American Gossip King

Chapter 231 Interview with the Negotiation Team

Three hours had passed.

Ian emerged from the private room in a cheerful mood.

Looking downstairs, the negotiation team was still there, a group of people talking to Balayev.

He went straight downstairs, walked to the main stage, and casually pulled over a sofa, sitting between the negotiation team and Balayev.

Balayev stared intently at Ian: "Ian Karl, you've turned a sacred and serious event into a debauched spectacle!"

He regrets it now.

You can't do that!

Ian laughed and said, "Don't mind it, everyone needs to relax. You're all too tense."

As he spoke, he looked at the negotiation team: "By the way, we haven't introduced them yet?"

The negotiation team consisted of three people.

The Russian woman at the head of the group smiled and said, "Politkovka, a Russian journalist."

She speaks fluent English and doesn't need a translator at all.

Ah!

I knew it was you; you did come after all.

The white-haired old man on the left said, "Romanov, advisor to the Russian Security Service, I've already retired, but this matter has come up again. It's a pleasure to meet you, Ian Karl; you've opened my eyes."

Ian laughed and said, "You didn't see anything."

Romanov: "..."

Are we talking about the same thing?

The middle-aged man on the right said, "Vasily, Deputy Director of the Liaison Office."

Ian nodded: "How did the chat go?"

Politkovka smiled wryly: "There's been no progress. The only thing Balayev can give up is the ransom, and the only thing we can accept is the ransom."

Come on, are you kidding me? A hundred billion US dollars?

Even the United States couldn't offer this price.

If kidnapping could be so profitable, I'd do it too.

So Ian beckoned to Vincent, signaling him to bring the camera over: "Ms. Politkovka, may I ask you a few questions?"

Politkovka was stunned.

You still want to interview me?

As an excellent war correspondent, this woman is undoubtedly very courageous and used to interviewing about anything, but she is still somewhat unaccustomed to this situation.

She gently shook her head: "We are not suitable for interviews."

Ian chuckled. "There are only inappropriate questions, not inappropriate interviews. Don't worry, it's not a live broadcast, it can be edited. Natasha, you translate for Mr. Barayev. If he feels the questions are inappropriate, he can stop the interview."

Natasha walked over, stood next to Balayev, and exchanged a glance with Romanov.

So Ian asked, "Ms. Politkovka, do you still have any hope for a peaceful resolution to this incident?"

Politkovka was taken aback by Ian's sharp question right off the bat, and then said, "Of course, I still hope this matter can be resolved peacefully."

"But just hoping isn't enough, is it?" Ian laughed. "If the negotiations fail, will you force your way in?"

The three of them fell silent.

Natasha hesitated for a moment.

Ian looked at her, and she reluctantly translated the words.

Balayev then looked at them with a somber and serious expression—he was very concerned about this issue!

After a moment's thought, Politkovka finally said, "That's not something we can decide."

Ian immediately said, "So you mean it's very possible, right? Do you know what the consequences would be? A lot of people could die because of it."

Politkovka looked at him in astonishment.

What does that mean?

Didn't we agree that you would help us secretly?

On the contrary, Ekaterina and Natasha understood somewhat.

When there are no live broadcasts, Ian will act as if he is helping Balayev.

He will try his best to gain Balayev's trust.

As expected, Balayev glared at them fiercely and whispered, "You won't rescue a single hostage!"

Romanov sighed softly, "This is not our duty."

Ian chuckled. "But you have an obligation to avoid that. Let me tell you what will happen if a peaceful resolution fails. You will choose to force your way in, but the people here are fearless. They have planted a lot of explosives, and they have remote detonators. In just one second, they can blow up the building and kill countless people."

Balayev was taken aback. "How do you know this?"

But thinking about it, I don't really want to know these things; I could guess right no matter what.

Ian continued, "Of course, you can also choose to use anesthetic gas to anesthetize everyone."

Balayev's expression changed slightly, and Romanov and the others were also shocked.

Ian, seemingly unaware that he had guessed half of it, continued, "But there's a problem with anesthesia: people's constitutions differ. If the anesthetic gas isn't strong enough, the Chechens might not immediately lose consciousness, giving us time to detonate the bomb. If it's too strong, many people will die! That means Russian special forces will kill most of the hostages here with their own hands! Are you sure you want to take that risk?"

This time, not only Balayev was shocked, but even the hostages were taken aback.

Are we going to be killed by our own special forces?

Politkovka struggled to remain calm: "This is all your baseless speculation, Mr. Ian Karl. Are you trying to stop this for the sake of your own life?"

She deliberately shifted the focus to Ian, which shows that she was somewhat angered by what Ian said.

The latest novel is first published here!

He exposed the special forces' operational plans, which likely meant the operation would fail.

Ian chuckled softly. "No, I don't care about death. Do I look like someone who's afraid of dying?"

Politkovka took a deep breath: "Of course not."

Ian nodded. "So you see, I was just advising you to play it safe. After all... I'm here!"

In terms of status, Ian Carr is the highest-ranking person in the entire theater.

If the Russians kill him, it could very well cause a diplomatic storm.

The White House would be happy to use this as a pretext to attack Russia, so this is no longer just about Ian Karl taking sides. Even if Ian Karl doesn't side with Russia, the Russians still can't let him die.

You bastard, you could have left!

Ian chuckled, "It seems you didn't like my question. Well then, let me ask another. Mr. Romanov, what has brought you back onto the stage of history after your retirement?"

"The mission of the nation," the old man answered resolutely.

When Ian asked the next question, his tone softened considerably.

Having achieved his goal, he ended the interview after asking a number of questions.

The remaining matters were left to the negotiation team to continue negotiating with Balayev, and Ian returned to the hostages.

He spoke to each of them individually, comforting them.

"Don't worry, everything will be alright, we'll all get out safely." Ian spoke to each of the hostages, holding their hands as if he were a leader offering words of comfort.

"What if the special forces really launch a full-scale attack in the way you described?" an old man asked.

Ian laughed and said, "They might have done that before, but now that I've pointed it out, Balayev is prepared, so they can't do it."

Everyone finally breathed a sigh of relief.

Although no one believed that a powerful Russia would back down, Ian had at least given them a glimmer of hope.

This made everyone look at Ian Karl with gratitude.

Even Balayev was inwardly grateful to him... He had to admit that Ian's statement was quite plausible!

A young actress from the Grand Theatre Company approached Ian, hugged him, and sobbed, "Mr. Karl, thank you so much. My name is Stokaya, and if I survive this ordeal, I..."

She didn't continue speaking, but her bright eyes sparkled as she looked at Ian.

Understand!

You want to experience my limits!

Ian smiled. "Of course. I guarantee you'll survive. That's Ian Carl's guarantee."

As he spoke, he turned to look at Vincent, who gave him a thumbs-up, indicating that everything was being recorded.

The day passed in a state of tension and anxiety.

The negotiating team ultimately failed to reach any agreement with Balayev and returned empty-handed, only sending some food with them.

Everyone spent the night in fear and anxiety.

Apart from the Chechen militants, only Ian Karl remained carefree.

The sounds of a beautiful woman moaning rang out again that evening, leading many to wonder if it was Ian's disguise—not to doubt his composure, but to deceive his stamina.

(End of this chapter)