Mountain Eagle was amused by Mori's eagerness to find an opportunity for cooperation...

Then he realized that the people around Mori must be civil servants from the United States, who hold official powers, rather than politicians scrambling in the battle field of Congress.

The lost data and notebooks hit these people's weak spot; once the situation escalated to the stage where high-level politicians had to clean up their mess, they would either be dismissed or have to pay a huge price to repay the favors.

Mori's role as a consultant lies between a civil servant and a politician, touching both sides, but closeness depends on the identity of the person he serves.

This matter itself was unrelated to him; he could always switch to a non-stick role, so although his tone was grave, his attitude was actually very relaxed.

Facing this situation, Mountain Eagle knew that the willingness on the other side to trade must be very strong, as the consequences for the people sitting next to Mori would be extremely severe without discussing conflicts between countries.

However, naming a price was a technical matter, and Mountain Eagle was unclear about their identities, thus he couldn't cut to their bottom line in pricing.

After thinking for a few seconds, Mountain Eagle said: "Handing over the notebook to you would put a lot of pressure on me.

What can you give me?"

Mori consulted the people in the meeting room and awkwardly said, "How does $500,000 sound to you?"

Faced with such a 'slap-in-the-face' price, Mountain Eagle, displeased, said: "I give you $500,000, and you immediately head to the airport and fly to California for your appointment.

A matter of $500,000 is not worth you making a fool of yourself on the front line!"

Mori felt very gratified by Mountain Eagle bolstering his own phrase...

Now the folks in the meeting room, deeply involved with Southeast Asian issues, had no clue what Mountain Eagle had done in Moscow, nor did they know what he leveraged using Snowden to mobilize a significant capital level.

But since those people are of a higher rank and someone had greeted them, he could only indirectly refute these people through Mountain Eagle.

Thankfully, Mountain Eagle's response was extremely sharp, and the two coordinated despite being physically apart, allowing Mori to gain some initiative...

"Mountain Eagle, I'll call you in a while..."

In the office in Washington, Mori hung up the call and looked at the people in the meeting room. He organized his thoughts and said with a spread of his hands: "Gentlemen, wasn't I clear enough earlier?

The guy you want to negotiate with has caused us huge losses in Moscow, and he also used Snowden and those confidential files to sway a huge interest group.

$500,000 sounds like a joke...

You really should take a closer look at this guy's resume, ideally combining the incidents in Moscow with those in Thailand.

If you don't want to understand in detail, then perhaps call and ask the CIA's person in charge in Moscow, what does the name Mountain Eagle represent?

This guy, if he enters the security market now, many are willing to offer him a hefty annual salary.

$500,000, my goodness..."

A thin man with glasses and curly white hair looked at Mori and said solemnly: "How much money do you think would sway him?"

Mori looked at the still arrogant Deputy Director of the CIA for the Southeast Asian region, sighed and said: "Director Watson, I don't think you can mobilize enough funds through legitimate means to sway him.

The owner of Oracle once said at a cocktail party in Silicon Valley that if Mountain Eagle was willing to work for him, he could offer him an annual salary of $5 million.

Of course, that was just a joke at the party, but it shows Mountain Eagle's value.

He definitely loves money, but it's not about $500,000 or $1 million.

And over that amount, do you think you can mobilize so much money?

The CIA's budget has always been tight, every dollar accounted for, and if you redirect funds from elsewhere, what do you think the people in charge elsewhere would think?"

The lean Director Watson knew Mori was correct!

It's well-known that the CIA directors only serve to kiss the president's butt, and the real power lies with the various deputy directors.

If Watson used the CIA's funds to cover his own mistakes and it got out, he would face an investigation.

Getting the attendees to fund it out of pocket was even more impossible...

They are officials from the power departments of the United States, who could not afford to spend their own money even if it was a matter of life and death, because they could not afford to lose face!

Looking at the confident Mori, Director Watson paused for a moment and said, "What do you suggest?

Do you think we can retrieve the notebook by other means?"

Mori spread his hands and said, "Sir, you should talk to Ms. Randy in charge of Europe, confronting Mountain Eagle harshly will definitely have serious consequences.

The guy is a powerhouse of violence, trying to mess with him using shady means will only increase expenses, and I can't see any benefit to it.

Moreover, Snowden is still in his hands, and pushing him too far could lead to the leakage of files, which would ruin or even kill a lot of people."

Then Mori suddenly shook his head and chuckled, "I really didn't expect, this guy turns out to be a policeman!

I also didn't expect that our people in Southeast Asia would end up in his hands…"

Watson, slightly headache-stricken, removed his glasses and pinched the bridge of his nose. The losses in Southeast Asia over the past half year had been too substantial...

First, $20 million worth of drugs from Golden Triangle to the Middle East were intercepted...

Then the pursuit of Plutonium in cooperation with England was essentially declared a failure...

Finally, an elite assembly of CIA operatives was completely wiped out by a terrorist organization during a public operation...

Losing the drugs only meant the loss of some unplanned finance, but if the lost Plutonium turned up elsewhere and caused harm, they would be in big trouble.

The most serious issue was, they still couldn't find someone to take over the operations in Thailand in the near future.

Mori easily foresaw Director Watson's predicament, and smiling, said: "Sir, Mountain Eagle is willing to hear our offer, which means he is definitely willing to deal.

