"Boss! We hit it! We hit him!"
When his subordinates cheered, even the usually composed Lascano couldn't help but get excited.
Is he really dead?
Watching the helicopter spin uncontrollably as it fell from the sky, Lascano felt like he was dreaming.
Before, he had gone to such great lengths, using so many elite mbers of the organization, erging in full force with a ticulously planned operation, only to be caught in one fell swoop by Song Heping.
And now, it seed that a simple Stinger missile had achieved his dream.
"Retreat!"
It took him a while to co back to his senses.
Ti to make a run for it.
Because the helicopter was hit, it wouldn't be long before it was discovered, making his hiding place no longer safe.
"Burges, hurry up and drive over here, we have succeeded!"
He quickly sent the signal to the truck driver.
"Understood, I'll be there soon."
Everything had been carefully arranged.
The truck was nearby.
When Lascano and his n packed up and ran out of the woods, it took less than ten minutes for them to reach the roadside and hide in the bushes before the truck swiftly arrived, screeching to a stop by the roadside.
Lascano and his n dashed forward, quickly opened the door, and jumped on.
Thud—
With a muffled closing sound, the driver slamd on the gas pedal, and the truck quickly vanished into the end of the highway.
The news spread fast.
An hour later, a news flash appeared on television, reporting an Airbus H145 helicopter crash near Carillo City, which burst into flas and caught fire after the crash, with rescue workers comncing search operations…
Barrett had been restless in his room all day.
The initial intelligence had co from him.
Now, besides him, probably the only others concerned about the outco would be the folks at the CIA.
It wasn't until he saw the news flash that Barrett sprang up from his seat.
He ran to the TV and squatted down, staring fixedly at the screen, afraid of missing every single word.
It was only after confirmation that he rembered to call Kelly.
"Miss, is he dead?"
"Mm, the information we have indicates that the plane did indeed take off from Saltillo City, and it was definitely a Sinoloa Group helicopter, but the crash site is now ashes, so we have to wait for the police report."
"Then…"
Barrett was a bit at a loss.
"What should I do next?"
"Keep undercover." Kelly was resolute: "If Song Heping is dead, you need to hide your identity and continue to control Balot Organization's smuggling network, keep collaborating with Shorty."
"Collaborate with him? He only listens to Song Heping." Barrett hesitated: "He doesn't take orders from anyone else."
"He doesn't have to take orders, we can make him." Kelly had a plan ready: "With Song Heping dead, the alliance with Omar and Rubio would surely fall apart, and those two are likely to lean towards the Los Zetas Organization, or it could be chaos among several parties. You can cooperate with Shorty under the pretext of avenging Song Heping; he'll appreciate having an extra hand, especially since we will do our utmost to support you here, sending a Watcher squad to your location to help you solidify your footing in xico."
"Fine."
Barrett finally swallowed a reliever.
His biggest concern right now was his own safety.
With Song Heping dead, in xico, now he was the only one left from the forr Song Heping team.
Without backing, the extrely vicious leaders and followers within the organization whether they would obey him was one thing, and Shorty might even get rid of him personally to take over the smuggling network.
If he got the support from the CIA and the Watcher squad, Shorty would definitely choose to collaborate with him.
While Kelly and Lascano were busy calculating their own wishful plans and preparing to reshuffle the xican drug-trafficking circle, a convoy was racing on the highway towards Carillo City.
Inside the vehicle, the radio channel was filled with White Bear and others' complaints.
These guys were all puzzled as to why, after it was agreed to take a helicopter, they suddenly switched to traveling by car.
Song Heping's explanation was that it was a tactic, throwing a smoke bomb, pretending to take a flight while actually traveling by car, to throw Lascano off their real trail.
"Boss, are you suspecting that soone among us might leak our route?"
White Bear was not happy, feeling that Song Heping's explanation hurt their sentints.
Everyone discussing the route was their own people, all brothers in arms; could there really be a mole among them?
"Better safe than sorry, White Bear, whether there's a leak or not, there's no harm in being cautious."
Song Heping said, "I don't doubt my own people, but I never make 100% assurances. Throwing a smoke bomb is good for everyone."
