"Mom!" Sophia's cries were heart-wrenching.
Castero could no longer hold back, turning to rush upstairs. The Eastern European cursed and raised his gun, but the Latino young man stopped him: "Wait, sothing's not right upstairs."
The two cautiously climbed the stairs, guns drawn.
The children's room door was wide open.
Inside the room, Maria tightly held two terrified, crying children, huddled in a corner. And their so-called "Number Three," the silent assassin—was lying face down in the middle of the room, a syringe stuck in the back of his neck, body twitching slightly.
The window was wide open, letting the night breeze billow in.
"It's an ambush!" The Eastern European instantly realized, firing three shots out the window, but only the sound of shattering glass was heard.
The Latino young man's face was pale as he quickly checked Number Three's condition: "Neurotoxin, he's not going to make it. We've been set up."
The Castero family was completely bewildered, not knowing what was happening.
Suddenly, the sound of screeching brakes and footsteps ca from outside the villa.
The Eastern European rushed to the window to see that three black SUVs had unknowingly surrounded the villa, with at least ten heavily ard personnel getting out, their tactical movents breathtakingly professional.
"Retreat!" The Eastern European didn't hesitate, turning to run downstairs. The Latino young man followed closely behind.
But it was already too late.
They instinctively raised their guns, but the opponent was inhumanly fast.
The silenced gunshots popped, directly killing one; another was lucky, getting shot in the arm, screaming in pain!
A man walked up to the second floor, where the Castero family was still huddled and trembling in the corner.
He removed his helt, revealing a chiseled face, trying to soften his voice: "Dr. Castero, I am Reinhardt Tristan Ogen, under direct orders from Leader Victor, responsible for ensuring your safety and the safety of all experts summoned to return ho. I'm sorry for what you've been through. From now on, you and your family will be under the highest level of protection."
Castero's lips trembled: "Those... those people..."
"They will face the justice they deserve," Reinhardt paused, "But you must understand that your work is vital to the nation, which also makes you a target for the enemy. The road ho won't be smooth; are you still willing to continue?"
Maria hugged the children tightly, unable to stop the tears. Sophia and Marana were still sobbing.
Castero looked at his family, then rembered the unfinished experints in his lab, those potential breakthroughs that could transform the nation's industrial foundation. He took a deep breath and looked at Reinhardt: "When do we leave?"
Reinhardt's eyes flashed with a hint of respect: "At dawn. A special plane is ready, and this ti I will personally escort you."
...
The news reached xico City by noon the next day.
Casare burst into Victor's office to find the leader standing by the window, back facing the door.
Outside, xico City's sky was gloomy.
"Boss, Dr. Castero's family is safe, but it was a close call," Casare reported quickly. "Reinhardt's team received an early warning, set a counter-ambush, killed two assassins, and captured one alive. They interrogated him all morning, he's tough, but Reinhardt has ways. He's British, direct orders from London, targeting all top talents who've received our invitations, especially experts in materials, electronics, and aerospace. The thods..." he paused, "are extrely cruel, intending to brutalize entire families and stage it as a gang robbery."
Victor did not turn, his voice eerily calm: "Which incident was that?"
"The third confird case, with five other suspected but unconfird incidents, all in different European countries. Our people intercepted four, but two succeeded."
Casare's voice grew quieter, "The laser physicist in Munich, his whole family of four, including two children, were... dismbered. They scattered drugs and planted cash at the scene, and the German police initially classified it as a violent ho robbery."
The office's temperature seed to drop by ten degrees.
Victor finally turned, his face expressionless, but the coldness in his eyes instinctively made Casare want to take a step back.
"We have a mole," Victor said.
Casare was taken aback: "Boss?"
"Castero's whereabouts are top secret, and fewer than twenty people in all of xico know his exact address and schedule." Victor stepped to his desk, looking at him, "Reinhardt set up an ambush because he intercepted an encrypted ssage sent from xico City to London, containing Castero's detailed information."
Casare's face changed: "We checked all the communications records of the confidential personnel, there was no discovery..."
"Because they used channels and encryption thods we're unaware of."
Victor interrupted him, "Reinhardt's technical team at the border listening post accidentally intercepted an unusual radio transmission. After two days of cracking, they uncovered the contents. The transmission originated within xico City, but the signal was frequency-hopping, making it impossible to pinpoint. The recipient was at a relay station outside London."
He stared at Casare: "We have soone, or even a group of high-level individuals, providing intelligence to the British. And they have access to the core list and schedule of our talent recruitnt plan."
"He's treating my operation like Iran!"
Casare felt a wave of suffocation: "I'll have the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Counterintelligence Bureau conduct a thorough investigation imdiately! We'll screen every person who had contact with the list!"
"How long has this been going on?" Victor asked.
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