Mercenary Black Mamba

The French press has a bitter memory of being punished after cooperating with the Nazis. These French publishers and editors were executed. Their assets were frozen. Since then, the press behaves appropriately when it comes to national interest.

The DGSE is not a school or a monastery. It is a government agency known for being tough. Sensationalism was not a smart move. Balisari should have been more sensible.

"Mekisi, how's the background check for his bodyguard?"

"I am sorry. He has no past, it's as if he had fallen from the sky. When the Advisor handled the Voodoo Revolt at the Samaria Farm in Doba, he wasn't there. They likely met at the Ennedi plateau where there is a dominion."

"Hmm. Could he be the Ghost of Ounianga Kébir?"

Bonipas groaned. There is no smoke without a fire, no outcome without a cause. They say there is nothing new under the sun. Intuitively, Bonipas figured out Samdi is the Ghost of Ounianga Kébir. The forgotten Ghost, now resurfaced. Nothing else could explain his existence.

The platoon of sappers who were mapping the Ennedi Plateau area found a series of mysterious lakes. Out of the blue, they became disconnected and were uncontactable. The airstrike forces sent to investigate also went missing.

The SDECE, the former organization of the DGSE, investigated to no avail. When Ennedi was occupied by the FROLINAT insurgents, the investigators withdrew. Relevant material was buried in the DGSE archives. The Ounianga Incident became an unresolved case.

Bonipas was responsible for the Arago Project. He had a vague sense of what would be considered a Ghost. It would be a mutant like Ocelot or Ocelot himself.

The case bothered him for a long time. Then Black Mamba requested to establish a dominion over the Ennedi plateau. He granted it willingly. As expected, Black Mamba ousted the Ghost completely. Bonipas was ecstatic to have resolved the issue without any effort on his part. The case was forgotten like that.

'What were the ghosts that were burned? Good-natured ghosts?"

Bonipas found himself plagued with another question. According to the report, Black Mamba burned the Ghost. Ocelot is uncontrollable. Black Mamba most likely terminated him.

'Oh, Ocelot!'

A forgotten promise resurfaced. He had suggested that he will pay 30,000,000 francs if Ocelot was taken care of and Black Mamba had replied he will take care of it when the chance arises. Yet, Black Mamba did not request anything after taking care of Ocelot. The thought gave him chills.

"Is he testing me?"

Bonipas blurted out. He could not owe anything to anyone. He added the bounty to the payment. It was due since Samdi beat up Ocelot in the jungle of Ituri. Ocelot would be rolling in his titanium coffin, half-alive.

"What do you mean?"

Mekisi, surprised, asked. No one would dare to test the director of DGSE.

"It's nothing. Continue."

"We are investigating the desert tribes near Ennedi thoroughly, but to no avail."

"That is a likely scenario. What is Samdi's power levels?"

"There is no witness. The guide, Ulumbo, died. The Pygmies are the only witnesses but they are keeping their mouths shut. From the autopsy report of the dead Damballah zealots, we managed to estimate his approximate power levels. Here is the summary of the report."

Mekisi pulled out a sheet of paper from his file and handed it to Bonipas.

[Estimated Combat Power of Sergeant Burupa Samdi]

The main battlefields are the residential sector and the training sector that are 450 meters away. Apart from them, other battlefields such as the floating house are destroyed by the Advisor. Of the identified 698 bodies of the Damballah zealots, more than half of the corpses are marked by wounds left by heavy machine guns and large-sized shovels. The data below are estimated calculations based on his steps, footprints left on the bodies, the pressure applied to the ground, and wounds.

1. Main Weapon: Ranged, MAG heavy machine gun; Melee, shovel (weight: 50 kilograms)

2. Jumping Range: 10-15 meters

3. Dexterity: 15-20 m/s

4. Muscular Strength: 1.5 horsepower

…

He is able to withstand the recoil from the successive firing of a heavy machine gun despite only using one hand. The wounds are made by a sharp object. No contusions. Considering that the wounds are charred, they were likely stabbed at a speed that is close to the speed of sound.

