Chapter 54: Watch it in Person
Barney sounded dejected as he heard William's doubtful tone. They truly hadn't expected the target to be so difficult to apprehend; he was as slippery as an eel.
Barney said helplessly, "We cornered him at a construction site in Madagascar, but he climbed a tower crane. We pursued him to the top, but he fell and died on impact. Sorry, boss."
Six elite mercenaries couldn't capture one man alive. William asked seriously, "What happened?"
Barney replied with a sigh, "Boss, we didn't expect Carlos to be so skilled. We found him at an underground fighting ring. Just as we moved in, Carlos received an SMS, saw our contact Gonner, and shot him. He then ran into the construction site during the ensuing chaos."
"We had him surrounded, but the guy was an expert at parkour. He went straight up the tower crane. Christmas and Yin-Yang followed him up, but Carlos lost his grip and fell."
"Sorry, boss. The mission required us to take him alive, and we didn't expect him to fall to his death. However, Yin-Yang managed to grab his backpack as he fell. Inside was a time bomb and a mobile phone. The phone's GPS was active, showing a location at the Miami Airport."
When William heard "Miami Airport," he understood. Carlos had been on his way to bomb the Skyfleet 570 prototype. But with the man dead, how could they find who was behind it? "Barney, I told you to take him alive. Now that Carlos is dead, the trail has gone cold. How are we supposed to find the mastermind?"
Hearing William mention a trail, Barney's mood lifted slightly. "Boss, you could say we got lucky. Gonner knew Carlos. He knew that Carlos was a mercenary working for a man named Alexios Demetrios. This guy is dangerous, a fixer for hire. He'll do anything for the right price. Boss, I think you should warn Miami Airport and the Skyfleet company."
"I know. I got the news just before I sent you after Carlos. Barney, your new mission is to find Alexios Demetrios."
Barney immediately replied, "Boss, I had a contact look into it. Alexios Demetrios is in the Bahamas right now."
"Good. Barney, you and your team go to the Bahamas. Watch Alexios Demetrios, see who he contacts, and find out who hired him. Send me a photo of Demetrios; I'll see what I can find on my end."
"Okay, boss, sending it to you now. We'll head to the Bahamas shortly. Goodbye."
"I'll call you. Goodbye, Barney. And don't screw this one up," William warned.
Hanging up the phone, William took out the encrypted laptop Garris had given him and accessed the MI6 database.
William opened the file on Alexios Demetrios, but he was unaware that the moment he logged in with his Group W supervisor credentials, he was flagged by Mrs. M's assistant, Bill Tanner.
Tanner was immediately on the phone with Mrs. M. "Ma'am, W is on the move. We just monitored William Devinshire searching the bureau's database for one Alexios Demetrios."
Mrs. M, who had just been about to go to bed, was irritated by the call. But when she heard William's name, she moved to the computer on her bedside table. On the screen was the file for Alexios Demetrios, complete with photographs.
Mrs. M muttered to herself, "How did William find this villain?"
As the file opened to show a middle-aged white man with a scarred left eye, Mrs. M was surprised. "Where is Devinshire now?"
"Oxford Street," Bill Tanner replied.
"Keep an eye on William Devinshire. I want to know all his movements. If we follow him, we might just find Le Chiffre."
"Yes, ma'am. I'll have a team put on him immediately."
William, still studying the information in his home, had no idea that the login authority he had received from Garris, the chairman of the Security Council, was being monitored by Mrs. M.
On his screen, William saw that the man with the scarred left eye was connected to Le Chiffre, an international banker who laundered money for terrorists and warlords, taking huge profits. The man was ruthless and backed by powerful clients.
Le Chiffre wanted to blow up the Skyfleet 570 prototype because he had heavily shorted Skyfleet's stock. If the prototype was destroyed, the company's stock would plummet, and he stood to make a fortune.
This directly conflicted with William's plans. He was waiting for the stock market crash in March. He didn't want the plunge in Skyfleet's stock to trigger a chain reaction and cause the crash to happen prematurely; it would disrupt his entire timeline.
The money from selling his game company had just been deposited today. He wasn't ready. And who knew if the crash would unfold exactly as it had in his previous life.
*Le Chiffre had better not get in the way of my payday,* William thought, *or I'll kill him myself.*
With hundreds of millions, possibly over a billion dollars at stake, William couldn't afford any mistakes. He felt he would only be at ease if he handled Alexios Demetrios himself.
He would watch Demetrios, find the bomber hired to attack the plane in Miami, and eliminate him on the spot.
An opportunity like this market crash only came around once a decade, on average. After this one, he didn't know if the subprime mortgage crisis would still happen on schedule eight years later.
Having made his decision, William grabbed his passport, wallet, and credit cards, and left the house.
Not ten minutes after William left, the surveillance team sent by Mrs. M arrived outside his home on Oxford Street and began setting up. William was lucky. Any hesitation and he would have been spotted.
William drove directly to a secure equipment warehouse Garris had prepared for him. Inside, William walked to the armory and selected an AWP sniper rifle.
Because his storage space was only a meter wide, William had to break down the AWP, placing the barrel, body, 200 rounds of specialized sniper ammunition, and a silencer inside.
William also took an M4A1. The HK416 hadn't been developed yet in the year 2000. William made a mental note to commission one when he had time. Influenced by the games he played in his past life, he had always thought the HK416 was the best-looking gun.
After checking the M4A1 and fitting it with every possible accessory, he packed ten fully loaded magazines, along with a tranquilizer gun and darts.
He added two Glock 17s with twenty magazines, listening devices, locators, trackers, night-vision goggles, a gas mask, a flashlight, and an assortment of twenty grenades, including smoke, stun, and tranquilizer gas variants. William figured he was equipped to take on an entire company.
Finally, William took one hundred thousand pounds and one hundred thousand US dollars in cash from a safe. To anyone watching, he left the warehouse empty-handed. He then called his private account manager at the Bank of England and chartered a small jet to the Bahamas.
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