The Charismatic Charlie Wade

Meanwhile, in Eastern Europe, three container trucks were speeding on the highway in Antalya, a port city in Turkey.

These containers held three disassembled former Soviet-made AK-360 close-in anti-aircraft guns and their supporting ammunition.

Since the disintegration of the Soviet Union, Turkey, Ukraine, and Georgia had become leaders in the black arms market in Eastern Europe.

After the fall of the Soviet Union and the significant changes in Eastern Europe, almost all countries surrounding the Mediterranean Sea had become black markets for arms trading, with Turkey, Ukraine, and Georgia being at the forefront of this trade.

Hundreds of millions of Soviet-made weapons and equipment were sold worldwide from these countries, and what made them stand out was not just the huge transaction volume but also the fact that almost all weapons and equipment were available for purchase, as long as one had the money.

Except for strategic nuclear missiles and fifth-generation aircraft, buyers could get their hands on almost any weapon or equipment.

These countries even sold close-in defense guns produced in the former Soviet Union, and with enough money, one could even obtain the raw materials for nuclear weapons.

Turkey, in particular, was infamous for its nuclear black market, as most of the core fuel rods from dismantled Soviet nuclear submarines flowed into this market.

In this kind of black market, obtaining a dozen kilograms of enriched uranium with enough money wasn’t a challenging task, allowing buyers to return home with a potential bomb in their possession.

As a result, the purchase of three close-in defense guns was only considered an ordinary transaction in this kind of place.

Several arms dealers from Eastern Europe escorted the three container trucks to the port of Antalya, where a container ship was preparing to be fully loaded.

Once the trucks arrived, they were quickly assigned to the pier where the container ship was docked.

Standing by the pier, three men had been waiting for the arrival of the trucks for quite some time. The two sides had already cleared the area in advance, so there were no bystanders to witness the exchange.

The silence was broken only by the sound of the containers being opened and the occasional grunt from the men inspecting them.

Finally, after confirming that everything was in order, the three men leaped out of the container and signaled to the waiting freighter.

In response, a small loader made its way towards them and dropped a massive iron box that weighed 600 kilograms.

The escort immediately rushed forward and pried open the box, revealing it to be filled to the brim with gold bars.

A grin spread across his face as he motioned to his accomplices, who quickly came over with their equipment to verify and weigh the precious metal.

The whole transaction had been executed flawlessly and without a single word spoken.

The iron box glinted in the sunlight, holding within it a king’s ransom, 500 kilograms of pure gold.

The bars had been melted down and cast into sleek, flat molds, devoid of any identifying marks or seals.

With a satisfied nod, the escort in charge of the precious cargo approached the trio of men waiting nearby.

“Everything is accounted for,” he announced, a grin spreading across his face.

good news, the price of gold has risen since we first discussed

be

chuckled,

need for a refund,

do business with

goes up,

down, we’ll make up the difference

a genuine smile spreading across his

have to say, I enjoy doing business with

straightforward, efficient,

men’s eyes as he spoke, his voice low

remember, if you so much as whisper the name of our company to

a sly grin curling at

need to

secret is safe with me,” he

as if an afterthought, he added, “But I

to have a stash

Just name your price.”

narrowed his eyes, suspicion

from?

man let out a

my friend, you’d be amazed

a trip to Ukraine and see for

out, with more than half of the member states’ donations finding their way

can

a nod, the leader acknowledged

keep that in

now, we need to

“Sounds good.

we need anything else,” the man said hurriedly, eager

gantry crane whirred into action, hoisting three large containers

were secured in place, nodding to one

in order, they boarded the ship and settled in

it was under the cover of darkness, its

but little did anyone know that three of the thousands

mere two hundred kilometers, and even the south coast of Cyprus was only

sailors, disguised as soldiers from the Dragon Temple, had already begun processing the three

each container and carefully inspecting the contents

order, they installed their own tracking