Just then, the car radio suddenly interrupted with the news broadcast of the helicopter crash.
"…40 minutes ago, a helicopter suffered an unexplained malfunction and crashed in the sky above the outskirts of Carillo City. According to inford sources, the helicopter was purportedly owned by Drug Lord Joaquin, who a year ago had used this helicopter to scatter money over the sky of Saltillo City…"
As the news broadcasted, silence suddenly filled the channel.
Everyone listened quietly.
It took a while after listening for everyone to recover their senses.
Jiang Feng, the co-pilot, suddenly turned his head: "Old squad leader, was it that plane?"
Song Heping nodded: "If I'm not wrong, it should be that one. If we had been on it, we'd probably be sitting and having tea with King Yama by now."
Jiang Feng asked doubtfully: "Crashed for no apparent reason?"
Song Heping countered: "Do you believe that?"
Jiang Feng's mouth gaped wide open, unable to utter a word for quite so ti.
Plane crash?
"Hehe."
Song Heping sneered inwardly.
It definitely got shot down, what nonsense about a crash!
Sure enough, as expected, Barrett that kid must have reported his itinerary to the CIA.
If previously he had predicted that Kelly would eventually turn against him but didn't know the exact timing, through this incident, it's clear she wished he were dead right now.
"The heart of a woman is the most venomous, indeed. Those in intelligence are not good stuff to begin with, and an old woman is even worse. Combine the two, and it's a poison that reigns supre."
Now all the adversaries believed he was dead.
That was perfect.
At least this eting would have absolutely no security issues.
As for forming an alliance, Song Heping wasn't the least bit worried about not being able to persuade Omar and Rubio; he was already calculating his next move.
The word collaboration, of course, couldn't be abandoned.
After weighing his options, Song Heping decided not to fall out with that old lady, Kelly for the ti being.
He could still make use of the shining CIA brand.
Before he was completely certain he could control the entire ga, he still had to play it coy.
The most stable partnership, after all, isn't one party relying on the other, but a partnership of equals.
To ensure that Kelly wouldn't dare to make a move against him, he had to make her understand that if she touched him, it wouldn't do her any good either.
As for Barrett…
Feed him for now.
This guy probably still thought Song didn't know about his undercover identity.
After all, right before he discussed the route in Saltillo City, Barrett had imdiately left upon hearing that Song wanted to take a helicopter, not attending the eting that followed.
That was avoidance.
Avoiding suspicion in case anything went wrong, so he wouldn't be suspected.
Of course, since the man put up such a show for him, how could Song not continue playing along?
He would have to perform a grand scene in return to let him rest easy, without letting him know that his identity had been exposed, which would scare the lovely boy away.
Having soone by his side whose identity has been exposed but remains unaware could be quite beneficial if used properly.
This wasn't a bad thing at all.
The phone vibrated.
Song Heping knew it must be Shorty calling.
He looked and sure enough, it was.
"Shorty, you're calling to ask if I'm dead, right?"
"Brother! You actually survived?!"
Shorty exclaid in shock.
"I saw on TV that my plane went down, I thought you were on it!"
Song Heping teased: "Shorty, did you tamper with that plane of yours?"
Shorty hurriedly swore: "I swear in the na of God! Absolutely not! And the two pilots I arranged for you were the best. How could there be a crash? I can't figure it out! Oh, God! Where are you now?"
"I'm almost at Carillo City." Song Heping glanced out of the car window: "It should be just another ten or so minutes to the designated eting place."
"You took a car?!" Shorty's tone of surprise was audible even through the phone.
"Yes, I got a twitchy eyelid and felt it was safer to go by car on the ground." Song Heping spoke easily: "So I switched to a car."
"God bless!" Shorty sounded genuinely relieved: "I really don't want anything bad to happen to you!"
After so small talk and confirming that Song Heping wasn't dead, Shorty finally hung up the phone with peace of mind.
As soon as he hung up the phone with Shorty, the phone screen lit up again.
Song Heping glanced at it, and as expected, it was Barrett calling.
This guy probably waited eagerly until the news was broadcast before daring to call to inquire about his life or death.
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