Mercenary I am the king

Chapter 825 Jasper's Ambition
Langley, Virginia, CIA headquarters.

At 3:15 a.m., the conference room on the seventh floor was brightly lit.

Director Vincent Crawford slammed his fist on the mahogany conference table, knocking over the coffee cup in front of him.

The dark brown liquid seeped onto the top-secret document, much like the bloodstains splattered inside the armored car when Pence Howard was blown to pieces.

"More than twenty elite bodyguards! Four armored vehicles! Helicopter support!"

Vincent's voice sounded like it was being squeezed out from between his teeth.

"And then he was sent flying by a roadside bomb by a terrorist?!"

The twelve senior officials in the conference room were frozen in their seats like plaster statues.

Simon Wright, director of the counterterrorism center, calmly wiped the coffee splattered on his glasses, while Coleman, the director of African affairs, had his Adam's apple bobbing up and down, and sweat had soaked through his shirt collar.

"Take a good look at the on-site investigation report."

Vincent grabbed the tablet and slammed it onto the center of the table.

"Six kilograms of TNT mixed with 20 kilograms of metal fragments—a typical IED from Iligor. Our former deputy chief now needs a forensic doctor to dig it out of the car with a spoon!"

Coleman adjusted his glasses: "Chief, according to the ballistic analysis provided by the Chadian police, the attackers used—"

“I know what they used!” Vincent interrupted him, impatiently demanding, “What I want to know is why our former deputy director died in that cesspool in Africa! Why is that madman Song Heping still alive! We are the CIA, the most powerful intelligence agency on the planet! We can even orchestrate the assassination of a president, but we can't do anything to the small boss of a crappy defense company!”

"Tell me! Should I fire you all, and even resign as director, so the Security Committee can bring him back to my position?"

Even the usually composed Vincent was now acting like an angry young man, pointing at his seat as he spoke, his face filled with immense humiliation.

After the roar, the conference room fell into dead silence.

On one side of the conference table, Jasper peeked at the screen on his tablet. It was a photo of the explosion site. Inside the open car door, the back seat was covered with severed limbs and pieces of flesh. It was impossible to tell which piece of flesh belonged to Pence and which belonged to the bodyguard.

His feelings were complicated.

There was a strange sadness, but also a hint of excitement.

The deputy director position became vacant, and he was now closer to that position.

"Gentlemen."

Vincent suddenly calmed down, a calmness more terrifying than a roar.

"From now on, the capture of Song Heping is the CIA's top priority. I've decided to concentrate the bureau's elite forces into this team to launch a full-scale hunt for Song Heping, so I've recalled one person."

Before anyone could react, Vincent pressed the shortcut key on the landline in front of him: "Call Simon in."

Simon?

Jasper's expression changed instantly, and he turned to the door in surprise.

After a while, the door opened.

Simon walked into the conference room.

"Simon needs no introduction. We're all old colleagues. He dealt with Song Heping in Yili, and he's the only person in our department who has ever caught Song Heping. He was also the first to report to the department that this person was problematic and to have the department investigate Song. It was our mistake that we didn't pay enough attention to it at the time."

He gestured for Simon to sit down.

Simon found a seat to sit next to Jasper.

As he sat down, Jasper subconsciously shifted to the other side, not actually moving any distance, but it was just a subconscious action.

Upon seeing Simon, Jasper seemed to see the soap bubble of his previous dreams burst in the sunlight.

Summoning Simon back to Langley headquarters from so far away clearly indicates that he is to be entrusted with an important task.

Jasper was unaware of the shady dealings between Simon and Song Heping.

But Chief Vincent is right.

Simon is currently the only person in the bureau who has ever caught Song Heping.

In other words, the director may have already had someone else in mind to lead the special task force.

Thinking of this, he was immediately filled with turmoil. Simon, sitting next to him, was not much better off.

Simon himself had guessed the director's intention in recalling him.

Taking on the role of leader of the special task force would certainly be a good opportunity for advancement, but if the task force's mission is to hunt down Song Heping...

The thought of this gave him a headache.

Six or seven years ago, he would have been quite happy to take on this responsibility.

Unfortunately, today is different from the past.

I am no longer the person I used to be.

Simon used to be a legitimate CIA station chief in Iligo.

Simon is still the stationmaster.

The difference is that he has an additional identity—an undercover agent.

Song Heping's undercover agent.

He felt as if he were walking on thin ice, as if he were walking a tightrope.

If he doesn't accept this assassination mission, his chances of rising to the top will obviously be very slim.

Next.

Want to get rid of Song Heping?

Is that possible?

Unless you don't want to live anymore.

Just as he was in a state of turmoil but pretended to be nonchalant, Jasper suddenly stood up.

"Director."

He swallowed hard, composed himself, and made his voice tremble slightly to appear somewhat excited.

"Please allow me to take charge of this operation. Pence is my mentor and also my best friend."

Several officials in the conference room exchanged glances, their expressions turning somewhat strange.

They're all ancient foxes, why are they singing about ghost stories?

That's right.

Jasper and Pence have a good relationship.

But there's really no need to get so emotional.

How many people who work as spies aren't heartless?

Whether Jasper's profound grief as a former assistant deputy director and head of the intelligence analysis department was due to official or personal reasons is obvious to anyone with discerning eyes.

Simon was taken aback by this turn of events, and was initially stunned, but then overjoyed.

At the head of the conference table, Vincent narrowed his eyes: "Jasper, are you familiar with the situation in North Africa? Are you familiar with Song Heping?"

"Director, have you forgotten that I spent two years in Africa? And two years in the Middle East as well?"

Jasper responded quickly, having already prepared his answer, outlining his strengths and experience.

"Furthermore, I've been studying Song Heping for over a year. I have all his background information, and I also know his weaknesses."

Vincent asked, "So, what's your plan?"

Jasper said, "Song Heping himself does indeed have few weaknesses, but after reviewing all his information, I suddenly had an idea: why are we keeping an eye on him? I mean, why are we constantly tracking and hunting him down? Why can't we make him reveal himself?"

Vincent tapped his fingers lightly on the table: "Jasper, stop playing games, tell me your plan."

(End of this chapter)