books44 Chapter 820: Three conditions, any one of them is pure profit!
Chapter 820: Three conditions, any one of them is pure profit!
In the private room of the Seventh Fleet Officers' Club, the air conditioning hissed, but it couldn't stop the cold sweat from dripping down Vice Admiral Harris's forehead.
Uncle Jin, the head of the CIA's Asia-Pacific intelligence department, was slowly pulling a "Confidential" intelligence briefing from his briefcase, pushing it in front of the two men, and pointing to a line of bold English: "Mumps outbreak in Montagnard villages."
"General, we may have a more pressing issue that needs to be addressed first."
“Mumps?!” Brigadier General Anderson leaned closer, and the moment he saw the word, he instinctively covered his cheek, a look of lingering fear on his face.
"God! Mumps? I vaguely remember that disease... I've had it before! The army doctor just gave me a few aspirin pills and told me to tough it out! Damn it, that bastard doctor didn't tell me that after my cheeks hurt... my testicles would hurt too!"
Upon hearing this, Uncle Jin's gaze swept subtly beneath Anderson's belt, a hint of pity rising in his eyes for the golden-haired monkey.
He has a more detailed medical report: if mumps infection in adult men is not treated in time, it can lead to testicular inflammation and even testicular atrophy in severe cases.
But he didn't point it out, he just slowly turned the page of the briefing: "The Brigadier General is right, this disease is more dangerous for adults. You see, the briefing says that in the Montag tribe on the South Vietnamese border, there have been serious cases of infection, and seven people have died from complications leading to heart failure."
Uncle Jin tapped the document, his tone serious: "There is no specific cure for this disease, because aspirin and penicillin are ineffective against the mumps virus!"
“Yes! I’m absolutely certain of that! Although aspirin can provide temporary relief, you wouldn’t understand the pain in my testicles!” Brigadier General Anderson’s face showed a faint sadness.
Uncle Jin's lips twitched: I think it's not just your balls that hurt, your brain has probably been affected by the virus too...
Lieutenant General Harris's hand clenched the briefing tightly, his voice trembling: "A highly contagious disease? It's over... My general's rank is completely gone!"
He could almost picture the questioning on Capitol Hill and the headlines in the newspapers: "If the pandemic causes a large number of South Vietnamese civilian deaths and even affects troop morale, the White House will definitely pin all the blame on me! My appointment as general... I'm afraid I'll never get it!"
Uncle Jin looked at Harris, who was on the verge of collapse, and a glint of light flashed in his eyes. He then showed a hint of curiosity: "General, why do you think this is a crisis? In my opinion, this epidemic may be the key to your breakthrough."
"Break the deadlock?" Harris grabbed Uncle Kim's wrist abruptly, as if grasping at a lifeline. "You have a solution? Tell me quickly! As long as this can be resolved, I'll coordinate any support the CIA needs!"
Uncle Jin gently withdrew his hand, his fingertips tapping on the table with a "tap-tap" sound. His eyes were sharp as an eagle's. As the CIA's Asia-Pacific director, he knew all too well how to use "work requirements" to disguise his true purpose.
He held up three fingers and said, word by word, "To solve this problem, you and the Brigadier General need to cooperate on three things, all of which are 'routine collaboration requirements' for the CIA Asia Pacific region."
Harris nodded immediately: "Go ahead!"
“First, more flexible regional procurement authorization.” Uncle Jin raised his first finger. “The CIA has designated procurement channels in Hong Kong. Now we need the Seventh Fleet to issue an ‘Emergency Procurement Letter for Epidemic Prevention Supplies’, authorizing our department to procure all necessary non-sensitive medical supplies in the Asia-Pacific region with the highest priority and the best price, without having to go through cumbersome approval procedures. After all, infectious diseases don’t wait for anyone. By the time the procedures are completed, everyone will be dead.”
“Uh… can mumps kill half the population?” Brigadier General Anderson scratched his head, his eyes full of doubt, but thinking of Egg’s sadness, he nodded repeatedly to Harris, “Manager Kim is right! The approval process is too tedious. Last time we applied for funding for a batch of bandages, we waited for half a month!”
"Since the Seventh Fleet is making us pay for this project, the authority to approve the funding should rightfully lie with us!"
Harris's lips twitched as he looked at Anderson, whose IQ had suddenly plummeted. He was about to retort when he remembered his unresolved appointment as general, and finally waved his hand listlessly: "I'll have Anderson issue you the highest-level procurement authorization letter!"
Harris, who could sit in the position of fleet commander, was no ordinary person. He naturally understood that Uncle Jin's request was a bit too much, but as he said before: I don't care what happens after I die!
Uncle Kim was not surprised by Harris's compromise, and continued to raise his second finger: "Theater intelligence sharing must be deepened and normalized."
Uncle Kim deliberately used the keyword "war zone".
"We need to know which tribes are concentrated with infections, which areas are blind spots for the transportation of supplies, and more importantly, we need to know which people in the tribes are your informants, or suspected of colluding with the enemy."
He paused deliberately, looking at the sudden seriousness on their faces, and slowly explained: "As you two know, the CIA and the Office of Naval Intelligence (ONI) have always had the rule of 'division of labor without overlap'."