If you give me enough authority, I can try to continue the conversation with him.

I can't guarantee a positive outcome, but I promise it won't get worse."

Upon hearing this, Director Watson communicated softly with those around him and finally nodded heavily to Mori and said, "OK..."

With the promise secured, Mori took a deep breath, reorganized his words, and called Mountain Eagle again...

As soon as the call connected, Mori said, "Mountain Eagle, would you like to work for us?

Thailand is very close to the Golden Triangle, and the position of CIA Southeast Asia Director is very attractive..."

Mountain Eagle did not expect Mori to start with such a bizarre condition, speaking very directly...

To be honest, it was a tempting offer!

But to Mountain Eagle's ears, it meant something else...

Mori was officially starting to bargain!

By not mentioning money for the job, it signaled to Mountain Eagle that big money was definitely off the table...

Mentioning the Golden Triangle hinted that the CIA could get its hands dirty and could use drug traffickers for certain operations.

Those not clever enough to catch on would quickly fall into the trap.

Mountain Eagle thought for a moment and said, "I already have a job. It doesn't pay much and keeps me very busy, but I find my life fulfilling."

Mori responded with a smile, "Being a Thai Police officer is tough!

I see from your records that you work in Kamui, is there any way we can assist you?

We have some intelligence on Malacca maritime trade that might be useful to you."

Mountain Eagle immediately knew this guy hadn't done his homework and failed at geography.

The fact that he was a Volunteer Police was well known to all, and Kamui leads directly to the Myanmar Sea, which doesn't have much to do with Malacca trade ties.

Mori was making offers without even understanding this, which was amusing.

But these details were unimportant, as Mori was laying groundwork...

He offered a seemingly useful benefit, regardless of whether Mountain Eagle accepted or not, the ball was now in Mountain Eagle's court to name a price.

This shifted their entirely passive situation because once Mountain Eagle named his price, the issue would shift to bargaining.

Mountain Eagle also read a lot from Mori's demeanor; those around him definitely could not offer satisfying money...

Luckily, Mountain Eagle hadn't been interested in money from the start, so he smiled and said, "Working as a Thai Police officer is indeed hard, especially for volunteers like me who frequently deal with tourist incidents at sea.

Unfortunately, our equipment is very outdated, sometimes..."

Mori quickly responded, understandingly, "Mountain Eagle, as a friend, I recommend you get a Mark V SOC special warfare boat. Although it's been retired from the United States Navy, I assure you it's a good ship."

Mountain Eagle, surprised, said, "Mark V SOC special warfare boat? Is that even for sale?"

Mori laughed and said, "Of course it's not for sale, but it's different if it's aid.

Supporting the Thai Coast Guard to develop seaborne mobility to mitigate the threat of pirates in Malacca is a responsibility that a responsible major country should take.

Also, the Mark V SOC boats were all decommissioned last year due to some issues, letting those ships rust in naval bases around the world isn't ideal; better to send them where they're needed more."

Then, Mori spoke in a highly enticing tone, "Mountain Eagle, the Mark V SOC is priced near 15 million US Dollars; although retired, I assure you the boat provided as aid will be in good condition, with its internal electronics intact and uncastrated."

Since Mountain Eagle planned to base himself in Kamui, he had specifically looked into some powerful high-speed patrol boats...

The Mark V SOC was one of them, 25 meters long, 2.5 meters wide, with a full-load displacement of 57 tons, a top speed of 65 knots, and a maximum range of 650 nautical miles...

The boat was equipped with 5 automated weapon turrets, capable of using M2 heavy machine guns, grenade launchers, M240 machine guns, and could carry 16 Seals, deployable by transport aircraft globally within 48 hours.

This craft was indeed designed for Seal penetration operations, and being phased out wasn't due to inadequacy but because it couldn't meet global deployment needs.

Whether it's air-dropping through transport aircraft or direct sea entry by helicopters, its structural strength doesn't meet the requirements.

Without this spec, there was nothing the United States Navy couldn't replace it with!

Although this craft was a mere surplus for the United States Navy, for Mountain Eagle, it was perfectly suited!

He was planning operations against pirates in the Andaman Sea area, and Mori had gifted him the perfect tool.

Having confronted pirates directly, Mountain Eagle knew well what a 25-meter armed patrol boat represented.

If truly uncastrated, with smoothly operating automatic weapons station and fully equipped with radar and other electronics, combating pirates in speedboats would be like child's play.

This unexpected windfall was too good to pass up!

Mountain Eagle hesitated for a moment then said, "Not enough..."

Mori, taken aback, responded, "Buddy, if you're not satisfied with my offer, you can state your terms...

It's best if we reach an agreement today; I might still make it to California for that appointment, and we could all get a good night's sleep."

Mountain Eagle replied with a laugh, "I actually quite like the special warfare boat, but even if given to me, I would use it to fulfill my police duties.

If it were you, trading your laptop and taking risks, would you settle for just that?"

Mountain Eagle stroked his chin and continued, "I have a few more conditions. Agree to them, and I'll hand over the laptop to you..."

Mori, troubled, said, "You name them, but please don't go overboard, we have plenty of opportunities for cooperation in the future."

Mountain Eagle replied with a smile, "Don't worry, I'm not asking for money..."

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