899: Chapter 889: Vacation Resort 899: Chapter 889: Vacation Resort Staying in a very dangerous place for a long time, people inevitably start to care about certain things, or to put it bluntly, they become superstitious.
In a high-risk place like the battlefield, having some superstitions is nothing out of the ordinary.
There are many rules on the battlefield, like not lighting a third cigarette with the same match, or aircrew members not taking photos before a flight — they must wait until they’ve safely landed.
Every country and place has its own set of these superstitions, too numerous to count.
In Baghdad, undoubtedly a major battlefield, it’s not surprising that within the PMC circle, which orders high-risk jobs, some superstitious beliefs have circulated due to the regularity of death in the region.
After passing through two checkpoints and undergoing two rigorous inspections, the convoy finally entered the Green Zone.
The Green Zone is the safest place in all of Iraq, but it’s not a single building; it’s a term for a large area that includes government institutions like the US Embassy and the Iraqi National Parliament, as well as residential areas for American personnel in Iraq, and hotels that now mainly serve foreign reporters.
As for ordinary foreigners, unless they’re dreaming of making a fortune on the ruins of Iraq or have business or urgent matters in the country, no one in their right mind would come to Iraq just for the sake of it.
The lodging for Gao Yang and his group within the Green Zone used to be the vacation spot for the U.S.
Army in Iraq.
After spending a long time at various locations in Iraq, if they had the opportunity to take a break and couldn’t return home or stay in their military base, they would relax in the at-least-not-always-combat-ready Baghdad Green Zone.
Before the U.S.
Army withdrew, many tasks were outsourced to PMCs, and after the withdrawal, the large vacant spaces left behind became available to the PMCs which essentially took over combat operations from the U.S.
Army.
It’s known that the U.S.
Army withdrew, but armed forces needed to step in to assume some of the duties, such as protecting the personnel at the US Consulate, providing security for American businesses in Iraq, and offering training to the Government Forces.
Now, it’s mostly PMCs doing these jobs, so American PMCs in Iraq are still valued and hold a high status.
Although PMCs are in Iraq to make money, the U.S.
Army fears losing soldiers in combat but not so much for PMCs.
Whether legal or the ones committing murder and arson in secret, the death of PMCs doesn’t require anyone to be held accountable, so it’s important to treat PMCs well.
Thus, those residing within the Green Zone lead quite a luxurious life.
In a place like Baghdad where water is scarce, the employees from dozens of American private military contractors could still indulge in swimming pools.
In Baghdad, where alcohol is banned, those mercenaries who can’t live without a drink also find plenty of alcohol, and even brothels exist.
The PMCs in Baghdad certainly can’t just stay in the Green Zone, that would be pointless.
To most PMCs, the Green Zone is simply a transit point.
Another key aspect is that they, like the American soldiers, come to the Green Zone to unwind and ease their taut nerves, before heading off to various locations in Iraq to carry out highly tense missions.
No one knows exactly how many PMCs serving America there are in Iraq, but there are certainly several thousands, and those rotating into the Green Zone for relaxation, waiting for flights out or just arriving from abroad, all inevitably spend varying lengths of time in the zone.
This means the Green Zone is quite populated, so much so that when Gao Yang first entered the PMC hub, he thought he had arrived at a resort destination rather than Baghdad.
Baghdad is filled with dust, and the car sped past a group of people barbecuing under the scorching sun.
Although they were far away, the passing car stirred up dust and dirtied their barbecue, leading to a slew of curses.
Looking at the bikini-clad beauties by the pool, Eileen couldn’t help but widen her eyes and exclaim, “Wow, so many beauties!”
Fellini made a gesture and said, “They’re very expensive, oh, you don’t need…
well, maybe you do.
If you’re interested, just talk directly about the price.”
Eileen spat and gave Fellini the middle finger, to which he responded with a carefree laugh.
The car stopped outside a collection of temporary buildings, those that resembled prefabricated houses, but even these were surely better than tents, especially since the houses had air conditioning.
After stopping, Fellini pointed to two rather large prefabricated houses and said, “They’re yours to use, no rent required, but take good care of your stuff.
There aren’t many honest men around here; it wouldn’t be surprising if you lost something.”
“Look over there, see that red building?
That’s the restaurant.
They have all kinds of cuisines, but I recommend you stick to Iraqi food.
Here you’ll get the best and most authentic Iraqi flavors.
As for other cuisines, forget about it—they’re overpriced and that’s about it.”
“Look there, you see?
The red-roofed one is Russian, the blue-roofed one is American, the one with the black painted door is Iraqi, yes, all arm dealers.
