Mercenary Black Mamba

"I have nothing to say. I will talk to him and bring him back."

Kabaye dropped his head. He looked like a heron that had eaten a cyanide bean.

"You will talk to Black Mamba?"

Bonipas laughed. What a joke. Black Mamba is the strongest man there is. He did not even care about the president. He definitely would not care about the status or power of a mere director of the DGSE. To move him into action, one had to show honesty. And that abstract honesty had to come with a specified amount of money.

Black Mamba's intuition was scarier than his physical strength. To test him was to gamble with one's own life. Valvoue, who tested him in N'Djamena, lost his right hand and could only stomach a liquid diet now. If Ariba had not interrupted, he would have bitten the dust.

According to Mekisi's report, Sergeant Samdi, who was tasked with protecting Black Mamba, was also the kind of person who was more reactive than talkative. If Kabaye tried anything in Djibouti, he would promptly become Samdi's victim. An incompetent public servant's death would be beneficial for national finances, but it would also cost more to persuade Black Mamba.

"Stop it. You haven't figured out Black Mamba properly yet. Balisari interfered with his activities and tried to interview him, which is preposterous. If she had been a man, her head would have been sent flying from her body. What do you think he would do if he finds out it was you who sent her? Miguel was burned to death. Colonel Tanche was eviscerated in his own home. Geofrey killed himself in jail. Landre and Valvoue were crippled before leaving the organization. Do you want me to see you die?"

"Sigh…"

Kabaye, whose face was pale now, looked around at Mekisi and Ariba. They nodded at once.

"You shouldn't go. The bodyguard of the Special Military Advisor is more of a beast than a man. He beheaded hundreds of cult zealots with nothing more than a shovel. He went berserk simply because they were rude to the Advisor. If the Advisor is the best warrior, Sergeant Samdi is the most severe butcher. If it weren't for the Advisor, he would have beheaded Balisari instead of hanging her to a tree. That demented b*tch isn't aware of that and considers him a savage who doesn't know how to treat a woman."

The word "behead" made Kabaye's face bulge like an alien. As if manipulated by invisible fingers, his face was strangely elongated now. It was the expression of absolute horror usually seen in movies.

"You tamed him. He will listen to you. Help me out this one time. I sincerely apologize."

Kabaye bowed. Listening to Bonipas, he realized he had to care for his own life rather than that of Balisari.

"Don't even try. Black Mamba is a beast. A beast cannot be tamed. We cooperate. He has the upper hand, to be precise. There are many people like me but there is only one of him."

Bonipas jumped. This is why old dogs need to be put down at an appropriate time. Kabaye still considered Black Mamba as a mere spy, caught in an old dogma.

"What do you want me to do?"

Kabaye surrendered his pride.

"We salute you for your hard work so far. I am not sure if I can persuade Black Mamba nor do I have the means to assuage the President's anger. To be honest, I'm stressed out trying to think of a way to persuade Black Mamba."

Bonipas left no room for negotiation. He was insinuating that Kabaye should give up.

"I see."

Kabaye sighed deeply. With unfocused eyes, he looked up at the ceiling of the office.

"The resignation form will be on my desk."

Kabaye's steps wavered as he left the Office of the General Director. Mekisi and Ariba looked at him with pity. Kabaye was once nicknamed "The Legend of the DGSE." His reputation was soiled and 33 years of public work came to an end simply because he could not control his lust. His pension was to be suspended too.

"Haha. If you're stupid, you should at least be careful. New wine must be poured into new wineskins."

'Serfund!'

Mekisi and Ariba's faces darkened. Just like that, Bonipas devoured his rival Kabaye. Their heads turned at once and they found themselves facing each other.

'Did he plan all this?'

That was the question they were both mulling about. No one knew if it was the case but no one knew if it was not either. In the DGSE, schemes and plotting were aplenty. The wind from the Seine blew through the open window and flipped open the special edition of Charlie Hebdo.

Under the sensational title, words filled the matte paper.

[The 15 of the 22 scientists from the Areva Corporation, who were abducted last year on December 18th, were rescued at last in the jungle of Ituri. The 15 survivors and three bodies arrived at the Charles de Gaulle Airport and moved to the Val-de-Grâce Military Hospital in secret.

The government acted with incompetence and lies throughout the incident. President Miterang, who appeared on the noontime news, committed fraud against the citizens. All of what he announced is false.

I went into the jungle of Ituri myself, which is called the jungle of evil, and witnessed the gruesome battlefield with my own eyes. The government tried to silence me but they could not silence me, who fervently considers the citizens' right to know as the ultimate right. Here I reveal the government's lies and fraud regarding this hostage incident.

First of all, the fourth reinforcement for the Operation Fist of Justice did not happen at all. The only person sent into the jungle of Ituri was Call Name, whose identity remains elusive and only brings about more rumors.

None of the forces of the French military was deployed last month. When we refer to the operation records of the special units, the situation becomes clearer.

Call Name is a slender-figured man, 185 centimeters tall, with supernatural powers. I was unable to see his face due to his helmet, goggles, and mask, but the skin color of his hand suggests that he is Asian.