Our main focus is on high-level movements in North Vietnam and the core structure of the Viet Cong, such as the infiltration and sabotage missions in 'Operation 34-A,' which rely on airdropped agents and radio interception. Meanwhile, the Seventh Fleet is in charge of coastal defense in South Vietnam, and your ground observers have been dealing with the Montag tribes for years, possessing 'informant files' and 'lists of suspicious persons,' all based on firsthand data gathered from port investigations and fishing village surveillance. This kind of 'tactical' grassroots intelligence is completely inaccessible to the CIA's South Vietnam station.”
These words hit the nail on the head. During the Cochinchina War, the intelligence system of the United States was always fragmented: the CIA dominated strategic intelligence and covert operations, while the military controlled tactical intelligence and battlefield reconnaissance. Even with joint agencies like MACV/SOG, the CIA could only apply for operational authorization through military channels, but could not gain access to its grassroots intelligence networks.
The Montag tribes were a mix of military and civilians along the coast, and many of them secretly passed on supplies and intelligence to the Vietnamese army. The list of these "near-shore spies" was directly controlled by the Seventh Fleet and was considered a "core secret of coastal defense."
Seeing that the two men's expressions had softened, Uncle Jin pressed his advantage, saying, "Now that the epidemic is raging, if we give medicine to suspected individuals first, they might transfer the medicine to the Vietnamese army; if we miss an informant, and that informant gets infected and dies, your coastal defense intelligence network will be disrupted. So we must share this list with the CIA to coordinate the distribution of supplies. This will allow us to accurately prevent the epidemic and also help you protect your intelligence lines. It's a win-win situation."
Harris frowned, his hand unconsciously stroking the vice admiral's star insignia on his left shoulder. A fierce internal struggle raged within him. He knew all too well what relinquishing this intelligence access meant; it was tantamount to exposing a portion of the fleet's accumulated resources to the CIA. The consequences of such a leak would be unimaginable.
But... his gaze fell once again on the report about the epidemic, thinking of the pressure in Washington, and of that seemingly within-reach general.
Ultimately, the intense desire for promotion outweighed the fear of risk.
Harris took a deep breath, as if making a firm decision, and said in as calm a tone as possible, "Okay... I will order the fleet intelligence department to establish a dedicated communication channel with you to share necessary intelligence related to the epidemic risk assessment, including... the location information of relevant personnel. But it must be strictly limited to the minimum scope required for epidemic prevention, and all contacts must be recorded."
Uncle Jin wore a "professional" and "satisfied" smile: Oh, he even added some restrictive clauses. Is he seeking psychological comfort? Ha, as long as the sluice gate is opened even a crack, there are plenty of ways to see more "water"!
"Of course, General Harris, everything is based on the principles of epidemic prevention and work needs, and follows the procedures. Thank you for your support and trust."
Uncle Jin spread his hands, his sincere expression seeming to say: You have to believe me!
Trust me!
Yeah!
"I don't believe you for a second! The CIA is full of bad apples!" Harris slammed down a swig of his drink. What did this mean? Wasn't this like extending their reach into the core intelligence circle of the Seventh Fleet?
Intelligence is such a thing...
Harris's expression shifted between light and dark, and he instinctively wanted to back out.
Uncle Jin looked at Harris earnestly and said, "Don't be afraid. Think about it. After intelligence sharing, you can get timely information on the daily number of infections, the consumption of supplies, feedback from tribal leaders, and even changes in the villagers' emotions. This intelligence can not only help us adjust our epidemic prevention strategies, but also help you prove to the White House that 'the Strategic Villages Program is actively responding to the crisis' and is part of the 'counterinsurgency effectiveness,' which is much more useful than empty reports."
Huh? You should have said so earlier! Isn't this a chance to show off in front of the boss?
Harris's eyes lit up; this was an unexpected bonus. She could both control the pandemic and provide the White House with "material for her achievements"—a win-win situation! Wasn't her own star in this sorry state precisely because it was far removed from the institutions of power?
He nodded immediately: "No problem! In addition, I'll have the intelligence department open a dedicated encrypted channel to synchronize intelligence twice a day, morning and evening, to ensure that the White Palace can see the progress as soon as possible!"
Hehehe, Uncle Jin is satisfied this time.
Extremely satisfied!
Although using the Navy's encrypted channel means that the credit goes to NAVY, does Uncle Kim care about that?
Once this theater intelligence sharing is successful, he will not only gain a more comprehensive understanding of the Bald Eagle's operational plans in Vietnam, but also obtain for his motherland an extremely valuable classified list of the Bald Eagle's intelligence network in Southeast Asia.
Judging from the current posture of the Bald Eagle, it is determined to intervene in the affairs of Jiaozhi. Perhaps its own motherland will also send troops south to provide diplomatic assistance and beat the Bald Eagle again.
That will be the moment when this intelligence network truly comes into play!
With this intelligence, how many fewer casualties can our comrades suffer!
what……
Gentle old man, you probably didn't expect that I would make such a great contribution, did you?
Uncle Jin thought to himself with delight, "When I get back to China, I'll definitely ask you to cook a dish for me to enjoy with my drinks!"
Yes! We must drink Jiujiang Shuangzheng liquor!
Recalling the taste from his memory, Uncle Jin squinted his eyes with excitement.
"What's the third point?"