bosaso, but also to capture Mokadi, and moreover, a living Mokadi.
Capturing this man would mean a significant amount of money.
“Brothers, has anyone here seen what Mokadi looks like?”
Li Jinfang nodded and said, “Yes, Mokadi is a high-profile person; many people in Bosaso City have seen him, and so have some of our guys.”
Gao Yang slapped his hand and laughed, “Good, that’s settled then.
We have to find a way to capture Mokadi alive.
Now I see that being a pirate hunter can be a very lucrative job.” (To be continued.
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