[Chapter 512: The Quirky Security Company]
Not to dwell on the complications in New York, when facing William White, who was impervious to both soft and hard approaches, the best way to show goodwill was through mutual interest.
"Sir, there's been increased activity from Gaddafi. It's not just in Africa; we've also seen their intelligence agents in London and Paris."
"Wow, so they're sensing something, huh? What's the situation in Africa now?"
"Chaotic. It's just chaos, nothing more."
"Forget it; directly running a diamond mine isn't worth it. Tell Max to see if the local tribes are willing to take over; we'll handle the acquisition."
"Alright, sir. The market isn't great lately, but there are still quite a few people interested in these minerals."
William White smiled wryly. He was a principled man and wasn't used to filling pits with human lives. Making money was fine, but getting too entangled with consequences wasn't appealing.
...
The malice of the U.S. was something Gaddafi could certainly feel. He wanted to figure out the facts behind it all. Regarding the Lockerbie disaster, he hadn't pressed for many answers -- some things were better left unknown.
At least he could be sure of one thing: it was not something he had personally ordered. He knew exactly what kind of operation the U.S. was running. If they could just grab the head of Panama, what was one more capture?
Look, excuses were ready-made; they were planning an attack on an American plane.
Gaddafi was certain that if the distance weren't too far, the Americans would have dealt with him already. The pressing matter was to first understand the Europeans' stance.
And then there was that damned security company; that also needed to be investigated thoroughly.
To him, the so-called world's richest man was merely a spoiled brat and not worth much attention.
Of course, after they easily stole his diamond mine, he thought it was very necessary to look into things. Clearly, someone was taking advantage of the chaos; they must have connections at a high level.
Fine, he chose to overlook the matter of his subordinates stirring up trouble. In his view, coming to Africa to make a fortune without even giving him a heads-up was already a considerable offense.
Gaddafi believed the current situation must be the CIA's doing. Even if that security company had some involvement, he believed it was only minimal support. The mastermind behind all this was, without a doubt, the CIA.
He believed that when everything came to light, the CIA's big cheese would definitely be in tears. Sure, carrying the blame wasn't impossible, but it didn't have to be so heavy-handed, either.
"What? Sold everything off? Bastards, what right do they have to sell?"
"Chief, we don't have the proper documentation for our diamond mine here."
Moussa Koussa was furious; he hadn't seen this coming. Weren't they once in a position to take what they wanted as well? They had never cared for documents or permits.
"What about that security company?"
"They all left; they seemed more like cleanup crew."
Moussa Koussa shot the man a look, thinking to himself, did I really need you to tell me? Isn't that obvious?
"Good grief, they've gone into turtle mode. This makes things a lot harder."
"Chief, these guys are something else. We heard they just equipped a whole squadron of Apaches."
"What? Did you say what I think you said?"
"Yep, our guys witnessed it; those aircraft have never been seen around here."
"Damn rich folk."
With this news, Moussa Koussa didn't want to poke the bear anymore. His men may not have known what Apache meant, but he certainly did. Having a dozen of those aircraft meant a massive presence.
If you didn't have fixed-wing planes, you were depending on the ground forces. Ha, a few thousand ground troops wouldn't cut it, even if you brought heavy weaponry -- you would still be no match for those folks.
"Yeah, Chief, I've never seen such cowardly mercenaries. But how do we handle things here? If we end up clashing with the locals, we could have a real mess on our hands."
"What? What battle capability do these yokels have? Just order them to back off."
Seeing his subordinates hesitate to speak, Moussa Koussa was infuriated.
"Spit it out already, will you?"
"That group left behind tons of weapons. Sure, they're mostly Soviet-style, but the firepower is still substantial."
"Cough, cough, are there a lot of these guns?"
The subordinate shook his head with a bitter smile. Despite having over two thousand people in one tribe, if they mobilized, it would indeed be quite troublesome. If they banded together, it could spell real trouble.
Again, the same reasoning applied; one simply couldn't make a significant move without hesitation. Aircraft couldn't cross into attacking, and ground troops were even less suitable.
In this world, only the U.S. and the Soviets could act without a care. Those two could invent any excuse, whether it was the disappearance of a soldier or even claiming a lost dog.
"From the looks of it, we can't do a thing, let's pull back. Having so many folk out here all the time isn't good."
"Understood, Chief."
Of course, on their way back, while it was relatively safe, they stepped on three landmines. This signified that their actions were already under the watchful eyes of someone. Or, this meant the CIA was quite displeased. I've been waiting on this; why aren't you making your move yet?
Moussa Koussa was furious, thinking these idiots were just pushing their luck. This had to be reported to the boss, and fast.
Upon hearing Moussa Koussa's account, Gaddafi was baffled. He couldn't understand why they were treating this like a child's game.
To him, why lay landmines? Since the lines were clear, just bury those thousand or so folks, and that would be that. Using such tactics to provoke the enemy was, without a doubt, the best choice.
"I said Moussa Koussa, given what happened the last time, shouldn't you be a bit more cautious?"
Moussa Koussa wanted to reply that it wasn't that they were incompetent, but rather that all the favorable conditions were against them.
"Mr. President, from what we understand, the Americans currently possess some formidable technology that allows them to observe the ground through satellites. I think every move we make is under their surveillance."
"Is it really that powerful?"
"Not entirely sure; that's just the rumor going around."
Gaddafi was skeptical but could only accept the situation for now. He knew that jumping into action recklessly would definitely give the Americans an opening.
When that happened, the Lockerbie incident could take a turn. Even if it wasn't his directive, the blame would still fall on him.
To him, he had the capability to protect himself and didn't need to compromise. If it weren't for the Americans hassling him, he would be the one calling the shots in Africa.
*****
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