Mercenary Black Mamba

"Hm!" Bonipas and Claude breathed rapidly.

"Removing whoever's in my way," that strict mindset was Azrael's true personality.

Claude cemented his thoughts. He was never going to be fooled by Black Mamba's innocent face and slurred pronunciation. That man was the Ange de la Mort, the Angel of Death. He could become Miguel or Landre with a single mistake.

"Ye...yes. Whether it's the GCP or GIGN, they're frogs in front of you, Black Mamba."

That rotten brat!

Bonipas glared at Claude. Talking about frogs with Black Mamba was like seeking the wrong address. In fact, Black Mamba took it the wrong way and answered snidely.

"Destroying a training center where 400 crazy warriors have gathered out of religious beliefs and stayed without a sound? Without a trace? That's something that calls for more money."

Black Mamba frowned at Bonipas. Black Mamba wasn't interested in the life cycle of a snake and a frog. His brain was already overwhelmed with the burden of coming up with a solution to erase Ruman.

Replicated firearms that were made in North Korea had modeling problems, and it would die when hit.

The 82 millimeters recoilless mortar and ASG-17 were also threatening. Those were weapons he had become very familiar with after using it in Chad. An automatic grenade launcher with a good firing rate was more troublesome than one with a great explosion. There were countless heads and even more weapons. He might even have a few holes in his body from the grenades, as he had received from Dombrey forest.

Bonipas' insides turned into coal as he glanced at Black Mamba. It was the ANO that the mighty Department of Interior had surrendered to. If this plan succeeded, the DGSE's reputation could rise to unmovable peaks. On the other hand, the more Mitterrand and Pione's necks stretched, the more they'd doubt the DGSE.

If Black Mamba lifted the difficulties of the plan for them, everything would be well. Bonipas signaled to Claude with his eyes. Sweets must be given to someone who cried.

"Ordering Black Mamba doesn't come cheap. Minister Pione, who has the sword of Damocles, offered a separate price. If you get rid of Ruman within two weeks, you will get 5,000,000 francs. If you get rid of Ruman within a month, you will get 2,500,000 francs. Of course, this is separate from the fees given by the DGSE. For now, we need to put out an urgent fire before the higher-ups turn their eyes this way."

"That's good. Gold is the best way to kick a lazy person's a**. Ruman or pomegranate, let's crush it."

Black Mamba's expression relaxed like a spring breeze. Bonipas shook his head. The young man's slyness was enough to roast the ministers.

"We'll prepare the necessary equipment first. If you have any other special requests for equipment that are not included in the mandatory list, you should request them ahead of time," Claude reminded them in a hurry..

He looked as though he'd give Black Mamba nuclear bombs if he requested it.

"Dragunov's silencer is the problem. I can't tell whether it's a silencer or a car's muffler. Can you create another customized Dragunov?"

A Dragunov's silencer was eight inches long. It was heavy and didn't do its job. He had suffered its incompetence during the entire mission in the Sahel. Claude's face brightened.

"We've already prepared it. Soldier Emil of the Legion Etranger's Weapons Division had requested a custom-made silencer for Black Mamba with the Technical Design Division two months ago. The custom-made silencer is made with duralumin and coated with a mix of glass fiber and ceramic. The overall size and weight were decreased by 50 percent and 70 percent, respectively. The silencer is at 85 decibels."

"Oh, that's good."

"We've made 10 separate Dragunov for Black Mamba's use. We have raised the gun's mechanics to an M60's durability and altered its design for smoother magazine transitions. The scope was also changed from four times the fix to 10 times. It had passed the 500 meters shooting test a few days ago. Its accuracy rose as much as the durability was refined. The weight increased to 700g."

"Oh, that's good. That doesn't matter since the silencer's weight has decreased." Black Mamba smiled in glee.

For someone who used a rifle like a machine gun, the gun's durability had always been a problem. He almost found the DGSE's tear-filled efforts praiseworthy.

"There's a scary weapon that soldier Emil had requested to be fixed."

Clack—

Claud opened an aluminum case. He wore his leather gloves and slowly pulled out a whip from the case.

"Huh, that's—!"

Black Mamba was slightly surprised. That was Ocelot's main weapon, the Gorgon.

