The next day, early in the morning, Thomas exited the interrogation room.
His eyes were bloodshot and his expression weary, yet he harbored a fire within him.
All night long.
Song Heping had endured dozens of instances of waterboarding.
Yet he still hadn't broken.
"Damn it!"
He fished a cigarette case out of his pocket, snapped a cigarette alight, and exhaled a plu of smoke.
The sun was already peeking out in the east, bathing the entire airport in morning light.
The morning breeze in Illiguo was a rare cool relief.
Thomas stretched, inhaled a deep breath of fresh air, and felt sowhat relieved.
He began contemplating what thods to employ today to make Song Heping talk.
Electroshock?
Exhaustion interrogation?
Or chemical interrogation?
Perhaps he'd use all of them.
See if he would still refuse to talk!
Before he could decide, the satellite phone in the pocket of his tactical vest started buzzing.
"Thomas, co to my office imdiately!"
It was Simon's voice.
By the tone, it seed sothing had happened.
Thomas hurriedly asked, "What happened? SIR."
"Co over first!"
When the order ca from his direct superior, Thomas did not dare to delay.
Simon's temporary office was in a building at this airport.
In less than five minutes, Thomas was already knocking on the door.
"Co in."
Simon's voice ca from behind the door.
Thomas pushed the door and entered.
Upon entering, he saw Simon seated in front of a computer, back toward him.
"SIR..."
He was about to say sothing when he saw the screen.
It was a segnt from FOX News.
The screen displayed headlines and a brief news snippet.
"…Employees of Blackwater International engaged in fierce combat with Kurd Ard Forces in northern Illiguo, the incident suspected to involve the CIA…"
Thomas's heart skipped a beat.
How had this information gotten out?
And it had already made it to national TV?
"Damn it! This has blown up!"
Simon finally turned around.
"Thomas, take a look at this!"
Thomas walked forward and stood in front of the desk.
Simon then pulled up another video.
"Not just CNN, other networks too… ABC, CBS, NBC…"
The next news video shown was from NBC, which was more sensational than FOX; this network even outright stated that this was a failed covert operation by the CIA in the north of Illiguo, during which Blackwater International suffered three casualties, while more than a dozen Kurd forces were killed.
"Nearly all TV stations are broadcasting this news. Just now, as the director was leaving his office, reporters blocked him at the door, asking if this ans we will fall out with the Kurd Ard Forces…"
Cold sweat began to seep from Thomas's forehead.
As a minor head of GRS, he naturally understood what these news stories would imply.
For a long period in the past, in an effort to counter Sadam, networks and dia in Country M, including newspapers, were fully mobilized to portray the Kurd forces as symbols of persistent struggle and pursuit of freedom.
This turned the Kurd forces into darlings of the Western dia, and of course, the CIA had a hand in this.
What's more, following the invasion of Illiguo, dia heavily praised the good coordination and interaction between the US Army and the Kurd forces, with the US Army portrayed as liberators and the Kurd forces portrayed as a positive political power in Illiguo.
Now that the news of Lars and the Kurd people's firefight that night had been leaked, it ant a swarm of reporters would dig deep to discover what exactly happened.
Nobody could guarantee that the truth wouldn't be unearthed by those reporters with noses sharper than a dog's and then made public.
After all, it was a matter of fact.
Blackwater International had gotten in touch with the Kurds through CIA channels and planned to adopt asures of compromise and bribing to ensure the safety of the oil fields and secure more contracts from Wood Energy…
Such a revelation would be a scandal.
No one would want to be associated with it, everyone would definitely distance themselves from it.
By then, the director might use him as a scapegoat.
"I think… maybe it's not as serious as it seems…"
Thomas still harbored so illusions.
"Following the old thods, we could use 'national security' as a pretext to shut those damned dia up!"
"Are you an idiot!?"
Simon suddenly exploded, standing up from his chair so abruptly that his finger almost poked Thomas in the forehead.
"Have you not grasped the issue here?! Lars's incident happened three days ago and no dia reported or followed up on it. Yet the very night after we arrested the people from the "Musician" Defense Company, it made the news!
Considering the ti difference, it ans that within a few hours, this information had already been delivered to all the dia hands and imdiately organized into a program to broadcast. Have you ever seen such efficiency in our dostic dia?!"
Angry, he grabbed the cup on the table and took a sip of coffee.
"There isn't none, but surely soone is pulling strings behind the scenes to get them moving, especially CNN! Don't you understand who the mastermind behind them is?!"
Thomas was taken aback by the scolding, and after a while said, "SIR, do you an this has sothing to do with those people at the 'Musician' Defense Company?"
He was reluctant to make such a judgnt.
This judgnt implied that soone was helping Song and his team.
The question was, who was helping?
Nancy?
Or was it Angel?
True, these figures indeed belonged to powerful aristocratic and political families, but was a small Illiguo defense company really worth their intervention?
And to go as far as using their own resources to make arrangents for it.
Certainly not!
It was clear there was an ulterior motive.
The president had initiated the war.
The Elephant Party was currently in power.
Any scandal arising from this war would inevitably splatter mud on the occupant of the White House.
