Chapter 2478: Chapter 2454: Sell It Back
"Of course I know."
"This kind of simple question doesn’t even need to be asked."
Both Vasily and Yake gave affirmative answers, but after they spoke, Vasily scoffed and said, "I definitely know how to safely and securely collect ransom, but I think you’ve got the wrong counterpart in this deal."
Yake shrugged and said, "That’s right, Boss. You’ve got the wrong counterpart. How much money can you squeeze out of Fahad himself? If you want to extort ransom, the target should naturally be Saudi Arabia as a country. You said that if Saudi doesn’t pay, you’d parade the prince in Yemen. I thought you understood the counterpart in this deal."
Gao Yang chuckled awkwardly and said, "Even if we want to extort some money from Saudi Arabia, it doesn’t hurt to make Fahad cough up his own money for survival."
Vasily sighed and said, "That’s why you’re not professional. This kind of extremely lucrative kidnapping business—you think it’s the same as those ordinary kidnappings worth only several million dollars? Hundreds of millions of dollars—without dozens or hundreds of transfers and laundering, would you dare to take that money? Would you dare to accept it?"
Yake wagged his finger and said, "Boss, we need to introduce third-party transactions. With third-party transactions, you can’t sell one thing twice. That means your idea of getting money from Fahad himself and then more from Saudi is unrealistic. The third party involved in the transaction won’t agree to such a thing happening."
Gao Yang whispered, "Who is the third party?"
Yake shrugged and said, "Anyone who’s credible, reputable, and willing to handle the transaction for us. As far as I know, Grand Ivan is a decent third party. Saudi gives the money to Grand Ivan, we release the person, Grand Ivan confirms the release and then hands over the money to us. It’s that simple. The third party can be proposed by us or by Saudi, as long as both parties recognize it. It’s even possible to let the U.S. Government act as the third-party guarantor. America has done a lot of these things."
Gao Yang whistled and said, "Then, shall we contact the Saudi government?"
"Wait."
Vasily sighed and said, "How do you plan to handle the helicopters?"
Gao Yang’s mood suddenly turned sour.
Two Longbow Apaches and one Black Hawk—these are good helicopters. Especially the Apache, the most advanced combat helicopter in the world. If only they could be kept for personal use.
But unfortunately, they can’t. Not to mention the risks of keeping them, without mechanical spare parts alone, Satan can’t possibly use them personally.
After a painful sigh, Gao Yang said helplessly, "Apache, sell it. After all, it can’t be given to the Houthis Armed Forces. It would be a waste."
Yake smiled and said, "An Apache—U.S. Army procurement price is about 20 million USD, and for export, at least 50 million USD, for example, Saudi’s procurement price is roughly 75 million USD, which includes the price of spare parts."
Gao Yang waved his hand and said, "Who would dare take these? To sell them, naturally, they’d be sold back to Saudi. Charging them 50 million for one isn’t too much, is it?"
Yake gave a thumbs-up and smiled, "Wise choice."
After thinking for a moment, Gao Yang suddenly said, "I have another option. Wait for me."
Gao Yang ran off hurriedly, took out a satellite phone, turned it on, and called someone he knew well.
"Hey, big brother, it’s Ram."
"Hello? Are you asking about the domestic situation? Don’t worry, the top is paying great attention to this matter, so it won’t take much longer. Now, just the last hurdle needs to be cleared for everything to be okay. However, it might still take a little time, as you understand. There are many things that require absolute confidentiality, and handling them one layer at a time takes time. It’s really not deliberately holding you back. You know the domestic situation, right?"
Gao Yang whispered, "This matter is the most important, so the sooner, the better. But now I’m looking for you for another reason. Big brother, here’s a chance for you to perform a major deed. Do you want two Longbow Apaches? Brand new, complete with fire control systems. There’s not much left of the weapons, but that shouldn’t matter. There are seven or eight flight helmets, all for you. How about it, do you want them?"
"Have you changed careers to arms dealing? Yeah, of course I want them!"
Gao Yang perked up and said, "All right, one billion dollars each. Giving you a discount, no markup."
"Money? Then forget it, I don’t want them."
Gao Yang became anxious and said softly, "You’re kidding, right? These are Longbow Apaches, you don’t want them? Even if not for reverse engineering, studying them would be good. You don’t want them?"
"Too expensive. If free, I’d want them, but if it costs money, I don’t."
Gao Yang angrily said, "Geez, you’re dreaming? I have a team here waiting to be fed. Giving them to you for cheap is one thing, wishing for them for free—that’s too much!"
"Well, how should I say it? Spending money, I really don’t want them. It’s not that I don’t want, but there’s no need to report it upwards and connect this line for you. How to put it, Apache has been around for decades. If we haven’t mastered it by now, we’d be too incompetent. Reverse engineering requires an industrial system, not just one or two samples. So for Ukraine, clearing whole systems is meaningful, but one or two samples aren’t. Do you understand?"
Gao Yang exhaled and said, "Fine, consider me meddlesome. But I have to ask, wouldn’t it be better to bring them back and study them thoroughly? Wouldn’t that be good?"
"No need. Saying more would be against discipline. Generally, we don’t need it."
"Fine, never mind. Consider me meddlesome."
"How can this be meddlesome? Thank you for keeping good things in mind for the country and for someone like me. I’ll report this matter, but you don’t need to wait for a response. I know what the outcome will be. Anyway, I have to thank you for your thoughtfulness. By the way, do you need me to remind you who it’s best to sell these to?"
Gao Yang asked in surprise, "Sell to whom?"
"Saudi Arabia, sell them back to them. This is just between us. The Saudis have money and care for their image. They’ll surely be delighted to buy back the aircraft. But don’t sell them cheap, at least an amount over a billion apiece. But things must be done properly, don’t make trouble after pocketing the money—that’ll offend them greatly."
Gao Yang exclaimed, astonished, "How do you know it’s Saudi?"
"Heh, there are only a few countries with Longbow Apaches. The ones currently using them are only the Saudis. Using Apaches and getting them seized by you—that’s definitely only Saudis. The UAE didn’t deploy Apaches. There’s no need to guess. Rest assured, it’s my personal judgment, and surely no one is watching you."
After chatting for a bit, Gao Yang returned embarrassedly to Yake and said, "Let’s sell them to Saudi Arabia. How do we contact them?"
Yake scratched his head and said, "We definitely can’t contact them ourselves, too risky. You should ask Grand Ivan and see if he’s willing to act as the intermediary. That’s the quickest way."
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