Chapter 40: Stirring up a Hornet's Nest

"We need to pull out now!"

Gray Wolf had no intention of staying a single minute longer.

"We’ve taken those two out, so there must be a gap opened up here. If we don’t leave now, it'll be too late."

"Right! Let's pull out!"

His suggestion was immediately met with agreement from Song Heping.

"I’ll take this. You’re responsible for coordinating with Cook and the others later."

Song Heping hung the individual radio he had scavenged from the corpse onto his tactical vest and put on the headset. Gray Wolf gave him a thumbs-up. Song Heping’s move was extremely clever. Since those two had been taken out, the enemy commander wouldn't realize it for the time being. By listening to the tactical channel, they could monitor enemy communications, which would help them identify their offensive positions and fire points, allowing them to avoid those danger zones.

Song Heping went into the mud pit and hauled Angel up. The Yale graduate was now covered from head to toe in foul-smelling mud, having lost all the arrogant composure she once possessed. Song Heping shoved her into the car as if she were a piece of cargo, slammed the door shut, and jumped into the driver's seat. He placed his AKM assault rifle aside and set the MK18 assault rifle he had scavenged from the corpse on his left side, near the door, as his primary weapon.

This rifle was the most satisfying piece of gear Song Heping had managed to loot. Many in the US special forces favored this model; it was known as a close-quarters powerhouse, though its range was nothing to sneeze at, reaching up to 350 meters—sufficient for most mid-range engagements. What surprised him even more was that this specific MK18 had been finished in a desert tan, equipped with a night-vision optic, a holographic sight, and an infrared laser pointer on the rails. It felt perfect in his hands—it was no exaggeration to call it a top-tier version. Compared to the AKM he had been using, which still relied on a white-light scope fixed via a dovetail mount, it was like comparing a dream to a nightmare.

After starting the engine, Song Heping didn't drive out of the woods immediately, but sat there listening to the chatter on the enemy tactical channel. The car was a B7-rated armored Lincoln, which offered decent protection, but given the situation, the enemy had drones. That thing’s Hellfire missiles could destroy even a tank, let alone a mere armored Lincoln. Song Heping was most wary of the object circling in the sky; it was a level of overwhelming power that they had no way to counter.

The chatter on the channel was chaotic. After listening for a while, Song Heping roughly gathered that the special forces unit that had triggered the conflict from the shadows had two squads committed to the operation. They were divided into teams A and B. Team A was responsible for attacking the dam and securing Mr. J's body. Team B was tasked with searching the perimeter and tightening the encirclement. There was an MQ-1 Predator drone in the sky.

"...Gray Fox One, Gray Fox One, Team A is pinned down by enemy fire on the left side of the dam, one VSI! Requesting clearance of enemy fire points across from the dam! Repeat, one VSI, requesting clearance of enemy fire points!"

VSI? It was military jargon for a serious casualty. It was clear that the current situation had devolved into a mess between the mysterious squad and Mr. J's men, shifting their attention away from his group.

"Gray Wolf, do you know how many missiles an MQ-1 Predator carries?"

"I remember it being two," Gray Wolf replied.

"Then this must be the last one," Song Heping said.

Soon, he heard on the channel that the enemy had successfully destroyed the militant fire point. Without hesitation, he slammed on the accelerator and sped out of the woods. The Lincoln SUV raced toward the edge of the combat zone and soon linked up with the other Lincoln driven by Cook and his team.

***

Cook had been cursing up a storm over the radio. They had nearly lost their lives tonight. He kept telling Song Heping to ask the foreign woman, Angel, who exactly this "Mr. J" was and why he had caused US special forces to track them and get involved. In Cook's view, Angel was just here to dig up a big story. As for what the story was, he hadn't bothered to ask. Now, he sensed that something was deeply wrong.

Song Heping, however, was still wearing the US military radio headset and hadn't taken it off, so he was granted some peace and quiet. Once they were clear of the combat zone, he immediately tossed the radio out of the car. Carrying it after breaking contact would only bring trouble. Especially since they didn't know the objectives or the background of those mysterious US special forces, it was best to stay as far away from them as possible.

Ten minutes later, bad news arrived again. This time, it came from the ISF side.

"BW-1, we’ve been attacked, we’ve been attacked by a large number of enemies, we cannot link up with you!"

The voice was unmistakably that of the ISF captain in command. His voice sounded panicked, and gunfire could be heard in the background. Attacked?! By whom?!

"Where are your coordinates?!" Cook asked urgently. "Who is the enemy?!"

"On the dirt road leading toward the dam, four kilometers from the designated rendezvous point! There are too many of them, they've completely sealed off the road, it's all their men..."

"Who are they?! Push through! Forget them, just link up with us, we'll exit from the west side of town, there's another road there!"

However, the radio suddenly went silent. Cook tried calling them several times, but there was no response. Everyone was stunned. What was going on? The ISF was the mercenary group's only support. While they knew these guys were limited in capability, they at least had four Humvees, four heavy machine guns, and a platoon of men!

Silence?

"IS-4! Respond if you can hear me!"

"IS-3! Respond if you can hear me!"

Cook called out to every Humvee one by one, only to realize at the end... that no one was answering. An entire platoon of ISF security forces had simply vanished.

"Cook!" Song Heping shouted. "We're turning around, heading to the west side of town! We can't rely on the ISF anymore. This situation has clearly escalated. Contact headquarters immediately and have them reach out to the Victory Battalion!"

Headquarters, of course, referred to Blackwater International. They had taken the contract, and now that things had gone south, they were responsible for contacting the nearest US military unit to send support and break the siege. The situation was now completely out of control. The US special forces had killed Mr. J, and it seemed they had poked a hornet's nest.

It was obvious that quite a few of Mr. J's subordinates were lurking in the Krasa town area. They had been mobilized, and it was likely they had no intention of letting the killers leave town.

Cook slowed down and made a U-turn. The two vehicles changed direction and headed west. Heading east would have led back to the Green Zone; heading west was the only other road connecting Krasa town to the outside world. Everyone could feel the pressure mounting. Three different factions were now involved in this small town. It seemed none of them were allies; they were all out for each other's blood.

"Damn it!"

The more Song Heping thought about it, the angrier he became, and he slammed his hand against the steering wheel. What kind of mess had they gotten themselves into? He couldn't help but glance back at Angel, who was curled up in the backseat, and demanded loudly, "Ms. Angel, who exactly is this Mr. J you came to meet?!"

Angel didn't make a sound. There were some things she didn't want to say.

"Tell me!" Song Heping roared.

Angel was startled and shuddered.

"He... he is Mohammed Saif..."

"What?" Song Heping didn't recognize the name. "Who is that?"

"Saddam's senior security advisor, and one of his most loyal confidants..."

"Shit!"

Song Heping finally understood. Why the US special forces were involved, and why there were so many militants swarming Krasa town. This was a nightmare. He was likely a high-value target on the "deck of cards" wanted list. Since he was dead, these militants were obviously going to make them pay for it with their lives.

"This is madness... no wonder you were willing to pay extra..." Song Heping sighed, shaking his head in resignation. It seemed there was no such thing as easy money; fate had already priced everything in the shadows long ago.

"Enemy contact!"

Before Song Heping could pull himself out of his complex emotions, Cook's blood-curdling scream came over the radio. Then, a series of "pop-pop-pop" sounds rang out. Several bullet holes appeared on the left side of the Lincoln, leaving behind spiderweb-like patterns on the glass. Then, bullets began to rain down on the vehicle like a downpour.

Song Heping’s hair stood on end once again.

"Watch out!"