When the two B7-grade armored vehicles returned to the camp, White Bear and Grey Wolf walked circles around them, inspecting them repeatedly inside and out.
The B7-class Lincoln SUVs, worth over a million US dollars each, boasted spacious interiors and luxurious fittings.
Their bulletproof capabilities were unmatched, with the glass alone being 70 millimeters thick. Even the engine hoods on either side had bulletproof plates embedded to prevent the engine from being damaged by rifle bullets and losing power during an attack.
The SUV's four explosion-proof tires could maintain a speed of 60 kilometers per hour and continue to drive for 100 kilometers after being shot, which was simply perfect.
Song Heping stood by, watching his two teammates excitedly, but the question marks in his mind kept growing.
His intuition told him that this was too smooth!
It was like going to an entrance exam and finding that all the questions were the ones you had practiced in your simulations.
So, when they were discussing the security plan, Song Heping offered his opinion.
"May I say something..."
As he had joined the team recently, Song Heping rarely spoke up, but this time he suddenly did after everyone had finalized the security details.
The cook was somewhat surprised, looking at Song Heping, holding a pen, and paused for a while before smiling, "Song, do you have any objections?"
Song Heping stared at the map, scanning the plan a few more times.
Map operations were familiar to Song Heping.
He had aced his topography class back in the day.
The cook's security plan had no major issues.
Which route to take, what the convoy formation should be, who was responsible for observation during the march, who was responsible for providing fire cover in case of an attack and who was responsible for evacuating the VIP, including lessons learned from a previous ambush at an overpass, placing two Humvees at the rear of the convoy.
If the front of the highway was blocked due to an attack, the last two Humvees must break through the obstructing civilian vehicles to allow the VIP's vehicle to quickly leave the scene.
The cook had even considered where to wait before meeting the informant after arriving.
Haditha and Han Bagdad areas had a lot of recent combat records, indicating that the security situation there was dangerous.
Currently, the US Marine Corps with a code name "Victory Camp" was positioned there, and after reaching Haditha, they would first enter Victory Camp to wait, and then proceed to Krasa Town once Angel and her informant had made contact and determined the meeting place.
There was nothing safer than staying in a US Army camp.
Song Heping pointed at the drawn convoy road formation map by the cook, his fingertip lingering on those two SUVs.
"I think it's better to place the VIP in the second to last Humvee."
His words silenced everyone present.
The current situation was this, during highway travel, the escort convoy consisted of two ISF Humvees at the front, two Lincoln armored vehicles in the middle, and two more Humvees in the rear.
Since the Humvees were equipped with rooftop weapon stations, two of them carrying M2HB heavy machine guns and two with M240 general-purpose machine guns, they had a firepower advantage and could switch from leading to following vehicles, fighting their way out to escape if necessary.
This formation was the safest and most prudent.
Heads encasing the middle.
From a security perspective, it was flawless.
After a brief silence, the place erupted.
The first to object was Queen Julia.
"Kid, have you lost your mind? Why leave a B7 armored vehicle to ride in a Humvee? The Humvee's bulletproof capabilities might not even match the B7's!"
White Bear also expressed his objection, "This is completely unnecessary and pointless, kid. You don't understand anything! Stop interfering and just follow our lead!"
Da Maozi's personality was fiery, and the tone of his speech spared no consideration at all, utterly straightforward, like in an argument.
Grey Wolf and the cook said nothing.
In the end, the cook asked Song Heping, "If you want to adjust the VIP's vehicle, you need to explain your reasons."
Song Heping said, "Previously, when we picked up people from the airport, you arranged for two Humvees to lead, which wasn't the usual practice."
The cook said, "That's because we were in civilian vehicles at the time, and they're not bulletproof. A shot could penetrate them easily. Placing the Humvees in front was to attract fire, but if you let the VIP ride in a Humvee, aren't you making her a live target?"
Song Heping pointed at the draft, "If I were the attacker, I would choose to take out the middle two vehicles first. Although the B7 armored vehicles perform well, they are also conspicuous, clearly indicating that important individuals are inside."
The cook fell silent again, looking and re-looking at the sketch.
Song Heping said, "Even if we encounter an ambush front and rear, it's very unlikely that we would hit the second to last Humvee. We'd probably take out the last one."
White Bear thought Song Heping made sense.
But he also felt it was a waste not to use the excellent performance of the Lincoln armored car and instead opt for a Humvee.
"So why are we even borrowing an armored car? We should just use our patrol vehicles. We've finally got the car back, and you're saying we shouldn't use it? You want to ride in a Humvee? Just use all Humvees then."
Song Heping didn't indulge White Bear and countered, "Why can't you think of the borrowed car as just a target? Do you not understand what a decoy is?"
White Bear immediately got angry.
Being questioned by a novice like Song Heping was something he could not accept.
"Kid, what do you think you are? How many battles have you fought? How much blood have you seen? How much experience do you have? Do you even know how to respect veterans? I've seen more dead bodies than the chickens you've killed!"
Unlike White Bear's rage, Song Heping responded with a laugh and pointed at White Bear's chin, "With all your experience, weren't you almost smashed in the chin?"
That comment hit White Bear's sore spot, and he exploded.
"That was a sneak attack last time! I forgot to dodge! Try it again! Come on! Let's go outside and do it one more time! Let's see who's better!"
"Enough!"
Eventually, it was the cook who intervened and broke up the argument.
"There are plenty of chances to fight! Once we finish this mission, I'll let you guys fight it out in the bar ring till you're satisfied! We must ensure this mission succeeds without fail. If we do it well, we won't have to worry about business in Baghdad! Plus, the payment will get us quite a bit of new equipment. You guys are constantly bickering internally; you think I don't exist as your leader?"
With the boss angry, White Bear finally calmed down.
The atmosphere eased quite a bit.
The cook thought hard, considering the pros and cons of his own plan versus Song Heping's.
The young man from China had a point.
His own plan wasn't without merit either.
It's just like choosing between carrots and greens, hard to say which is better.
"Loss."
In the end, the cook turned to Song Heping with a solemn expression.
The pressure was immense.
As he had said, if they did this job well, they would make a name for themselves in Baghdad's mercenary circle.
What the Free Mercenary Group needed most was a reputation.
Reputation means money.
With a reputation, they could even sign a formal employment contract with Black Water like Mad Dog Lars, securing a stable long-term income. Everything would start to change.
"Your reasons are still not enough to convince me to change my mind. If you insist on your alternative plan, then you need to provide a persuasive rationale."
Persuasive?
Rationale?
The cook was right.
Song Heping knew he was a novice. To propose a new plan that would override the one designed by the cook, he needed absolute persuasiveness.
The advantages and disadvantages of the two plans were not clearly distinguishable.
It's known that a B7-grade Lincoln armored SUV performs very well, arguably even better than a Humvee.
To ditch the Lincoln for Humvees, without considering whether the cook agrees, that pampered and precious foreign girl, Angel, might kick up a fuss too.
Indeed, it was a headache.
"Intuition."
Song Heping said, "My intuition has always been accurate. It tells me that riding in a Humvee is better than in a Lincoln SUV. Besides what I mentioned earlier, I really have no better reason. Believe it if you want, or leave it if you don't."