Overall Combat Power: incalculable.

Bonipas, who was reading the summary, closed his eyes. He remembered throwing away Black Mamba's report a few years ago. Who would believe that a man's muscular strength could rival that of a horse? Samdi's muscular strength was 1.5 horsepower. He was surely the same kind of mutant as Ocelot.

"Is this the end of the world? A monster has brought forth another monster. Black Mamba now has a wingman!"

"According to the pilot, Airman Bresson, the pygmies worship Samdi as their god. If the Advisor chose him as his bodyguard, no more explanation is needed."

"Cease the investigation. We do not need to bother Black Mamba any further. To which department does Samdi currently belong?"

Bonipas did not feel the need to investigate Samdi's identity. If they were going to trust Black Mamba, they also had to trust Samdi. It did not matter if his companion was a black cat or a white cat. It only had to catch mice well.

"When we issued his citizenship, he was registered as part of the strike squad under the operations department."

"Good. Raise his protection level to the same as Call Name's."

"Then his pay grade will also rise."

"Up to half of what the Advisor gets."

Mekisi was confused. Samdi was remarkable but he was also only a bodyguard.

"Then he will receive 20 times what a sergeant normally receives in Legion Etranger."

"Can 200 strikers from the operations department take on Sergeant Samdi?"

"I get your point."

Mekisi withdrew his initial hesitation. One of Bonipas' merits was that he prioritised a person's calibre over all else. That was also the reason why he is dubbed as cold-hearted.

"What about the investigation regarding the Chinese spies?"

"Black Mamba's report is correct. They are from the Ministry of State Security. He masqueraded as a reporter of Xinhua News Agency and was supporting the insurgents actively. They also provided the Damballah zealots with weapons. Another team is with Mai Mai."

"Treacherous Chinese. They must be expecting kickbacks when Ntaganta overthrows the Motubu regime."

"It does seem so. They are planning to acquire the eastern part of Zaire which is rich in uranium, copper, tin, and bauxite. They are panicking because Black Mamba eliminated Chateau."

"Haha. That is our national treasure. Damballah or Chinese won't stand a chance against Black Mamba. Embarrassingly, we couldn't get a hold of the Chinese despite having poured millions of francs into East Africa. How could the information Black Mamba received unintentionally be more useful than the ten years of endeavors by the East Africa branch of the Operations Department?

"We have no excuse."

Mekisi and Ariba bowed.

"Since there is a lot to gain, many parties are joining the competition. He truly lives up to the nickname "Kanma." Take this into account when calculating his pay. Accurate calculations keep disagreements at bay. Even a local informant, with D-grade importance, could turn against us if they deem their pay to be insufficient."

"We will keep that in mind. Have you reported the Charlie Hebdo case to the president?" Ariba blurted out.

"Do you expect me to handle everything even before I take a seat?" Bonipas shouted.

Ariba withdrew. It seemed so.

"We can simply treat it as an incident perpetrated by the Nazis and their followers who envy the prosperity of France. A traitor who does not care for national security and the safety of citizens does not get to drink Evian or munch on baguettes. I will report it to the president after things are wrapped up."

Bonipas left no room for further discussion.

"We will handle them with the same measures that were used against Nazi collaborators."

Ariba knew that the only option for the editor and reporter of Charlie Hebdo was death. Such measures were severe. Two million Nazi collaborators were charged and 158,000 people were sentenced. Officially, 11,200 people were executed. Unofficially, the number of executed individuals totalled up to 100,000. The press was also severely punished. The newspapers that collaborated with the Nazis were closed down. The publishers were executed and their assets were frozen. Other countries in Europe treated their Nazi collaborators in the same way or even more severely than France. This is a stark contrast to Korea.

Due to Balisari's misjudgment, Pignol, the photographer, and the magazine which let her use their printing press were all damned now. That is why people usually caution others to evade a fierce character like her if you want to live long and prosper.

