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Chapter 198 Baroque: Brilliant! (Third Update!)

This was an excellent suggestion, and Kerry was deeply moved that Baroque would still remember him at this time.

He was very touched and declined.

He looked at the Baroque man in front of him with a stern face, lowered his voice, and asked:
"You replaced your previous supplier with a different product. Have you thought about how the supplier will handle this?"

"What will you say if someone asks?"

Everyone here is a sensible person; Baroque naturally understood what Kerry was trying to say.

He understood that Kerry wasn't referring to the supplier, but rather the person behind the supplier.

He then exhaled softly and replied with a smile:

“Kerry, as someone born after World War II, you still seem to have forgotten the basic rules governing how this world works.”

"This world may seem peaceful, but might makes right is always the guarantee of power."

"If we add a gun, then power will be in our hands forever."

What could he say? What did he want to say?

"This is America's Naval Systems Command. If they want to replace us, there are only two ways: First, get through to the President, Congress, the Department of Defense, and the Naval Operations Department."

“Using this method, each node is a pit. How much will it cost you to fill this pit?”

"The second option is for us to die and for new people to take our place."

"This route is the fastest and the easiest to succeed."

"But if we die, and our positions are vacated, won't others be eyeing them covetously?"

"If we live, the situation is still under control, but if we die, the situation will immediately spiral out of control, and everyone who wants this position will come out to fight for it."

"Therefore, maintaining the status quo is in everyone's best interest."

"If you switch suppliers, that's fine too."

"There's no need to worry!"

Baroque's long-winded speech successfully persuaded Kerry. He pursed his lips, remained silent for a long time, then raised his head with a look of resignation, and asked:
"what can I do?"

“It’s simple!” Baroque stretched out his right hand. “Give me some data, some evidence that these suppliers’ products are no longer worth their high prices.”

This one sentence successfully broke Kerry's defenses.

His carefully cultivated emotions crumbled instantly, and he gritted his teeth as he questioned:

"So you came to me just want this kind of data?"

“What else?” Baroque countered, but quickly understood Kerry’s meaning and added:
“This evidence needs to be secured by someone, and as the chief engineer, you are the most suitable candidate.”

"Besides giving me the data, you also need to write a statement."

"Hurry!"

Hearing Baroque's urging, Kerry slowly took out a piece of stationery and a pen, and began to write on it at a leisurely pace.

Seeing his dawdling manner, Baroque had no choice but to repeat the price he had quoted not long ago:

"A single cable costs $10. If the training of the aircraft carrier battle group is intensified, it could cost tens of millions of dollars a month."

"Think about it, is it worth tens of millions of dollars for just a few words in your hand?"

Ultimately, Kerry was swayed by the figure of tens of millions of dollars, and his right hand involuntarily increased the speed of his writing.

Half an hour later, Kerry finished writing a letter that sharply argued the pros and cons while also expressing his concern for the country and its people. He put it in an envelope, sealed it with wax, and handed it to Baroque.

Baroque turned to leave, but Kerry quickly called him back, tore a piece of paper from the letter, wrote a phone number on it, and handed it to Baroque.
“This is my brother David’s contact information. The money will be distributed to the foundation account he designates.”

When he first received the note, Baroque was a little confused, but after hearing what Kerry said, he couldn't help but roll his eyes.

Bitch.

Just a moment ago you looked terrified, but now you're writing down contact information so skillfully. What are you so afraid of?

After cursing in his heart, Baroque stuffed the note into his pocket, turned around, and left.

After leaving the office building, he started his car and drove towards the Pentagon without looking back.

For such a serious matter, it's best to make the trip yourself.

The Pentagon is located in Arlington, Virginia. To get there from the Naval Systems Command, you have to pass in front of the Capitol.

As he passed the Capitol, Baroque spat out of the window. After spitting, he quickly rolled up the car window, floored the accelerator, and sped toward the Pentagon.

The Pentagon is home to America's Department of Defense.

The navy has two headquarters here.

