Leaving Hubert’s place, Yang-Yi and his team also took away two corpses.
Jethro seemed very pleased, and as he settled back into the car, he couldn’t resist saying to Boyata, "We’ve made a big haul tonight. We’ve confirmed that Kanchelskis is the one who’s been loading ships for Big Ivan, and now we even know where Big Ivan’s warehouse in Odessa is."
Boya’s face lit up with surprise, "Really? That’s fantastic, Hubert knows all this, too?"
Jethro took a breath and nodded, "Yes, he even knows this much, which was a pleasant surprise."
Boya urgently said, "Should we notify Ferdinand and Corkdor? We can take down Big Ivan’s arms depot."
Jethro immediately waved his hand, "No, don’t rush. We can’t just take out his warehouse and shipping channels yet. Up till now, Big Ivan’s shipments have been substantial. If we take down the warehouse and cutting off his shipping routes, Big Ivan will simply choose another location for his warehouse or even another port. We should leave this place intact; that way we can monitor what Big Ivan is up to. When we take out Big Ivan, we can move on his warehouse simultaneously, catching Big Ivan’s people off guard."
After saying this, Jethro couldn’t help but laugh, then he turned to Yang-Yi and said, "You must be curious about who Kanchelskis is, right?"
In a low voice, Yang Yi replied, "Of course, I’m a bit curious, but you don’t need to tell me. To be honest, I don’t really want to know. Knowing too much isn’t good."
Jethro laughed loud, "No problem, I’ll tell you anyways. We’ve always known that Big Ivan was shipping goods out of Odessa Port, but we didn’t know who was managing it for him. Kanchelskis is a major exporter, and he’s hidden himself well. We suspected him before but had no interest in conducting a detailed investigation before the fight with Big Ivan began. After the conflict started, Kanchelskis hid himself even better. Plus, we only conducted a superficial search and missed him. Unexpectedly, Kanchelskis really is Big Ivan’s man, which is a time-saving find."
Yang Yi smiled, "Well, congratulations."
Taking a breath, Jethro said, "As for Artem, he was already on our list to influence or, should I say, eliminate. According to Hubert’s testimony, Artem could likely be swayed; he’s not Big Ivan’s die-hard. If we can bring him over, it will be much easier for us to sever Big Ivan’s shipping routes."
After saying this, Jethro immediately said to Boyata, who was driving, "Let’s go find Corkdor."
"Don’t we need to call first?"
"No calls, we go to him directly. I’ll call when we get there; we’re going now."
Yang Yi asked quietly, "Is it convenient to go now? Should we stay out of it?"
After thinking for a moment, Jethro shook his head, "No need to stay away. In fact, you need to be more vigilant. I need to meet and assess his mood first, then I can decide what to do."
Jethro sank back into thought. Yang Yi and the others didn’t interrupt his contemplation, but after a while, Jethro suddenly asked Yang Yi, "You mentioned wanting high-powered weapons before, right?"
"Yes, high-powered weapons."
"How about 152mm caliber artillery?"
Yang Yi, surprised, "Large-caliber artillery is of course great, but didn’t you say the Odessa warehouse shouldn’t be touched?"
Jethro sighed, "We can’t hit his warehouse, but it seems such a waste to let those 36 cannons just go. They’re worth a lot of money. I’m not thinking about profiting from them; it’s just that such a deal is on a tight schedule. Ruining the deal could also give Big Ivan a lot of headaches. So, we won’t be hitting those warehouses. Instead, we’ll get those cannons in a way that Big Ivan wouldn’t suspect us. Even if Big Ivan isn’t dealing directly, he’d have to send someone important to take a look, creating an opportunity..."
After pondering for a while, Jethro waved his hand and said, "I need to think it through carefully, maybe consult with Corkdor. We’ll talk about this later."
As he spoke, Jethro’s mood lifted again, and he couldn’t help laughing, "I bet Hubert doesn’t know how valuable the information he provided is, ha, we didn’t even need to pay him that much. But I think this bit player will be even more useful later on, so we might as well give him a big sum, to make sure he is wholly devoted to us."
Yang Yi smiled, "Congratulations."
Caught up in his excitement, Jethro even started humming a tune—it was his first display of such cheerfulness since coming to Ukraine.
Until the car neared Corkdor’s safe house.
Jethro pulled out his phone and called Corkdor, then he quickly said in a low voice, "Buddy, I’m near you. I need to meet with you, got something important to discuss."
Yang Yi didn’t catch what Corkdor said, but Jethro stiffened and then said in a low voice, "It’s really important, so we better meet right away. You have guests? Now?"
After a moment of puzzled questioning, Jethro quickly hung up. He glanced at his watch with a puzzled look and said, "Who meets with important guests at three in the morning? F***, guess we wait a while."
But within two minutes, Jethro’s phone rang again. After taking the call, his face clouded over with thought, and he eventually said to Yang Yi, "Corkdor changed his mind; he wants me to come now, but I have a bad feeling. I can’t put my finger on it. Hmm, he shouldn’t try anything against me, but stay sharp."
Boya suggested quietly, "Maybe it’s better not to meet him then."
Jethro hesitated for a moment, then shook his head, "No, Corkdor said he wants me to meet an important guest. I think if he wanted to take me out, he wouldn’t say that. Let’s go ahead, it should be fine."
Afterward, Jethro said to Boya, "Come up with me. Robot, arrange for two brothers to stay in the car. If things go south, call for backup, or do you want to stay in the car?"
Yang Yi shook his head firmly, "Nah, I’ll come with you."
As they got out of the car, Yang Yi took the opportunity to slip an ultra-thin wiretap into the inside hem of Jethro’s jacket. Then he said to Chris and Vitali, "You two stay in the car and stay alert. If anything goes wrong, signal the brothers for backup immediately."
When saying ’stay alert’, Yang Yi pointed to his head, then casually stroked his ear, prompting Chris to nod in understanding, "Yes, got it."