Mercenary Black Mamba

"Acte! Thank you."

The First Lieutenant ran like a young and lively kamikaze soldier who had been injected with drugs. It was evidence that the 'carrot and stick' method of motivation worked on both tired humans and animals.

"Damn, are you actually tired? Or are you pretending to be tired?"

Black Mamba's temples throbbed. According to the negro, Epidium's body did not produce any fatigue substance like lactic acid.

Epidium could be considered as an ultra-physical person that did not tire easily, but on the other hand, he could also be seen as an uncontrollable speeding train that had all its safety brakes removed. This meant that either fatigue was simply a psychological factor, or Epidium's genes had been mixed with Homosapien DNA.

Apart from being covered in dust and sweat, and being drenched in blood, the mind was tattered like an old, ragged changhoji (a traditional Korean plant-based paper designed to be used in households such as on the doors, walls, and windows) on a haengnang room (a room just through the main gate of a traditional Korean house, off to either side of the gate). The Young Go rock in Mt. Cheon Sung Falls, surrounded by the clear streams and breezes was missed. No, it was actually the master who was missed.

"Of course it's tiring. We just did what the Airborne Brigade couldn't do. You just have to make the simplest things more difficult whenever you get involved. It's like you're digging up strands of unveiled secrets. Consider it your karma."

Paul smirked like he was teasing.

"Bud, that's a matter of ability, and also the reason the government won't let me go. As I said earlier, there is a special background to a special case. If the consultant can't eradicate the root of evil, then evil will always bloom again. I'm not an apostle of justice or anything, but I do tend to wrap things up thoroughly."

"True, the Black Mamba's operation completion is on a different level than the GIGN or the Airborne Brigade. General Phillip gave you one heck of a nickname."

Paul agreed. In the information world, the results were typically dependent on the operative abilities of the agent. Having 100 third-class agents would never be better than having a single first-class agent. And a hundred of those first-class agents would never be able to match up wot a single special consultant. Not only that, the Black Mamba team was like a national treasure. If the Department of Defense had been in charge of every case, the Areva hostage case would probably have been discarded as an unsolved case.

A superior officer appeared along with Olonge and Kidamba. The Pygmy tribe always tend to show up only after the scene had settled down. Olonge and Kidamba came running across after finding Black Mamba.

"Boo boo, Dubaiburupa Meioh!"

Olonge and Kimdaba bowed their heads.

"Short man, you've matured."

Samdi grinned. He suddenly recalled his embarrassment after smacking old man Olonge in the back of the head. Men ought to have some manners.

"Ya boo souv dihinda!"

"Gol bai wagaya luxor luxor he donya-donya ina."

Olonge and Kidamba didn't know when to cut the chatter. This was the first time many of the soldiers and mercenaries were seeing the Pygmy tribe, so they were staring with curiosity.

"This is frustrating. What are they saying?"

One never realized the importance of another being until that person was gone. Ulumbo's presence was indeed a large one. The Black Mamba looked back at Samdi. His facial expressions was kind of awkward and he shrugged his shoulders. It wasn't as if Samdi himself was going to understand a single thing about the Pygmy's twittering.

"Corporal, bring the four AK rifles and four ammo boxes that were snatched."

"Yes sir."

Olonge and Kidamba stared at Black Mamba with confused looks as they were handed the rifles and ammunition.

"Protect your family."

"Mahad Santahai!"

Olonge and Kidamba showed their teeth as they smiled. Despite the language barrier between the two groups of people exchanging rifles, the meaning was roughly delivered. Samdi tapped on Paul's shoulders.

"Paul, you need to give those guys some sort of payment."

Paul dug into his pocket with a perplexed look on his face. He found 10 bills and 10 francs. It's fortunate he didn't find any jingling coins.

"Are you that poor?"

Samdi shielded his eyes as he reached out to Mekisi and Holland with the money. Since they did not want to be regarded as poor or cheap, the two somehow managed to find 2,000 francs between them.

"Look, shorties, well done. Buy your women some nice clothes. You gotta cover up those crotches, don't you think?"

Samdi handed 500 francs each to Olonge and Kidamba. It was his way of saying goodbye.

"Woot, 1,000 francs is for Ulumbo."

The Black Mamba grinned. the Pygmy tribe had no sense of money. They would just think of it as a souvenir. In contrast, an entire elephant was gifted after saving Olonge and his two grandsons. A monstrous crocodile and leopard that threatened Kidamba's village have been taken care of. The Damballah that trampled on Kidamba's village had also been long taken care of. The concierge's compensation was already as overwhelming as it could be.