"We found that it was made with piano strings in the middle, entwined with whale tendon and Kevlar fibers. It is of amazing quality that comes with elasticity, ductility, and lethality. We made an additional handle and added a pentagram weight at its ends. If you twist the handle open, it'll turn into a dagger. It's an amazing weapon, but it's too heavy. Who'd swing a whip the weight of a Stegosaurus' tail?"

"I will."

Black Mamba received the whip and swung it around.

Voom—

The air in the room swirled around. The coat stand was caught after it traveled once around the room.

Crunch—

The thick wood was crunched apart. Black Mamba flicked his wrist.

Crack—

The five-point weights at the end of the whip embedded deep into the concrete.

Bonipas and Claude's faces turned white. Bonipas had gone through similar situations several times, but this was the first demonstration of Black Mamba's strength that Claude had witnessed.

The blackjack, which wouldn't have been broken by an ax, had been crushed under the whip's power. Could anyone call this guy a human?

What if a human body had been in the whip's trajectory?

Claude's hands and feet grew cold. He finally understood what a real threat was.

Black Mamba had never used a whip before. He turned into a child who had received an interesting toy.

Voom—

Voom—

Voom—

The whip's shadow stacked itself up in the air.

The whip started to move faster. The silence became more deafening inside the wide room. The air that had been pushed away by the whip's movements seeped outside. The differences in air pressure increased inside and outside the room.

The air inside the room started swirling fearfully. It was like a small-sized tornado. Bonipas and Claude hurriedly found their way underneath a table.

Voooom—

The air's vibrations became more intense. The furniture within the room began to tremble. Bonipas and Claude looked at each other with tired eyes.

Voom—

The pressure created by the whip lifted unbelievably.

Whirl—

The air inside the room whirled fiercely.

"It's good!"

A satisfied smile appeared on his face as he gathered the whip. He had his Kukri for close combat, Gorgon for ranged combats, and Dragunov for long-range attacks. He basically had one-two-three punches. He suddenly grew thankful for Ombuti's loyalty. Ombuti had been the one to pick up Ocelot's whip as he ran away.

"Is there anything else you need?"

"I need an MP5."

"No problem, I recommend the most recent MP5SD3. It's easy to carry around as its barrel's short in length, with a retractable stock. It uses subsonic ammunition, which gives softer sounds and weaker firing glares. Its noise level was calculated to be around 70 decibels as it has a built-in silencer. It's about the sound of a small truck passing by. Its accuracy is two and a half MOA[1], and its range is 200 meters."

"It's an amazing accuracy for a machine gun. What are the cons?"

"It uses a nine millimeters Parabellum shell. Piercing strength is weak. It's hard to get through a bulletproof vest 50 meters out of range."

"That isn't a problem. I can simply crush their heads."

Claude felt dizzy at the simple reply. As expected of the Ange de la Mort, he was a corn killer.

"Do you need any additional equipment?"

"I need a backpack that can support the Dragunov and MP5. It should be bulletproof. I also need a compact bulletproof vest and compact helmet that can protect my shoulders. I've grown tired of grenade rifles in Chad. Weight isn't a problem."

He stopped talking, pulled out a dart smaller than a chopstick from his outerwear, and handed it to Claude.

"Make 2,000 of these. I need you to provide me with two boxes of grenades and an explosive composition powder."

"Of course. I'll explain the course of action from now. Between land and air attack, which do you prefer?"

"I'm from the Deuxieme Rep. Is there a need to crawl through the ground? I can simply fall from the sky."

"There's a lot of problems with airdropping."

"No problem, why would you have called me if there wasn't any? All's said and done when Ordo's pulled out. Kukuku!"

Black Mamba revealed his teeth and laughed. He didn't like Ordo from the beginning as he reminded him of Pieff. The atmosphere he had exuded was one of a racist. He'd purposefully provoked him to send him away.

Claude zoomed into the map and started the briefing.

"Very well, with the land route I constructed, it will take 10 days, but it will take four days to reach the mission point by air. From Marseilles to Turkey's border—"

"Wait, why does the air route take four days? Wouldn't it be better to get there by Turkey's Adana airport?"

"Adana airport doesn't allow military planes to land. Kaparja's air defense network is the problem here. We're taking a direct flight from our country to Osmaniye, Turkey. After you land in Osmaniye, you're going to pass the border by road. The distance by land travel will be 130 kilometers."

Black Mamba shook his head after examining the map.

"I don't like it. Change the drop-off point to here."

