Episode 196. First Solo (3)
The road in the woods was winding.
Vehicles were divided into west and southeast roads. And southeast was Lester Ramos.
With Lester Ramo’s vehicle in the middle, the vehicles moved forward and backward as if escorting them one by one.
“Go back to the hideout and contact the camp to narrow down five AA ranks.”
Lester Ramos’ aide Kevin Hansen, who was sitting in the passenger seat at his instructions, was puzzled.
“Isn’t it during an emergency?”
Even Kevin Hansen knew what to do during an emergency. Even in this emergency, he did most of the cleanup himself.
And during an emergency, the troops could not be recklessly moved.
“Am I saying that without knowing that?”
“sorry. But for what reason… … .”
Lester Ramos knew what he was concerned about.
“Uhm… … .”
While pondering for a moment, Kevin Hansen asked cautiously.
“Does it have anything to do with Elder Lee?”
“then… … ?”
“To risk rudeness… To be honest, the situation in Korea, where Elder Lee is in charge, is not good these days. In such a situation, there is a part where I am worried that there will be an accident while using not one, but five of our AA class.”
At his explanation, Lester Ramos nodded.
But Lester Ramos also had several possibilities in mind.
“If this elder has an idea, he will do it in moderation. Besides, there’s no way they’ll fail… … .”
“Other places are also chaotic, but aren’t there a lot of problems there right now?”
“How did the alternative intelligence organizations find out about us… . Isn’t this kind of thing happening because those who are in charge of external affairs are not properly cracking down? Tsk—”
Savnak and the Scarlet Knights were responsible for education and training as a kind of military academy in the organization.
I hardly care about external affairs, so I had no choice but to blame for this situation.
“AA level five, first of all, it would be better to prepare from among those brought here rather than from the camp.”
“How many came in?”
“Seven AAs, eight CAs, and three EAs. After that, two AAs, three CAs, and two EAs will complete the last operation and detour to enter the country.”
Assassination, Combat, Explosion.
It was referring to the A-class mercenaries of that system. Since individuals are a valuable resource within Savnak, as soon as the emergency decree was issued, the camp was moved and brought to Japan.
“I’m currently eighteen, plus seven… Twenty-five in total.”
“you’re right.”
“Has the Scarlet Knights been identified?”
“As the French side collapsed, we lost contact with our side. If we count the troops only by guessing, we will be a little behind.”
Lester Ramos’ lips twitched as he heard those words.
“Is that so… … .”
“There was a lot of loss in the project in progress in Korea.”
“Anyway, why are you so lazy… . You could just wipe it away—”
“Your arsenal has been robbed, so there will be a lot of difficulties.”
I was referring to Jiiksa, which was used by Savnak as an arsenal in Korea.
As a result, Savnak had no choice but to shrink from activities in Korea.
“My back hurts. still… After the emergency decree is lifted, things will be sorted out.”
“As a resting place, we prepared Tsuken in Okinawa so that you can rest comfortably. We will start as soon as it is finished.”
“Good.”
The vehicle continued to run towards the hideout where the mercenaries were located. I was about to get out of the mountains and enter the city center where the buildings were built.
I profit—
The moment I passed the crossroads in front of the forest road exit, the lead vehicle stopped abruptly.
So did the cars that followed.
While Lester Ramos had his doubts, the radio in Kevin Hansen’s hand rang.
[This is a wheel puncture. The cause is a rusty nail, but it seems that the car stepped on it somewhere.]
The procession of cars stopped in the middle of the crosswalk.
In the meantime, the traffic light changed and a significant number of people began to pass by.
Kevin Hansen, who was checking the situation, picked up the walkie-talkie again.
“Alpha will come after repairs. Charlie stays in the back, Beta comes forward.”
[Roger That.]
[Roger That.]
[Roger That.]
An answer was heard from each vehicle over the radio.
Only the three vehicles that did not have a puncture started to move separately.
* * *
It was sunset time.
The river that came out of the forest was on the road west of the reservoir called Lake Shinji in Izumo City, Shimane Prefecture with Teresa.
The surroundings were full of red-dyed rice fields. It was a very quiet place.
“Soo. You decided to come here, right? Didn’t you give me the wrong coordinates or get confused there?”
Hearing Teresa’s grumbling voice, Kang-soo calmly leaned next to the car.
“You always go a little late.”
“That’s why I hate that old man~”
Soon after, an old gray van began approaching from a distance.
Kang-soo and Teresa stood inside using the car as a shield in case of an unexpected situation.
The van slowly approached and took a seat behind Kang-su’s car.
A middle-aged black man who opened the car door shouted in British English.
“Sparrow—! It’s dirty! Do you know how long it took to get here from Shibuya?! It’s ten hours! Ten hours!”
Kang-soo and Teresa checked to see if they were the person they were waiting for and then approached.
“I suffered.”
“It’s been a while, Mr. Atkins.”
“Akins is an asshole. Just call me Lord.”
Rodney Atkins. He was a pro who was in charge of weaponry at Ejisto several years ago.
“Rod, thank you for coming this far.”
“Really—this is the first time I’ve lived and even delivered.”
After saying that, Rodney opened the side door of the van.
Bears, cats, lions, puppies, etc… . Inside were stuffed toys the size of a child.
