Chapter 48: The Fire of Vengeance

"...My Lord! Glorified be You, transcendent are You. Blessed is Your name, and exalted is Your majesty... I seek refuge in my Lord from the accursed devils..."

Muhammad Saif finished reciting the final prayer with utmost devotion. As he stood up from the carpet, a heavily armed confidant stepped forward and whispered his report.

"Sir, everything is arranged. We have two hundred men laying in ambush around the meeting location, and another hundred in a reserve unit equipped with SA-7 shoulder-fired anti-aircraft missiles, hidden in an abandoned warehouse outside the town. That place is shielded from American reconnaissance planes. If the American special forces enter the airspace of the meeting point by helicopter like they did before, we will definitely make them reenact 'Black Hawk Down'."

"Mm... I understand... Still, we must be careful. All operations must be swift, and the engagement time must not exceed one hour, otherwise their air support will surely arrive."

"Understood," the confidant replied. "They won't escape this time."

Saif silently turned and slowly walked over to a table in the corner.

On the table rested a picture frame containing a color photograph.

In the picture, two strikingly similar men dressed in Arab robes were locked in a warm embrace, beaming radiantly at the camera.

One was himself; the other was his younger brother.

Saif picked up the frame, gazing at it intently for a long while before murmuring, "Brother, I will make those devils pay the ultimate price to comfort your soul in heaven..."

With that, he pulled a satellite phone from his pocket, powered it on, and dialed Angel's number.

"Is this Ms. Angel?"

"It is. Mr. Saif, we have arrived in the town of Sajil. Can you tell us the meeting location now?"

"Of course. But I must be certain whether you have drawn the US military's special forces to us again. If it happens like last time, we will not have another chance to communicate."

"No. The reason our movements were discovered last time was because a tracker was installed on my vehicle. My bodyguard has cleared the tracker from the car, and now they have no way of tracking us at all."

"Ms. Angel, are you certain?"

A brief silence fell over the conversation.

After a moment, Angel replied, "Certain. There are only nine of us coming this time: myself, my five bodyguards, and three accompanying ISF members."

"I do not want to see any ISF people!"

"Rest assured, they will not appear during the meeting. I will have them wait somewhere out of your sight."

"Good. Your arrangement satisfies me."

"Mr. Saif, since that is settled, where is the meeting place?"

"There is an abandoned brick factory north of the town of Sajil. We can meet there. The time is 3:00 AM sharp. Arrive on time; if I do not see you, I will leave immediately. That is all..."

"Wait! Mr. Saif, I must confirm whether you are coming to meet me in person. This is crucial. If you do not come, I dare not go either."

"Oh? Ms. Angel, do you think I have set a trap for you to walk to your death? Do not forget, it is you who need me right now, and the initiative is in my hands. You can choose to say no, and our deal is off."

Another brief silence followed.

However, the response that followed caught Saif somewhat off guard.

"I insist on my condition. If you do not come, I will indeed believe you are luring me into a fatal trap, Mr. Saif. As much as I want to obtain the evidence you hold regarding the fabrication of the Kelly Report, it does not mean I am foolish enough to throw my life away in Iraq."

Angel's unprecedented firmness made Saif feel somewhat uncomfortable.

During their previous communications, this American woman had not been nearly as demanding.

Even across thousands of miles, Saif had previously been able to hear her intense interest in those documents and her desperate determination through the radio waves.

When had she suddenly become so opinionated?

Could she be plotting against him as well?

Saif's mind raced.

He had to make a decision immediately—cancel? Or proceed?

In the end, he chose the latter.

After all, the arrow was already nocked on the bow, and it had to be released.

Moreover, to an old politician skilled in political maneuvering like him, lies could be secreted as easily as saliva.

As long as Angel showed up, everything else would be manageable.

"Since you insist so much, to show my sincerity, I promise you I will personally appear at the transaction site."

"Also, Mr. Saif, I hope you will not station too many suicide squad members around our meeting place. You brought quite a few men to the dam last time, whereas I only brought five bodyguards."

Angel's reminder instantly ignited a blazing fury within Saif.

Five people?!

How dare you say that!

Those special forces dropping from the sky—were they not your men?!

Only a fool would believe you have no connection to them!

Do you take me for an idiot?!

Magma of revenge churned furiously in Saif's heart, scorching hot.

Yet, one must endure minor grievances to achieve grand strategies.

As long as Angel was lured into the trap, he had to endure.

"That will not happen. I will only bring three cars, no more than ten people at most. You must understand my concerns; nowhere is safe right now."

"Very well. I trust your promise, then. We will meet at the brick factory at precisely three o'clock."

The call disconnected, leaving a dial tone.

Saif held the satellite phone in a daze for a moment before snapping back to reality and pressing the power button to shut it down.

On the other end of the line, after hanging up, Angel took several deep breaths in succession, patting her chest repeatedly.

"...How did I do just now?"

Song Heping, standing beside her, gave a thumbs-up. "Splendid. At least I didn't spot any flaws."

"That scared me half to death," Angel hastily picked up a bottle of mineral water, unscrewed the cap, and took two frantic gulps. "Good thing I took a drama class back in school..."

After finishing the water, Angel asked, "Song, are you really sure Saif won't show up in person? Are you confident?"

"Of course not," Song Heping said. "I am ninety percent sure."

Angel asked again, "Then what if it really is a trap? What do we do?"

Before Song Heping could answer, the Cook in the front passenger seat received a phone call.

"Hello? This is Cook."

"Cook, this is Thomas. We've confirmed Saif's exact location. The coordinates are being sent to you now. Good luck."

The conversation was extremely brief.

A message was transmitted shortly after.

The Cook hurriedly pulled out a GPS locator and a map, plotting the coordinates provided within.

"He's not in Sajil!"

The Cook exclaimed excitedly.

"Sang, you guessed right!"

With that, he turned around and handed the map and locator to Song Heping in the back seat.

"I didn't just guess..."

Song Heping took the map in one hand while cross-referencing the coordinates on the locator.

After scanning it once, a place name slipped past his lips: "Tikrit?"