Likewise, Mavi spotted the 600+ mercenaries he had carefully selected earlier among the crowd. Among them was Victor, the head of the mercenary corps and a former member of the Alpha Special Forces.
Originally, Victor and his men never expected to see their boss, Mavi, on such a severe battlefield.
So, when Mavi, dressed in a suit, appeared before them, all 625 mercenaries, including Victor, were instantly shocked. Their eyes widened in surprise as they stared at Mavi.
"Boss?"
"Boss Mavi? Why is he here at a time like this?"
Victor was taken aback. They had assumed their deployment to Chechnya meant they would be directly engaging terrorists in battle. However, after two weeks of observation, they realized they had been stationed at the rear and hadn't even had a chance to go to the front lines.
Seeing that all the mercenaries were assembled, Commander Nikoyevich, who stood beside Mavi, turned to him and asked, "Mr. Mavi, which of these soldiers belong to your mercenary corps?"
Mavi pointed in a specific direction, indicating that all the soldiers standing there were part of his corps.
Commander Nikoyevich nodded and then signaled Colonel Samsonov to have the other soldiers withdraw, leaving only Mavi's mercenaries on the field.
As the 1,700-plus soldiers returned to their positions, Victor and his men stood fully revealed before Mavi.
"Mr. Mavi, please." Lieutenant General Nikoyevich gestured for Mavi to speak, curious about his reason for meeting with his subordinates at this moment.
On the way here, Mavi had already discussed with Nikoyevich his plan to deploy his mercenary corps to certain battlefronts to gain combat experience and test their training results. Nikoyevich had agreed.
However, just as the Alpha Special Forces commander observed closely, Mavi suddenly extended his right hand and spread his five fingers, making a gesture of "five" in the air.
The 600+ mercenaries, including Victor, were puzzled. What did their boss mean by this? Why had he traveled all the way to the battlefield only to make a five-finger gesture without saying anything?
A few seconds later, Mavi lowered his right hand and finally spoke.
"You'll be deployed to the front lines immediately. $50,000 per Chechen terrorist killed. How much you earn from this battle depends on your skills!"
As soon as these words fell, Victor and the others were stunned for a moment before their eyes lit up with excitement. They were in awe of Mavi's generosity and boldness.
"We're finally going to the front lines? I've been itching for action these past two weeks! $50,000 per terrorist? I'm going to take down at least ten!"
"$50,000 per Chechen terrorist? Damn, that's insane! Boss Mavi really plays at a whole different level!"
Seeing how the bounty had instantly boosted morale, Nikoyevich, who had led troops for many years, found himself amazed. He had never seen such a straightforward and brutal bounty system for killing terrorists.
What he didn't know was that Mavi wasn't just throwing money around for the sake of it. His "Ma V Mercenary Corps" already had elite training methods and top-tier personnel. The only thing missing was a legendary battle to establish their reputation!
They would use the blood of the Chechen insurgents to make a name for themselves—not just in Chechnya, but among terrorists worldwide.
Mavi had already calculated that offering $50,000 per kill wouldn't cost too much. Instead, it would awaken the mercenaries' predatory instincts, driving them to slaughter enemies mercilessly and cementing the reputation of "Ma V Mercenary Corps."
At this moment, Nikoyevich offered a word of caution: "Mr. Mavi, I have a concern about your $50,000 bounty. What if, and I mean hypothetically, your men falsify their kill counts or accidentally include civilians? How would you handle that?"
After all, Mavi couldn't always be on the front lines. Even if he were, he couldn't personally oversee every battle.
"No need to worry about that, Lieutenant General Nikoyevich. I trust my mercenary corps." Mavi replied with a confident smile.
The 625 elite soldiers before him had been carefully selected through a rigorous screening process. One of the most crucial aspects of selection involved psychological evaluations by experts, ensuring that every recruit had been assessed for reliability and integrity.
As the saying goes, "If you doubt someone, don't use them; if you use someone, don't doubt them." And time had proven that Mavi's judgment was spot on.
Under Victor's leadership, the 625 elite mercenaries were divided into squads of five and platoons of twenty. In the following battles, they fought bravely on the front lines, earning the admiration of other Russian troops and proving the might of the "Ma V Mercenary Corps."
However, their stellar performance wasn't solely due to the $50,000 bounty. The real game-changer was the advanced tactics that Mavi had provided.
These tactics were specifically designed to counter Chechen insurgents, utterly dismantling their guerrilla warfare strategies.
As a result, Russian casualties significantly dropped after implementing the new tactics. The Russian army became more stable, more experienced, and increasingly effective in battle.
Mavi's tactical guidance had helped the Russian military achieve outstanding results. His contributions did not go unnoticed by high-ranking officials.
It was likely that once all Chechen terrorists in the region were eliminated, the Russian Army and Ministry of Defense would award Mavi another medal of honor.
After returning safely from the Chechen battlefield, Mavi checked the date. It was August 22, 2001.
That meant less than 20 days remained until the 9/11 terrorist attacks.
Mavi briefly considered sending a warning email to the Pentagon. However, after thinking it over, he decided against it.
A single email wouldn't be enough to prevent 9/11. And if the attack still happened, the U.S. government would eventually trace the tip-off back to him. They would inevitably question his source of information.
If they found his intel unverified, he would be in serious trouble. Even Russia wouldn't be able to protect him. So, he chose not to meddle in it.
At most, he could only hope and pray that 9/11 wouldn't happen in this timeline.
"Mid-September, you'll be in Washington? How about taking a vacation somewhere else?"
Mavi called Jennifer. Besides New York, Washington D.C. was also a major target for the terrorists.
He didn't want his loved ones to be caught in the catastrophe. If he could prevent it, he would.
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(End of Chapter)