"How is their simulation training going?"
At night, Avanti inquired about Song Heping and his team's preparation status from Naxin, who had co to report for duty in his room.
Naxin seed sowhat troubled.
He hemd and hawed for a long ti before saying, "Mr. Avanti, I think..."
His words trailed off there.
Avanti put down his teacup, looked up at Naxin standing before him, and said gently, "Just say it. What's wrong with them?"
Naxin responded, "They only went there in the morning to have a look, walked around inside the simulated building, and then they left. They haven't been back since."
"Hmm?"
This ti, Avanti completely set his teacup aside.
He sat on the floor and thought for quite a while without speaking.
Seeing his reaction, Naxin continued, "I think entrusting these rcenaries with the operation is clearly a very risky move."
It actually took a lot of courage for Naxin to say this.
After all, Avanti was no ordinary person.
In the special operations brigade, he was revered like a god, a legend.
Before he took over the brigade, its combat achievents were truly lackluster.
Since Avanti took charge, a series of operations in the surrounding area had achieved remarkable results, even altering Persia's previously very passive situation in the Middle East.
It was Avanti's decision to bring people like Song Heping for this mission.
To speak this way was to question the leader's decision.
"So..."
Finally, Avanti spoke again.
His tone was still as unruffled as ever.
"Who do you think should be responsible for this operation?"
"Our own people!"
Naxin's eyes shone instantly.
"The special operations squad of our brigade—their combat capabilities and discipline are incomparable to those of rcenaries."
"Really?" Avanti picked up his teacup again, his gaze returning to Naxin's face, "I rember that before you were assigned to Illiguo, you spent so ti in the special operations squad and perford quite well."
Naxin quickly nodded, "Yes, if Mr. Avanti agrees, I am willing to lead the team on this mission."
Avanti sipped his tea, speaking calmly, "Then why were you captured alive twice during attacks on Hassan Oil Field?"
The word "captured alive," whether intentionally or not, seed to carry a slightly heavier emphasis from Avanti.
At this ntion, Naxin imdiately kept silent.
"Naxin. Never underestimate the tactical level of the Chinese. The army of a country that once fought against the coalition forces of seventeen countries without defeat, do you think their soldiers' tactical training would be subpar?"
After a pause, he added, "Tomorrow, hand over the passports and such to them. Once you've arranged the contact person on the Turkey side, put them on the plane."
"Yes, Mr. Avanti."
The next morning, early on, Song Heping and the others received the fake passports Naxin had delivered.
The so-called fake passports, once in Song Heping's hands, were scrutinized closely by him.
Although he was not an expert in this area, no matter how he looked at them, no flaws were apparent.
The state-level forgery technique was indeed exquisite.
"What fine craftsmanship..."
Hunter, who had also seen his fair share of the world, couldn't stop praising after receiving the passport.
He flipped it over and over, equally enchanted by the beautifully crafted false identity.
Song Heping asked, "When do we leave?"
Naxin replied, "Tonight."
Song Heping nodded and then inquired, "How is the route arranged?"
Naxin explained, "First to Siria, then from there fly to Saudi, change planes at Shateliya Airport, and head to Turkey."
White Bear frowned and said, "That's complicated!"
Song Heping thought there must be a deeper aning to this arrangent—because of the issue with exit and entry records.
If they flew directly, they would likely be targeted by Turkey upon entry.
It was like laundering money.
By transferring through different banks and dispersing to different accounts through various thods before withdrawing the money, the funds are "cleaned."
The principle seed to make sense.
"Are our weapons ready?"
"Ready," Naxin said, "Upon arrival in Persia, soone will et you at the airport. Everything will be taken care of for you then."
"Okay, I got it," Song Heping said, not one for unnecessary words.
He was very confident in Avanti's efficiency and capability.
Such matters were a small feat for him, hardly a challenge.
When dinner ti arrived, Avanti ca over personally to accompany them for the al.
"My friends."
He now addressed Song Heping as a "friend" when he spoke.
"You will be departing shortly after dinner, and I specifically ca to have a al with you to wish you success in advance."
Song Heping replied, "Thank you for your kind intentions, Mr. Avanti. However, what concerns more is whether your paynt is ready?"
"Hahaha!"
Avanti burst into laughter.
"What I admire most about Mr. Song is that you are very pragmatic. I like making friends with pragmatic people. Rest assured, the mont you bring Hassan back and hand him over to us, I will imdiately instruct soone to transfer the money from our overseas account to the one you designate."
"The money is clean, right?" Song Heping asked.
"Of course," Avanti replied. "We are always cautious in our dealings. Just provide the company na and account number, and we will handle everything, making it appear like a perfect investnt profit that won't raise any suspicion."
Song Heping smiled, "Excellent, I trust you, Mr. Avanti. You give people the impression of being very credible. But I have another favor to ask."
"Go ahead. As long as it's within my power, I won't shirk," Avanti replied even more succinctly.
Song Heping said, "When I left Illiguo, I released false information to the public. Many people think I am at the oil field, so you must ensure that during this period, the Kurds do not have the resources to harass my oil field, so as not to draw attention and discover that I am not there directing operations."
Avanti nodded slightly, smiling, "No problem, I assure you they won't have the resources to bother you."
