Chapter 1315: Clash
Bucaramanga, less than 50 kilometers away from Pamplona region controlled by FARC, was already the front line of the firefight between government forces and FARC. Every day, stray bullets fell into the suburbs of Bucaramanga. It was not difficult to discern the severity of the conflict in this area based on the nervous expression of the locals.
Just one day ago, the UA Marines who landed from the west coast arrived in Bucaramanga.
In less than a day, a temporary military base was already taking its shape.
The large and small barracks were neatly located within the wire fence, and soldiers in jungle camouflage with rifles patrolled the base. LAV-25 armored vehicles were parked in the garages of the military base with their cannon raised up, and the wedge-shaped armor was equipped with digital camouflage reactive armor. Not far away on the tarmac, there was an AH-1 Cobra gunship with countless air-to-surface rockets equipped.
Based on the equipment, the combat effectiveness of this unit was far superior compared to the FARC guerrillas.
In the afternoon, a Hercules transport plane landed at the airport of the Bucaramanga military base. Another group of heavily armed Marines trotted out from the cabin and gathered in the open space beside the runway. They waited for the review and instruction from their officers.
Agent Davis stood beside the runway and glanced at his watch.
He did not wait for long before a burly soldier and a suited old man came towards him.
He cleared his throat, extended his right hand, and was just about to introduce himself.
However, the soldier did not intend to shake hands with him, he even interrupted his speech and got to the point.
“Did you find the missing helicopter?”
“We found it, although it was already a wreckage…” Davis’s expression was a bit regretful, “In the border area between Colombia and Ecuador, we found the crashed helicopter. From the data on the black box—”
“I don’t care about the black box,” Jonathan stared at David in the eyes, as he said one word at a time, “I just want to know where my people are now!”
“There are bloodstains on the plane… If nothing is out of ordinary, they might have been killed in combat.” Davis did not dare to look into Jonathan’s eyes when he esponded. He coughed and with a hint of grief in his tone, “I’m sorry…”
Jonathan stared at Davis for a long time. The corner of his mouth moved and then he tossed his green bag on his shoulder as he walked to the headquarters of the military base without looking back.
Davis looked silently at the direction Jonathan went. He opened his mouth, but nothing came out. He could only shrug in the end to express his helplessness.
“The soldiers lost in the last mission were the elites of Team Five, and they were all trained by Colonel Jonathan himself.” The old man who had not spoken before walked to Davis’s side and sighed, “He has prejudices against the CIB, but he means no harm. I hope you can forgive him.”
“I understand his feelings,” Davis said, “but I still don’t understand. Based on the SEAL’s last communication, they had successfully suppressed the target at the time, why…”
“I’m also confused.” The old man watched Jonathan leave. He narrowed his eyes as if he was in the middle of his thought. “The little girl in the center of the explosion has the ability to manipulate liquid metal… This is completely beyond our understanding of the word ‘supernatural power’.”
Supernatural powers had always been a research focus of the Department of Defense’s Project Research Bureau. Especially after their existence was confirmed through the Kurofune, the amount of funding poured onto this project was increasing every year.
However, even with supernatural powers, it was impossible to defeat the SEAL combat team in an instant, right?!
“Is it magic?” Davis jokingly raised the question which was not funny.
“I would rather believe that it is the dark technology of Celestial Trade.” The old man shrugged, “To be honest, I don’t feel any bit of surprise regardless of what new things they bring out.”
The old man sniffed, then withdrew his gaze from Jonathan’s back and looked at Davis. He said, “The death of Agent Braddock is not important anymore, even the SEALs that suffered mysterious death… …The situation we are facing is probably more severe than last year’s confrontation in the Western Pacific.”
“What do I need to do?” Davis asked solemnly.
“This operation will involve squads of SEALs, led by Jonathan himself. You have worked in South America for many years so you should be familiar with the situation here. I hope you and your assistant will serve as intelligence support and action planning.” The old man said.
“Decapitation?” A look of sharpness quickly appeared in Davis’s eyes, “But Timochenko is hiding in the mountains, no one knows where he is hiding.”
“It’s not Timochenko, it’s the Xin Embassy.” The old man looked to the Cobra gunship that was taking off on the tarmac, and a sinister smile appeared. “To be precise, it is the ghosts preparing to save people.”
…
Xin Embassy, Bogota.
The heavily armed Colombian soldiers surrounded the embassy and even put up yellow lines as a cordon outside the embassy; they only left a small opening at the front entrance. There were two police assault vehicles parked at the main entrance, controlled by the Bogota Police. Everyone who entered or exited was questioned.
Fully abided by the Geneva Convention, the Colombian people did not step into the embassy and they only placed the streets near the embassy under martial law. Obviously, even at this chaotic moment, they did not intend to turn their relationship with Xin even sourer.
But then again, if Colombian soldiers really stepped into the embassy, the Ghost Agents wouldn’t be the ones paying them a visit, it would be the orbital airborne brigade.
In the living room of the embassy, Zhang Yaping with a bandage on his forehead did not appear in the best shape as he laid on the sofa. Obviously, the car crash did leave its marks, but fortunately, there was nothing serious with his injury, at least he could get out of bed.
These days, his phone was about to explode based on the number of calls.
Because Bogota Police requested the delegation to cooperate with the investigation and even took measures to restrict their travel, he was placed under house arrest in the embassy and had to cancel the rest of his South American trip. He even had to handle domestic affairs through satellite phones.
No one was allowed to enter or leave the embassy.
It was precisely this that when he saw Zhu Yu and the others, he was genuinely shocked.
“Why are you here?”
“Mr. Jiang asked me to take you home.” With a rifle attached to the K2 kinetic skeleton, Zhu Yu sat on the sofa across from Zhang Yaping and gestured to the agent behind her to close the curtains.
“What’s the plan?” Zhang Yaping asked.
“In one hour, the FARC guerrillas will launch a feint attack on the eastern suburbs of Bogota to attract the attention of the police and the garrison. We’ll cover you to evacuate from the embassy. There is a helicopter in the western suburb, we’ll board there.”
“We can’t get out at all,” Zhang Yaping shook his head and glanced at the closed curtains. “You saw it when you came in. There are all those people outside. I think there is at least a battalion.”
“There is only a company from the presidential palace. Lilith said she will take care of it.”
Zhang Yaping was taken aback when he heard the strange name.
“Who is Lilith?”
“The person who saved your life last time.”
Zhang Yaping’s face suddenly turned green.
What the fu*k? You call that saving me?!
“Can I choose not to leave?” Zhang Yaping smiled bitterly.
It’s good to stay here, at least it’s not life-threatening.
“You can call Mr. Jiang,” Zhu Yu shrugged, “but my guess is his answer will probably be a no.”