Same time USA, Washington DC, White House.
In the middle of a dark night, the headlights were turned on and the door of the waiting car opened.
The US Secretary of Defense climbed into the back seat, and the heavy door was quickly closed.
And after people were riding in the next seat and the front passenger seat.
“I will depart.”
Polite words came out from the driver’s seat, and the vehicle began to move slowly.
Inside the car, where the noise was blocked, only the sound of breathing was heavy.
The Minister of Defense also closed his eyes.
It wasn’t because he was sleepy, but because his stomach was complicated, he wanted to block even the visual information coming into his eyes.
It had to be.
Two armed F-5 fighter jets licensed from Indonesia were flying toward the South China Sea, and the 7th Fleet had been moved to the Philippine Sea under the pretext of emergency maneuvers, and I had just discussed the matter in earnest with the President.
Naturally, it was difficult to come up with good words.
The operation had to work out, because things were going badly.
I was caught in a trap, and I was about to be annihilated.
If there was anything fortunate, it was the fact that Kang-tae, the target of the double operation, had overcome the situation.
He also showed great skill.
It is evidence that can emphasize the necessity to the president.
So the story was a bit heavier and longer.
The president was busy and that was over quickly, but the defense minister also had a lot to do.
It’s the same now.
thiririri-
When I checked the work cell phone in my inner pocket because it was crying, there was an additional report from Pope Field.
Disembarkation news of the original target, the Nuclear Research Institute.
It was like a foreign substance attached to the plan of an ally on the way out.
– … Then we will proceed as scheduled.
“No, wait… … .”
The Minister of Defense took a moment to speak up.
“I think it would be better for us to proceed to assist him than for him to assist us. Check it out on site, and if you can, proceed that way.”
It was a thought that came to my mind in an instant.
To be precise, what I realized while having a conversation with the president and making a report came out as instructions.
One reason.
It was to further check Kang-tae’s skills and leave them behind.
Only then will it be evidence worth mentioning somewhere, as we appealed to the president today.
Of course, it would have been better if the operation had succeeded and Kangtae came over, but that possibility had already disappeared.
It was fortunate that the ally hadn’t died.
And Kang-tae’s skills were so great that they far exceeded expectations.
All that was left was a successful exit and securing proper evidence related to Kang Tae.
There is a risk, but that doesn’t mean you can’t just run away.
Because the operation has already failed.
Even if he was going to get it, he had to get it as much as possible, and that was Kang-tae.
‘Foreign Cooperation Bureaus must have accumulated a lot of things like this… That’s why I covered Lee… … .’
While he was organizing his thoughts, a hesitant answer came over his phone.
– Minister? Assisting is… So you’re telling me to hand over command?
A very upset voice.
However, the Minister of Defense responded as if it was rather good.
“If possible, proceed as such. However, on-site judgment takes precedence. Don’t force yourself to do something that doesn’t work, and proceed after seeing the situation with the field commander. What matters is the successful evacuation of allies.”
– All right.
The Minister of Defense, who was listening to the answer, hung up.
Now, if only the remaining work was completed well, this failure could also be diluted to some extent.
Kang Tae-ra through One Man Army.
However, it was difficult to brighten his expression.
It wasn’t just because the operation failed.
After all, it was possible to dilute it to some extent.
I have already spoken to the President.
The problem was the failure process.
trap.
They had snipers and even mortars hidden.
Of course, there was no reason not to.
Even in the Middle East alone, there were numerous American soldiers who were killed or injured in traps.
The problem was that these were the Taril Islands.
An area where hazards were prevented by analyzing satellite images from the planning stage.
And it was a place where one Devgru squadron was infiltrated using a stealth high-speed boat.
Even if there is a risk, it shouldn’t be directed at the allies.
However, the situation took a turn for the worst.
Our allies fell in the middle of the trap, and snipers and mortars were on standby.
Fortunately, the mortar was not fired first.
If I had just shredded it, there was a high possibility that it would have been torn to pieces so that even the body could not be found.
And it was hard to see this as a simple trap.
It should be seen as a ploy carried out after knowing the US military search network and alert information.
It wasn’t because the Marines didn’t blindly enter.
The preparation process was not lax.
I couldn’t send people directly, but I searched very thoroughly.
However, it was discovered a long time ago in the early morning.
If even that had been delayed a little longer, he might have gone to rectify the ally who had become a pile of flesh and blood.
Even the equipment wasn’t cheap replicas.
The things secured in the drone footage were things that could be said to be cutting-edge or state-of-the-art.
From the heat-blocking camouflage shield that covered them, to the sniper rifle or new-style water mortar that was their weapon, to the hidden tactical four-wheel drive ATV, and various equipment on rails.
A lot of it was made in the US too.
Sales were natural, and there were things in it that were prohibited from being leaked in any way.
Nevertheless, there are cases where strategic equipment is released on the black market, but it was a low-end item, not a high-end item.
Things like obsolete humvees and heavy machine guns that keep firing bullets.
After thinking, a conclusion came.
