Shebeck's words puzzled Jack even more. Jason and Sonny, whom he ntioned, were clearly from the SEAL team with whom he had briefly worked before. "But aren't you PMC?"
Shebeck laughed. "That's right, we're all retired SEALs. Jason and Sonny are old friends of ours."
"They said you're a good guy, so they asked us to bring you so things."
He tossed him a backpack. Jack opened it and grinned. Inside was the exact sa set of tactical gear as before: a tactical helt, a headset, and a pair of tactical goggles.
The weapon was also familiar: a 16-inch barrel rifle with a scope, plus an additional holographic sight — clearly, soone had thoughtfully considered his close-quarters combat needs.
This ti, they also brought along a pistol with a red dot sight and a suppressor.
The five PMCs had very clear roles: the machine gunner, Isaac, carried a paratrooper version of a squad automatic weapon.
The sniper, Lake, carried two guns: a marksman rifle and a heavy anti-materiel rifle.
The other three all used the sa marksman version rifle, but except for the team leader, Shebeck, the other two also carried a grenade launcher.
This resulted in very uniform ammunition: their ammunition boxes contained a large number of standard 20-round magazines for the main rifles and so 50-round plastic drum magazines.
Then there were neatly arranged 200-round standard drum magazines for the lighter rifles, as well as heavy caliber ammunition for the anti-materiel rifle and a small amount of armor-piercing incendiary rounds.
In addition, there was grenade ammunition, so fragntation and defensive grenades.
Jack got so machine gun ammunition; the assault rifle he captured used the sa ammunition, and the gun itself was fine and well-maintained.
However, the captured ammunition was of poor quality, covered in copper rust, which was not good. After refilling his ammunition, he simply slung it over his shoulder as a secondary weapon.
Of course, it wasn't just weapons that were airdropped; body armor and tactical vests were also provided. Every passenger had a body armor vest, while only Jack, Gaspare, and Captain Torrance, the three combatants, had bulletproof plates, tactical helts, and tactical vests.
Shebeck praised everyone's collaborative preparations, which, although sowhat staged, did boost morale.
Of course, so questioned why they couldn't just send a helicopter from a nearby military base to pick them up.
The explanation given was that even C-130 airdrops were extrely risky; no one dared to risk a second Black Hawk Down by sending helicopters directly to the island. If one was shot down while leaving, it wouldn't just be a matter of sending another squadron of special forces in.
The work that followed was even more arduous, with even the won joining in to help.
The airdrop crates were lined with sandbags, and the cushioning material was entirely made of sandbags. The abandoned mine had no sand, but there was plenty of ore, and everyone helped fill the sandbags.
The pickup truck once again beca a transport vehicle, hauling the ore from the roofless, dilapidated warehouse in the mine to the ground floor of the small building. Shebeck installed a simple pulley system on the roof to transport the ore to the roof, where it was bagged and used to build fortifications.
There weren't many sandbags, and everyone's stamina was limited. Apart from the luxurious few sniper positions built on the roof, the other floors only had a few sandbags piled up near the windows. The second floor had a slightly larger number of sandbags, which served as the main machine gun firing positions.
While the exact weaponry of the Abu Sayyaf group is unclear, based on the equipnt possessed by the Philippine military, they certainly have rockets or mortars. If they were hit by one or two rounds, these sandbags would be their lifeline.
The sturdy concrete buildings aren't afraid of a few rocket hits, but if the interior lacks cover, allowing shrapnel from incoming grenades to fly everywhere, it would be a nightmare for everyone inside.
On the fourth-floor corridor, passengers used the remaining sandbags to create several makeshift shelters, which would serve as refuge for all non-combatants in the event of combat.
The diesel generator on the first floor, having received a small refueling, was humming away. Brie Terry, now a major influencer, was recording everything and sending it to Garcia.
After Garcia blurred the images, the videos were sent to Tyler Kelly's Channel 8 news in Los Angeles, where countless people were following the plight of the plane crash survivors.
