The Snake that Admires the Heavens.In Port Elizabeth, Dr. Minami "Miami" Amada has an encounter with Karen Low, and by learning that she is unemployed, she decides to hire her as a bodyguard. Some time later, the duo has a meeting with Koko Hekmatyar and her bodyguards at the Solomon Islands to oversee the launch of the final item of HCLI's satellite network designed to give the company and their affiliated arms dealers an upper hand against their opponents. On a later occasion, Renato "R" Socci has a meeting with George "Bookman" Black and informs him that Koko knows that Dominique's crew was hired by the CIA. Black claims that it was not his doing, as his true intention is to make Koko a tool at the behest of the U.S. as part of his plan called "Operation Undershaft", which involves R's undercover assignment. Meanwhile, Hex, the CIA Special Activities Division operative behind the assassination attempt in Alexandria, seduces a fellow CIA agent named Spin into giving her the details about Operation Undershaft. Hex plans to find out what hurts Koko the most before destroying it.