"Miterang is not the pressing matter. How shall we persuade Black Mamba? To placate an angry beast, we must throw a big chunk of meat at it. Ariba, head for Djibouti with a gift."

"Sir, I have five family members to care for. Only you or Colonel Philip can persuade the Advisor." Ariba jumped in protest.

"It's a joke. I don't want to lose a competent subordinate like you to a beast's maw. What would be an appropriate gift?"

Bonipas tapped the table with his bony fingers. It was a habit he did when he was faced with a problem.

"Sir, the Advisor had some concerns about the electricity in Novatopia."

Bonipas clapped at Mekisi's suggestion.

"That's good. How much is needed?"

"If we estimate the future population of Novatopia at one million, 800 MWp would be appropriate."

"Black Mamba rescued the hostages of the Areva Corporation. Tell the chairman to give them a nuclear power plant."

"Even if chairman Jacques Zabert wanted to give it, he is unable to. We need parliamentary consent if we want to build a nuclear power plant outside of France. The construction will take a long time. Black Mamba won't like a nuclear power plant either. He is allergic to radiation."

"Then we can only build a thermal power plant. How much would it cost?"

"An oil-powered 800-MWp thermal plant would cost about 30,000,000 francs."

"That's a bargain considering it will help persuade the National Treasure. Go on with it."

Bonipas approved it without delay. The progress of Novatopia is related to the national interest of France. There was no reason to hesitate.

"I understand."

It is said that a lucky fellow will find gold even when he is tumbling on the road. Black Mamba, who is now sunbathing in Djibouti, has acquired a big-scale thermal power plant without any effort on his part.

It is said that a genius is trumped by a hard worker, and a hard worker is trumped by someone who enjoys the work. Bonipas' misjudgment lined Black Mamba's pockets.

"We could promote Lieutenant Paul and Sergeant Emil to further placate the beast."

"That's right. Black Mamba cares for his comrades. Lieutenant Paul managed to secure the biological experiment equipment and data. Sergeant Emil provisioned special weapons. They deserve to be promoted. Get on with it."

Emil and Paul were lucky to have such a powerful friend. A sloppy man harms the people around them. A proper man benefits those around him.

"Have you estimated the value of the equipment taken in by Paul?"

"The technology department is on it, day and night. The sheer number of equipment prevents them from analyzing it in a few days. They are in awe and mentioned that the data will advance France's biotechnology by 10 years."

"That fellow has hands of gold. Midas would be jealous."

"It's not just that. Some loot is not possible to be calculated for rewards. For instance, the chip that was rumoured to be implanted in a human with supernatural powers and the chimaera monster. Another is the computer where the laser-synced automatic firing system is available. We can expect strides in the development of semiconductors, biological weapons, and firing control device technologies."

"Such great news! We have been trying to take hold of those technologies."

Bonipas smiled widely. The United States has been leading the semiconductor, firing control devices, laser, and biotechnologies field.

"Yes. It doesn't feel good to admit it, but the Americans are leading when it comes to the latest weapons and computer-related technologies. The Advisor got us the latest industrial technologies of the United States. We will get an outline once they have finished the polishing process."

"Oh, well. We will need a contingency fund again."

Bonipas's mouth was complaining but his eyes were smiling. This is a great boon. If he told the president about the Balisari incident along with this, he could evade being told off.

"The mechanics are excited. They are pulling all-nighters. With this opportunity, our government could spearhead technological developments like the United States."

"Yeah. Big-scale projects that the private sector cannot handle should be our task. Armories that are ripe with bribes and corruption should be disbanded."

"Haha. He is indeed like a natural disaster, just like how you nicknamed him. He is sweeping away corrupt armory fellows straight into hell."

Ariba giggled, satisfied. Bonipas nodded. As Ariba said, the armory is corrupt. If they do not sort themselves out, they will be corrupt in no time.

"We cannot put this off anymore. We must strike when the iron is hot."

Bonipas gritted his teeth. A big change starts from a small change. At this point, Black Mamba has become a typhoon, on top of being a natural disaster.