Hollywood stars frequently voiced their support online, urging the governnt to provide aid as soon as possible. Jack knew perfectly well that Zoe was using the Anderson family's resources in California.
In the afternoon, just before the usual downpour, everyone finally finished preparations and received their MRE rations, which they ate.
Lake, the sniper on the rooftop, had already reported several sightings; clearly, the area was being watched, but it was unclear when the enemy would act.
Jack finished the airdropped US military rations, diluting the concentrated juice with water.
"We need to hold out for at least 18 hours until Jason and his team arrive. Your exposure strategy is very effective. There are rumors that a destroyer from the Hawaiian naval base has been deployed," Shebeck proactively told the group, sharing his findings.
He was now utterly impressed by the two FBI agents. From what he had witnessed, Captain Torrance was clearly only nominally in charge.
The fact that these passengers and crew, who had been complete strangers just over a day ago, were so united and obeyed orders without complaint was undoubtedly due to these two FBI agents, who were supposedly psychological experts.
Shebeck, both before and after his retirent, had participated in over a dozen hostage rescue operations, but he had never seen civilians so cooperative before.
He had prepared himself to be busy setting up defenses while dealing with a group of difficult individuals.
However, to his surprise, as soon as they landed, people drove up and towed back two heavy airdrop crates.
Once the crates were opened, there was no fighting; everyone spontaneously began unloading supplies, neatly categorizing food, dicine, fuel, and ammunition and placing them in the pre-designated areas.
Then, together with the PMCs, they filled sandbags and built fortifications. After everyone finished, the three flight attendants had already opened and heated the MRE rations and distributed them to everyone.
Incredible, Shebeck felt his worldview had been shaken.
"Let's take a break, this is the calm before the storm."
As soon as Jack finished speaking, large raindrops began to fall.
The crew and passengers had done everything they could. Now that the SEALs were on their way, it ant the rescue plan was in place.
All he could do next was cooperate with the PMC team to hold the building until the SEALs arrived.
As the rain subsided, the atmosphere inside the building grew tense. JJ reassured the passengers and led them into the fourth-floor corridor, which was made of sandbags.
The won and the four rescued local girls were placed at the innermost part, while the n were on the outermost side. They also left as much space as possible and prepared first-aid supplies.
All three flight attendants had received basic first-aid training; if anyone was injured, they would act as the dical team under JJ's leadership.
Jack was assigned to the top floor, and the heavy sniper rifle was temporarily assigned to him, as the guerrilla leader, Junma, was said to be a good sniper, and eliminating snipers required either overwhelming firepower or sheer numbers.
Jack used all the gold coins he had recently saved on his sniper rifle skill, leveling it up to mastery in one go. He then fired two shots at the mine to the north, successfully convincing Shebeck with two accurate hits from a kiloter away.
The first floor was defended by Captain Torrance and Gaspare, where the pressure was least; before a large number of enemies broke through the machine gun blockade, they only needed to deal with the stragglers.
The second floor was guarded by machine gunner Isaac, with another assault soldier nad Mo serving as his assistant gunner.
On the third floor were Shebeck, in charge of command, and a teammate nad Wells.
No firing positions were set up on the fourth floor, as civilians were hiding there; the fewer enemy fire they attracted, the better.
The heavy rain seed to have ended unusually suddenly. Soon after, Shebeck's voice ca through the team channel:
"Predator drone in position. A convoy has been spotted 5 kiloters away, heading towards us. Six Nissan pickup trucks, number of personnel unknown."
Clearly, the guerrillas who had taken two hostages yesterday had finally realized sothing was wrong, or perhaps a villager had tipped them off. Whatever the reason, these guys had co looking for them.
These PMCs, being military contractors for the US military, had the Predator drones launched from the nearest base, Renvia Air Force Base in northern Mindanao. The team seamlessly connected to the US command chain via military tablets.