…

The kidnappers are not simple cult members. They are cannibals who enjoy the taste of human flesh. All young female scientists of the Areva expedition team were sacrificed. Did they eat them? No. Two of the corpses were eviscerated. One seemed to have gone through a normal gestational process. Why were they all killed in such bizarre ways?

I witnessed a gigantic skeleton of a reptile in the jungle. It was not comparable to any animals that walk the earth today. The cannibals may not have abducted the scientists for ransom. They may be aliens who plan to exterminate humanity deep within the jungle of Ituri. Only the government knows the truth.

…

Thirdly, let's discuss the capability of Call Name. Call Name and a Black man who seemed to be his bodyguard, merely two people, advanced 300 kilometers into the Jungle of Evil. This jungle is known to have decimated special force units on three occasions. The units were even equipped with modern devices.

How could these two people survive the jungle that was even avoided by the aboriginals, filled with beasts and venomous creatures along with thousands of fatal parasites and diseases? These two people obliterated the armed cult of hundreds of people while rescuing the hostages without further casualties. How was that possible?

The battlefield I saw was gruesome, as if the field was stomped by some supernatural giant. There were no traces of bombs, gas, or biological weapons. The killed cult members' bodies were all torn apart, beheaded, eviscerated or dismembered.

Call Name is an unprecedented psychopath. Even though the cultists were cannibals, they did not deserve such gruesome deaths. They have human rights and the right to be happy. The government must take responsibility for this and send Call Name to the court of justice.

I suspect there is an ulterior motive as to why the government is keeping his identity hidden. Call Name is not a human being. From the records that surfaced in the Napoleonic era, I came across the incident of the Arago cave. The Arago cave is a limestone cave in the southern Province region where several dozens of villagers were killed.

One day, a demon came out of the cave. When it reached the nearby village, it massacred the residents and animals. Unexpectedly, the demon resembled a teenage boy.

The Napoleon government took the boy in and used him as a biological weapon. At the same time, they initiated a human body augmentation project to produce another demon of Arago. I am sure that these two men, Call Name and his bodyguard, are the outcomes of that project.

Fourth, the moral standards seemingly upheld by the Miterang regime are a facade. His government had a weapon like Call Name yet they sent in a special forces unit three times. These forces lacked intel about the local area. The GIGN Hostage Rescue Special Forces, HAPAS anti-terrorism unit, and the Air Force Commando CPA10 were all devoured by the jungle.

Even top-tier French anti-terrorism units could not withstand the jungle filled with beasts, venomous insects, vipers, and cannibals. Hundreds of young French people died in the savage jungle due to the government's flawed decision-making and wrongly timed rescue operations. The liar Miterang should resign at once. The parliament should designate a special auditor who will investigate the dogma and suspicious acts of the government regarding the recent incident.

…

Due to the half-hearted measures taken by the authorities, seven bright French scientists lost their lives. The death of five competent female scientists is especially a huge loss for the French scientific community. Female scientists only amount to three percent of the number of male scientists. This means female scientists are 30 times more valuable than male scientists. The government should plan a special budget for the education and training of female scientists, to make up for this loss.

…

The authorities must cease their attempts at making the people blind and deaf. They must reveal the identity of Call Name. The president who mocked the people with blatant lies should resign at once. The parliament should initiate a special committee for the investigation of the Areba hostage incident.

The three of them read the article over 20 times. They were close to memorizing the entirety of it. Aliens, cannibals, supernatural powers, education and training of female scientists, a monster of Ituri. A normal person would never believe any of it. It was fiction, with a feminist lean. Not rational at all. The problem was that Balisari's article was based upon facts. It was fiction-based on non-fiction.

"Mekisi, how are you handling that wretched magazine?"

Bopipas lit his cigarette. Because of all these people, he started smoking again. A peculiar odor like fish filled "the swimming room".

"Charlie Hebdo's record says 5,000 copies were printed. Luckily, none of them was sent to other regions. Of the 1,200 copies spread across the district where the magazine is circulated, 1,180 were confiscated. One thousand gendarmes are searching for the rest. It will be taken care of."

"Not a single copy should be seen by any eyes. Tell the citizens that it is a ruse by neo-Nazis who seek to sow social unrest."

"Roger. We are on it."

"Jail Balisari, the treacherous wench. We shall behead her."

Bonipas's eyes narrowed like a snake's and seemed to emit a bluish tint. It was a telltale sign that he was deeply angry.

"Sir, if we prosecute Balisari for undermining national secrecy, it is like we admit the existence of Call Name."

"Hasn't she already leaked the photo?"

"She did but it wasn't leaked. Only Sergeant Samdi appeared in the photos. The Advisor wasn't in the film of Pignol either. According to the photographer, the shots containing the Asian were all whitened out as if the film was exposed to light. Unbelievable but it was true."

"When it comes to Black Mamba, nothing is ever too surprising. So Balisari just ran her mouth without a real picture of Call Name?"

Bonipas's eyes narrowed.

"Yes. She is charged with inciting social unrest. We shall issue her a fine and let her go. There are a lot of foreigners recently."

"Yeah. The back alleys of Paris are not safe anymore."

Bonipas nodded. He did not need to hear the rest. Balisari, who did something insane, will become insane herself. Drugged up, she may fall off a cliff or crash into a truck after driving too fast. The hands-on guys will take care of it.