[The Mansion, Outskirts of Raccoon City]

[March 23, 2022]

Clara oversaw her staff bustle around the kitchen. In a few days, things had gotten so much busier.

She eyed the various ladies, each focused on their tasks, to ensure that the meal was to be ready in a timely fashion.

It was a simple affair. Grilled cheese sandwiches with tomato bisque. They imported the ingredients yesterday and baked bread this morning. Transportation technology made secure food access very easy.

That the Supreme Leader was entertaining a guest changed nothing. Her job was to ensure that the house was well run.

She eyed the garden outside of the kitchen windows, and she saw the posted soldiers. They filled the entire grounds with the various soldiers that supported the city.

She overlooked the people and nodded to herself. Today was another day for her. Regardless of how much the world changed, her duties rarely did.

—

I smiled, and Virginia Rodriguez smiled back. My eyes drifted down to the centerpiece on the table between us. A massive eye-catching bouquet that the local school children had gathered for me.

Well, for me and the soldiers of Val Verde.

I glanced down at the flowers, and my smile deepened. The room was now very fragrant and colorful.

“This is Raccoon City News, Virginia Rodriguez, signing off,” Virginia said with a smile.

“… Cut!” Alberto yelled as the feed ended. He sighed as he eyed the two soldiers by the door.

Their faceless, red-eyed masks were less frightening than when he had first seen them. That did not change the fact that they would shoot him at the first sign of hostility.

Virginia relaxed and gave the man sitting across from her a warm smile. She knew that the only reason she had survived was because of his action that night.

“Thank you again, Supreme Leader,” Virginia said as she stood, and the man stood with her.

She offered her hand, and he shook it.

“It was my pleasure, Miss Rodriguez,” The Supreme Leader said as he returned her smile. No pretenses, no hostility.

“I would love to stay and chat, but it seems duty calls,” Virginia said as she handed off her microphone. She gave her partner a smile as she made her way to the guarded door.

Alberto gathered various bits of equipment. Microphones and cameras. They would start cutting the footage right away. A mad rush to ensure it was ready for tonight’s special interview.

“Supreme Leader,” Virginia said as she bowed her head and left. Her mind was already spinning on how to best showcase tonight’s footage.

She would have loved to stay and pick the mind of the man who was the highlight across the country. Yet needs must.

She knew for a fact that his next appointment would be vital to the future of Venezuela.

—

I made my way from the room. Where Miss Rodriguez had gone left, I went right.

In step, Kori walked with me. A bright purple flower nestled into her hair. It was perfect for the purple loving, cheerful young woman.

I had forgotten about the newscaster when the Type-3 wrecked everything. She either forgave me or understood that there were bigger issues that day.

There was a solarium built into the backyard, facing the north and mountain view. Since they built it on a plateau, it made privacy much easier.

There they greeted me with the sight of two women. One I knew as Sofia Mantiga, and a woman I only knew by public information.

“Supreme Leader,” Sofia greeted as she stood. “May I introduce Ana Maria Diaz, of the Republic of New Venezuela Party.”

I looked at the woman as I walked in. We shook hands.

“Miss Diaz,” I greeted and took a seat. There was no need to grandstand here. This was an unofficial meeting that was going to be annoying.

“Supreme Leader,” the woman said as she followed my lead. We did the whole please-call-me-by-my-first-name dance.

As soon as the four of us got seated, maids entered and laid out the cutlery. Food followed soon after.

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“Miss Mantiga has said you wish to barter?” I asked as I grabbed a glass of water. No alcohol until the meeting was over. A golden rule that had steered Val Verde from disaster before.

“Let's get straight to the point,” Ana said as she took a bite from the rather delectable sandwich. “We need protection and food. Aside from seized assets, I am here to negotiate other forms of payment.”

The simple grilled cheese was crunchy on the outside, but the gooey cheese on the inside. The rich flavor filled her taste buds as it spread warmth and cheese across her mouth.

“Please enjoy, no need to rush the meal,” I said as I took a spoonful of the soup. Our seeds were from Italy, and our farms could now mass-produce identical quality now.

“Assets?” I asked as Ana finished her meal. Kori was motioning for seconds and I motioned for our guests.

Miss Mantiga brightened as another bowl replaced her empty one. Miss Diaz also smiled.

“When it got revealed that Cobra had infiltrated us, we mobilized the military. We worked as fast as we could to lock things down. When those monsters appeared and burst from Umbrella, we did the same to that corporation.”

I nodded along.

“We shut down all their buildings and have taken all personnel into custody. There have been ‘suicides’ among the leadership, but most of their hardware is usable. It's amazing what people can say when you have the upper hand.”

I looked at the woman. “What do you need?”

