CH63: KOREDE THE INTEL BROKER

This is a passion work. So, I would really appreciate it if you leave behind a review when you're done reading.

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[I'm sure you know that, in wars, it is the civilians that have nothing to do with it who will suffer it the most. You're starting a gang war. Have you not thought about how you're putting civilians in danger?]

'You think I would put civilians in danger?' Korede asked, a little amused and a little annoyed to be honest.

[After witnessing your Apotheosis, No I don't. Which is why I'm confused.]

'Ok.' Korede said. 'Just so you know, you should have just read my mind when I first formulated this plan back then, you would already know the answer if you did.'

[No thanks. I'll be reducing the number of times I read your mind going forward. Being in someone's thoughts is not as cool as it sounds.]

Korede chuckled. 'Anyway, Gang wars, at least in this part of the world, have rules of engagement just like in conventional wars. Other gangs would ensure that the conflicting gangs follow this rule. Since the Nigerian Mob became the top gang in the country, they've strongly committed to enforcing these rules of engagement. After all, these rules make sure that the conflict doesn't affect other gangs in one way or the other.

First, Gang wars aren't allowed to last long, a week at most. Even if it's called 'War', most conflicts are ended in one big battle to settle the scores.

Second, Civilian casualties are a big No-no. That's why most battles take place at places away from the populace.

Third, as an offshoot of the previous rule, the Legal establishments of a gang are off-limits. Most of the people at these establishments are usually innocents. On the other hand, Illegal establishments are free-pickings. People at these places aren't usually classified as 'innocents'.

Forth, this also counts as why the rules exist in the first place. The involvement of Law enforcement bodies must be prevented. Wars must not escalate to the extent that Law enforcement gets committed to taking action. Usually, if a Task-force is organised to 'tackle crime', it not only affects the warring gangs but also other gangs. This is the reason why these 'rules of engagements' exist.

As you can see, civilians are mostly not in danger.

This is also the reason why I want to control the person in charge of each gang. The current leadership is predictable. It is easy to guide their actions in a certain direction. If all these weren't the case, the NDI wouldn't let me do as I please. Don't forget, one of my mandates was to avoid civilian casualties. I would have been stopped if it was obvious my action would violate the mandate.'(1)

[Ok.] Aon's doubt seemed to have been put to rest. [Knowing you, you probably have a plan in place to ensure things don't get out of hand. I don't think you would rely on the gangs and their rules of engagement.]

'Rely on? Of course not. I'm just going to make use of it. I already have an idea of just what to do next. I just need to get home and read through the intel Special Agent Ndike sent over to see if it's feasible.'

The car started and Korede headed back for the Safehouse.

Once he got to the apartment, he made for the armoury without delay. He opened the laptop with his biometrics and accessed the intel Special Agent Ndike had sent him.

He spent a good thirty minutes pouring over everything, making sure he didn't miss anything. Once done, he reclined into the chair as his fingers tapped on the table. A few minutes later, his eyes lit up as he was done refining his previous plan.

[Planning complete?]

'Yeah.' Korede said. 'I've decided to go with a simple plan. The gangs haven't made their move because they don't have enough intel on the NDz, right? So, I'm going to give it to them. This way, I can control where they attack and possibly how they go about it. Luckily, NDI's intel is comprehensive enough.'

Korede hadn't even finished talking before his fingers started tapping away on the Laptop's keyboard.

Before he knew it, he was fully concentrated on what he was doing that he forgot to finish his explanation.

Aon 'shook its head'.

By now, it was used to Korede's quirks to an extent and knew the youth would explain when he was done. So, Aon just watched and waited.

Korede finished compiling a file which he then posted on a website. He picked up his phone, connected it to a voice modulator and dialled a number.

"Hello. Who is this?" The person on the other side of the line asked.

"I am someone who can give you the location of the NDz bases you're looking for. For a small price, of course." Korede replied.

"What are you? An information broker?"

"Come on, Gang leader Adesuwa. Don't say it like that, I'm a businessman out to 'enlighten' those on the path of justice.' Korede replied with a chuckle, though it didn't exactly sound nice with his voice modulated.

"Yeah right. I'm sure you would turn around and sell our information to the Duke the first chance you get." Ada Adesuwa retorted.

"Come on. That's an affront on my integrity. I'm only willing to give this information to you because I believe your two gangs are on the path of justice. I don't want you to lose this war because you are underdogs and uninformed. While I can't offer you men or weapons, I can offer you knowledge of your enemies. 'Know yourself and your enemy and you've won half the battle' as the saying goes."

"So why aren't you giving it to me for free then?"

"Surely you jest. Do you know how hard it was to get this intel? How much it costs? I might be on the side of justice but I'm still a businessman. I have to charge you something even if it's just cost price." Korede replied in a somewhat more serious tone. "I've sent you a link. Click on it and you'll see what I'm offering."

Ada Adesuwa checked the message on his phone and clicked the link. It took him to the same website Korede had previously used when he sold the video to Jonathan Duke. Adesuwa clicked on the document and an option to preview was shown. He clicked on it and he saw a list of addresses.

"What's this?" He asked.

