Chapter 915 - 920 Temptation and Intimidation
"Deyo died, and I knew it as soon as he passed away. Then Nicholas called Barbosa that same day. At the time, I was with Barbosa."
Swallowing nervously, Mughal subconsciously touched his own neck and continued, "Nicholas said that since Deyo was dead, someone had to continue leading the group. He felt Barbosa was very suited for the role because the Middle East market was the best-performing one, and so he hoped Barbosa would take over Deyo’s mantle."
With a wave of his hand and a helpless look on his face, Mughal said, "But Barbosa, of course, knew this was just a clumsy probe by Nicholas. So he told him that if Nicholas was willing to let her continue managing the Middle East market and distribute profits at the same ratio as before, then he was ready to fully support Nicholas."
"Just like that?"
"Oh no, it was not just that, of course. Whoever took over Deyo’s place had to be responsible for supplying the goods, and Nicholas had the support of the Americans. He could get military equipment from them."
"And then?"
"Then Nicholas asked Barbosa to meet him in South America, a gesture of sincerity on Barbosa’s part. And indeed, Barbosa went. He returned from South America just yesterday. They struck a deal; the distribution ratio would remain unchanged. My share and Barbosa’s share would stay the same; although this means Barbosa will earn a bit less, he no longer has to personally deliver weapons to the clients. You understand, the Middle East is chaotic right now. Running around in a war zone is definitely dangerous, and Barbosa no longer needs to maintain the market himself."
Yang Yi nodded and said, "Very well, things seem straightforward. So what are you going to do next?"
Just as Mughal was about to reply, Yang Yi waved his hand and said, "Wait a minute, don’t bother telling me all this. That’s Jethro’s job, not mine. I can’t be doing Jethro’s work as well. Let’s talk about the matters that are my responsibility. How many of Barbosa’s men are in Baghdad? How many more do I need to kill to stabilize the situation?"