The guns and money were simply rewards for finding the remains of the GIGN operation team survivor.

"My fellow shorties, be angry before you can be sad. If someone hits you once, hit them twice as hard. Don't turn your back and be sad. Instead, widen your eyes and give it one more shot."

Despite the rumors and its reputation, the Pygmy tribe was actually made up of gentle and lethargic people. They would eventually become extinct because they were always running away from any outside threats. The Black Mamba wished the Pygmy tribe understood their language. The relationship with the Pygmy tribe had come to an end. They had their own lives to live, and they were destined to live in and around the Ituri Rainforest.

"Paul, fly our short friends back to the village."

"Will do. Is this like a warranty service? Ha ha ha"

Paul gave a pleasant smile. If the end was good, then everything else that came before it was good too. Black Mamba handed the coordinates to both Kidamba's and Olonge's villages to the pilot. It wasn't necessary, but like Paul said, it's like a final warranty service. This too, was part of Black Mamba's generosity.

"Gol bai wakaya luxor luxor cillian gopu duma aokushiga." (We'll be sure to receive the superior seed the next time we meet).

Olonge tapped his ass and thrust his hips back and forth. The Black Mamba stared at Olonge's back with a stinky look as he followed the pilot.

"Hopefully it doesn't mean he wants me to get on top of the Pygmy virgin."

All of a sudden, a shrill voice cut through the air.

"Barbarians! This can't be possible! I'm going to sue you people! I won't let this slide by so easily!"

It was none other than the Bali Sari reporter whom Samdi had hung on the tree. She was caught for the objectionable crime of being so tenacious to get an interview with Black Mamba.

"Well, we already told you that you'll be released if you just make a promise."

"It's the reporter's right to choose their interviewee! Who are you to jabber about it!?"

The Bali Sari and soldiers around her began to argue yet again. Everyone had practically given up after a full hour of her evil sermon.

"Who the hell gave you permission for that thing to accompany us duriing the interview?"

The Black Mamba stared fiercely at Manager Mekisi. Mekisi's head dropped down as he stared at the ground.

"Tut tut! You were charmed by her face."

Samdi clicked his tongue. There were thousands of different types of human beings. There were humans that looked at the beauty of angels and fairies but treated them like rocks, while other humans would completely fall for cheese girls with deformed faces and shells. Cheese girl was a term that Samdi used to describe women who liked to show off, not knowing their place.

"I'm not sure if it's gonna be okay. The press can be like a poisonous blowfish."

Paul worried. There were three things that shouldn't be touched in France. Dogs, the press, and illegal foreigners. These things may not be anything, but they tend to inflate matters if bothered. They overexaggerate things and get angry, and sometimes, they bite.

"The government should endure it since they sent that kind of thing."

"That's right. That reporter is something else. You said you'd let her go if she promised not to bother you anymore, but look how she's behaving."

"Let her be. People live accordingly."

The Black Mamba didn't care whether the woman cussed or not. The job was already done. They would finally bid farewell to the damned Ituri Rainforest as soon as Ulumbo arrived.

"This is no different than a load of manure at my uncle's farm."

Black Mamba murmured in a cynical tone. Loads of corpses looked just alike the manure load at an uncle's. Carrying weed and leaves with an A-frame carrier and covering up the filth in the barn was going to break everyone's back. The thing they had in common though, was that both the lump of organic material and the load of manure, were completed by the Black Mamba.

Toot, toot, toot, toot! A black dot appeared in the sky. The dot appeared from the northeast direction first, then started moving in the southeast direction. Samdi pointed at the chopper approaching from the northeast direction.

"Wakir, Ulumbo is coming."

"He's too late..."

The Black Mamba's face turned a shade darker. The Gazelle chopper had taken one whole whopping hour to return. It should have taken no more than 30 minutes to winch up Ulumbo and come back.

"I'm not sure if that weakling didn't piss himself."

Samdi ran up to the chopper that had just landed. Shorty after, he returned with the pilot and the sergeant. His face was gloomy.

"Wakir, Ulumbo is dead. His corpse returned."

"Hmm... looks like something happened."

The Black Mamba sank into deep thought. He had been in an uneasy mood ever since Ulumbo didn't come back in time. Every possible action was taken for survival. There was just no reason for him to die before a day had passed. It must mean that something happened.

His temper hit the roof. His first impression of Ulumbo wasn't all that great. He was always bragging, exaggerating matters and walking on eggshells like a little rat. But as time passed, Ulumbo eventually revealed his sincere attitude and gradually became a likeable person. His special compensation and marriage was guaranteed, but it has all become useless now. A promise couldn't be kept.

