A car drove out of the Kremlin in a very low-key manner and headed towards the city of Moscow. No one cared what kind of person was sitting in such a dilapidated car. Only some sharp-eyed people wondered why there was such a car in the Kremlin, which seemed really unreasonable.
Of course, the others just thought about it for a moment and then put the question aside. However, Plekhanov, the director of the KGB's Ninth Bureau, who was sitting in the car, looked terrified, although Yanayev, who was sitting next to him, had a calm expression and looked at the documents in his hand with interest.
The trip of the top leader was a spontaneous and temporary idea, so it was no wonder that Plekhanov was so nervous. Although Yanayev kept asking him to relax, Moscow, where the state of emergency had not yet been declared over, was a time bomb that could explode at any time. If a thug rushed out from a corner and happened to recognize Yanayev, the consequences would be disastrous.
Yanaev didn't think too much about it. It was someone else's job to ensure their safety. He didn't need to teach them how to do it. At this time, Yanaev was looking at the profile of a person that the KGB had specially obtained for him. There was a photo on the upper left corner of the profile. The man in the photo had a mediocre appearance, a sloppy beard, and nothing special about his resume. Even his background information was just a few words. He didn't look like a potential little man who would be favored by Moscow's top leaders.
"He joined the Air Force in 1986 as a navigator, and was later sent to the Moscow Military Academy of Foreign Languages to study foreign languages. In 1988, he entered the Moscow Military Academy of Foreign Languages to study foreign languages. He is proficient in Russian, Uzbek, English, Portuguese, French and even knows some Chinese. Well, he does have a very high talent for languages as the legend says, and he is indeed a good candidate." Yanaev closed the document and said to himself.
"Who is this person? He deserves to be personally received by the General Secretary. No matter how you look at his resume, he is just an ordinary air force ground crew member." Plekhanov asked in a low voice. After becoming one of Yanaev's confidants, he also had his own say on some issues. But Plekhanov still spoke carefully because he didn't know what Yanaev was really planning.
"Oh?" Yanaev turned around and said to him in a methodical manner, "This guy named Victor But is indeed a mediocre guy. No matter how you look at his appearance and resume, it's just mediocre. But Plekhanov, you have to remember one thing. The most important thing to look at when judging a person is not what he did in the past, but what he can and will do in the future."
To Yanayev, Viktor Bout's past is not important, except that he will have a very special nickname in the future: "The Merchant of Death". From engaging in arms business in 1992 to becoming one of the world's leading arms dealers, in less than ten years, his net worth has reached 6 billion pounds. His deeds have even been made into a movie, yes, that is "Lord of War" starring Nicolas Cage.
Viktor But was also an important piece in Yanaev's plan to save the Soviets.
Of course, Plekhanov couldn't tell Plekhanov about these things. Since Victor was an outstanding businessman, Yanayev, who always hired people in an unconventional way, didn't mind letting him be in charge of some shady transactions of the Soviet government, even though he was still poor and lonely. What's more, Yanayev was also very curious about what this legendary arms dealer looked like at the beginning.
The car stopped in front of a dilapidated apartment building. The driver turned his head and said to Yanayev, "Your Excellency the President, we are here."
"Oh, okay. You just wait for us downstairs." Yanaev nodded. He and Plekhanov got out of the car at the same time, walked up the garbage-filled stairs, walked through the smelly corridor, and came to a dilapidated iron door. Plekhanov glanced at the house that was obviously a poor person's, and then knocked on the iron door.
"Who is it?" A gruff voice came from behind the iron door, followed by the noise of something being knocked over, and the faint sound of a man cursing and complaining. If the voice had not clearly belonged to a person, Yanayev would have thought there was a Siberian brown bear locked behind the door.
The door was opened, and a man with messy hair poked his head out. He glanced at the two people standing outside the door and said with obvious impatience, "Didn't I tell you that I will return it to you in a few days? Why are you so annoying! Is it that necessary?"
Seeing that the other party had obviously misunderstood something, Plekhanov took out his KGB ID from his pocket and said coldly to the drunk at the door, "I'm not interested in who you owe, but you'd better be aware of who we are."
When Victor But saw Plekhanov's ID, his eyes widened. He was drunk and sobered up instantly. He waved his hands in panic and said, "Sir, listen to me, what I said just now was not directed at you..."
"Is it directed at me, Comrade Victor?" Yanaev suddenly spoke fluent Chinese. "The person standing next to you is Plekhanov, the leader of the KGB's Ninth Bureau. Are the offensive and disrespectful words you just said enough to get the KGB to send you to jail?"
Not only was Victor shocked, but even Plekhanov was surprised, because Yanayev had never claimed to have learned Chinese, so how did he suddenly become fluent in Chinese?
Since the other party had already spoken, Victor had no choice but to reply to Yanaev in Chinese, "I'm sorry, sir. I apologize for my rude behavior just now. If he is really the leader of the KGB's Ninth Bureau, you must be an important person too."
Yanaev smiled slightly, he walked right past Victor and into the small hut where he had scrambled into the garbage dump, this time he turned back and said to him in Russian, "You really should check the news, Comrade Victor. Standing before you is the latest new leader of the Soviet Union. Oh, by the way, my name is Yanaev."
Yanayev looked around and saw the MON-50 on the table. His expression changed slightly. In order to prevent Plekhanov from having any grudges, he gently picked up a piece of clothing and covered it before he came in. Then he said to Victor, "It seems that you are very concerned about your creditors, but I will not investigate where the thing on your table came from. You should know that according to the law, it is enough for you to spend the rest of your life in a colder and damper cell."
Victor's expression instantly became very interesting. Yanayev changed the subject lightly, "But you just like to let the top leader stand in your room so awkwardly. Oh, to be honest, how many days has it been since this place was cleaned?"
Victor woke up as if from a dream, and hurried in to tidy up the room, making room for Yanaev to sit. After Yanaev sat down, he got straight to the point and asked, "I just want to ask you a question, are you interested in working for me?"
Plekhanov was a little stunned. He didn't expect Yanayev to come here to find an unknown person to do things for him. It was incredible. He wanted to advise the general secretary, but after thinking about it, he decided to wait.
Yanaev's words were so straightforward that Victor didn't know how to respond. He coughed awkwardly and asked, "To be honest, Mr. President, I don't really understand what it means to work hard for you."
"There's only one purpose. Sell arms for me." Yanayev made his intention clear. "If you agree, then from today on you will leave this cramped little house and live in a magnificent house. You will have an expensive suit that fits you perfectly. You don't have to wear these clothes that are covered in oil stains for so many days."
"Yes, I do." Victor's answer was equally straightforward.
"Aren't you curious about the price? Forget it, I'm sure you know it better than me. Well, then I will give you your first task, which is also a small test. Sell guns to the ethnic groups in the three Baltic countries who oppose their governments." Yanaev pointed at Victor and stated the first step of his plan.