One is the Navy's Supreme Administrative Headquarters, which is the Navy's highest administrative body. The head of the headquarters is a civilian, and the main responsibilities include budget preparation for the Navy and the formulation and adjustment of some military policies.

The other one is the Naval Operations Department.

It is also the central command center for American naval operations, headed by a four-star admiral who is responsible for global naval operations, training, and equipment development. Below it are the Global Operations Commands, which are the major fleet commands.

Unlike intellectuals who must be cultured, this so-called Naval Operations Department does not directly command specific combat operations.

In actual combat, the command authority of the subordinate fleet commands belongs to the America's regional command, which then directs the operations.

It didn't take much effort for Baroque to find his direct superior, four-star general Curtis Cotton, in the headquarters office.

Upon meeting his direct supervisor, Baroque immediately launched into a tearful tirade:
"General Curtis, I feel like I can't do my job anymore."

"Why don't you replace him with someone else to be the commander of this Naval Systems Command?"

"If I keep doing this, I'm afraid I'll go crazy. I'm afraid I won't be able to resist picking up a bomb and detonating myself one day."

The wailing successfully caught Curtis's attention. Of course, Curtis knew perfectly well that Baroque was joking. He calmly poured him a cup of black tea and placed it in front of Baroque. Before he could even speak, he heard the wailing man say:
"Add three sugar cubes!"

With a dark expression, Curtis took three sugar cubes from the cupboard and tossed them into his teacup before sitting down in front of Baroque.
"What happened?"

"Take a look at this!" Baroque handed Curtis a bunch of documents and letters he had gotten from Kerry.

He then picked up his teacup, lowered his eyes, and focused intently on stirring the black tea in his hand.

Curtis opened the letter first.

Before reading the letter, his eyes were full of doubt, but after reading it, his eyes were filled with icy coldness.

He then picked up some documents and began to look through them one by one.

In addition to the textual descriptions, the materials also contained a large number of photographs as evidence. In the color photographs, he saw that parts that should not have rusted had large areas of rust.

For parts with specific strength requirements, obvious damage occurred before the minimum requirements were met.

After reading through the materials, Curtis closed his eyes briefly, then opened them again:
"What do you want to say?"

Baroque didn't speak, but simply opened his coat, took out a document from the inside pocket, and placed it in front of Curtis. Then he picked up a cup of tea and continued to stir it gently with a spoon.

Upon seeing yet another document appear, Curtis's eyelids twitched; his intuition told him that this document was not a good thing.

But since he was already there, he still reached out and grabbed the document, then opened it.

This document is the price list for parts replacement prepared by Baroque.

Upon seeing those familiar names, Curtis immediately recalled the information he had just seen. Then he noticed the prices listed behind the parts.

After looking at it for a while, he put down the price list: "You mean, these suppliers are deliberately reducing the lifespan of these parts?"

"This forces us to frequently replace parts in our daily use, and they make a fortune off these parts."

"But at the same time, they're raising prices, right?"

At that moment, Baroque finally put down his teacup and looked straight ahead at Curtis: "That's right!"

“I know this involves everyone’s relationships, but I still have to say something.”

"If there were no war, we could certainly do that."

"But the situation has clearly changed during this period, with a series of large-scale attacks occurring in the Middle East."

"Just two days ago, the Israeli port of Eilat was completely razed to the ground."

"Under these circumstances, do you think we can let this situation continue to develop?"

"Suppose our warships are in combat, but some parts malfunction, and then they are attacked and eventually sunk."

"General, I think you understand the consequences of this better than I do."

Curtis was well aware of the consequences.

As a veteran naval officer from the Cold War era, he understood better than anyone the power of public opinion combined with force.

But if others discover that your fists are useless, then you will face their fists next.

If, in actual combat, their warships are relentlessly sunk, they will be met with an unprecedented and frenzied counterattack.

Those things they used to look down on, those things they considered insignificant, will now launch a fierce counterattack.

Making money, everyone's making money.

But there has to be a bottom line.

At the very least, we cannot delay normal operations, nor can we abandon all pretense of saving face.

