Mr. J had arranged the meeting place on a dam.
The dam was near the Selasar Lake District, constructed in the fifties, and served as the lock connecting the Tigris River and the Selsar River to the reservoir.
South of the dam lay Krasa Town, to the north flowed the Tigris River, and to the west ran the Selsar River, situated at the confluence of the two, its location was highly strategic.
Most secret meetings are arranged inside houses or some secluded places, but Mr. J setting the meeting location on a dam was beyond comprehension.
"Boss, if anything goes wrong at this location, we'll have a hard time protecting the VIP," White Bear expressed his concerns immediately upon seeing the location. "If they want us dead, we have nowhere to run."
His worries were not unfounded.
PSD missions must consider all possible scenarios and have contingency plans.
Although Mr. J was an informant for Angel, there shouldn't be any reason for suspicion, in principle.
But this was no ordinary informant.
No one could guarantee whether it was a trap or not.
The Cook naturally furrowed his brows.
If the situation was as White Bear described it.
If Mr. J harbored ill intent and wanted the lives of his group, it would be as easy as flipping his hand.
"Can we change the location?" the Cook asked Angel.
Angel shook her head, "I have absolutely no way to contact him, it's always he who initiates contact with me."
The Cook said, "It's very difficult for us to operate when you're always so passive."
Angel replied, "Why would I pay you such a high salary if it weren't difficult? Mr. J is on the wanted list by the coalition forces, he wouldn't have survived this long if he weren't careful. Whether it's Langley, the military, or other intelligence agencies, even Mercenary Organizations are looking for him, his life is worth five million US dollars."
Song Heping couldn't help but laugh, "Then why do you meet with him in secret? Are you committing treason?"
Angel's face turned red all of a sudden.
This logic...
Sounded like it wasn't wrong.
Since Mr. J was wanted by the US Army and the government, by meeting with him secretly and striking some kind of deal as a citizen of Country M, could that be considered treason?
It seemed like it was…
And yet it seemed like it wasn't…
After all, helping Aunt Nancy to reveal the truth was also upholding justice, wasn't it?
But was it really so?
Angel couldn't even face her own conscience.
However, this kind of inner struggle and the intricacies involved are things she couldn't discuss with Song Heping.
Should she tell him she was here due to a struggle between the donkey and the elephant?
Should she tell him it was for her Aunt Nancy's sake, wanting to get some dirt to impeach that big shot in the White House, to make him scram?
"Just do your job and mind your own business! I pay you to protect me, not to interrogate me like some kind of secret agent!"
Angel, inadvertently touched on a sore spot by Song Heping's words, suddenly became a bit infuriated, "Don't forget your professional ethics!"
The Cook hurriedly explained, "Miss Angel, Song is new to this line of work, and he doesn't understand many rules."
After saying this, he shot Song Heping a look, signaling him not to continue.
Song Heping's remarks were just off-the-cuff; he hadn't anticipated such a strong reaction from Angel.
The rule among mercenaries is not to question stance or morality, just take the money and do the job.
Either don't accept the job, or if you do, carry it out well and ask fewer questions about your employer.
So, he simply shut his mouth.
But Song Heping couldn't hold back before long.
This time, it wasn't because of Angel.
It was because the Cook and White Bear, after discussing tactics for half a day, couldn't come to any conclusive decisions.
The reason they couldn't reach a unanimous decision was quite straightforward.
It was difficult to ensure absolute safety for the VIP at a place like the dam.
The dam spanned about three hundred meters, and Mr. J had stipulated no driving allowed; they had to walk to the meeting point in the middle.
This also meant that in the event of a shootout, if Angel had to evacuate, she would have to run nearly two hundred meters to get off the dam.
For a normal person, that two hundred meter stretch would take over twenty seconds to run, let alone for someone like Angel, who was of the dainty sort.
In such a case, the person becomes a sitting duck, certain to catch bullets.
