519: Chapter 515: Find a Scapegoat and Negotiate 519: Chapter 515: Find a Scapegoat and Negotiate Gao Yang, of course, couldn’t actually run up to Ivan and allow him to leave a will.
Moreover, there was no need for that.
Following Andy He’s examination, Ivan’s awakening was good news, not merely a flicker of vitality before death.
The main reason, however, was that Ivan had fallen back into a coma while Gao Yang was still on his way to the temporary camp, so Gao Yang had no chance to allow Ivan to leave a will to serve his purpose as a mascot.
Although Ivan was not very coherent during the brief time he was awake, he had, after all, come around.
When Gao Yang finally arrived at the temporary camp, he discovered that the atmosphere there had improved significantly, especially among the Russians under Ivan, who were all exuberantly cheerful.
The camp was still under construction.
At present, only a large special tent for the field hospital was set up, and all the wounded were brought into the tent, while other facilities were still being built.
Upon seeing Gao Yang, Samuel approached him and, after a firm bear hug, said with a relieved face, “Ivan woke up, his condition is improving, and our efforts have been woefully rewarded.”
Gao Yang nodded and said, “I already knew that, how is Ivan now, and did he say anything after he woke up?”
Samuel, with a look of sorrow, said, “Ivan was awake for only a few minutes and his consciousness wasn’t clear.
He didn’t say much, just asked about Antonov.”
“How did you respond to him?
Did you tell him Antonov is dead?”
Samuel shook his head and said, “No, Brejinsky told him Antonov was injured and still undergoing treatment.
Actually, I suspect Ivan didn’t quite understand; he seemed rather out of it.”
Gao Yang exhaled deeply and said, “Whether he was truly coherent or not, let’s not tell him Antonov is dead for now.
We should keep it from him until his condition stabilizes.”
Samuel sighed deeply and said, “Antonov was Ivan’s shield; he’d been with Ivan for nine years, from when Ivan was just a young kid making his debut.
Antonov had been by his side through many ordeals in South America.
Who could have expected Antonov would die at the hands of some gangsters?
It’s just, it’s just, sigh, I don’t even know how to start telling Ivan about this.”
A good bodyguard is not judged by how many enemies he can kill but by whether he can protect his charge.
From this perspective, Antonov did extraordinarily well, sacrificing his own life to give Ivan a chance to live.
This man, truly worthy of being Ivan’s shield.
Gao Yang couldn’t help but lower his voice and said, “How was Antonov’s body handled?”
When Samuel and others went to rescue the jewelry store, they did not forget to bring Antonov’s body—at no point, no matter how dire the situation, did they leave Antonov’s body behind.
Once they reached the drug traffickers’ camp, Gao Yang became unaware of how Samuel and the others had dealt with Antonov’s body.
Samuel, with a somber look, said, “We couldn’t keep carrying Antonov’s body, so we buried him and marked the grave.
When we get a chance in the future, we’ll excavate his body and transport it back home for burial.
It’s all we can do now.”
Gao Yang nodded and said, “That’s all we can do, and we should.
Alright, you go take care of your duties, and I’ll go check on Ivan, then we can discuss how to arrange guard duties.
We need to formulate a long-term plan to ensure the safety of the temporary camp.”
Samuel shook his head and said, “No need to discuss, you decide.
Before we leave, we’ll follow your orders as usual.
Just assign us our tasks; no need to be polite.”
After parting with Samuel, Gao Yang strolled into the medical tent.
Currently, all the wounded were housed in one tent, but another large tent had not yet been set up.
Once both tents were ready, the wounded could be segregated accordingly.
Ivan had lapsed back into unconsciousness while the other wounded were awake at this point.
Upon seeing Gao Yang enter the tent, a few of the injured lying on simple canvas field beds waved their hands at him by way of greeting.
Andy He and Bruce were sitting by the entrance of the tent.
After nodding to the people inside, Gao Yang whispered to the two, “How is everyone doing?
Besides Ivan, how are the others?”
Andy He smiled slightly and whispered, “If nothing major goes wrong, Ivan could be declared out of danger now.”
Bruce whispered, “The others are also doing alright.
From what we see, their wounds are healing reasonably well.
We have the necessary medication, and medical supplies are plentiful.
Even though it’s in the wilderness, the wounded can still receive the best care.”
“Very good, very good, I’ll go and share this good news with others.”
Bruce nodded and then pointed to an empty camp bed in the corner of the tent, saying, “Go ahead with your business, and then come back quickly for a bandage change, that bed is reserved for you.”