Curtis let out a soft breath, then gathered all the letters, documents, and the final price list together, pressed his arm against Baroque, and asked, "Tell me your thoughts."

Baroque had been waiting for this very sentence. He leaned forward and said in a very low voice:

"Change suppliers! Release the news that because the quality of this batch of suppliers is too poor, the Navy has decided to replace all spare parts suppliers and conduct a new business review and bidding process."

"This way we can pressure all the suppliers, and at the same time, we can also drive down prices."

"Of course, the general can also make arrangements according to his own ideas."

Finally, Baroque smiled and handed over his phone, which was playing a video sent by Smith.

Curtis understood perfectly what the other person meant by that last sentence. He tapped his fingers, then casually picked up his phone from the table and watched the video on it from beginning to end.

After reading it, he understood Baroque's intention.

He placed the phone back on the table, pushed it back in front of Baroque, and then said:

"You've chosen an excellent point to break the deadlock. Just make the arrangements yourself. As for my arrangements, I'll contact you later."

With that, Curtis picked up the phone and made a call to his secretary.

During the time his secretary was there, he took out stationery from his drawer and began writing a letter to the head of the department next door, which was the Navy's highest administrative headquarters.

The letter was finished when the secretary arrived.

Curtis tossed the pile of documents into his secretary's lap and pointed at Baroque:

“Take General Baroque to the administrative headquarters and give the information to Mr. Simone. Mr. Simone knows what to do.”

A dozen minutes later, in the office two offices away, Simone finished reviewing the documents, said nothing, and instead took out his phone and made a call in front of Baroque.

The call connected, and a woman's voice came from the other end.

After saying only a couple of sentences, Simone spoke up:
"Honey, do you have a picture of that Colombian emerald and diamond necklace you mentioned a couple of days ago? If so, please send it to me. I think I saw it today."

"No photos? Only approximate data."

"How am I supposed to recognize someone without a photo? How am I supposed to brag about it to others?"

"You said the main stone is a 15-carat Muzo emerald without oil? And it's paired with a diamond tassel? You can recognize it at a glance?"

"I understand, okay, okay, it seems what I just saw was a fake."

"Pity!"

"I thought he was a rich tycoon!"

"Yes, yes, she's a rich woman! We're getting a divorce tomorrow, and I'm moving the day after!"

With a snap, Simone hung up the phone, turning apologetically to Baroque:

"I'm sorry, General Baroque, you must have found this amusing."

"I was invited yesterday and am going to a banquet today. I just received some photos and saw that the host of the banquet was wearing a necklace. I was planning to curry favor with her."

"But it looks like some clown again."

"Hey!"

After sighing, Simone seemed to snap out of his reverie, blinking as he asked, "Where were we?"

Before the other person could speak, he slapped his forehead again: "Look at my memory."

"General Curtis said in his letter that he would approve an additional grant for you."

"How much?"

Staring at that serious face, Baroque could only say one thing: brilliant, truly brilliant acting.

How can someone like that stay cooped up in the Pentagon? He should be in Hollywood, working hard and carving out a future for himself.

Baroque pressed his brow and spoke softly, but what he said was somewhat unrelated to the situation at the scene:

"If Mr. Simone wants to determine whether someone is impersonating a wealthy person, he should look at the jewelry set, not just the individual pieces."

"I've heard of the emerald and diamond necklace you mentioned, but it's a set."

"In addition to the emerald and diamond necklace, there is also an emerald ring and an emerald bracelet."

"The ring is a 10-carat Muzo emerald without oil, set with a diamond band."

"The bracelet features five 7-carat Muzo emeralds without oil, as well as diamonds, and is set in platinum."

"If you only wear one of them, it means it's a fake."

"Because only if one set appears can they mutually prove that the other two pieces of jewelry are genuine."

As Baroque introduced himself, Simone's smile grew wider and wider. As soon as Baroque finished speaking, he immediately asked:

"How much is the budget this time?"

The next second, Baroque spread his right hand with five fingers: "5 million US dollars!"

(End of this chapter)