Chapitre 38: Chapter 38: How About We All Hide in China
Yin Yang glanced at Christmas before speaking to Caesar. "Buddy, don't you get it? There are only a few forces in the world capable of detecting us the moment we appear, hitting us as soon as we reach a safe house, and taking us all down without firing a single shot. Think about who the most powerful and formidable force in England is."
Caesar, understanding immediately, said, "No way, Yin Yang. You mean MI6? How could that be possible? Why would MI6 come after us? We're just mercenaries, working for pay. Is it really worth their effort?"
Gunnar, irritated, chimed in, "They're after Christmas. We just delivered ourselves into their hands. Now we're in big trouble. MI6 has evidence against us for selling out the CIA director. If we don't comply, we'll have both MI6 and the CIA on our tails. Where in the world could we hide then?"
Yin Yang added, "And they have all our information. It's not easy to run with family. Even if we could run, where would we go? How about coming with me to China? It's safe there."
"Safe? We'd stand out like a sore thumb, a bunch of white guys in China. Yin Yang, you'd be fine, but China's no place for mercenaries. I don't want to live in a place without guns or knives. I wouldn't be able to sleep," Gunnar complained.
Barney had his suspicions too. He hadn't expected MI6 to be so powerful, taking down their entire team single-handedly. He'd heard about MI6's 00 Section, the most famous being 007. If they were all this formidable, how could they, as mercenaries, stand a chance?
Barney asked Christmas, "Christmas, was that guy from MI6?"
Christmas, seeing everyone looking at him, nodded gloomily. "I got a call yesterday. The caller said he was the head of MI6 and ordered me to report to him in London today. He knew everything about my family. I had no choice but to come to London to see if it was true. You know I'm ex-SAS. My family is in England. If MI6 wants me, I can't refuse. You know the rest. I dragged you all into this. I'm sorry."
The group fell silent, understanding it wasn't Christmas's fault. Yesterday, Christmas had intended to come to London alone but hadn't wanted to involve them. They'd come to help without asking, only to end up in trouble themselves.
Barney addressed the group, "This is my fault. I never thought we'd run into MI6. Mercenaries are no match for a nation's power. We need to be more careful with our assignments and steer clear of anything involving the authorities."
Everyone nodded. They'd always thought they were the best team in the world, capable of handling anything. But today's reality was a harsh slap in the face. Their entire six-man team was taken down by one person. They all felt humiliated.
Seeing his team's morale dropping, Barney knew he had to lift their spirits. If this continued, the team was close to disbanding.
"Guys, don't overthink it. We faced a nation's power, and this is their home turf. It's normal to be discovered and ambushed. This wasn't an opponent we've ever faced before. Losing isn't shameful; it wasn't even a fair fight.
"But I believe we're the best in the mercenary world. Our mission success rate is 100%. No other mercenary team can match us. We're the best, most united, and fearless. Don't compare yourselves to a nation; it's meaningless."
"That's right, we're the best in the mercenary world," the group echoed, regaining confidence and morale.
Barney, seeing everyone's spirits lifted, smiled and nodded. "Alright, guys, let's get ready to move out. Gunnar, check the GPS. We'll drive from the safe house to another one."
"Got it, boss."
The team prepared and started running, taking an hour to reach the safe house and drive to another. Once everyone was settled, Barney gave Christmas a knowing look. Christmas nodded, and the two stepped outside to talk quietly.
"Christmas, who was that guy today?"
"William Devonshire."
"WHAT, the guy from TV?" Barney was shocked, unable to believe their opponent was a 19-year-old kid. A freak who even wanted to meet his daughters. Barney decided to keep a closer eye on his daughters back in the USA.
"Yes, the one we saw on BBC during dinner."
"He's a billionaire, scientist, inventor, super genius, and a noble. How could he be with MI6? Are you sure, Christmas?"
"I wish I could say no, but it's true. You don't know, Devonshire's family has been around for hundreds of years. For them, anything's possible. When I was in special forces, I heard rumors that every generation of the Devonshire family had someone in MI6, doing God knows what. William Devonshire might have wanted to recruit me yesterday, but now he wants to recruit our whole team.
"Think about it, boss. This is something only you and I should know. The others might still have a chance to back out. But you know the rules."
"I know. We're just doing dirty work. As long as it's not harming innocents or sending us to our deaths, it's all the same as long as he pays," Barney consoled himself.
Barney and Christmas discussed but couldn't make sense of why William wanted them. They figured it had to be for their combat skills, but being a spy and a mercenary were different.
Spies worked in the shadows, while mercenaries fought openly.
Barney couldn't fathom that William admired the Expendables from a past life and, seeing their files, wanted to recruit them. He imagined sending the Expendables to handle his enemies quickly, making him feel invincible.
Though the Expendables killed and caused chaos for money, they had a bottom line. They only fought armed opponents, never civilians. Eliminating armed forces was just what mercenaries did.
___________________
Read Ahead
P@treon.com/Mutter
État de l’alimentation hebdomadaire
-- Classement
Power Stone 
-- Power
stone