"We see them."
Fifteen minutes later, Jack, hiding on the roof, and sniper Lake simultaneously spotted the approaching pickup trucks.
The abandoned mine was in a very good location, nestled against a mountain to the north, with prival jungle below. Now, with drones providing surveillance, there was little worry about anyone sneaking in from the north.
A slightly wider dirt road and several smaller paths led to the outside world from the south, directly connecting to the main road they had previously used for a forced landing.
This ant the enemy had limited attack options, essentially limited to assaults from the southwest, south, and southeast.
Before that, they had to withstand the building's fire and dismantle the seemingly dilapidated outer layer of barbed wire.
Of course, the guerrillas had their advantages. The building was too obvious a target and too close to the rainforest. Although Jack and JJ had mobilized the passengers to clear a field of fire, the open area was still less than 100 ters.
The enemy could easily hide in the jungle, using their nurical advantage to concentrate fire on the building, fully utilizing their unpredictable shooting skills.
"Waiting for them to get close, they won't know our squad is there, that's our biggest advantage in the early stages." Shebeck continued. The first wave of enemies wasn't difficult to deal with; his concern was the reinforcents that would follow. The Abu Sayyaf organization would never tolerate any other ard group appearing on their territory.
It was now almost certain that this small guerrilla group did indeed have a considerable number of veterans. Although they couldn't see what was happening behind them through the boarded-up windows, the sandbag fortifications on the rooftop had caught their attention.
Six pickup trucks stopped on the road about 200 ters from the building, spreading out as far as possible. Several leaders, shouting and cursing, forced the others out of the back of the trucks and set up their weapons.
The pickup truck Jack had seen yesterday, the one with the heavy machine gun, was parked about 200 ters away, pointing towards the building through the gaps in the leaves.
The long-haired, burly man, suspected to be Junma, the leader of this group, jumped out of the truck, carrying a sniper rifle, and hid behind a sideways pickup truck, preparing to set up his weapon.
This isn't a movie shoot; there's no such thing as saving the boss for the final showdown. If this guy spots a sniper on the rooftop through his scope, or even strikes first, things will get ssy.
"Shebeck~~~ Requesting fire! Enemy heavy machine gun and sniper spotted!" Jack drawled, waiting for Shebeck's approval.
"Lake?" Shebeck quickly asked his sniper.
"I can't penetrate the pickup truck, give the heavy machine gun." Lake quickly assigned targets to Jack.
"Sniper, fire freely, everyone else hold your positions."
With Shebeck's order, the two sniper rifles hidden on the rooftop fired almost simultaneously.
One rifle's gunfire wasn't loud, much crisper than the heavy rifle's heart-pounding blast.
Normally, sound travels at 340 ters per second, so within this distance of over 200 ters, the gunshot and the bullet arrived at the target simultaneously.
With a loud "bang," a heavy caliber bullet, about the thickness of a carrot, pierced through the thin sheet tal on both sides of the pickup truck's rear cargo bed, continuing its powerful kinetic energy to penetrate the even more vulnerable human body.
The guerrilla leader, Junma, had just brought his eye close to the scope of his beloved gun when he felt a sharp pain in his chest and instantly lost consciousness.
His two trusted henchn beside him nearly wet themselves in fear; one second he was fine, the next a jet of blood spurted from his back as he collapsed to the ground.
They hurriedly tried to help him up, but it was too late. A bowl-sized hole had appeared in Junma's chest, human tissue already splattered several ters away with the bullet.
The Abu Sayyaf mbers were thrown into chaos; no one even noticed that as their leader perished...
At the sa ti, the machine gunner operating the heavy machine gun in the ard pickup truck also had a burst of blood erupt from his head, falling backward into the truck bed.
"Bang!"
Jack fired only one shot, but imdiately unloaded the magazine, switched to a different type of armor-piercing incendiary round, and fired continuously at the unmanned heavy machine gun, destroying it completely.
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