"That's… actually a good number."

Anastasia's voice was neutral, her expression giving nothing away. She was clearly trying to keep her thoughts to herself. But soon she remembered something and asked,

"Out of curiosity… how many of them were females?"

Her words were casual and Natalia felt nothing wrong with answering that,

"About three in the VDV units and two if you're talking about the Spetsnaz. All of them have been to Afghanistan so you don't have to worry about their capabilities."

Anastasia raised an eyebrow, processing the information. She couldn't deny the resilience and capabilities of soldiers who had survived and fought in Afghanistan.

"Hmm, well, diversity is good, I suppose. As long as they're capable and committed. We'll make it work."

Natalya nodded in agreement, seemingly satisfied with Anastasia's response.

"They've been through hell, Boss. But they're still here, still standing. That says something about their character."

Anastasia took a moment to consider Natalya's words. The resilience and character forged in the crucible of war were qualities that could be valuable in their line of work. She sat down on the sofa, next to the one on which Mikhail was sitting, surprisingly engrossed in that cat-and-mouse show.

"And what exactly were their roles in the army before they left?"

Natalia sat down on the sofa opposite hers and took a glance at the TV before answering her question,

"If you are asking about the woman, then one of the VDV was a comm and the rest of them are medics."

She paused for a moment, thinking to herself,

"But if you want to know about all their expertise, you would need to talk to them yourself."

Anastasia nodded, it was a valid approach. However, she also considered the roles of the four women, a single Comms specialist, and four medics would be valuable assets to her strike team not to mention the diverse skills the rest of them would possess. 

"Well, good work you two. Natalya, one more question for you, how fast can they get to Roanapur?"

Natalya thought for a moment before answering,

"Depends. How fast do you want them here?"

Anastasia scoffed,

"Is that even a question? I want them here today, right now even. And you need to make sure they are able to perform immediately."

Natalya looked at her blankly,

"That's… not very reasonable."

Anastasia raised an eyebrow at Natalya. Meanwhile, Diego exited the kitchen with plates stacked high with pancakes.

"Of course, it's not reasonable. So tell me, how fast can they get here?"

Natalya sighed as she took one plate from Diego,

"It's not like they're just sitting around waiting for orders, Anastasia. There's a lot to do, and if we want them all here as fast as possible, it's gonna take money."

Anastasia sighed before taking the second plate from Diego,

"Hey, Diego, can you see if the fridge's got any syrup? Also, can you make up some extra food for lunch?"

Diego nodded and went to do that. Anastasia looked back at Natalya.

"How much will it cost, then?"

Natalya grimaced at the question,

"It depends. If you want them here before the end of this month, then it would be about a thousand bucks for each. However, If you want them here in three days, then it would take five grands per person." 

Anastasia was unfazed by this answer. That money would come back to them once they started hitting the Italians, after all, those bastards were loaded with dollar bills and to top it all off, their leader was an old fart who didn't trust the bank with a dime. 

Oh, she couldn't wait to pry open his personal vault.

Whatever it cost, she would make the investment. She was aware of the benefits that the operation would bring to the organization and she couldn't be more excited about it.

"Get them here in three days,"

Anastasia's tone was affirmative, she already had the next steps for their arrival mapped out, but the first step was essential. She suddenly asked Natalya, not without a touch of curiosity,

"How do you plan on getting them here?"

Natalya had an amused look on her face as she stuffed another pancake into her mouth

"Well.... Let's see here. First of all, they would be gathering at the rally point in Chita, from there it's a four-hour flight over a distance of 1,600-mile flight to the nearest port in Vladivostok."

"Then, it'd be a 2,100-mile sea journey to Koh Kood which would take three days, and then another six hours to Roanapur."

She had a thoughtful look on her face.

"I estimate it would take Four days? or maybe three and a half. It'll be a tight schedule, but I know some smugglers who, with some coffee and adrenaline, can manage the job. But we would need to pay them half the cash up front and the other half when this job is done." 

