Chapter 356 - 330 Secretary of State

The battle was over, and the Celtic Wanderer sailed away, leaving an ocean filled with wreckage, flames, and corpses.

The pirates were at a loss, and at this moment, everyone became aware: a gold transport?

They had very likely been played!

Besides, even if they hadn’t been played, they weren’t daring enough to try to rob that fleeing vessel anymore.

There were rocket launchers, robots, and warships involved.

Pirates in the 21st century were quite different from those in the 18th century. The pirates of old even dared to target warships and had even succeeded before.

But the pirates of the 21st century, due to the disparities in technology and social structures, found it utterly impossible to take action against such massive military forces. The best they could do was wave their AKs and drive their fishing boats—at most vessels of a small cargo ship calibre—to intimidate merchants.

Just knowing that it was a warship was enough to deter them.

However, among them, there were some brave, idealistic "up-and-comers" who, against the current, stealthily boarded the warship that had been hit by a rocket and took it away.

Onboard the Celtic Wanderer, the Atlas troops watched as the warship captain—

When they had taken over the warship, they had found soldiers tied up. They had taken these soldiers with them when they retreated.

There weren’t many, just four in total.

The captains of both warships stared with wide eyes; one of them spoke first, "Uh... I recognize you! You’re Frank Castle; I’ve seen your court-martial video..."

Frank, seated in a chair, laughed, "I thought this would become banned material for the Mei Army."

"The internet, uh, if you want to find something, you can always find it. Passed around like crazy near the military base, all those guys selling pirated DVDs. Find a black internet café, and as soon as you boot up a computer, you can see it."

This captain now had a cheeky grin, having completely lost the stern demeanor he held as an officer on his ship.

But it was normal given that circumstances can overpower will.

After all, Frank’s military achievements were indeed solid, and the respect he deserved was still given.

The other captain added, "We’ve even refueled you before! Although... by the time we saw the DVDs, the court-martial must have been over.

We don’t have any grudge, do we?"

"No grudge, but what do you plan on doing? Continue to serve when you go back?"

"Serve my ass." The captain on the left spat out, his eyes fierce, "On the whole ship, only this newbie and I were on the same side!

By the way, what about the others? I want to know why they weren’t following orders!"

"They’re dead."

"...Oh."

Frank continued to ask, "What do you mean, just the two of you were in cahoots?"

The two captains exchanged glances, their shared plight and the unspoken understanding in their gazes dispelling the chill on their backs.

They weren’t so much chilled by the deaths of others as the entire situation seemed bizarre.

They slowly laid out the whole story—theoretically this was a leak of military secrets.

But with Frank’s example before them, they didn’t consider themselves to be committing any grave act by betraying the navy—it was the navy that had betrayed them first!

The mission orders were passed down from the high ranks, unclear in detail but summarized in one phrase: assist Eric Stevenson with his mission.

And this mission came from the United Nations; the United Nations Security Council requested Mei Navy assistance in retrieving a batch of goods.

First off, the idea of military vessels pursuing a civilian ship was peculiar enough, but they had to comply with the higher command.

Yet, as the mission progressed, their subordinates started disobeying their orders!

Such circumstances were too strange and unacceptable, particularly for the navy!

The sea is a closed area. If those guys decided one day to get rid of them, the Mei Military might even take those traitors’ testimony, claiming they went mad on the high seas!

Even more disconcerting was the fact that those comrades... those they had served with for years, even decades, showed no signs of being out of the ordinary in everyday life!

They had even seen each other as family!

Thinking about this, the two captains felt a complex mix of emotions. Decades of life-or-death camaraderie, was it all fake?

Listening to this, Clint looked grave. He suddenly said to Frank, "I guess this is why my superiors chose to hire you guys."

"Seems like things are getting more complicated... but those are for the boss to worry about.

The four of you, since you don’t plan on serving anymore, have you considered joining Atlas?"

A few of the Mei Army men glanced at each other. Frank continued, "Look, as you’ve said, returning to the military is not an option for you now, neither objectively nor subjectively.

But honestly, now that you’re aware of the Mei Military’s internal issues, do you think you can go back to being just an ordinary person?"

The Mei Military has moles, and these moles are organized.

Obviously, the fewer people know this information, the better.

"You’ve already done enough for Mei Country. But now, leaving the battlefield, you can imagine what awaits you. Atlas can offer you a new beginning."

An opportunity to serve Atlas.

With the stakes so clear and Frank’s example right in front of them.

If it weren’t for his boss sticking up for him, this man would have lost everything by now.

So...

None of the four former Mei Navy men had a reason to refuse. They just had one question, "But we’re navy men, and while your exoskeletons are cool, we’re sailors."

"Well..." Frank moved his neck, standing up from the chair, "there will be opportunities. After we get ashore, we’ll sign the contract.

Get ready. The journey to the base won’t be peaceful—there might be some terrorists."

