Inside the E-4B Nightwatch air command controller, also known as the Doomsday plane, over the Atlantic Ocean.
The US Secretary of Defense, who finished his schedule in Europe, was asleep with a tired face.
I have just closed my eyes after reviewing the related reports and the press release of the Ministry of Defense Public Relations Office to be distributed to the media until just before.
It was time for the secretaries nearby to work on their remaining overtime while quietly tapping on their keyboards.
Tiliri-
The military telephones deployed inside the E-4B rang.
The secretaries who were working at the same time flinched.
“… … !”
It wasn’t because the Minister of Defense, who had just fallen asleep, would wake up.
The ringing phone was not deployed as a simple means of communication with E-4B, but because it was a kind of hotline method directly connected to the Minister of Defense.
Of course, the number of people who could call was very limited.
From the US President to related ministries and subordinate military ministers, generals, and commanders.
They wouldn’t contact me for light business either.
Early in the morning, it must be an important purpose enough to urgently find the Minister of Defense in Atlantic Aviation.
The secretary, who was looking at the caller ID displayed on the LCD screen, hesitated.
Because it was a more important number than expected.
Among the dozens of numbers that must be memorized while attending the Minister of Defense, one of the most important places.
It was an intelligence agency affiliated with the Department of Defense, the National Security Agency (NSA).
the secretary almost reflexively exclaimed.
“Minister!”
The Minister of Defense, who had fallen asleep due to a tour of Western Europe and a long-distance flight, woke up without even opening his eyes properly.
And by the time I washed my face without losing my mind.
The secretary spoke quickly.
“This is a call from the NSA.”
“… … !”
The startled Minister of Defense answered the phone right away.
And his eyes grew stronger.
It was because of the news that was not expected at all.
Insider leaking military secrets and escaping.
The Minister of Defense paused at the name that followed.
“Walter Grayson?”
– Yes, I was the European Directorate under the former Undersecretary for Political Affairs, and I am currently in charge of marine environmental issues.
Hearing of the position he was demoted sharpened the defense minister’s memory.
The person whom Robert Anderson, director of the Department of External Cooperation, went all the way to Switzerland to conduct a direct audit.
However, since the charges were not clear, he was a person who ended up with a simple demotion.
However, the situation where Walter’s name was suddenly mentioned.
A question from the Minister of Defense followed.
“therefore… What is he trying to do? Please elaborate.”
– It was found that he was trying to sell military information obtained during his tenure as European Director-General to a Russian broker.
“Are the identified materials highly classified and valid up to now?”
I asked in a nervous voice, completely awake from sleep.
And a heavy and quick answer came back.
– Some have been discarded or changed, but some are still valid. You must act immediately. It is predicted to have a lot of information related to US military bases in Europe.
“Oh… … .”
A sigh escaped the mouth of the Minister of Defense.
Even now, after visiting Europe, I was just flying over the Atlantic Ocean.
The time spent face-to-face with the Secretary General of NATO, the European Commander of the U.S. Armed Forces, and the defense ministers of each country will pass by like a kaleidoscope.
The Minister of Defense hastened to speak.
“I will take action immediately. where is he? You haven’t gotten out of the mainland yet, have you?”
– We are trying to figure it out, but according to the clues we have currently obtained, it seems that they are planning to enter Russia via Central and South America.
“… All right. Please post the report so far through the secretary’s office.”
After ending the call, he summoned all the secretarial staff inside E-4B.
Everyone who was asleep or awake gathered, and the Minister of Defense hurriedly announced what had to be done.
From Walter’s information gathering, contacting related ministries, travel bans, mugshots, and reporting to the White House.
“Move now.”
A handful of satellite phones started working in the hands of employees, and at the same time e-mail began to be sent through laptops.
And the Minister of Defense, who was receiving additional reports, hesitated.
It was because of the lack of data on Walter.
Specifically, there was no data related to or likely to be related to the crime.
It was just an ordinary biography.
The same is true for the contents related to gratitude.
As he tried to blame the poor content, a name flashed through his mind.
‘ah… … !’
Director of External Relations Robert Anderson.
He was a person whom he had met in relation to Kang-tae, and who assisted Walter in raising suspicions and thanking him.
Of course you must know something.
‘Yeah, I should have thought of him first… … .’
At the end of his thoughts, a heavy sigh escaped his mouth.
It wasn’t like simple self-reproach.
Although nothing has been found out yet, it is highly likely that the Minister of National Defense will also be held accountable for this incident.
If there were any military officials involved with Walter, they would be dishonorably stripped.
Even if it wasn’t that, I couldn’t be free from responsibility as the head of the US military in that military secrets were leaked.
It was clear that it would create controversy, especially in the opposition party.
Even the president will feel the burden.
In addition, the contents of the previous operation in the Taril Islands were not very good, so I felt responsible.
The mind of the defense minister was also greatly inclined to resignation.
‘I’ll have to prepare for my resignation after finishing this situation. If the president doesn’t cut first… … .’
With that in mind, he soon heard the phone in his hand.
The secretary had been instructed to connect the phone with Robert, the head of the External Relations Bureau.
The Minister of Defense immediately spoke out.
“Chief Anderson.”
– Yes, Minister.
“Have you been contacted by the NSA or any of its ministries?”
– I heard that through the State Department, materials related to Grayson were delivered to the Pentagon.
“Then do you know the situation?”
