The eting with Big Beard Baghdadi went very displeasingly for both parties.
That's often how things are.
If the results are good, then everything is negotiable.
If the results are not, then everything said is aningful.
Hawkins pointed out that not only did they fail to kill Song Heping, but also caused a massacre, forcing them to expend a great deal of resources to cover it up.
After all, the US Army's situation in Illiguo has been very delicate these past two years.
When they first arrived, many locals welcod these so-called "liberators," but after several years, with the increasing incidents of US soldiers accidentally or purposely killing locals for fun, the voices demanding their departure have grown fiercer.
If news of the massacre in the two villages breaks out, it's highly likely that the US Army will beco the scapegoat again.
The conversation continued until the sky began to brighten, and Hawkins and Jody then drove back to Mosul.
Currently, their cover identity here is that of senior engineers at an energy company, working on the maintenance and preservation of oil field equipnt.
There is a large US Army presence in Mosul at the mont, so it is relatively safe.
Just as the two were returning to Mosul, Song Heping led so of his core team mbers to appear nearby on a dirt road.
"Hunter, find a sniping position — they should be coming from that direction..."
Song Heping pointed towards the west of the dirt road.
"Don't kill them; aim for the engine compartnt directly, just stop them."
"OK, no big deal, leave it to ."
Hunter quickly left, running at top speed to a nearby dirt mound, then setting up his M24 sniper rifle.
This ti he chose armor-piercing rounds instead of regular bullets.
The steel body of an automobile engine is thick; it's not easy to penetrate.
However, as long as he hits the engine, damaging the oil circuit is still achievable.
Once it starts leaking oil and the oil pressure drops, the vehicle won't get far.
As usual, Song Heping divided Jiang Feng and the others into two teams.
One team was led by Jiang Feng, taking Collins and Klein to lie in wait on the right side of the dirt road while he led Disaster Star and lay in ambush on the left side, with the two groups staggered in position creating a death zone about 100 ters long.
As long as they enter this zone, even if Hawkins and Jody risk their lives to break through the first team's blockade, they will encounter the second team's attack after driving a few dozen ters.
Combined with Hunter at a distance, there was almost no chance of escape.
Song Heping and Disaster Star chose a mound of earth as cover, crouching behind it to lower their profile and conceal their bodies, fearing that the two CIA agents might have night vision equipnt and spot the heat sources, discovering them prematurely.
If they turn back before entering the shooting range, the entire ambush team must imdiately pursue by vehicle, which would complicate the operation.
"Boss, how did you know they would take this route back to Mosul?"
Disaster Star was curious about Song Heping's source of intelligence.
After all, this operation is aid at two CIA agents.
If anything goes wrong, let alone the Secret Action Departnt, even the higher-ups at Langley headquarters would likely be alard.
How did Song Heping obtain such top-secret intelligence?
"An old friend provided it."
Song Heping did not ntion Simon's na.
For Song Heping, Simon is now an extrely valuable resource.
A CIA station chief stationed in Illiguo becoming his pawn would surely be of great use in the war with the Secret Action Departnt in the future.
The external intelligence station where Simon serves and the Secret Action Departnt are not part of the sa system within the CIA; the external intelligence stations are managed by the Intelligence Departnt, which in turn reports to higher-level departnts, all of which are formal organizational structures.
The Secret Action Departnt is sowhat special.
It reports directly to the top echelons at Langley headquarters, led by a deputy director, and this departnt does not belong to any other bureaus within the organization, being responsible only to the top brass, making its structure more independent.
It is precisely for this reason that the Secret Action Departnt's authority is actually very high.
According to normal procedures, Hawkins and Jody do not fall under Simon's managent.
Whatever they do in Illiguo is not subject to Simon's orders; they are only accountable to Kelly.
Within the Illiguo Intelligence Station, only the station chief and deputy station chief are aware of the existence of these two individuals; no one else even has the clearance to know.
"There's a vehicle coming."
Less than ten minutes into the ambush, Hunter, with the best vantage point, was the first to spot sothing.
Song Heping quickly picked up a reconnaissance device and looked towards the west.
Even Simon is unaware of Baghdadi's current location.
But based on Song Heping's estimation, the latter must be near the western border with Siria.
That region is where the I5I5 organization is most active; even the US Army seldom ventures there, with only the current governnt army deploying so border troops.
Yet these border troops dare not provoke the likes of I5I5 without good reason, while I5I5, whose forces are not yet too powerful, also dares not openly confront the governnt army.
Thus, a peculiar tacit understanding has ford in the western region of Illiguo.