"Then I'm relieved," Song Heping lifted his teacup, "With tea instead of wine, here's to a successful collaboration! Cheers!"
"Cheers, my friend."
The dinner that night went by with ease.
Avanti was amiable and well-versed in many subjects, making for engaging conversation on anything.
So, two hours flew by at the dinner table unnoticed, and it was only when night had completely fallen did the two parties stand up to say goodbye.
After grabbing their luggage and leaving the barracks, they found the vehicle already waiting for them.
After bidding farewell to Avanti, Naxin led the group to the tarmac.
It was still a helicopter.
After boarding the aircraft, White Bear joked, "Are they taking us to the airport with this?"
Song Heping also felt this level of service was a bit too high.
Yet unexpectedly, the helicopter flew westward, refueled midway, and then continued flying, seemingly without any intention to stop.
When everyone began to harbor suspicions, the helicopter finally landed.
Getting off the aircraft, they found themselves surrounded by desolation.
White Bear couldn't help but complain, "Why do I feel like we're smuggling ourselves across the border?"
"We are smuggling," Hunter said. "Did you think we were traveling to Turkey with all legality? Even the passports in your pocket are fake!"
Before they could speak much more, two beams of light suddenly appeared out of the darkness.
A car was approaching from a distance.
Shortly after, it reached them.
An off-road vehicle.
A man stepped out and spoke with Naxin for a mont.
Naxin brought him over to introduce him to Song Heping, "This is Azeka; he'll take you to the airport for your flight and will arrange everything for you in Siria. Don't worry, he's one of us; just follow him."
The four of them could only grab their luggage, get on the black Land Cruiser, wave goodbye to Naxin, and drive off into the darkness.
The road was rough.
Most of it was rugged and unpaved through the wilderness.
After driving dozens of kiloters, the road conditions began to improve, and the tires finally hit asphalt.
At two in the morning, the off-road vehicle stopped outside a house.
"Get out, we'll rest here for a bit," Azeka said as he got out of the car, unlocked the house, and went inside to get a can of fuel to refill the off-road vehicle.
"Go inside on your own; there's food and drinks in the fridge, and the rooms have bathrooms and showers if you want to take a bath," he said, glancing at his watch as he spoke.
"There's a flight to Liya in four hours, so we're not in a hurry; it's less than an hour's drive to the airport from here."
"Okay, thank you for that," Song Heping politely responded, leading the way into the house.
As soon as they entered, they noticed the simple but oddly arranged interior.
They threw their luggage on the couch and White Bear went to open the fridge.
Apart from so juice and drinks, there was no hot food, only bread and yogurt.
Song Heping walked around the living room and suddenly his previous question was answered.
He had felt sothing off about this house before.
Now looking closely, the devil was in the details.
All the doors and windows were double-layered, with a normal-looking civil layer on the outside, but with steel grills on the inside that could be pulled across and locked.
It worked the other way too; if there were people trapped inside, it could beco an inescapable prison.
He was almost certain this was a safe house.
Intelligence agencies all have such things for ergencies.
It seed that this Azeka was also an intelligence operative.
Whether he was from the Sirian side or the Persian side, Song Heping was not sure.
When in Ro, do as the Romans do.
He didn't want to share his discovery with the others to avoid raising too much suspicion.
But he was still cautious, stepping outside under the pretense of watching Azeka refuel.
After all, if everyone was inside and only Azeka was out, they'd be in real trouble if he decided to lock them in.
In the outside world, one must always be on guard.
Fortunately, his suspicions seed to be unfounded.
Azeka didn't show any signs of unusual behavior; after filling up the tank, he ca back, took a box of juice from the fridge, sat on the couch, started drinking, and even turned on the TV.
The TV was broadcasting local Sirian programs—Song Heping wasn't interested and simply leaned back on the couch to rest his eyes.
After enduring four hours, they followed Azeka once more on the road.
This ti they headed straight for Siria Airport, where Azeka took out pre-purchased tickets and checked everyone in for their flight, escorting them to the departure hall before waving goodbye.
From start to finish, he didn't say much, maybe less than ten sentences in total.
Two hours later, the plane safely landed at Liya Airport.
After a transfer, they finally boarded a flight to Istanbul International Airport in Turkey.
The most nerve-wracking mont had finally arrived.
At the Turkish customs, a beautiful immigration officer stopped Song Heping.
Song Heping politely handed over his passport.
The woman glanced at it, then said in English, "Sir, please take your luggage and co with ."
Co with her?
Did that an he was going to be taken to a back room?
Was there a problem with the passport?
A flicker of anxiety ran through Song Heping's heart.
Damn it, just hours ago he had praised Avanti for being reliable.
Could there be a problem with the passport?
Song Heping looked at the passport in his hand, feeling uncertain, but still managed a smile and said, "OK," picking up his luggage and following the woman forward.
Sure enough, they soon arrived at the door of an office-like room, guarded by a big burly Turkish cop.
Song Heping glanced back.
White Bear and the others had already passed through customs.
Fuck!
He cursed inwardly.
White Bear and the rest had made it through, and yet he was the one being taken aside.
What the hell!
Was there sothing amiss about himself?
anwhile, White Bear and the others noticed that Song Heping had been taken away.
The group stood at a distance, pausing and looking as though they were debating whether to co rescue him or not.
User Comments
0 comments from readers