“Protection, Johnny. Cobra has assassinated most of the party leadership. I was the only one left…” Ana explained. “Me. A new party, and a new leader. The only obvious choice as I lack the career to get my hands dirty, and the most nationalistic one left. No one wants to take up the leadership in case Cobra gets itchy trigger fingers.”

I stared at the woman’s tight face. She was ready to fight political battles, but not assassins.

“So you want bodyguards and a constant stream of food. In return, I get all Venezuelan assets of Umbrella?” I asked to clarify. This was much easier than having teams of legal people duke it out.

They would still have to do their work. It was less claw for perks and more ensuring the contract fit the words and intent. I didn't have any plans on being unfair... unless they did it first.

Miss Mantiga stood and made her way over to me. In her hands was a manila envelope. Once it was in my hands, she made her way over to return to her meal.

A simple paper clip held together with the papers inside. It was a list of Umbrella’s local assets. Unable to hold back my curiosity, I leafed through it. Ana smiled at my actions, feeling confident in her bargaining chip.

The first page was a simple breakdown of what they did.

The second page was its chemical division and uses.

The fourth page stopped me. Specialized manufacturing.

“Umbrella has two extra companies under them in Venezuela. A mining company, and an electronics company,” Ana explained as she finished up her meal.

I flipped to the eight pages. It was enough to have me widen my eyes. A fabrication plant for electronics. They geared it for microcircuits. Something I knew Sue had on her wishlist.

“To sweeten the deal, Johnny, we will cede this land to you. Raccoon City, and the Spencer Mansion, will fall under Val Verde as a special territory. You are renting this land from us in exchange for food,” Ana said as she grew anxious.

Venezuela was in dire straights. They had no money, no easy income as the fake leader had embezzled enough to begin the death spiral of a country. The lack of food was a symptom of their broken country.

I looked Ana in the eyes. “I get the Umbrella assets. Cobra’s various seized assets. Raccoon City. You get military support and Bodyguards?”

Ana gave me a tight smile and nodded. She hadn’t mentioned the extra military support. Yet having local territory in the country meant staffing it.

It meant protecting my new interest. Having assets everywhere meant security was everywhere.

“Agreed. I will have soldiers stationed here. Until such time we receive formal requests to leave the country. Upon which time we will take our belongings and leave,” I said as I scanned the rest of the documents.

Worse comes to worst we stay a year and then take all the things and leave. Though the withdraw could take some serious time.

Ana nodded along. The country was broke, and they had no other choices. Though they had access to a lot of local raw resources.

She needed to ensure they stabilized the country. She literally couldn’t do worse than the fake Luis Gonzalez.

I made it to the last page, where I noted that they even had eight more locations. They were publicly listed under the company as warehouses. I doubt they were all just warehouses.

Was it full of processed goods? Raw Goods? Monsters?

I closed the last page and slid the back into the nice Manila envelopes. I always liked them. They often used it in secret spy movies like James Bond.

The adventures, or supposed adventures, of the not so secret British agent. Note to self, if Agent 007 ever touched Val Verde Soil without notice, shoot on sight. Otherwise, observe.

I motioned for the drinks. I needed a margarita.

Our talks turned to other important matters. Such as what Val Verde could do to help Venezuela. Anything that messed with Cobra was a good cause in my books.

—

Ana Maria Diaz smiled as we walked her to the front door. Her security detail was happy to leave. Their simple training didn’t exactly cover how to deal with power armored soldiers.

It surprised her at how fast Johnny had agreed. She was expecting to give up far more for this, but he didn’t seem too interested.

Though the assets seemed to be very good. Which is another time she would have never let go. They were good centers of business and could generate money. Enough to be in the untold high millions or low billions.

Then again, you had to be alive to spend it. Having her party receive protection would go a long way to rebuilding the country. Not to mention the security her family would also fall under.

“If you need anything, the assigned captain will relay the requests,” Johnny said as they walked. Their steps echoed in the hallway as they passed through the front doors.

Ana stopped as she stared at the new arrivals. Besides her standard SUVs were a dozen of Val Verde’s warthogs and military trucks.

“A hundred soldiers, all trained to be bodyguards, are active as of now. I will have more come in tomorrow and across the rest of the month. We will also visit each facility. They will get looked over by another team. Please have the keys ready.”

Ana stared at the smiling man. How frightening.

Despite his relaxed attitude and soft words, he showed his power. He could overtake Venezuela tonight if he desired. Instead, she got a hundred soldiers for her protection.

“Of course, Johnny,” Ana said as she plastered on another smile. It was good that they were allies.

Sofia smiled beside her. The girl either didn’t understand or was looking at the brighter side of things.

Ana made a mental note to ensure that her political friends to not skimp on the promises. Everything they had discussed, she would have it done.

Val Verde was a military nation. Ana Maria Diaz now understood this.

————

Chapter 43: The Bartering System