The Imperial Hunter

“Meanwhile, how about the buyers in this area?”

I list potential customers one by one, folding my five fingers one by one.

“The Guangdong Triad, who thrive as Communist Party followers; the Yakuza who play within Japan, killing each other; the Moro Liberation Front, playing tug of war with the Philippine government; Myanmar, struggling with human rights issues over arms imports; various rebel groups fighting Myanmar and the forces supporting them…”

There were actually more, but they were not important here. There was no need to disclose all my business partners one by one. I lowered my fist and asked a question.

“Lieutenant, do you see any commonalities among these people?”

“…It’s not a priority for our government.”

“More precisely, their priority is lower.”

With the United States’ power no longer what it used to be, there were more problematic issues to manage. Above all, there was China, North Korea, and Russia in Northeast Asia. These three were like black holes that suck up the U.S. intelligence budget. It was a matter of where to spend the limited money first.

My throat was dry from talking for so long. When I picked up the empty cup, Suyeon brought me the teapot and poured me a cup. After drinking the warm tea-like water, I continued my unfinished words.

“Let’s humbly admit it. We can’t surpass the real explosives experts playing with oil money in a gunpowder warehouse, nor can we attract as much attention from the U.S. and the world as they do. As long as we strictly adhere to the line we need to protect, we won’t have any trouble.”

That line was not acting like amateurs. It meant not storing products just about anywhere, not selling to just anyone, and not exchanging money recklessly. Although these were the basics of smuggling, the investment and management costs were so high that amateurs couldn’t even think about it. Or, even if they could, they didn’t do it.

In any field, problems often arise from not adhering to basic principles. If we stuck to the principles, we’d be comfortable, and so would the intelligence agencies. I decided to give him a warning just in case.

“You should also strictly adhere to the line. Even if I promise unlimited purchases, if you get greedy recklessly, that’s when you’ll attract the intense interest of the mainland.”

Releasing a large quantity of goods in a short period of time, or touching risky items that shouldn’t be touched. Even if I refused to accept them, there might be parts I hadn’t examined, so I want to remind them.

Also, it was a way to shift the focus of the current risks, which were tailored to me, onto the other party.

As expected, Walker interrupted with frustration.

“Heh, don’t you trust us? We’re very cautious, and our supply capability is much greater than what Chief thinks. Until now, there simply hasn’t been a partner who can digest that quantity. If our headquarters decides to start pushing out goods, you’ll regret your ‘unlimited’ promise.”

“I hope it really turns out that way.”

“Your confidence is excessive.”

“Well… If you can come up with $1 billion by the end of next year, then I’ll consider myself defeated.”

“$1 billion?”

The shocked Walker repeated the same words as if he had malfunctioned for a moment.

“…$1 billion? $1 billion, did you say?”

“I did. I said it’s unlimited.”

“Oh.”

The second “Oh” in a moment had a different meaning.

“With that money, you could even buy a destroyer.”

I shrugged as if to agree.

“Well, compared to Pepsi’s heyday, it’s nothing.”

“What are you talking about? Hahaha!”

Walker bursts into laughter. It was somewhat unexpected that he understood my joke right away.

In 1989, in exchange for supplying the Soviet Union with about $3 billion worth of cola, Pepsi received a fleet consisting of seventeen traditional submarines, one frigate, one destroyer, and one cruiser. Even if we add up all the achievements of Cali Cartel, which was notorious for arms smuggling during the Soviet dissolution era, it would not surpass this single contract that Pepsi signed in terms of scale.

“Okay.”

Finally, Walker’s resistance collapsed. Money was money, and the quick surrender was inevitable.

“I lost. $1 billion, that’s too much. I can’t afford it. It’s such an unrealistic amount that it doesn’t feel real… It’s such a big deal that it’s difficult to give you a definite answer right here, but I’ll try to get you a positive response within a week.”

“I’ll look forward to it.”

“But by the way.”

“What is it?”

Walker, who had been hesitating strangely, asked me.

“Chief. Before the deal, could you possibly get us some cocaine?”

…Look at this guy.

“You guys do drugs?”

If that’s the case, it was worth reconsidering this deal. Those addicted to narcotics were reckless idiots who didn’t know restraint in everything, and they would eventually get into trouble one way or another. Once they touched narcotics, they had no future, and it was as foolish to discuss long-term plans with someone who had no future.

My gaze was cold, and Walker quickly waved his hand.

“Please don’t misunderstand. We’ll keep our end of the deal, I promise. We just want to take out insurance because we have an inflexible friend.”

“Is it part of risk management?”

“Yes.”

It was difficult to be sure, but based on his physiological signs, it didn’t seem like a lie. However, there were still doubts.

“If you catch someone using narcotics as a weakness, wouldn’t it be burdensome when you actually use it?”

“We’ll show the evidence not to the military police but to our wives and children. It’s a safe way.”

“I see.”

I, who was lost in thought, asked in reverse.

“If one person needs to take it about three or four times, is that enough?”

Upon hearing this, Walker looked somewhat embarrassed.

“How would you feed just one person that? We’ll have to lure the guys who’ve been dealing with drugs back on the mainland to work as winds catchers, so please prepare generously if possible. For the winds catchers, the drug itself will be an incentive.”

“Alright. But it doesn’t necessarily have to be cocaine, so I’ll get you morphine. It should be enough as a weakness to ruin a career if it’s about abusing unapproved opioid preparations.”

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