‘There could be a serious traitor. The one with Giandr Basikanal… … .’
Then he paused.
“… … !”
It reminded me of the information that Robert, the head of the External Relations Bureau, traveled with the audit team to Switzerland.
It was also targeted at Walter Grayson, a senior State Department official.
The Minister of Defense, who recalled this, hesitated.
‘Could I have thought of him as a traitor?’
It is not difficult to know all the detailed data because it is closed, but it was not difficult to guess just from what was revealed.
‘Such a high-ranking official was involved… … .’
Suddenly, power came into his eyes.
It was because there was one outsider in the car that it was hard to be sure of not being involved.
Norman Jones, a member of the political affairs staff dispatched from the White House a few months ago.
He was a young employee who had just reached his late twenties, who would have been a lieutenant if he were an officer.
And other than that, I didn’t know anything.
I didn’t even bother to tell.
Because he is busy, he was a staff member dispatched from the White House, and he passed the background check conducted separately by the Pentagon.
So, I was treated as an employee.
Unlike the general-level officer who had known him for a long time, he was by his side.
Then, suddenly, a word came to mind.
‘You said you’ve been studying abroad for quite some time… … ?’
There were many things that were even more difficult to believe if you were overseas.
There were more to suspect.
It was because when I was abroad, I could hide or cover up anything I did with the word studying abroad.
The word “study abroad” was often found in the resumes of terrorists who said they had learned a little.
Of course, studying abroad was not important.
It was because there was no need to go abroad, and communists to bizarre political theorists and anti-regime figures were overflowing here and there in the mainland.
However, they were being managed as people of interest.
And there was no way to find out what was going on abroad without separate tips or CIA surveillance.
I couldn’t say Norman was that kind of person, but I couldn’t escape my suspicions.
Because right now, the closest and least trusted person to the Secretary of Defense was Norman.
‘… I’ll have to conduct an internal audit.’
I decided to proceed with the end of the operation.
also doubly.
For the purpose of disciplining the personnel involved by citing the failure of this operation as a reason. And it was to find the traitor internally.
‘… He rocks the Pentagon.’
The Minister of Defense smiled bitterly at the thought of Lee.
Things were getting bigger.
* * *
“Yes, I will take it.”
Jake coolly took command.
It was a very good thing for me.
Of course, the old field commander wasn’t ugly, but he didn’t know me as well as Jake did.
It seemed like he knew, but he didn’t seem to know.
You probably only saw information from Fort Bragg.
But not Jake.
He was the person who best knew my abilities, not only on this island, but also in the world of Lareple.
It’s already been a year since we’ve been together, and I’m about to turn one year older.
Of course, I’ve been spending a lot of time with Harry, the youngest member of our team, but it’s not to the extent of being compared to Jake.
His words soon followed.
“Lee, do the chase first. José assists.”
It was a word that came out of upbringing.
He said, chinning the Devgrew agent behind him.
“Take the manpower available to drive the boat and stick with it. You’ll have to follow them now, since they’re already on the move at sea.”
“All right.”
I moved right away, responding briefly to his words.
I didn’t have to ask more if I should stay or if I’d be okay.
Not only because he was busy, but also because he trusted Jake’s judgment.
And there was also the information I heard from the library, the North Carolina command post, so I was able to move right away.
News of the departure of F-5 fighters equipped with air-to-surface missiles.
They said it would come in 5 minutes.
In addition, it was said that a reserve unit disguised as a local fishing boat was waiting on the coast, and even the 7th Fleet was on the move.
It is a measure that makes us feel the majesty of the US military.
I was able to move right away without regret. And our team and DevGru members also had their skills, so I could trust them.
The ambush has been exposed, and the situation has changed, so we should be able to deal with it.
As I moved so quickly, a voice came from nearby.
“Whee! I don’t know how the hell things are going. I’m about to lose my mind.”
It was José’s joke that hadn’t been heard since he infiltrated the Taril Islands.
“Lee, how are you? Hasn’t your steel-like mentality been scratched?”
“I’m still fine.”
“I guess we should call it vibranium or adamantium mental.”
“Oh, that would be fine too.”
After lightly responding to his words, the conversation stopped before I knew it.
As the speed of running increased, it was because he had moved to the point where he was out of breath before he knew it.
Not only Jose, but also the Devgrew agents who work together.
I waited for a moment to hear breathing, and then I stopped walking.
It was because he soon encountered an ally waiting on the shore.
That too, along with a fishing boat acquired locally.
As we climbed into the boat, we started hearing gunshots behind us.
It was an ally.
Do-do-do-do-do-doo-doo-doo-! Burst-!
Around the time when the sound that came out through the silencer sounded particularly heavy.
After checking the password, I boarded the fishing boat.
The exterior seemed to collapse soon, but fortunately, there was a military engine on the back, not a cheap motor.
“We are leaving.”
Behind the words of the person who held the steering wheel, the motor advanced like a furious gallop.
In order to catch a North Korean nuclear development researcher, which he had never thought of while serving as a special forces soldier.