Plunk—

A dart landed on the projection screen. It was barely 10 kilometers away from Kaparja Valley. Claude shouted after checking the dart's location.

"No! Those b*stards' Strela-2 and Igla's firing range is up to 5,000 meters. Even a normal anti-aircraft gun will reach up to 4,000 meters. If they have an S-75, 15,000 meters will also be dangerous. Choosing the falling altitude would only allow them to track you. Not even Hercules can withstand several Strela shots."

"Hm, they didn't put up the recent Buk missile, did they?"

"How did you learn of the Buk, which was just launched two years ago? No, that's not the problem. If it's a high-atmosphere target Buk, it can reach up to 25 kilometers in the air. There's a zero percent possibility of the recent Buk being stationed at Kaparja. Within the Soviet Union, only important cities like Moscow and St. Petersburg have the Buk stationed. The North polar bears might sell it to Syria in about 30 years. They may have stationed the downgraded S-75. Syria bought 25 sets in '78."

"An S-75, hm? They're probably stationed in Kaparja since it's near Turkey's border. How many meters high can the Hercules reach?"

"According to the manual, it can reach 11,500 meters. Depending on the fuel's condition, it can reach 13,000 meters. Are you saying...?" Claude's eyes grew wide.

"That's it then. I'm falling from 13,000 meters."

Bonipas and Claude's jaws dropped open. They never heard of a falling attack from 13,000 meters high. The Airborne forces' training heights were 1,200 meters. Even within special circumstances, the maximum was 3,000 meters.

During normal training sessions, the canopy breaking altitude was at 900 meters. It was because opening the canopy at an altitude of 900 meters or higher would increase the risk of sudden accidents due to the rapidly changing air currents and temperature differences. Changes in airflow were unpredictable above 5,000 meters to 13,000 meters. The parachute might be caught in a descending air stream and crash like a stone.

Another constraint was the temperature. The troposphere's altitude decreased by 0.65 degrees Celsius, with every 100 meters increase in altitude. A ground temperature of 20 degrees Celsius meant a temperature of zero degrees Celsius at an altitude of 3,000 meters and -60 degrees Celsius at an altitude of 13,000 meters. To avoid being seen by the ground guards, the canopy had to be opened at an altitude of 1,000 meters. This meant one had to free-fall from 12,000 meters in the air between -60 to zero degrees Celsius at a speed of 180 to 250 kilometers per hour. The sensory temperature would fall to -100 degrees Celsius. He was more likely to die of shock during the fall. It would be impossible to pull the bridle with a sane mind.

"No, that's committing suicide!" Claude shouted.

"Black Mamba, do you think a human can descend from 13,000 meters in the air? That involves free-falling for 12,000 meters! You will die from shock. The weight composition to destroy Ruman is 70 kilograms, alone. The weapons and explosives are over 120 kilograms. Do you think a human can bear all those weights and still get into a landing position? Let's say you did land. Will you be able to avoid the bullets? It's an impossible plan," Bonipas explained with a worried face, inapposite to his usual attitude.

Black Mamba smiled.

"Hehehe! Bonipas, let's be honest here. There's no need to act anymore. You've planned this entire mission based on my abilities, didn't you? There's no need to act concerned as though you're worried on my behalf. I know you as well as you know me. The GIGN and GCP's rough courses of action have long become infamous around the world. France isn't a country that would consider Syria's refusals. In the end, you can't use them because they can't fall from an altitude where the missiles won't reach. You have no choice but to call me. Isn't this true?"

Bonipas' eyes widened.

"Huh, you've become a fox instead, Black Mamba. You're right. We did plan the mission with you in consideration. We've become estranged with Turkey due to the problems in Armenia. Traveling by land is difficult, and even more so with air travel. Landing in ADA or Hatay airport near Aleppo is similarly hard for military planes. There is no other way but to fly from our country and deploy soldiers into the mission area from high altitudes," Bonipas admitted honestly.

Black Mamba was a human he should never make an enemy of and lie to.

Bonipas would always see images of commander Robert Tanshe with his stomach split open and Miguel's crumbling skull in white phosphorus. If he didn't have Philip as his middle man, he would have met with the same horrible fate.

"It seems like there's no reason but for me to go. Claude, contact Minister Pione. Tell him to prepare 7,000,000 francs since I'll complete the mission in 10 days, including the infiltration time."

Bonipas smiled after hearing that. It was as though he'd expected such a response.

[1] Minute of Angle.