"I see you've opened it. The preview shows the addresses of the NDz major illegal establishments. You don't have to go through the stress of searching anymore. Just take those out and they'll bleed. Consider this a gift." Korede said, once again in a laid-back tone. "If you buy the complete file, however, you'll get access to the schematics of each building, guard distribution, information on the heads of each establishment and an advisory on how to go about attacking each site with minimal casualties on your side. All this for an inexpensive price of 10 million naira and 10% of all the cash you discover at these sites."

"What? You greedy bastard! Why the hell would I pay you such an amount?"

Korede's voice became serious again. "I'm offering you everything you need for a successful attack and revenge. You just have to follow the plan and you'll succeed. Besides, I can confidently say you won't find the money vaults at those locations without my help.

Taking 10% commission is reasonable.

The money at these locations will blow your mind. My conservative estimates say 100 million. Meaning you just have to give me 10 million. If I had the men, do you think I would be sharing this cake with you?"

"I'll think about it."

"Don't think too long. The intel in the file is only valid for today. NDz might change things up tomorrow. If you want the same set of intel tomorrow, the price will go up to 35 million and 20%."

"Aren't you too greedy?"

"This again? If intel-gathering was so easy, there wouldn't be people like me. Do you know how many resources I'll be using to get the required intel for you? Anyway, if you decide to buy the intel, the payment link is on the site.

Fair warning though, once you guys pay the initial amount, I'll be expecting my commission. Failure to pay the commission after your successful raid, you'll earn yourself an enemy. If I can get intel on the NDz, don't doubt that I can do the same for your gangs."

"Are you threatening me?!"

"Threaten? No no. I'm making you a promise. FYI, I keep my promises."

With that, Korede dropped the call. He massaged the area between his eyebrow to the bridge of his nose.

'Psych-Ops is tiring. I wish I could have just given him the intel and be done with it. Unfortunately, these idiots won't believe it if I did that.' Korede complained.

[What if he doesn't pay?]

'That's the beauty of this. It doesn't matter if he pays or not. He already has the list that I intended to give him. Given his character, he'll spread his men out and attack all the locations.

The locations I sent to him are on the outskirts of the city and far away from residential areas. With the NDz being be spread thin trying to reinforce all their businesses, it would be difficult for backup to arrive and reinforce those locations. This means the battles at each location would be small-scaled and controlled. So, the likelihood of civilian casualty is minimal to nil. Also, the DSS can easily swoop in and arrest all the survivors of the battles after they let their guard down. Multiple birds with one stone.'

[Sounds impressive. However, what if he doesn't behave as you expect him to?]

'If it was Oziomo, I would be worried. But Adesuwa? I would bet 10 million naira that he would do exactly what I said. He's just that predictable. If not, I wouldn't spend so much effort putting him in charge.'

[There's another reason you planned this that you didn't mention, right?]

'Is that so?' Korede smiled.

[With the two gangs attacking different important establishments at the same time, Duke would be forced to send more men as reinforcement which most likely means his large guard detail would reduce. That gives an opportunity to another group you've prepared.

Peter Duke wouldn't let this chance slip by. When he does, you would be able to find out what trump cards the Duke has in store. A man of this calibre would definitely have more than he shows on the surface.]

'I thought that would be a surprise. Well, if it gets you to finally show your true colours, I don't mind. I've never believed someone as old as you couldn't see through everything I've done so far, especially when they're laid bare to you like this.'

[You scheming little brat. You're not behaving like a soldier at all.] Aon chuckled.

'It's not scheming, Ok? It's strategy.' Korede retorted. 'Besides, who said soldiers could only use their muscles. A lot of us use our brains, Ok?'

[Sure, sure. Whatever you say.]

Meanwhile, back at the two gangs' hideout.

"Who was that?" Azuka asked

"An intel broker." Adesuwa replied. "He wants to sell us intel on the NDz"

He handed his phone to his partner.

"What's this?"

"A list of major underground businesses owned by the NDz. Our boys would never have been able to find all of them. At least, not within this short time."

"Did you pay for this?"

"No" Adesuwa answered, shaking his head. "According to the guy, this is merely an appetiser. Schematics, guard detail, intel on the location's head and most importantly, a foolproof attack plan. These are what he's asking us to pay for."

"How much?"

"10 million naira upfront and 10% of the cash we acquire after the raids."

"it's a little high. However, to us right now, just this intel he has given to us is worth that price."

"I don't completely agree but I see your point. I'm just wondering if we must pay since we already have the locations."

"It's best we pay. I don't think someone like this would be foolish enough to give us something like this without strings attached. Even if he is, what he's offering at the price is worth it as it can save our men. If we lose too many men right now, it would be difficult to hold our territories back home. Let's just pay."

"Ok, Ok. I see your point. 50/50 split?"

"Of course."

Azuka transferred 5 million naira to Adesuwa and the latter paid. It was the same dark-web third party payments site to the Cayman Island account.

Soon, Korede received a credit alert. He smiled,

"Fish took the bait, hook, line and sinker."

[A.N: Please, don't forget to leave a review of the work to encourage me. Your opinion matters to me.]

AUTHOR'S NOTE/RAMBLINGS.

It's been a while since I rambled. Don't know if I should stop or continue. What do you think?

1 This was long for one dialogue but let's say he was able to convey all this because they're communicating through thoughts and not speech.

[A.N: Please, don't forget to leave a review of the work to encourage me. Your opinion matters to me.]

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