African Entrepreneurship Records 2

Chapter 1714 Trigger

At this moment, Sterling was still tied to the chair. He said to Section Chief Klein, "Section Chief Klein, the show is over now. Hurry up and untie me! It's not comfortable sitting in this chair tied to me."

Section Chief Klein nodded to his men, and then one of the agents untied the ropes binding him.

After being freed from his restraints, Sterling bowed and scraped to Section Chief Klein and asked, "Section Chief, could you give me a little advance on the reward you mentioned earlier? You know I still have a bit of gambling debts. Paying some off first would put my mind at ease."

Section Chief Klein said casually, "Of course, you are our hero, so this treatment is only right."

The conversation between the two also revealed why Sterling was so cooperative with the German security services. A gambler will do anything for money. If he were a normal person, he would be lucky if he didn't even try to avoid the German security services, let alone cooperate with them.

Section Chief Klein instructed his subordinate, "Take Mr. Sterling to the lounge first. I'll go to the finance department to complete some procedures."

“Yes, Section Chief,” the subordinate replied, then turned to Sterling and said, “Sir, please come with me.”

"Okay, thank you so much."

Sterling agreed without much thought and followed the man out of the interrogation room. After Sterling and his subordinate left temporarily, the technician asked Klein, "Chief, are we just going to let this guy off so easily?"

At this moment, Section Chief Klein's face had completely lost the amiable expression he had when Sterling was present. Instead, he sneered, "Heh, how could we let this guy off so easily? This matter must be kept strictly confidential; not a single word can be leaked."

"Otherwise, if we make a fool of ourselves, Germany will become the clown of the international community."

"Therefore, everyone involved in this, including you and me, must keep quiet, otherwise..."

Although Section Chief Klein didn't say it directly, the person asking the question couldn't help but shudder. In their line of work, they lived on thin ice every moment, constantly on edge.

He quickly pledged his loyalty, saying, "Section Chief, don't worry, I'm very tight-lipped. Even if you beat me to death, I would never reveal what happened today."

Section Chief Klein nodded and said, "There's no need to be so cautious. There's no doubt that our own people are reliable. As for a guy like Sterling, only death can put our minds at ease. He wants to run off to East Africa? Hmph, he really dares to dream!"

In fact, Sterling's first choice was the United States, since after acquiring a large fortune, the United States was clearly a more ideal place than East Africa.

However, Chief Klien rejected the idea outright. Klien told Sterling that Germany didn't trust him to go to America, but East Africa was also German territory and no worse than America, so Sterling changed his destination.

Of course, Clyne said this entirely to allay Sterling's concerns and to make him worry that he would be discarded after being used.

Sterling was indeed a gambler whose thinking couldn't be measured by normal standards, but he also had his shrewdness. If the Germans told him he couldn't go anywhere and had to stay in Germany, then Sterling would worry that the Germans would use him and then get rid of him.

When Section Chief Klein told him that he couldn't go to the United States, but could go to East Africa, a "German country," it further increased the possibility that he could "get away unscathed."

If Section Chief Klein did not stop him from going to the United States at all, but instead readily agreed, then Sterling might also have doubts about the Germans' motives.

The truth is, the Germans never intended for him to live from the beginning, since only the dead can keep secrets.

Chief Clement said, "The script should go like this: Sterling, the suspect in the Strasbourg bombing, this French spy, commits suicide out of guilt..."

While Chief Clement was writing the next part of the script, Sterling was sitting on the sofa in the lounge of the Strasbourg Security Service branch next door.

The German agent who had just left with him was now placing a cup of coffee and a pastry on his table.

“Mr. Sterling, our facilities here are limited. Would you like to have a cup of coffee before the director arrives?”

Sterling, completely oblivious, picked up his coffee cup and said, "No problem, no problem, I understand, you are, after all, a public institution!"

He took a small sip, tasted it, and then said, "Your coffee must be from East Africa, right? The taste is a bit worse than regular coffee."

In the 20s, Europeans generally considered East African coffee, unless it was from a specially designated region or brand, to be low-end.

After all, East African coffee has a short history of development. Before the 20th century, coffee from Latin America and Southeast Asia was Europe's main source of imports.

Therefore, given the short history of coffee cultivation and export, East African coffee branding efforts are clearly lagging behind those of traditional coffee-growing regions.

In fact, East African coffee is of very good quality. In recent years, East African coffee has also opened up the mid-to-high-end market. However, some Europeans still believe that most imported East African coffee is not high-end enough.

This is mainly because the East African coffee industry is large-scale and highly industrialized, resulting in large exports to Europe. In order to eliminate competitors, prices are relatively low, which has reinforced the impression among some Europeans that East African coffee is low-end.

Of course, this situation mainly occurs in traditional East African overseas markets such as Western Europe and Central and Eastern Europe. East Africa has already firmly established itself in the high-end sector, and some special East African production areas and brands are important products for people in Central and Eastern Europe to entertain guests.

“Mr. Sterling, this coffee really is imported from East Africa,” the agent said, echoing Sterling’s words.

Sterling said smugly, "I knew it! Only low-end coffees have this kind of flawed taste, and right now, East African coffees are all over the European low-end coffee market."

The agent said, "Actually, there are quite a few internationally renowned coffee brands in East Africa, and the quality is extremely high."

“But it’s not cheap either!” Sterling chimed in. “I think when I go to East Africa later, I should have the chance to drink those high-end East African coffees. After all, it’s the main coffee-producing region, and East African coffee should be cheaper.”

The agent, speechless at Sterling's idea, said, "Let's hope so!"

Just as Sterling was about to continue talking about his plans after going to East Africa, he suddenly felt a little dizzy.

"Why do I feel a little dizzy..." Sterling didn't react at first, but then he felt his breathing become rapid, and he felt a sense of difficulty breathing and palpitations.