"Poor dude, he was so happy to be married... Hey, tell me what happened."

Samdi looked back at the soldier that came together.

"Acte, this is Sergeant Leon."

"Well done."

The Black Mamba nodded his head with a gloomy face.

"We used the fast ropes to land on the jungle canopies, along with Army Sergeant Bresong. We used mountain ropes to climb down the tree. The Boma had fallen to the ground and there was a corpse of a native black man in it. The man seemed to have died from the shock of having his organs ruptured, and cervical spine fracture when he took the fall. We shot down the hyena that was devouring the corpse and brought back what we could."

"The Boma had fallen on the ground?"

The Black Mamba's eyes widened. The Boma had been inspected by Samdi himself after he and the Pygmy tribe installed it together. It was built to be sturdy and fastened tightly for to prepare for the leopards.

"Yes, it was destroyed."

"Mmmm!"

"The problem is the battle casualties. Bresong, bring that over here!"

The giant black man with an Army Sergeant badge was carrying a resin pack the size of a briefcase.

"Acte, Army Sergeant Bresong reporting."

Bresong handed over a vinyl bag for oil collection. Black Mamba closely examined the contents of the bag. Inside was a piece of a grenade fragment, 12 gauges of 9mm Parabellum, 32 gauges of 5.56mm, and two skin ointments. It was evidence that Ulumbo had been in a battle.

A 9mm Parabellum gauge can be used on both a pistol and a submachine gun. It would mean that an MP5 was used for 12 gauges to be collected inside a jungle. The 5.56mm, 45 standard gauge is used in both the NATO Army's assault rifle and light machine gun.

There was no way the cheap guerillas could afford to use advanced firearms like MP5s or Minimis. This was clear evidence that Ulumbo was ambushed by Special Ops or an agent.

"It's them."

Samdi gritted his teeth. The yankee that questioned anyone being psychic hunter, Lieutenant Lewis said his comrades were headed to Devil Springs.

"It most likely is!"

The Black Mamba nodded his head. Unexpected incidents always happened no matter how prepared things were. Perhaps that was why religions secure the niche...

"How unfortunate. he was very likely to become the next Ombuti..... how unlucky. Tsk tsk."

Paul clicked his tongue. Ulumbo was like a half wit and a show off, but things like that would eventually fade away just by being next to the Black Mamba. He had the best opportunity, but now it's just a waste."

"I'll identify and confirm the corpse."

"Wi!"

Leon and Bresong unloaded the non-woven corpse carrier bag from the chopper and unzipped it open. The unbearable sight of the corpse was revealed. It bore the signs of being torn apart by wild animals, but there were still clear signs that it was death by falling from a great height. Organs had spilled out from the abdomen, and the axial and femur bones were shattered. The Black Mamba looked at the barely hanging neck. Something had pressed on the corpse's neck with enormous force and completely shattered it.

"Paul, how strong do you think a fully grown gorilla is?"

"Well, I did hear the arm strength was five times of an adult man....."

Paul faltered with an unsure answer.

"According to the French National Museum of History, the grip of an adult gorilla is 350kg. An average adult man's grip is 50kg," Bresong chipped in.

"That's about seven times, eh. That'd be enough to destroy the cervical spine."

"But gorillas aren't aggressive animals; they just act tough. There has been no history of gorillas preemptively striking humans. And they're just not that cruel to attack humans that have lost the ability to resist anyway."

Bresong answered with confidence.

"Didn't realize you were a gorilla expert."

The Black Mamba glanced at Bresong with an unexpected look.

"I majored in animal behavioral science. It's an honor to be able to help a Special Military Advisor."

"This dude, he's gonna be a successful one."

Paul was impressed by Bresong's wits. There weren't many men that could recognize other men who were more powerful than them and to be displaying such adequate ability just at the right time. Bresong had a bright future ahead of him.

The Black Mamba suddenly remembered the chimera he had dealt with on the shores of Ounianga. It was a god-like presence that was neither human nor animal. It was a being that was presumed to have been created in Area 51. That must have been what killed Ulumbo.

"Poor man, the money for his marriage has become the toll to the afterlife."

Samdi shut Ulumbo's widely opened eyes, and put 1000 franc he ripped off in between Ulumbo's fingers. This usually represented a form of ritual made by an owner or a master.

The Black Mamba didn't want to bypass Ulumbo's sacrifice. He intended to get rid of the two remaining monsters in cenote before he left, anyway.

"First, we'll check the site."

Paul expressed an agreeing gesture to Black Mamba.