Mercenaries, I Will Be King Chapter 616 - 559: Stinger Missile Team

"If we don't send out 'Watcher', how do you plan to kill them?"

Pence rubbed his hands together.

He seed a bit excited.

To him, although Song Heping was a capable man, he was also a thorny issue.

Indeed, no one likes people they can't control.

Aricans are particularly so.

"The Watcher squad has clashed with them; to be honest, I don't have much confidence," Kelly said. "But Lascano is quite a sharp knife."

Pence asked doubtfully, "Lascano? He, too, is a defeated subordinate."

Kelly replied, "Didn't Barrett say they were taking a helicopter to Carillo City? In the sky, even the formidable can't withstand a Stinger Missile."

...

Three days later, the agreed eting ti.

The eting ti was set for twelve noon.

Song Heping got up early in the morning, ran ten kiloters around the villa, and then went back to his room to wash up.

During breakfast, everyone donned their weapons and geared up, wearing their individual soldier equipnt.

The Sinoloa Group's bodyguards in charge of the periter security at the door were slightly astounded; the helicopter was coming at ten o'clock, yet these folks had gotten up so early.

While Song Heping and the others were having breakfast and preparing to set off, about thirty kiloters away from Carillo City, on a highway, a fancily painted xican panel van was driving on the road.

In the van, Lascano, dressed in plain clothes, and several subordinates gathered around several large weapon boxes, their expressions grave.

"Boss, are you sure these things won't have any issues?"

One subordinate couldn't help but ask, looking at the top box that was already open, which contained a Stinger shoulder-fired missile and its launcher.

Another said, "This is definitely military-grade material, even hard for outside arms dealers to get. Where did Anthony get them?"

"He said they were stolen from a storage facility by US Army soldiers and sold on the black market; just these four units."

"Anthony doesn't have a good reputation, I heard he has a lot of connections with the Aricans."

"Without connections, how could he get this sort of thing?"

"Why do I always feel sothing's fishy here?"

"Is it a trap? That Mr. Song is very cunning."

All eyes fell on Lascano, the boss.

Everyone hoped for an answer.

In half an hour, they would enter Carillo City, and soon reach the attack position.

That place was Sinoloa's stronghold, with their people everywhere. Just any farr by the road could be a drug cultivator; if discovered, it might result in a signal being sent out, drawing an attack from a host of Sinoloa mbers.

"Stop the chatter! Just do it," Lascano declared resolutely.

It had to be said that among all mbers with the 'Z' designation, he was the most decisive one.

Sotis a team leader needs to be soone like that.

Soone who can make a decision when everyone else hesitates, instead of endlessly debating until the opportunity passes.

Listening to him, the others silently began to pack up the Stinger Missiles, preparing to disembark and comnce the operation.

Soon, the vehicle stopped at one of the locations, and one group disembarked.

Then, it reached another spot, and another pair got off.

This plan was designed by Lascano; split into three teams, two people per team, basing on Song Heping's departure point towards the farmhouse to approximate the flight path, and then setting up three anti-air teams along the way to increase the chances of capturing the whereabouts of the helicopter carrying Song Heping.

Lascano's team was responsible for the last line of attack, stationed at the most critical spot.

After disembarking, the two headed into the woods, opened the missile box, took out the Stinger Missile launcher, and started the final checks.

"They should be arriving in about an hour."

Lascano glanced at his watch, then his gaze fell on the launcher.

He had trained with this thing in the Special Forces, and was no stranger to this man-portable air-defense system.

The operating process for the Stinger Missile was not complicated. One needed to find a relatively open area where enemy aircraft might appear, which made it easier to observe the direction of the target. Next, the Stinger would be hoisted onto the right shoulder, allowing for operation while standing with one foot forward and the other behind, or by kneeling on one knee to launch.

The entire Stinger system weighs about 31 pounds, which an adult could generally shoulder.

Before launching, one needed to insert the cylindrical battery coolant unit (BCU) into the slot on the launcher and twist it to the left to lock, making the battery start preparing for operation.

It was important to hold the Stinger correctly; the left hand should support the front end, with the right hand gripping the trigger handle. Pressing the safety button behind the handle activated the battery coolant unit.

At this ti, the liquified argon gas in the launcher would be injected into the missile's seeker head, cooling it down to operating temperature. The thermal battery provided electricity for the seeker head's locking procedure. One battery coolant unit could only supply power and liquid argon coolant for about 45 seconds. If the missile had not been launched by then, one would need to swap it for another.

Therefore, unless a target was identified, it usually wouldn't be activated.

After all preparations were completed, Lascano and his n began a long wait.

One of his subordinates asked anxiously, "Boss, what if they don't co this way?"

"Pilots generally don't deviate from their course; they usually take the shortest route within the predetermined path..."

Lascano scanned their surroundings.

"Saltijo is to the southeast of Carillo City, and we are now in this direction. So, there is a high chance of seeing that helicopter. I have checked the map. I have positioned the three teams from southeast to southwest, forming an oblique line of attack. Unless sothing goes wrong, one of the teams should spot them."

An hour isn't too long, but it's not short either.

Soon, they faintly heard the sound of helicopter rotors in the sky.

"Listen!"

Lascano pricked up his ears and looked up at the sky.

"It's a helicopter!"

The subordinate's face lit up with surprise.

"Let's go!"

Lascano lifted the launcher and rushed to the edge of a small grove.

Ahead was an open field, and the weather was excellent today, with clear blue skies and white clouds stretching far and wide.

A small black dot appeared in the sky far away, gradually getting bigger.

The subordinate picked up the binoculars and peered at the spot, and soon whispered excitedly, "It's a helicopter!"

"Make sure it's the Airbus H145 with red and blue stripes?"

Lascano asked imdiately.

He knew very well that the most luxurious and top-equipped private helicopter under Shorty's Sinoloa Group was the Airbus H145 helicopter.

That thing was produced by Airbus Helicopters and could accommodate 9 passengers.

"Yes, it's got red and blue stripes, it's the Airbus H145!"

Upon hearing this, Lascano concluded without a doubt that the helicopter must be the one Song Heping was on.

He activated the battery at once, then took two steps forward to a big tree, raised the launcher aid in the direction of the incoming helicopter, and searched for the target through the target acquisition device.

From the loudspeaker by his ear ca a beeping sound, which quickly turned into a continuous tone. Lascano promptly pressed the unlock button and pulled the trigger swiftly!

Whoosh—

The front end of the launcher dipped slightly, and a Stinger Missile shot out, streaking toward the sky!

The Stinger Missile's range was 300 to 5000 ters, with a maximum altitude of 3800 ters, aning that for so low-flying fighters, the Stinger could pose an imnse threat. However, due to the high speed of fighter jets, they were usually hard to hit.

Yet, helicopters, which were slow and low-flying, had little resistance against a Stinger.

The helicopter pilot seed to have spotted the missile launched from the ground heading towards them, and started to make sharp turns and ascents in the air.

Unfortunately, as a civilian helicopter without a military helicopter's defense system, which would carry flares and chaff, such low-G maneuvering was of little use.

The Stinger Missile left a long white trail in the sky and quickly approached the helicopter. Upon nearing, it triggered the proximity fuze, sparking a burst of flas in the air...

Boom—

The entire tail of the Airbus H145 helicopter was clipped off, riddled with nurous holes, and fire erupted from behind the passenger compartnt as it wobbled and crashed to the ground like a drunken man...