Chapter 324: Lt. Colonel Umar Farouq [4]
Leon exhaled. "So what is your price?"
He winced slightly. "I hope I won’t have to cut off a limb to pay it".
’I’m still millions of Neo Credits in debt!’ He added in his head.
Lt. Colonel Umar Farouq looked at him and smirked. "You said you’re such a big shot that even Ren Nora knows of your might right? If so, then you don’t have to worry about the payment".
That only made Leon even more hesitant. ’I only mentioned Ren Nora to sound legit and give myself some credibility, c’mon man!’
He chuckled. "Stop with the suspense and just spill it".
The veteran mercenary walked towards one of the wooden chairs and sat down, then he looked at them. "Yes, I’ve been hunting Bill Zefyr for a long time and I also hate Garfield for always disturbing me, that bastard!" He cursed. "But that is not why I refused to meet you".
"The true reason why I refused to meet you is because I’ve been stalking another target of mine in recent weeks".
His eyes gleamed as he looked at Leon. "If what you said is right, then you’re likely that Thomas Riley who gained fame in Leviathan Quay right?"
Leon smiled. "It seems you’re not living in a cave afterall".
The Lt. Colonel snorted. "If that’s really you, then you’ve dealt with the terrorists and know how they move. You know how extreme and unhinged they can be in the realization of their stupid faith and mandate".
"Recently, there’ve been an upsurge in terrorist activities in the West".
His face turned serious. "In the past week alone, 3 Towns have been hit. And though the casualties were not much, dozens were still killed".
"Doing so in territories with such close proximity to the ’Glitch’ is not normal for the Extremists, this is why I suspected that a catalyst must have come into play to push them into becoming so radical in a short time".
"I made inquiries and through my channels, I got clues that a high-profile terrorist leader infiltrated the West about 3 weeks ago".
He looked at Leon. "Have you heard of Dhruv Laden?"
Leon shook his head and Umar explained. "He’s a high-profile terrorist leader of the Extremist Movement, one of the founding leaders actually".
"He’s been famous for high-profile bombings and killings in the past, he’s participated in the assassination of a D Rank Ascended, and he’s even rumored to be part of the main instigators behind the nuclear bombing of the Synth Order’s Maytube maritime fortress in the North".
Leon’s eyes constricted slightly. "A nuclear bomb?"
"Yes". Umar nodded seriously. "He has a bounty of 270 million Neo Credits".
"..." Leon’s eyebrows twitched as he immediately sat straighter.
Umar continued. "So when I heard that he’s here, I left every one of my other projects and dedicated all of my resources and channels towards learning and knowing more about the situation among the terrorists in the West".
He tapped his index fingers against each other. "I’ve found which hideout he’s hiding in, and from what I know, he’s planning something big".
"I feel like the upsurge in the string of terrorist activities is a deliberate ploy by him to distract us from what he’s actually plotting".
"I intend to stop it before whatever he’s planning explodes, and if possible kill him".
His eyes gleamed as he looked at Leon. "If you want my help, then this is the price that you have to pay. Help me stop Dhruv and if possible kill him, and I’ll help you kill your target in the Omnicore Federation and even Bill Zefyr if you want and if you’re capable of that".
Leon’s face was now serious as he stared at the veteran mercenary. "If such a dangerous terrorist came to the West, why didn’t you inform the Freegrid Collective? Don’t you think it’s irresponsible to horde such information?"
"They should know already," Umar replied in a calm manner. "And also, I deal only with Garfield and there’s a reason for it".
"If he told you my story, you should know that I don’t trust established military organizations that much. I share my intel and resources with only those I trust, and I trust no faction or organization".
"I don’t know how compromised the Freegrid Army is. I don’t know how many spies and traitors are inside, I wouldn’t want to jeopardize my mission just because I want swift help".
"My style is slow and thorough," his eyes gleamed as he stared at Leon. "And if you can’t do that, then we can’t work together".
Leon nodded slowly. "I understand what you mean, and I respect it".
"So?" The Lt. Colonel stared at him.
Leon slightly turned his head and looked at Talia and Daren, then he shrugged and gave his answer. "Well, that’s a price that I’m capable of paying and I’m willing to pay".
"When will this operation commence?"
"Now".
Leon froze. "Now?"
Lt. Colonel Umar Farouq nodded. "I’ve been gathering information for a while with both my resources and my abilities, but the reason why my progress has been so slow is because of the limitations of my Class and my intelligence sources".
"But I’m patient".
"I’m not a fan of working with people but when Garfield told me about you, I already did my research on you".
"I know that you’re clean, I also know that you’re not with the Synth Order".
"You’re someone that I’m willing to work with and with your abilities as a Mechanist, information-gathering should become exponentially faster".
"Afterall, you found my hideout so easily, right?"
Leon finally smiled. "Well, you do have a point there".
He clapped with a grin, clearly excited. "But before I start, please," his eyes pleaded. "Can you tell me more about the Bioforger Gene Augur Class Specialization?"
Lt. Colonel Umar Farouq looked at him flatly and answered.
"No".
...
When it comes to gathering information about hidden places and spying on people, there are very few vessels in the world as efficient as the Zerphyr-7 Stealth Reconnaissance UAV.
And once again, Leon proved the information superiority of his Class.