Chapter 205: Chapter 205: A Plan for Debeers
William, lying on a small slope, took out a Black Edge drone from his storage space. After activating it, he tossed it into the sky. As his helmet synced with the video feed, he heard Barney's shout: "Damn it, Gunner! Are you here yet? If you don't come soon, just collect our bodies."
"Reload, hurry up and reload," came Caesar's anxious voice in his earpiece.
"Just one more minute, hold on, guys. We're one minute away," Gunar's voice echoed in the channel, also full of urgency. "Thor, lower your altitude; I need a shooting angle. Dive down, quickly."
Watching the Black Edge drone he had thrown out, William said, "Gunner, follow my line of sight for the attack. The Black Edge will provide targeting."
The channel suddenly went silent for a few seconds, then the cheers of the Expendables erupted. Barney exclaimed in surprise, "God, Boss, you're okay! We thought you were gone. Guys, let's cross-cover and retreat. The Boss is fine; there's no need to hold our ground against these soldiers."
"Understood," "Understood," came the replies. The machine gun fire on the battlefield paused for a dozen seconds, then two machine guns resumed with their 'tat-tat-tat' sound.
Watching the video feed, William saw Barney's group of five retreating while covering each other, gradually falling back over a hundred meters to the rocks, where they stabilized their position and began organized counterattacks.
"Take cover, I'm coming, guys," Gunar's voice came through the earpiece. William turned to see a seaplane a kilometer or two away, diving from the sky. The plane's front lit up with muzzle flashes.
The distinctive "bang-bang-bang" of the aircraft cannon reached William's ears two seconds later. The mercenaries pursuing Barney's group immediately hit the deck or took cover behind rocks at the sound.
But no human could outrun cannon shells. The battlefield was suddenly marked by a line of explosions from the cannon fire.
Seizing the opportunity, William set up his modified 416 rifle and began shooting at the mercenaries. His 416, with a range of 800 meters, had enhanced accuracy.
With a "pew-pew-pew," William wielded the 416 like a semi-auto sniper rifle, cutting down over a dozen mercenaries at a distance of three to four hundred meters, as if mowing down wheat.
As Barney's group joined in the attack, the remaining mercenaries began to falter. When Thor and Gunner circled back with the plane, the mercenaries' resolve broke completely at the sound of the aircraft cannon.
With the "bang-bang-bang" of the cannon, the mercenaries outside its range fled in panic.
William and his team didn't pursue the fleeing mercenaries. The mission's target had been captured, and Monroe and Garza were dead. William had no further interest in the island's fate, which would be a matter for the South American authorities.
After reuniting with Barney and the others, the team sped toward the island's dock in a military truck, where Thor would be waiting for them.
After dispatching a few hostile stragglers, William and his team secured the dock and waited for the plane.
In their relief at completing the mission, they failed to notice a young, beautiful woman watching them from a dilapidated two-story building, her eyes filled with a mix of gratitude, hatred, and confusion.
The intensity of the woman's gratitude and confusion completely overshadowed the hatred in her eyes, leaving William, usually perceptive, unaware of being watched. If he had turned around, he would have recognized the woman as Sandra, the former island owner's daughter.
William could never have imagined the kind of accomplishments this seemingly insignificant woman would achieve in the next decade and the impact she would have on the world.
Once on the plane, William noticed Edward, barely alive and hung up by Gunner. He looked at Gunner, who had removed his helmet and was beaming with excitement. "Have you been doing drugs again, Gunner?"
Gunner, a normally defiant man, quickly shook his head at William's disapproving tone. "Relax, Boss. I haven't touched that stuff since I started making good money. I'm a wealthy man now; I don't need to live hopelessly like before. I even plan to have a wife and kids like Barney and the others."
William turned to Barney. Barney, noticing Edward, took off his helmet and nodded with a smile, "I assure you, Gunner hasn't touched that stuff anymore."
The others also vouched for him. William, sensing Gunner's steady heartbeat with his powers, believed him and pointed to Edward, asking, "What's his story?"
Relieved that William wasn't dwelling on his past drug use, Gunner explained with a grin, "Boss, this guy's of no use anymore. He's told us everything. I think we should head straight to South Africa; there's something there you'd be very interested in."
"What is it?" William's curiosity was piqued; few things interested him anymore. "Don't keep me in suspense, just tell me."
Gunner pointed to Edward, "This guy's boss is searching for a 60-carat red diamond, as big as a pigeon egg, supposedly flawless."
William interrupted, "I heard it was supposed to be a pink diamond, not a red one."
"Well, Boss, that's what he said," Gunner looked suspiciously at Edward. "He said it's a red diamond."
Barney shook his head and scolded Gunner, "God, are you an idiot, Gunner? The largest red diamond ever found is only 5.11 carats. If there were a flawless 60-carat red diamond, do you know how much it would be worth?"
Gunner muttered under his breath, "How would I know? I used to be a broke nobody who spent all his money as soon as he got it."
William said, "The starting bid would be at least a billion dollars. It could sell for twice that. If someone without enough power owns it, they'll become a target for every thief and assassin in the world. Get real, Gunner."
"Alright," Gunner said, a bit crestfallen. "Damn it, I shouldn't have cared about red or pink diamonds. I was hoping you'd give me a small red diamond cut from it after you got the big one. But I'll settle for a Debeers diamond ring worth a few hundred thousand dollars. God, why are women so crazy about diamonds? All the money goes to those Debeers diamond merchants."
"Wait," William suddenly had an uncertain idea. A 60-carat pink diamond wasn't worth much under a billion dollars. But if he could get a piece of Debeers, it wouldn't be just millions; it could be billions or tens of billions.
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