Mercenary’s War

Chapter 2301 - 2277: Startling the Snake by Beating the Grass

It’s obvious Murphy wants to solve this problem once and for all by killing him and silencing him.

Doesn’t matter whether Taylor betrayed us or not, doesn’t matter how he got on their radar—as long as he disappears from this world for good, then naturally there’s no need to worry about him causing any trouble.

But Gao Yang would never allow that to happen. He can kill to tie up loose ends, but never his own brother. Even if the Cleaners want to do it, it’s not happening.

He’d rather turn against the Cleaners, rather stand against the whole world—Gao Yang will never tolerate anyone silencing Taylor.

Gao Yang made his principles very clear.

Some people talk and no one listens, their warnings are treated like farts in the wind, but Gao Yang’s words don’t get ignored.

With Gao Yang’s current status and capabilities, and more importantly the things he’s done that explain what his principles mean, Murphy will listen to whatever he says. Because some people’s so-called principles are just words, while Gao Yang will turn his words into reality.

As long as the Cleaners, represented by Murphy, think that falling out with Gao Yang would cost them far more than any risk Taylor might bring, then Taylor won’t be in danger.

Taylor stopped talking about himself. He tilted his head slightly and said in a low voice, "Did Thirteen really quit?"

Gao Yang said with some surprise, "He actually told you?"

Murphy smiled a little and said softly, "Don’t forget, I’ve known him a lot longer than you. Yeah, he told me, but I thought he was just joking."

Gao Yang said quietly, "I think this time he’s serious."

Murphy shrugged and said, "Alright, maybe he really is serious. I’m a little tired, I’m gonna get some sleep."

Gao Yang said in a low voice, "Wait, I brought a bodyguard, a new guy. Can he see you?"

"Better not. Keep some distance."

When he said he’d sleep, he slept. Murphy adjusted his seat, lay back, and quickly drifted off, even started snoring.

The flight from New York to Mexico City takes almost seven hours, counts as a long haul. Gao Yang wanted to sleep too, but he just couldn’t.

Still, Gao Yang wasn’t really worried. Maybe after everything he’d been through, there just wasn’t much left in this world that could really scare him.

By the time they landed at Mexico City airport, it wasn’t dark yet, but it was already evening.

Murphy slept the whole way and didn’t talk to Gao Yang again. Only when they were getting off the plane did he lean close and say quietly, "We’ll talk by phone. I’ll go set things up."

Gao Yang didn’t even know where he was supposed to go. But since Murphy didn’t say anything, Gao Yang simply stayed in the airport with Joseph and waited there.

Very soon, Gao Yang got word from Li Jinfang: Taylor’s flight would land three hours later. His plane took off several hours after Gao’s. Gao Yang just passed that info to Murphy over the phone, and then there was nothing else for him to do.

He grabbed a bite to eat at the airport. All Gao Yang could do was wait. He didn’t even know how the Cleaners planned to pull Taylor straight out of the airport.

But three and a half hours later, Murphy called. His tone was flat: "We’ve got him. Come find my car in the parking lot. You come alone."

Gao Yang left Joseph behind and went to the parking lot alone. He found the car Murphy had mentioned, reached out, opened the door, and got in.

Murphy was sitting alone in the back. As soon as Gao Yang got in, the car started moving. Gao Yang asked quietly, "Where is he?"

"In a safe place."

Gao Yang didn’t say anything else. The car circled around a few times, then pulled up in front of a small motel near the airport. Gao Yang hurried upstairs with Murphy and in a shabby room he saw Taylor.

Taylor looked a little nervous, and there were three guys next to him, each holding a gun on him.

When he saw Gao Yang, Taylor stood up. Gao Yang didn’t care at all that Murphy was right there. He looked straight at Taylor and said, "They didn’t give you any trouble, did they?"

Taylor shook his head. "No."

Murphy pointed at Taylor. "Sit down. Talk."

Taylor obediently sat back down. Gao Yang glanced at Murphy and said, "Can you have your men step out? No need to make it look like we’re interrogating a suspect."

Murphy looked at Gao Yang, face stiff. "You can trust your own people. I can’t."

Gao Yang exhaled, drew his pistol, and made a slicing motion toward Taylor. "If he really is a traitor, I’ll put a bullet in his head before you even say anything. And believe me, as long as I’ve got a gun in my hand, he won’t get any chance to threaten you."

Murphy gave a small shake of his head, and the three men watching Taylor immediately walked out. Then Gao Yang said to Taylor, "Buddy, tell me what happened to you."

Taylor took a deep breath. "I haven’t been home lately. This time when I went back, an Air Force guy suddenly showed up at my place. He asked me where I’d been since I left the service."

Murphy frowned. "Air Force? You sure?"

Taylor shook his head. "Honestly, I’m not too sure he really was Air Force. He had Air Force officer credentials, but... my gut says he wasn’t Air Force."

"Keep going."

"Yes. When some stranger asks where I’ve been, of course I’m on guard. So I said I’d just been traveling abroad for a while. Here’s the key part: he came right out and said, did you go to Syria, and did you take part in the fighting?"

Murphy’s frown deepened. Gao Yang said, a little tense, "He knew you went to Syria?"

Taylor nodded. "Yeah. That’s when I knew I was in trouble. If he knows I went to Syria, he might know a lot more. But at that point I had no idea what I should say, so all I could do was deny it. Then he left."

Murphy shot to his feet and barked, "That’s it? That’s all?"

Taylor thought for a moment. "That’s all, but I knew I’d definitely been put under surveillance. So I didn’t dare contact anyone right away. I started searching my place carefully and I found a little something that definitely wasn’t mine. And there were strangers hanging around my neighborhood the whole time. I was being watched..."

Murphy didn’t even listen to the rest of what Taylor was saying. He gritted his teeth, face dark and vicious. "You’re lying. You’re lying!"

Taylor stood up too, glaring at Murphy with fury. "I’m not lying!"

Murphy ran his hand over his smooth bald head, then shot Gao Yang a sidelong glance. "No. The CIA would investigate in the dark, they wouldn’t come knocking like cops to squeeze a statement out of you—especially inside America. If the CIA came to him, they wouldn’t just let a suspect walk away that easily. So there are only two possibilities: either the guy you trust is lying, or this is a setup from the start!"

Gao Yang said in a low voice, "Rattling the grass to scare the snake, or you could call it fishing. Taylor’s the bait."

Murphy let out a long breath and sighed. "Yeah. And they really did hook a big fish."