Back at the n's gold-mining hut by the river, everything seed normal, except for the five corpses on the ground, mutilated by wild animals.
Jack, suppressing his nausea, used an iron hook to drag the remains into the hut. He retrieved a can of gasoline from the back of the Wrangler and poured it inside and outside the hut.
Jessie wasn't idle either; she helped clear away flammable materials around the hut. The clearing wasn't small, slightly larger than a football field, but for safety's sake, if the airflow from the helicopter landing caused the flas to spread to the forest, it would be a disaster.
Seeing that it was about ti, Jack lit a branch and threw it far away into the hut. The fire shot into the sky, turning the small hut into a torch. With crackling sounds, a column of black smoke rose into the air.
"Jessie, get in."
Jack started the Wrangler, waved to Jessie, and the girl jumped into the passenger seat in a few strides, giving him a quick kiss on the lips.
Jack floored the gas pedal and drove towards the small hill they had co from yesterday. If there were so background music and flas raging behind them, it would have looked like a scene from a Hollywood movie.
The hill was only a hundred ters from the forest clearing. After crossing the ridge, Jack stopped the car, took Jessie's hand, and returned to the hilltop, hiding behind the sa rock as yesterday, ready to hold out for reinforcents.
Of course, this was just Plan A. Plan B was in case the team was unreliable and didn't arrive in ti, and the n were too nurous; in that case, they would drive along the riverbank.
Fortunately, there were no dramatic developnts. Less than five minutes later, a helicopter flew low in from afar.
Contrary to plan, after spotting the two on the hill, the helicopter didn't land. Instead, it hovered behind them and dropped a rope, which was then lowered by four fully ard operators.
"Jack Tavelor?"
The first man, a bearded man with a serious look, resembled soone from Jack's mory, but his presence exuded a nacing aura, a true embodint of a tough soldier.
Due to the helicopter noise, he shouted loudly in Jack's ear.
"Yes," Jack shook his hand.
"Here, this is for you." The man didn't mince words, taking a multi-purpose backpack from his shoulder. A rifle was tucked into the backpack, along with a bulletproof vest.
"The drone spotted two civilian vehicles on a forest road 10 miles away. We have guests; let's take care of them first."
He gestured for Jack to open the backpack.
Inside was a full set of tactical accessories and ammunition, a tactical helt, a headset, and even tactical goggles.
"Have the civilians evacuate temporarily. The helicopter needs to leave temporarily. The orders are to leave no one alive; we need to ambush them," the team leader shouted, then waved behind him. Two of his teammates nodded and rushed down the hill to begin preparations.
Jack quickly nodded in understanding, removed the stock from his FK 7.5mm, stuffed it along with his vest into his backpack, and handed it to Jessie. He pointed to the helicopter hovering in the distance.
"Be careful!"
Jessie shouted in his ear, then gave him a big kiss before being led by the last operator to the base of the helicopter. She was lassoed and pulled up.
Two teammates were still in the open cockpit of the helicopter. They settled the girl in, gestured downwards, and the helicopter continued its rapid flight at treetop level.
Jack quickly put on his gear, slung his backpack over his shoulder, attached a red dot sight to the rifle, checked it again, then looked at the team leader, gave him an OK sign, indicating that he was ready.
The team leader nodded in satisfaction at his swift movents. "That man from the FBI said you're the best cop he's ever seen, but regardless, you must strictly follow my orders during the operation, understand?"
Jack gave another OK sign. He had no intention of showing off. They were highly trained experts, surrounded by partners who had faced life-or-death situations together. It was already a favor that they hadn't treated him like a civilian and left him in a safe zone to listen to the gunfire. What more could he ask for?
The three operators dispersed and concealed themselves according to the plan: one by the river on the left, two in the woods on the right, and Jack was left with the team leader. The two of them hid behind a rock on the hill, the very spot where Jack and Jessie had ambushed them the day before.
The n's hut was still burning fiercely. Because there was no wind, the black smoke rose straight into the sky, like bait attracting moths.
Soon, the sound of an engine comparable to a tractor ca from the woods. Shortly after, two battle-damaged pickup trucks, similar in condition to the trailer Jack had found at the gas station, appeared on the forest path.
The two pickup trucks carried a total of eight n, plus the two drivers, making a total of ten. Just as they saw the burning cabin and angrily shouted, jumping out of the trucks, the team leader's order ca through Jack's headset.
"Fire."
With the explosion of two mines, everyone erged from their concealnt and pulled the trigger almost simultaneously.
It seed like only a few breaths had passed. Jack had only fired two short bursts when he found there were no moving targets in front of him.
"Advance and search."
Hearing the order, the three operators moved towards the center, finishing off each body with a shot to the head.
Jack followed behind the team leader, secretly amazed at the efficiency; no wonder they were professionals.
However, he hadn't done too badly, managing to get a kill — he had killed the driver of the first pickup truck.
"What the hell is all this garbage?"
After inspecting the battlefield, several operators were disgusted. One of them pulled down his mask, spat on the ground, and complained loudly.
Another, seemingly younger, team mber was sowhat dazed, touching the gash on his left shoulder from a crossbow bolt, muttering, "I hit him in the chest at least three tis."
Although the battle ended quickly, several of these pain-insensitive n managed to retaliate before being killed; at least four, riddled with bullets, fired a shot or an arrow, though without causing any damage.
The team leader glared at him, but perhaps because of the presence of outsiders, he didn't say much.
Jack pointed to his head, "Try to hit the head; these things don't feel pain like normal people."
"Ray, call the helicopter back. We need to wait for further instructions," the team leader said to another team mber with an even thicker beard than himself.
A short while later, the helicopter that had just left landed in a clearing in the woods. As soon as it ca to a stop, Jessie eagerly jumped out.
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