It didn’t fit Rodney’s personality in handling weapons. So Kang-soo and Teresa stared into the car.
Theresa’s expression, in particular, was close to that of disgust.
“what? why? this? camouflage. There’s nothing like this to hide stuff.”
“Do you think your face and those dolls look good on you?”
“Teresa, you are noisy. You still scold people the first time you see them. Rather— I got what I ordered, but… . Won’t you tell me what’s going on?”
Rodney’s gaze met Kang-soo.
“Will you give me something if I tell you?”
“No, that’s not it. I was wondering what you are doing on TV these days.”
Along with the answer, Rodney tore the back of one large stuffed toy left and right. Then he put his hand into it and started pulling out something from the bag.
“Aren’t your hands rusty?”
Kangsu accepted the cloth along with the envelope from Rodney.
A thick cloth was laid over the bonnet of Kang-su’s car, and the parts in the bag were placed one by one.
clap— clap— clap—
Kang-soo picked up the parts one by one and quickly assembled them.
Rodney, who saw this, was amazed.
“It’s still there. As ordered, the firearm is a Remington bolt action type PSR. The ammunition is a .338 Lapua Magnum Basic for snipers. Am I right?”
Clap- Tack- Tack- Clap-
Finally, after installing the silencer on the scope, Kangsu pulled and pushed the reloading handle.
A properly oiled one moved without being too slippery or stiff.
“Just right.”
“Tando is here.”
Rodney put five eight-round magazines and a bag next to him.
“Mine?”
At Theresa’s question, Rodney opened his bag and took out a pistol and knife.
“Oh yea-! It’s the same type I used before.”
“If you pretend, you pretend.”
Kang also put down his sniper rifle and checked the condition of the pistol and the ammunition.
clap- clap-
As before, it was well-groomed.
“Two frag grenades, four flash grenades, four smoke grenades. Is this also what you said?”
“great.”
“By the way, why do you need equipment for rappelling?”
“I have something to write about.”
I also checked the ropes and clips on the bottom of the bag properly. Seeing this, Rodney only tilted his head.
Kangsu removed his hand from his bag and picked up his phone. After pressing the numbers and buttons, it said again.
“… I deposited 300 million won in the balance, including the cost of labor to come here. Let’s check it out.”
uhhh—
After finishing, Rodney’s cell phone rang in his pocket. A smile appeared on Rodney’s lips when he took out such a cell phone.
“As expected, the calculations are neat. But you don’t want to start a war, do you? If you get chased later, it will be a headache.”
Concerned very quickly (?), Kang-soo moved the equipment to the trunk of the car with a calm expression.
“Isn’t it true that there are only road operators in Japan? But I didn’t know, so I asked for items that are not hard to find.”
“That’s right, I know.”
Anyway, the unique number engraved on the weapon was all erased.
It would be difficult to track down all the arms dealers operating in Japan.
“Excuse me, we’re running out of time.”
“already?”
“If you are in Shibuya, I will visit you after work.”
“Take care of yourself.”
“mister! Be careful and go back!”
Kangsu got into the car with Teresa and started off.
* * *
Lester Ramos was in an office-like space inside the quarry complex. While resting there, the door opened and Kevin Hansen entered.
“First of all, I took a look at the number of people you mentioned. Would you like to check?”
“Let’s go.”
Lester Ramos got up from his seat with the answer and went out of the office.
Bright lights outside the quarry were shining here and there.
Chae-chaeng— Chae-chae-chaeng— Kaga-gak— Papak—
Under the lights, dozens of men were scattered throughout the quarry, fighting in pairs with daggers.
Only five of them stood alone in front of the office. There were three Asians and two Westerners.
“Is it these?”
To Lester Ramos’ question, Kevin Hansen, who was standing next to him, answered with a confident expression.
“Yes, they are one of the best in Savnak.”
“It’s okay. But— how would you compare it to Shane?”
“Are you talking about Shane from Cerberus, who accompanied Elder Lee today?”
“that’s right.”
Kevin Hansen also saw Shane at the mansion in the woods.
“I’ve never seen Shane’s skills, but I’ve heard he’s amazing. However, I am proud that the elite of Savnak are not inferior to Shane.”
“Huh—confidence is good.”
The powerful answer made Lester Ramos happy.
“You don’t have to worry.”
Lester Ramos tapped him on the shoulder at Kevin Hansen’s slightly concerned voice.
“I don’t worry about my children. I am just worried about the greed of senile old people.”
“… I understand what you mean.”
Chae Chae Chaeng— Chae Chae Chae—
Meanwhile, the sound of the mercenaries’ daggers clashing under Savnak’s command echoed through the quarry.
“It’s getting late, so let’s all assemble.”
“All right. … set!”
As Kevin Hansen’s voice boomed, the men around him rushed in.
However, the numbers were far from enough.
“Why aren’t they all coming? Is there anyone out there?”
“I will check.”
The man at the far end fell off and ran towards the quarry hill. It was because there were people who had fallen while doing survival training in the quarry pit over the hill earlier.
dump-
The man who went to the end of the hill passed over to the other side. But there was no sign of shouting or saying anything.
The atmosphere of those who felt something strange became chaotic.
Pak—
At that moment, something pierced Lester Ramos’ leg and made him stagger.
“Keugh! It’s a sniping!”
Returning life of a retired S-class mercenary