The governnt army turns a blind eye to local militias of any faction or nature, letting them fight and snatch territories as they please, appearing very detached. As long as these groups do not attack them, they seem quite content.
Capturing Hawkins and Jody alive is crucial; they are key leads for Song Heping to slowly work his way up and unearth Baghdadi.
"It's a pickup truck, two people inside..."
Song Heping watched the pickup truck approach at high speed, the heat signature of the figure in the cab becoming increasingly clear, until finally, he made a judgnt.
"Regardless if it's the two of them or not, let's stop them first and then see."
"No problem."
Hunter switched off the safety of his already loaded M24 sniper rifle, then began to aim.
For a seasoned sniper, such a broad field of view and a lone vehicle on the entire road made aiming all too easy.
Hawkins was in the car complaining to Jody about his superiors' foolishness, believing that releasing Baghdadi was an absolute mistake; this guy now daring to bare his teeth would sooner or later beco another Brother Deng, biting back at the United States.
Jody advised him to stay calm, after all, the big shots always have their own ideas, and as a pawn, that's not sothing they need to worry about, as long as they do their job well...
"Jody, where's your passion?! Have you forgotten the oath you took when you joined the agency?"
Hearing Jody's indifferent persuasion, Hawkins beca even more agitated.
"That's a demon! We will be bitten back sooner or later! If he wasn't our target, I wouldn't be complaining, but the two of us are now in direct contact with him; if sothing happens to him, we're done for..."
In his excitent, Hawkins began to slam the steering wheel again.
Crack—
At the mont he hit the steering wheel, a piercing tallic collision sounded from the front hood.
Imdiately after, the car's speed dropped suddenly.
"Eh?"
Jody, who was lying on the passenger seat, suddenly sat up straight.
"What happened? Did you damage the car by hitting it? I warned you not to get so worked up, but you wouldn't listen..."
"Nonsense!"
Hawkins got angry and began looking around while forcefully pressing the gas pedal.
"I didn't damage the steering wheel! It seems like we've been attacked!"
"Attacked?!"
Jody's face turned pale in an instant.
"Drive through it!"
He also realized that sothing went wrong.
Because there was a bullet hole in the hood, and it looked like it was smoking.
Crack—
Another warhead pierced through the hood and entered the engine.
The reaction was particularly violent this ti.
Black engine oil spurted out from the hole in the hood.
"Drive through it! Drive through it! Don't stop!"
Jody's voice suddenly grew loud, yelling at Hawkins, "They're trying to force us to stop!"
All overseas agents receive military training before taking the job, which includes how to escape attacks and shake off surveillance.
The first thing to do when a car is hit is to leave the ambush point as quickly as possible.
Hawkins floored the gas pedal.
The engine was gasping for air like an old ox plowing the ground.
The sprayed engine oil quickly sared the windshield, and Hawkins turned on the windshield wipers, desperately trying to wipe away the gri on the glass.
But it was all in vain.
The old and broken car's wipers were also weak, after a few swipes, the windshield beca more blurred.
"FUCK! They should have given us a bulletproof vehicle!"
Now it was Jody's turn to start cursing irrationally.
In fact, he was well aware.
What kind of vehicle to drive all depends on the nature and location of the mission.
In the western part of Illigo, if you drive a Lincoln bulletproof vehicle in and out of here on a regular basis, you'll soon attract attention because secret agents are not defense companies, just as spies can't possibly be the suave and handso 007 from the movies, driving an Aston Martin wherever they go.
A real secret agent is extrely ordinary, and when thrown into a crowd, no one would take notice of them.
The old pickup struggled for a bit, wobbling less than twenty ters before a crisp bursting noise ca from the tire area.
Bang—
The car swayed, almost losing control and overturning.
"The rear tire's been blown out!"
Hawkins's forehead was covered in sweat.
He had a feeling that today was going to be a day of great misfortune.
Not far away, Song Heping watched the pickup truck with its rear tires all blown out and its fuel line damaged, swaying from side to side on the dirt road like a drunkard, until it finally lost power and slowly stopped by the side of the road.
"All right, keep a close eye out, Jiang Feng, your team move forward from the side and rear to check, Disaster Star, you follow to approach the cab, if you see them daring to fire back, imdiately serve them so peanuts."
"No problem, boss, don't worry, I'll surely take care of it thoroughly for you."
Two teams from different directions watched while the distant Hunter kept a tight watch on the cab, placing the crosshair on the rear window, ready to send off anyone in the car who dared to return fire.
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