Perhaps the people from 'Musician' Defense were rely tools.
rely tools indeed!
"Sir, there is still a bit of ti left, I'll imdiately intensify their interrogation. As long as we get their confessions, we will be able to clear this up. Moreover, if the ballistic report cos out, it can confirm the people from 'Musician' Defense were the ones who assassinated the Kurd people. Then, we can hand over the data to Mr.
Bremr Envoy, and he will make sure Old Witch can't escape the bla!"
"Ballistic report?!"
Simon sneered upon hearing this.
He opened the drawer and threw a report onto the table.
"Do you think I would be so troubled if that ballistic report was actually useful? Take a good look! We've been used as fools by Blackwater!"
Thomas picked up the report, flipped through it, compared the photographs, and his gaze finally landed on the conclusion—ballistics did not match.
He was suddenly shocked.
"This can't be possible!"
"Why can't it be possible?" Simon retorted.
"Only 'Musician' had the motive and the ans to do this," Thomas said. "Apart from them, I can't think of anyone else who would do such a thing."
Simon started to jab his finger towards Thomas's forehead, "Thomas, you idiot, think carefully! Does it matter who did it? No, it doesn't matter at all! The biggest problem now is that the dia is watching this affair! Understand? As an intelligence agency, we should not get involved in this ss.
Even if it was done by 'Musician,' I have to say they handled it very nicely. Do you plan to confess under duress? Do you think those behind the dia won't ask us to present this ballistic report? Then where are you going to find that M24 sniper rifle that fired the fatal bullet? Are you David Copperfield? Can you conjure one up?!"
Thomas was left speechless.
After a long while, he finally asked, "So... what do we do now?"
Simon angrily said, "Release them imdiately! I will handle everything else. This affair must not be linked to us. Let those fools at Blackwater deal with the dia and explain! Otherwise, I'll make them suffer!"
...
While Thomas and Simon were discussing in the office, Song Heping had already been returned to his cell and locked up.
An entire night of interrogation had left Song Heping with only half his life remaining.
When thrown into the cell, he was already unconscious.
"Damn!"
The cook rushed over as fast as he could, lifted Song Heping from the ground and cushioned his head on his own thigh, quickly reaching to check Song Heping's breath.
"What's wrong with him?!" Grey Wolf approached with a worried expression.
The cell held other core team mbers of 'Musician' Defense.
Everyone sat in a circle, their gazes focused on Song Heping, fearing he might already be dead.
"He is still breathing."
The cook examined Song Heping, his face suddenly tense.
"He was subjected to waterboarding."
Upon saying this, he quickly stood up, shouldered Song Heping, and began to walk around the cell, deliberately jolting him with each step.
"An entire night of waterboarding?"
The faces of Grey Wolf and the others changed.
They knew that ordinary people might pass out after a few instances of waterboarding.
It had been several hours since Song Heping had been taken to the interrogation room the night before.
If the waterboarding continued...
These old soldiers all knew the consequences...
"There is definitely still water in his lungs, we must make him spit it out, or he could suffer permanent damage…"
The cook continued walking and talking.
After several rounds, water indeed began to trickle from Song Heping's mouth, dripping onto the floor.
"He's spitting out water!"
Grey Wolf shouted joyfully.
The cook did not stop but kept circling the cell.
Only when no more water ca out of Song Heping's mouth did he finally stop.
"I'm exhausted."
The group laid Song Heping on the ground, and Disaster Star quickly sat next to him, propping his upper body on her thighs to keep his head elevated.
Suddenly, Queen Julia pointed at Song Heping and said, "He's awake, look, the kid's awake!"
It felt like he had been through a lengthy dream.
In that dream, he had walked down a long, dark corridor and pushed open a door ahead, beyond which the sunlight was brilliant.
Song Heping finally opened his eyes.
"Song! You're awake?"
The cook brought his bearded face very close to Song Heping's nose.
"I almost thought you weren't going to make it."
Song Heping had just woken up, his gaze sowhat blank, and it took him a while to recognize the faces around him.
"Cook... White Bear... Disaster Star..."
His head began to hurt severely, and his eyebrows imdiately knitted together in pain.
The aftereffects of drowning were very uncomfortable.
Fortunately, the pain gradually faded, and he slowly sat up, taking a while to adjust before he felt his soul finally return to its place.
"I almost thought I was dead..."
Song Heping murmured.
The cook asked, "Did they use waterboarding on you?"
"Yeah." Song Heping patted his head and tilted it, shaking it as if trying to pour water out.
"They did it so many tis, I lost count..."
The cook gave a thumbs up, "You're tough! To withstand an entire night of waterboarding and still recover so quickly! Anyone else would have been dead or crippled."
Song Heping suddenly rembered sothing, turned to the cook and asked, "Say, cook..."
He looked at the others.
"Were you guys tortured too?"
"Nope..." The cook looked puzzled: "Last night we were brought directly here and locked up, just you weren't with us."
"Damn!"
It seed Thomas had singled him out for a brutal treatnt.
The son of a bitch!
Song Heping gritted his teeth and vowed, "I'll settle this score with Thomas sooner or later!"
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