The tent needed to be kept quiet.
After Gao Yang left the tent, he called Uriyangko.
Once Uriyangko picked up, Gao Yang cheerfully said, “I’ve got good news to tell you, Ivan has woken up.
The doctor says his condition is good, and unless something unexpected happens, his life is saved.
Now you can spread this good news to Grand Ivan and give him some peace of mind.”
Uriyangko sighed lightly and said, “Thank God, Grand Ivan will definitely be thrilled.
I just finished talking to him; he’s extremely worried about Ivan.
Actually, I was about to call you.
The situation might see some changes, I’m just giving you a heads-up now.
I don’t know if it will work out, but I thought it best to inform you.”
Gao Yang felt a bit tense and said, “Please don’t tell me any bad news, I’m telling you I can’t take much more of a shock right now.”
Uriyangko chuckled a few times and then said, “It’s not bad news, well, Grand Ivan and I have made some changes to our strategy.
We now believe that hard fighting against the Colombian Government isn’t a good option.
Even if we gather more forces, we can’t outmatch the government forces.
So, Grand Ivan is considering trying to negotiate with the Colombian Government to end this increasingly large and impactful mess in another way.”
Gao Yang breathed a sigh of relief and asked, “What are you planning to do?”
“Here’s the plan: Grand Ivan lacks direct contact with the Colombian Government, so he plans to let the FAEC represent us in the negotiations.
First, the FAEC will take all the blame for what we’ve done, as they don’t care about adding a bit more to their charges.
Then, the FAEC will propose a ceasefire, government forces to withdraw, and we leave.
Simple as that.
However, the negotiation might take some time and we also need to give the government a dignified way out.”
Gao Yang thought Uriyangko had a good way to cut the Gordian knot, and said, “If that’s the case, then that’s great.
But is it feasible?
With everything that’s been stirred up, can Colombia back down?”
“Given the history between the Colombian Government and the FAEC, even more severe issues have been resolved through negotiations in the past.
I think it’s possible this time too, so there’s a strong likelihood this solution will work out.
It’s just a matter of time.
Of course, if this doesn’t work, we have a backup plan.
Grand Ivan has already organized a team of two hundred elite members.
If the negotiations fail, we will forcibly extract you all.
If needed, it won’t take more than twelve hours to deploy these personnel.”
Uriyangko was discussing matters that were beyond Gao Yang’s reach, so Gao Yang didn’t ask further.
After thinking if there was anything else to ask, he said seriously, “I’m curious about something, may I ask you a question?
The FAEC is willing to issue an official statement taking all the blame for the atrocities here.
I just want to know what Grand Ivan offered them that the FAEC would willingly jump out to be the scapegoat?”
“Hmm, five thousand AK rifles, one million bullets, and the cargo needs to be delivered directly into the hands of the FAEC in exchange for them making an official statement and threats.”
Five thousand rifles and one million bullets—a cost that actually wasn’t too high for Grand Ivan, but if these rifles have to be physically delivered to the FAEC, that complicates things.
Gao Yang clicked his tongue in amazement and said, “Grand Ivan really makes big moves.
So, what costs is he willing to pay for the FAEC to negotiate and settle this matter peacefully?”
Uriyangko laughed and said, “I don’t know about that.
Grand Ivan is working on it himself.
I guess the price won’t be small.”
After briefly satisfying his curiosity, Gao Yang thought there wasn’t much else to say and said, “Alright, is there anything else?
If not, I’ll end the call.
I still have a lot to attend to.”
“Nothing major.
The negotiations with the FAEC will take time, so you’ll need to hold on a bit longer.
Also, if we need your cooperation, I’ll let you know.
Goodbye.”
Gao Yang had a lot to deal with.
After ending the call with Uriyangko, he immediately picked up the walkie-talkie and said, “Big Dog, Hammer, and Barrel, come here for a moment.”
The three people Gao Yang called arrived quickly.
Once they were all present, Gao Yang directly said, “We need to set up a long-term security mechanism.
I’m not familiar with the terrain here yet; let’s check out the terrain together and then make arrangements for our defense.”
Although it was a temporary camp, the amount of work required was by no means small.
Gao Yang walked around the perimeter of the camp, sketching a simple map of the surrounding terrain along the way—determining suitable spots for snipers, where to establish observation posts, where to position machine gun posts, and where to install the directional mines.
He carefully examined the entire area, and after a thorough inspection, a three-dimensional defensive position had formed in Gao Yang’s mind.
(To be continued.
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