He clutched his chest, opened his mouth, and pointed to the coffee cup with his other finger, saying, "Coffee..." Seeing that Sterling was now reacting, the German agent simply stopped pretending.

He said with a smile, "Mr. Sterling, now you should know why this coffee tastes a bit strange! This is a high-end coffee with added ingredients. Although our Strasbourg Security Department is not a high-end place, the quality of our coffee is still quite good."

Sterling was still able to speak, and with a pained expression, he asked, "You poisoned me! I should never have trusted you German spies in the first place."

The German agent said, "Mr. Sterling, only a gambler like you, blinded by greed, would cooperate with us without any suspicion. However, your death will have some value; it will be the beginning of a new order in Europe."

Sterling was no longer in the mood to listen to what he was saying. As time went on, the drug took effect, and he felt dizzy, accompanied by a severe headache, difficulty breathing, and general weakness.

He could no longer sit upright on the sofa and instead slumped against the armrest.

The German agent watched Sterling's gruesome state with a blank stare, but showed absolutely no reverence for life. Instead, he watched as if he were watching an insect struggling on the brink of death, a disdainful smile playing on his lips.

Just then, the door was pushed open, and Section Chief Klein came into the lounge. As soon as he entered, he saw Sterling lying on the sofa, convulsing.

With an extremely cold expression, he said, "After he dies, don't rush to dispose of his body. Find him a good burial site so that he can have a proper resting place."

……

A day later, the Strasbourg bombing quickly caused a huge uproar in Germany, and almost at the same time, the German news media turned their attention to the bombing.

Under the arrangement of the German security service, the Strasbourg police also released the results of the investigation into the bombing.

Strasbourg Police Chief Motterright told reporters, "We have identified the perpetrator of the Strasbourg bombing as Sterling, 34 years old, a terrorist funded by the French Association for the Recovery of Lorraine."

A reporter asked, "Director Motlett, what kind of organization is the French Association for the Recovery of Lorraine?"

Following the script provided to him by the Security Department, Motlett explained, "This is a terrorist organization active in the Lorraine region. Its members are mostly French, and they are attempting to divide the Empire's territory. Sterling is one of them."

"The Strasbourg bombing is a testament to their lingering ambitions in the Lorraine region. They are attempting to harm our poor, ordinary German citizens through terrorist activities, thereby threatening and intimidating our authorities."

At this point, a reporter from Le Attack asked, "Director Motlett, is this terrorist organization backed by France?"

At this moment, Motlett was sweating profusely, but she remained calm and said according to the script: "We cannot rule out this possibility. After all, under the effective governance and economic development of the Imperial Government for many years, the public opinion in the Lorraine region has long been completely integrated with the Empire."

"Therefore, some extreme terrorist organizations want to go against the tide, go against the will of the people in the Lorraine region, and carry out sabotage activities. According to our investigation, their funding is related to France."

"For example, the French Lorraine Recapture Association, to which Sterling, a terrorist, belongs, receives its funding from within France."

A reporter from Le Attack asked, "Director Namotelet, do you think the French government was involved in this?"

Director Motright said, forcing a smile, "I can't answer that question. However, we obtained some intelligence from Sterling's arrest and interrogation, which should be useful as reference material for you social regulators."

"This includes a video recording of Sterling's actual interrogation conversation before his death, which we will release to our journalist friends."

Afterward, Director Motwright dealt with a few more questions and then hastily ended the interview that had left him trembling with fear.

After retreating into his office, Chief Motlett angrily cursed, "I knew this bombing wouldn't be simple once the security department got involved. That interview just now was like putting me on the hot seat."

Director Motlett's secretary said, "Director, it's clear that even if the Strasbourg bombing wasn't staged by the Security Department, they are still very much involved."

"In addition, they are now deliberately drawing the nation's attention to this matter and asking us to cooperate in acting. This all shows one thing: they are deliberately trying to create a big incident."

Director Motlett said irritably, "Do you need to tell me that? Now that all the details are put together, I have a clear understanding of the Strasbourg bombing."

"I'm afraid this bombing is a pretext deliberately created by the higher-ups, a fuse that could overturn the current situation in Europe." He pointed to the ceiling.

It is clear that the Strasbourg bombing was a staged event by the German security service, and they must have been instructed by Berlin to do so, and Berlin intended to make a big deal out of it.

During the interview just now, Director Motlett was working with German journalists to directly frame France.

It was clear that the Strasbourg bombing was aimed at the French, and Director Motley, as a passive participant, already had a very ominous premonition.

He said to his secretary, "Believe it or not, this Strasbourg bombing could very well turn into another 'Sarajevo attack'."

"The empire will inevitably seize this opportunity to attack the French, and war is likely to break out again."

Motlett's secretary said with a hint of worry, "If a war really breaks out, we'll probably be drawn into it too, since Strasbourg is very close to the border."

Director Motlett said helplessly, "Let's leave it to fate! Besides, the war may not be more brutal than the last world war. After all, the Empire's development over the years is obvious to all, while France has been in decline."

"During the last World War, France was able to unite with Britain and Tsarist Russia to withstand the Empire's military might, but this time the tide has turned and the Empire is much stronger. Can France still stop it?"

"Not to mention that France's own strength has declined significantly in recent years, and now it is difficult for them to find reliable allies to compete with the Empire. On the contrary, the Empire has won over many European countries in recent years to form the Axis Powers."

"The French can't possibly cooperate with the Soviet Union! And even if they put aside their ideologies and unite, they probably wouldn't be a match for the empire."

"Therefore, all things considered, the Empire's advantage this time is far greater than during the last world war, so the war may end soon, and the impact on Strasbourg will not be too great."

(End of this chapter)