"Alright, do what you have to."

Anastasia had full faith in Natalya's contacts and, of course, the plan sounded quite flawless. She didn't want to risk anything and, if everything went as expected, those vets would be arriving just in time for the big show. They would have enough people to hit the ship carrying the Italians' goods.

"Just make sure our new employees get here in one piece, alright?"

Natalya smirked,

"I can't guarantee that. Once they're here, you're probably going to have to spend like a day teaching most of them what a shower is."

Mikhail laughed and Diego had an amused look on his face. He had already placed a plate before Mikhail who was absent-mindedly chowing down on the pancakes while watching the TV.

Suddenly, Anastasia asked,

"Where did Amina go?"

Diego answered her question,

"You told her to find which wharf the Italians are keeping the 'goods' at and she wanted to get the task done as quickly as possible."

Natalya whistled,

"That's one dedicated chick."

Anastasia looked at Diego, slightly stunned but mostly curious,

"And... should I be concerned for her?"

He merely smiled,

"Not for her but for the poor chap she's gonna be interrogating."

The rest of the breakfast passed quietly and another hour later Aleksei turned up and took Diego with him to make the deal with the Indonesians. The deal itself was quite funny.

The Vorovich didn't have their own drug distribution route, so they had to rely on others to do the work for them. They bought high-grade goods from their connections in the plantations all over Thailand and Cambodia and sold them to the highest bidder for a pretty penny. 

Although, the ones who bought them were not much of a big shots either. Small groups with a piece of the weed road in their backyard or small-time smugglers spreading the goods all over the world. As for the BIG businesses, such as the Mexicans, Colombians, Chinese, and Indonesians had a proper part of the route in their control.

Now imagine her surprise when she found out that plantations weren't willing to sell the goods anymore because these giants had an appetite a bit too big for their comfort. These large groups weren't willing to let their source have one over them. Instead, they started to take over the plantations. 

And the surprise didn't end just here. She nearly doubled over laughing when she found out that they only paid Somsak a dollar a gram for his product. After that, all she had to do was assure him of her own fair price at three to five bucks a gram and she found one of the best weed growers at the palm of her hand.

Now she was the one supplying the product to the Romanians and the Cubans at three times the price she bought the stuff for. The Indonesians had been wanting in on Somsak's product for a while now.

Aleksei would be discussing the deal with them and once Dutch brings in the goods, she would sell off the extra 65kgs to the Indonesians. Though the amount would hardly be a match for their usual trade, they would still think that this would be the start of a lasting trade.

With the business deals and plans in motion, Anastasia found herself contemplating the events of the past few days. The squad was expanding, preparations for the upcoming confrontation with the Italians were underway, and fake alliances were being forged.

As the hours went by, Anastasia continued to receive updates on the withdrawal process as well as the deal with the Indonesians. Everything was going perfectly.

Exactly at one in the afternoon, Amina returned, having successfully gathered the info she had been looking for. She had spotted the Italian goods' being moved in and out of a boat.

"It's the warehouse on the sixth Riverbend Lane, directly next to the Wharf S014, single ship dock."

Amina recited the address while plopping down in front of Anastasia,

"The place is heavily guarded, but not impenetrable. They are constantly moving regular goods into the ship before slipping in a couple of extras. Also, from what I find out, the ships moving out in four days."

She leaned back into the sofa,

"Its destination is some random port on some island of Micronesia."

Anastasia wrote the address down quickly on a random slip of paper lying on the coffee table.

"Alright. Did you manage to see where they're keeping their goods?"

Anastasia's tone was a bit more serious now. They were getting close to their targets, and she wanted to have all the information she needed. Amina was definitely someone she wanted to hold on to if she was as smart as she was useful.

"In the No.3 Cargo Hold of the Mari Profondi. It's the Italians' multi-purpose vessel."