– Yes, I was going to call you anyway.
“You mean me?”
When the Minister of Defense asked a curious question, the answer came quickly.
– Currently, our agent is tracking Grayson.
“… Tracking?”
– Yes, I’ve been monitoring it continuously since the audit.
“… … !?”
The sound made the Minister of Defense’s eyes widen.
He also added a quick question.
“Are you saying you know where Grayson is?”
– Yes, I know, but I will report the related information to the higher up and then check if it can be shared.
“ah… … .”
The Minister of Defense’s mouth fell open.
I hadn’t even thought about it.
I thought I only received lukewarm audit results, but it wasn’t because I had been monitoring it for over half a year.
A gasp of admiration escaped his mouth.
“under… How, no, did you know?”
– I was just trying not to repeat the same mistakes.
“You mean thank you.”
– That’s right. I should have found out through torture… … .
By the time I see the person named Robert again.
An extra word was added.
– However, there are some things that take me personally.
“Oh yeah. Please tell me.”
With the permission of the Minister of Defense, Robert continued talking as if he was worried.
– I couldn’t find out why he did what he did now, after he was pushed out of the job of being in charge of the marine environment. And why did you make the Pentagon move, not anywhere else.
“What made us move? That means… … .”
– Yes, I think he leaked the evidence on purpose.
“Why would you do that? If the NSA discovers it, there will only be a time difference, and they will eventually be caught… Doesn’t that mean you were caught on purpose?”
– That’s right. This is a person whose serious charges were not revealed even in a surprise audit. It was also quiet for several years. Wouldn’t you know if you directly terrorized the mainland or helped terrorism… I am not one to make sudden movements like this. All information disclosed may be false. Maybe they are aware of our surveillance.
“… That makes it even more serious. It means there are more things I don’t know… Could I have a copy of it?”
– sorry. It is a personal opinion, so it is difficult to give a cooperation notice or report. Grayson’s pursuit is also being led by the State Department… … .
“Well, then I will take care of that myself. We will get back to you soon.”
The Minister of Defense hung up the phone with a complicated expression on his face.
In any case, there was a harvest.
An agency under the State Department was tracking Walter Grayson, and he was still locating it.
That alone was sure to do the trick.
Because the big threat to US security was gone.
However, there was a catch.
From nob le mt l dot com
Like Robert said, he had to find out why Walter suddenly moved.
Is it for the purpose of selling information and moving to Russia after kicking out the hard life of a job, or is it intentionally leaving information to shake up the Pentagon?
Even if it was the latter, it was difficult to figure out why.
Soon the Minister of Defense called the secretary again and gave new instructions.
How did you move in the NSA, what areas will be neglected by that activity, and so on.
There was more and more work to be done.
* * *
From nob le mt l dot com
Late at night, the office of the consular representative in Santa Cruz, Bolivia.
As soon as Miguel, who had been beaten and passed out by Andrei and was dragged by Jake’s hand, as soon as he woke up, he knew all the relevant information.
There was no torture or drug use to worry about.
There wasn’t much interrogation either.
It was thanks to the fact that he revealed all the information related to Giandr from beginning to end without any sign of concealment.
He picked out and pointed to the cellphones we had collected while doing SSE, and told us which ones were used and when.
It just takes some time to cross-check and repeat the same process.
The important thing was somewhere else.
Giandro’s subordinate.
he was important
Because if Miguel provides the indirect ones, he knows the direct facts.
The only problem was that he couldn’t open his mouth.
There was no use of drugs or violence.
It was because he had already been hit by Miguel and almost became a half-ass.
Harry had to do disinfection, hemostasis, and suturing for a long time, but the results were not very good.
“I must go to the hospital.”
“why? Are you serious?”
“It is very likely that there is an organ rupture or internal bleeding. I have multiple fractures… There may have already been blood in some part of your body. It may endanger life. We have to shoot using hospital equipment.”
“ah… Marcus, tell the manager. I’ll go with Harry. I’ll see how Philip is… … .”
When I talked to Marcus, the deputy team leader who was with me, he immediately shook his head.
“No, I will go with Harry. You even received a bomb threat.”
Jose added to that.
“I will go too. If you close your eyes to the military and police cooperation and the cartel… Even the night roads in Bolivia are safe. And you have to suffer in the lead tomorrow too, right? Don’t overdo it.”
“ah… OK got it.”
I nodded my head at Jose’s words.
It was because there was a place to go right after the dawn.
The place where Giandro stayed in the past and where his subordinates lived.
Both were the destinations they originally wanted to go to from the time they entered the country.
It was a place I was going to crash into for the ostensible purpose of training with the Bolivian police, but I was going there tomorrow.
The cartel condoned that too, and the police were going to give directions.
The time was also greatly shortened from the previously planned one month to one week.
The results look good, but the process doesn’t.
It was because Philip was injured trying to cover me in an unexpected bombing, a Bravo team member was mortally wounded, and the team leader died instantly.
Even though I wasn’t close to them, it wasn’t an issue to listen to and pass it off lightly.
After all, they were comrades in Bolivia who had to trust and rely on each other.
As soon as I thought of it, my teeth gnashed.
‘Giandr… f*ck it, let’s meet soon.’
I don’t know where it is, but I thought I’d be able to face it sooner or later.
Intuition was like that.
He said he would soon see Giandro, whom he had only seen in pictures, in real life.