Chapter 208 - 196 Good Question
The process was lengthy, the path tortuous, and the situation perilous.
The CIA had gone mad, but they were angry mad, not kill-crazy just yet.
They wanted to go on a killing spree, but they couldn’t find their targets.
The National Intelligence Bureau’s offensive capabilities were weak, yet they were more than sufficient in self-preservation, the reason being that although the National Intelligence Bureau was nearly on par with CIA’s subordinate units, happily passing intelligence to their Suzerain without charge, when it came to protecting Prince Shaman’s personal safety, their reliability immediately shot up.
Take Abdulla for example, although not the most capable, he was loyal because his entire fortune and life were tied to Prince Shaman, as well as the Guard directly responsible for Shaman’s protection, a mere two hundred or so in number. But these two hundred were carefully handpicked by Shaman, ensuring absolute loyalty, ensuring that if something were to happen to Shaman, these men would be doomed as well.
Thus, the National Intelligence Bureau could largely be divided into two categories: the majority, limited in ability but reasonably loyal, and a minority, limited in ability and completely disloyal, as well as another minority that, despite limited abilities, had exceptionally high loyalty.
The National Intelligence Bureau boasted more than ten thousand members, a sizable force.
Working with ten thousand as the figure, those responsible for Prince Shaman’s safety, who were Shaman’s confidants and their subordinates, amounted to roughly two hundred. That was Shaman’s core support.
Then there were about a thousand or so willing to sell intelligence to the CIA, mainly trained by the CIA and now holding mid and lower leadership positions. While they would leak intelligence, they would probably not dare assassinate Shaman. Yet, these were the very people who turned the National Intelligence Bureau into a sieve.
The rest were just lackluster time-servers, chaff in the wind. If Shaman could firmly control the bureau, they would be valuable core assets; if Shaman could not, they would remain a useless majority.