Transitioning seamlessly from the navy to a private military contractor, the four former Mei soldiers felt an odd mix of emotions, silent in the room.

Frank and Clint stepped out of the control room and onto the deck, where an experimental site had been temporarily constructed.

By now, the ship was anchored at the nearest city port, surrounded mainly by fishing boats. If the ship had been any larger, it wouldn’t have been able to dock.

T’Challa’s people had brought many pieces of equipment. The temporary setup was for thawing Captain Carter, frozen in a block of ice—they were going to defrost her right here.

He stood in front of the lab, his gaze complex as he looked at this World War II veteran.

Seeing Frank and Clint approach quickly, he looked up and said to them,

"She’s about to wake up."

...

"Recently, a significant naval conflict in the Somali Sea has drawn widespread international attention."

"Official reports confirm that two frigates from the Mei Country Navy were attacked by an unknown armed force while on a United Nations special peacekeeping mission."

"In the end, one warship disappeared, and the other was unfortunately sunk."

"More details about the incident are still under investigation, and both the Mei Army and the African Union have remained silent..."

Sitting in his office, Lille watched as today’s headlines played out on the screen:

Two Mei Country warships were sunk in the Somali Sea, and multiple pieces of evidence all suggest that pirates were responsible.

But no one would believe pirates were behind this: if they had the ability to sink warships, why would they still be pirates?

Wouldn’t it be better to take on the name of some "liberator" and do something significant?

Of course, the Mei military also didn’t believe the narrative that pirates had sunk their ships, because they knew these vessels were on a United Nations peacekeeping mission.

They had also received some intermittent speculation—

So now, on the communication screen before Lille, was the current Secretary of State of Mei Country.

"Mr. Secretary of State, I can only tell you that the vessel pursued by the United Nations was indeed the target being protected by the Atlas Group."

"Do you understand what it means to sink a military unit in private capacity?"

"I understand," Lille replied, not intimidated by the white-haired old man on the screen, "but there’s no evidence indicating that the Atlas Group was involved.

Secondly, do you know what was on board the ship?"

"No matter what was on board..."

"It was a person."

Lille stood up and connected Frank’s signal to the screen opposite the camera.

All sorts of sensors surrounded the block of ice in the central area. Although the setup was makeshift, it was basically safe enough for thawing the person frozen inside.

Seeing the face of the person in the ice, decades-old memories awoke, and Secretary of State Barnes’s eyes widened.

"It’s her..." Barnes’s expression turned exceedingly grim, "What are you trying to do?"

"You should be asking what those two ships were trying to do, what the United Nations Security Council is trying to do. Please tell me, does the distress file sent to you by the UN include this information?"

Of course not, otherwise Barnes wouldn’t have just learned what was inside.

This universe’s Barnes wasn’t the brainwashed soldier but a seasoned politician who had climbed the political ladder on military merits.

His military operation experience and a politician’s instincts led him to an unpleasant realization, a bad guess forming in his mind.

Lille continued, "We only captured four survivors, and there’s no reason other than the fact that the rest fought like Death Soldiers. If we’re talking about conviction, they were the most tenacious warriors.

I can compile a report entirely different from the intelligence you possess, but on one condition: You must ensure the secrecy of our communication.

It’s for your own good, truly."

Two completely different worlds unfolded before Barnes:

One world was constructed from intelligence provided by agencies like the NSA, CIA, FBI, coupled with clueless reports from the Mei military.

In this world, Mei Country was attacked by terrorists, prompting another war, solely to show those barbarians the taste of civilized iron fists.

The Atlas Group, despite being a domestic Mei corporation, was subverting Mei Country, even directly attacking military warships and snatching away Captain Carter.

But in another world, the one Lille was showing him,

Intel agencies like the CIA and NSA had been confirmed to often engage in illegal activities overseas, concealing the truth from themselves and the world, while covertly mobilizing military soldiers to assist in their operations.

These agencies also bound themselves with domestic pro-war interest groups—they were the spokespersons for war, growing corrupt and powerful in war.

If you could profit from something, you would make sure to escalate it as much as possible.

During the subprime crisis, as a soldier, he derided the financial system—private companies to state-owned insurers, banks to national regulators, the entire country was dragged into the hole by their greed.

If war could yield a fortune for some, they would undoubtedly do the same, without question.

He didn’t know if the President was aware of this, but he knew President Ellis was in good relations with major oil conglomerates.

In the world Lille showed him, they were being nudged towards war by behind-the-scenes manipulators—a war that would make some people filthy rich while others plunged into Hell.

Now they were planning to secretly transport Carter away...

Who knows what they intended to do?

The elusive complexity of the world gave this nonagenarian a splitting headache.

If that was the case...

"I want to watch the thawing process myself."

"Of course, that’s actually what I was hoping for. Otherwise, Captain Carter might think she’s time-traveled if she wakes up to a bunch of black people."

"...She’s not a racist."

"But her country was pretty good at it," Lille shrugged his shoulders, "especially during World War II."