Becoming the Wealthiest Tycoon on the Planet

With an incentive at hand, William now had the motivation to rescue Benjamin. Otherwise, he would have simply watched as Benjamin was captured, his ordeal broadcasted, and perhaps even ended with his head on the block. 

William was in the midst of exchanging intelligence and discussing rescue details with Truman Bull when a CIA agent hurried over with a laptop, whispered something in Truman's ear, and handed it to him. Seeing Truman's surprised delight, William knew they had discovered a lead on Benjamin's location.

This left William feeling slightly resigned. His plan to use CIA Deputy Director Ray Monroe's attempt to bomb his building against him had worked, setting Monroe up to take the fall. But despite Monroe being detained, the CIA had still managed to piece things together and locate Benjamin.

After confirming the lead on Benjamin's whereabouts, Truman wasted no time and smiled at William. "Mr. Devonshire, since we're now officially in a business arrangement, please proceed at once. We'll await your good news. Goodbye."

"No problem. I'll inform you the moment I have an update. Goodbye," William replied with a cheerful nod, ending the video call. He was fully aware that Truman intended to renege on their five-minute-old agreement.

But whether Truman succeeded would depend entirely on William. After disconnecting, he asked Sunday, "Can you discreetly leak the information about Benjamin's movement to Bakkawi's group without leaving a trace?"

"No problem, sir."

"Excellent. First, leak the whereabouts of the people on their way to pick up Benjamin. Then, just before Benjamin and Banning reach the safehouse, share its location with Bakkawi's team."

Relaxing on the couch, William waited. After about twenty minutes, Sunday suddenly reported, "Sir, it's a call from Mr. Church."

"Damn, why is that bastard calling again? Is it secure?" William asked. He certainly didn't want anything to go wrong with Church now, nor did he want their plans or dealings to come to light.

"Yes, sir."

"Then put him through."

As soon as the call connected, Church's low voice came through, "Hey, what's going on? Why was I kicked out of the meeting room like everyone else? Buddy, stop dragging your feet. If you know where Benjamin is, go get him immediately. Otherwise, all our planning could be wasted."

"Shut up and calm down," William interrupted firmly. "Our plan won't fail. You'll get promoted to general, and I'll get my dukedom, so just be patient. Benjamin has been under my surveillance this entire time. If you're really worried, I can even send you a photo of him and Banning heading toward downtown London."

Hearing William's calm response, the initially frantic Church finally settled down. "Alright, forget the photo. Better to avoid any issues."

"FK, so now you're aware of the risks of contacting me. Listen, from now on, we can't communicate anymore—not even through a secure satellite line. Nothing is one hundred percent safe. Your job now is to wait. Trust me, as soon as I rescue Benjamin, you'll get all the credit for finding the lead and making the right guess. Just remember, you're only a colonel right now. If you overreach, people will get suspicious. The best approach is to lay low and do nothing."

"When this call ends, your phone will automatically clear all records and unique functions. Find a good spot to ditch it. We'll connect again when this is all over. Got it?"

"Got it," Church replied, now back to his usual, composed self.

After hanging up, he watched as the screen of his phone flashed with a series of codes. Knowing it was wiping itself clean, he felt relieved when it rebooted a few seconds later. 

Earlier, the entire situation had been so chaotic, with everyone in a state of panic. When Truman and the London embassy director cleared out lower-level personnel from the meeting room, Church had taken a risk. Using Morse code on his phone, he had reached out to William, hoping William truly had a lead on Benjamin. Securing this would make his future in the military far brighter.

One wanted to save Benjamin for the credit, while the other was swayed by the prospect of a general's star and a noble title. So they'd made their agreement, leading to Church's theatrical performance before Truman and the other high-ranking officials.

Standing by a window, Church organized his thoughts. He realized that even if someone else rescued Benjamin, it wouldn't hurt him. At worst, he'd stay where he was. The reason he had panicked earlier was simply due to the high stakes. Now that he understood the situation, he quickly regained his composure.

Meanwhile, in West London, the day had slipped into late afternoon. Banning, cautiously observing his surroundings from a corner, didn't notice two Black Wind drone carriers hovering several hundred meters overhead.

After hours of evading detection with Benjamin, he finally arrived at a safehouse that put him more at ease. After checking the area, he led Benjamin to the door and pressed the bell, giving the passphrase. The door opened automatically.

Once inside, they met Banning's contact, his MI6 associate Jacqueline. 

Only then did Banning, who had maintained a steady demeanor, finally relax a little. After catching up on some intel with Jacqueline, grabbing some food, and resting briefly, he began planning his next steps, considering the possibility of attempting the embassy later that night.

Keeping a close watch on them, William notified Bakkawi's group through Sunday. Suiting up, he put on a bulletproof vest and brought along two new sets of bulletproof suits and shirts that Sunday had produced over the past few hours. He then joined the squad that had been awaiting him.

In the estate's garage, the team was assembled in full Devonshire second-gen combat suits and high-tech helmets, ready for action.

"BOSS," Barney and Christmas approached with sleek black helmets in hand as William stepped out of the staircase.

"How's the new combat gear?" William asked.

"Awesome," Barney replied. "Removing the unnecessary metal parts makes the suit lighter and slimmer without affecting movement, and the bulletproofing has actually improved."

"The helmet's got explosion resistance, bullet resistance, anti-dazzle, flash protection, gas protection, and infrared stealth. But the best part is the optical camouflage capability for the entire suit."

"Glad to hear you like it," William said with a grin. "Let's get going. We can discuss the rest on the way."

"Got it, BOSS," they replied, escorting William into a bulletproof Mercedes SUV.

As William settled in, Barney put on his helmet in the passenger seat and said, "Let's move."

"Roger," Gunnar replied, leading the team, including Yin-Yang, Caesar, and Toll Road, in the convoy, with William, Barney, and Christmas following close behind.

With Sunday providing directions and the Black Wind drones scouting ahead, it took them less than twenty minutes to reach the safehouse Banning had chosen.

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