Chapter 221: Chapter 221: Settling Accounts
William wasn't too surprised by Gunnar's comments. This kind of thing wasn't unheard of in the mercenary world, but few would deal with a teammate responsible for their deaths directly on the battlefield like Antonov's team did. After all, the sniper hadn't acted intentionally. Nonetheless, William didn't care much. Once this mission was completed, the Polar Bear squad would return home. He didn't need such a large group of people, and paying to maintain them wasn't William's style.
It was better to settle accounts and send them off directly. "Gunnar, how many battles have you fought with Solomon in the past few days?"
Gunnar thought for a moment. "Two small skirmishes, plus today makes three."
"So, I owe their squad six million in battle bonuses and two million in hiring fees?"
Gunnar blinked at the sum of eight million dollars. "Boss, those two small skirmishes hardly count as battles. They were just against groups of ten to twenty bandits."
William shook his head. "Forget it. We already agreed on this, and it wouldn't be fair to back out now. On average, it's only eighty thousand dollars per person. If we cut their pay now, those dispirited guys might turn their guns on us. Have Antonov give me their squad's bank account details. It's too risky to pay in cash here. We'll wire the money."
Gunnar and Road both nodded, understanding William's concern. Their relationship with the Polar Bear squad was purely contractual. No one could guarantee that someone in the Polar Bear squad wouldn't get greedy if a large sum of cash was laid out.
"As for the deceased and severely injured, give them twenty thousand and ten thousand dollars respectively. Lightly injured get three thousand," William calculated silently before continuing, "These guys aren't cheap. Hiring local cannon fodder costs only a thousand dollars each. Fine, give them a total of ten million dollars. The extra forty-nine thousand dollars can be for the Polar Bear squad's feast."
Gunnar and Road exchanged glances, showing resigned expressions. They knew their boss could be extremely generous at times, not batting an eye at spending millions. Yet, he could also be incredibly stingy. Local African mercenaries couldn't be compared to the Polar Bear squad. Despite their mistakes, the Polar Bear squad of eighty men had nearly wiped out a force of over a hundred, with casualties under fifteen percent and deaths under six percent. Without the sniper's error, they might have had no deaths or severe injuries at all.
Shaking his head, William took out his phone and called Yuri Orlov. The Mi-24s and the equipment used by the Polar Bear squad were no longer needed, and William, not one to waste, wanted to see if Yuri would buy them back and settle their accounts.
After several rings, someone answered, "Hello, this is Yuri Orlov. I'm not available right now. Please leave a message and I'll get back to you. Thank you."
Listening to the dial tone, William wondered what was going on. Had Yuri been caught again? Despite previous warnings, he might have left evidence behind.
Hanging up, William went with Gunnar and Road to find Antonov and his men to settle accounts. Entering the tent, William stood on a table and clapped loudly, explaining his purpose and announcing compensation for the fallen and injured. The Polar Bear squad cheered loudly.
They were here to make money, and their employer paying in full without any deductions made them all very happy, chanting "William, William." When William announced the compensation amounts, many Polar Bears quietly shed tears. Some silently cursed the sniper who made the mistake. Without that error, their squad might have had no casualties. However, they were all grateful to William.
After an hour of wire transfers, William emerged from the tent amid cheers, only to receive Yuri's return call.
"Sorry, Mr. Devonshire, I had a bit of an issue earlier. Is your business concluded? Do you need anything?"
"My end is done. What happened on your side?" William needed to know if dealing with Yuri was still safe.
Hearing William's concern, Yuri laughed. "Don't worry, Mr. Devonshire. Just a minor issue. Someone I sent to Liberia got caught smuggling some diamonds. The Small Arms Prevention Group invited me for coffee, but it's all sorted now. Smuggling diamonds can't trouble me. Those idiots forget that without people like me, their big boss Benjamin Arthur wouldn't be able to sell so many weapons annually. It's embarrassing to find his fingerprints on weapons without middlemen like us."
"Go online," William said before hanging up. He didn't believe no one was monitoring Yuri at this time, so it was better not to say more.
Half an hour later, William received a text from an unlisted number: "Three full sets of Mi-24s for nine million, one hundred sets of equipment for one hundred thousand. Delivery to Liberia is one hundred thousand."
Ha, Yuri was really shameless, depreciating the Mi-24s by six million in a few days. If transported to Andre, Yuri could probably sell them for fifteen million. William replied with an offer of fifteen million, including delivery, and received an OK in return minutes later.
William, smiling, put his phone away and found Antonov, instructing him to choose people to fly the Mi-24s to Liberia. Antonov agreed immediately without hesitation; their current location was less than three hundred kilometers from Andre, and at full speed, it would only take an hour.
Once Barney finished negotiating with the Sierra Leone authorities and dealing with the aftermath, he, Gunnar, and Road boarded the Mi-24s to rendezvous with Toll and then fly to London to assist Christmas, Yin Yang, and Archer with the De Beers operation.
Meanwhile, William boarded a private plane waiting for him and flew directly to Oxford.
Upon landing, William received a call from Gary Mallory of the Security Council, asking William to meet him at the council regarding Jette Frobe. William immediately replied that he was unavailable. After so much hard work, he only wanted to go home, see his mother, and get some much-needed rest. He got into the car waiting for him at the airport and headed straight for his castle.
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