Their main businesses aren’t here; they reside here merely for safety.
Just pick any arm dealer you like to buy from.
It’s all the same—prices, goods, even their damn service are the same.
F**k, I even suspect they all have the same boss.”
After saying that, Fellini shrugged his shoulders and said, “If you don’t like it here, you can also go to the Sheraton Hotel.
That’s where the rich and officials stay, but the downside is that the Sheraton is also the place the Iraqis most want to blow up.
Alright, I’ve given you the rundown, any more questions?”
Gao Yang spread his hands and said, “Buddy, the mission, how are we going to handle our mission?”
Fellini also spread his hands and said, “The mission, right now your mission is to wait here.
If you have any ideas, you can contact Mr.
Tomler directly, but I suggest you don’t do that.
In any case, when he asks for action, you then take action, why bother with anything else?”
At this moment, Eileen pointed at the people scattered over the large plaza in the middle of the residential area and asked with curiosity, “How many people are here?”
Fellini glanced outside and said, “Must be over a thousand people, who knows?
There’ll be more people at night.
F**k, three years ago, there wasn’t even space to set foot here.
The swimming pool was like a can of sardines.
Those women could earn ten thousand US dollars a day, f**k, way more than we ever made.”
After finishing, Fellini tilted his head and said, “Alright, I’ve told you everything you need to know, now get out of the car.
Don’t be like a curious baby.
Life here is very simple, you’ll get familiar with it and tired of it soon enough.
Oh, of course, you can also stay in the car, as long as you’re willing to buy it.”
Gao Yang laughed and said, “If it’s convenient to ship to America, I really wouldn’t mind buying it, but God knows whether we’ll come back to Baghdad or not.”
Fellini’s eyes lit up as he said, “I can help with that.
Shipping the car back is no problem.
Just get the car to Kuwait, and then it’s simple to send to America.
Of course, you have to pay for the shipping, and the shipping cost isn’t less than the price of the car.”
Gao Yang laughed and said, “Alright, give me a number, if I decide to buy, I’ll give you the money, and you deliver it to the specified location.
Okay, buddy, we’ll talk about this later.”
Gao Yang and Eileen got out of the car, followed by Satan’s crew, all disembarking one after another.
Soon after, Fellini led his convoy away in a cloud of dust.
After the dozen or so of them gathered together, everyone looked around, and Gao Yang said with a wry smile, “Why, why do I have the feeling that this feels more like a vacation than a mission?”
Andy He stared at the beauties by the pool and, inserting two fingers in his mouth, let out a loud whistle, then laughed and said, “This is not an illusion.
Right now, it looks like we are on vacation.”
Cui Bo laughed and said, “I learned a lot listening to those two guys spouting off in the car.
I mean, the PMCs here seem to have it too easy.”
Tommy spread his hands helplessly and said, “Why do I hear that here, if you have money, you can have a somewhat normal life, but if you don’t have money, it’s better to leave the Green Zone as soon as possible.
Here, money doesn’t seem like money at all, because everything is frighteningly expensive.”
Gao Yang shook his head and said, “We probably won’t stay long.
Maybe we’ll get a call in a bit.
Let’s go, first buy guns, then a car, get everything we need for the mission, and then go eat.”
At this time, Rafael suddenly said, “Anyone want to buy a Humvee?”
Eileen laughed and asked, “What, did someone try to sell you a Humvee too?”
Rafael shrugged and said, “Yeah, twenty thousand US dollars each, however many you want, that’s how many they have!
Those vehicles we were in belong to someone called Fellini.
Fellini bought over forty Humvees for three to five thousand US dollars each, and now he’s got less than ten left to sell.”
Gao Yang laughed and said, “Twenty thousand for a military-grade armored Humvee, that’s cheap, almost like giving them away, but how do you plan to take them away?”
Rafael laughed and said, “Fellini is in the business of selling cars, so naturally, there’s someone among these people in charge of transporting them.”
Cui Bo took a deep breath and said, “A supply chain, I like it.
But I’m curious where they got these vehicles from.”
Rafael said, “According to our driver, Fellini bought them from the Iraqi army.
There was a convoy that took the money and immediately ditched their uniforms, grabbed their guns, and turned into deserters.
Fellini even once bought a face-half-covered Humvee for two hundred dollars.
If it weren’t for the fact that it’s hard to sell off armored vehicles and tanks, which are the domain of arms dealers, Fellini would dare to buy tanks as well.”
Gao Yang nodded and said, “No wonder, but doesn’t anyone care?”
“Care, but they can’t do anything!” (To be continued.
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