Mr. J daring to suggest meeting here implied that in Krasa, he definitely had numerous subordinates at his disposal; after all, the man used to be a security advisor for Da Maozi and was a military man with no shortage of old troops.
Sadam had not yet been captured, and his former subordinates were still resisting in various locations; it was very possible that there were quite a few former government soldiers in disguise in Krasa Town.
Based on this estimation, Mr. J held an absolute advantage in terms of military force.
If he were Mr. J, he would definitely send people to conduct a search within a three-kilometer radius before the meeting, and then deploy armed support squads at different positions within a five-hundred-meter range.
If any situation were to arise, just one flare was needed, and immediately one would face a multitude of forces, by which time escape would be impossible.
Song Heping originally did not plan to interject, but he stood by and watched as the group of big Russians gathered and discussed fervently for a long time, yet they could not come up with a decent plan.
He suddenly discovered a comical problem.
The cook had his weaknesses, for he has never been a soldier.
He became the leader because he had connections, a flexible mind, broad vision, and was ruthless enough.
Although White Bear, Grey Wolf, and Queen had fought in wars, their heads were still filled with Soviet tactical concepts.
What are Soviet tactical concepts?
One word—hard.
The considered plans were all about how to fight to the death, how to suppress with firepower, how to face the enemy head-on, all the while contemplating retreat...
This was in line with the ethnic characteristics of the big Russians, who preferred to fight in an all-out and headstrong manner, with relatively low tactical content.
"Can I say a few words?"
He finally couldn't hold back anymore.
Even though he hadn't seen as much blood as these guys, he couldn't help but speak out.
Is this how tactics are supposed to be played?
Of course not!
The cook turned his head and asked, "Have you got an idea?"
Song Ping said, "Of course I do."
The cook spread his hands, "Speak your mind then!"
Song Heping said, "There are two rivers here, such a large lake, and you all are just focusing on that tiny spot on the dam?"
He pointed to the lake district and the two rivers on the map.
"If the land route is not an option, then take the water route."
After hearing this, the cook and White Bear looked intently at the map for a long time.
Then the cook said, "You mean if something goes wrong, we escape via the water route?"
Song Heping retorted, "Is that a problem?"
The cook said, "The dam top is at least thirty meters above the water surface, how would you get down?"
Song Heping said, "Jump."
The cook exclaimed in shock, "Insane, are you planning to take the VIP and jump into the river? That's suicide! Even if you can make it..."
He turned to Angel, sizing her up and down.
"It's a different story for Miss Angel."
Angel, who was nearby, heard Song Heping suggesting jumping into the river, and hearing that the height was at least thirty meters, her delicate face instantly lost all color as she shook her head like a rattle-drum.
"NO! NO! NO! I won't jump! Oh, you madman! To think of making me jump into the river!
I would rather die than jump!"
Song Heping said, "You won't jump? Fine, if something happens and you don't jump, you can run along the top of the dam and wait to be turned into a hornet's nest."
Angel, thinking over Song Heping's words, realized they made sense, but the thought of jumping into the river filled her with utter dread. She said, "Isn't there any other way?"
Song Heping spread his hands, "There is, either you convince Mr. J to change the location, or you don't go and turn back to Baghdad directly, I guarantee it will be safe."
Angel was immediately dumbstruck.
Go back?
That was impossible!
After all the trouble to get here, how could she possibly turn back when she was so close to success?
She agreed to it, and Aunt Nancy wouldn't agree either, would she?
As she hesitated, White Bear, puzzled, asked, "Insane, after you jump into the river, where will you run? If you can't escape, you're still dead, right?"
Song Heping said, "Such a large lake? It's just seventy meters across from the dam to reach the shore. Don't you understand to assign someone in advance to lie in ambush in the woods on the other side to meet us? You were all thinking of fighting a desperate battle on the dam. Is sending someone to the woods there a death sentence?"
Without further ado, he directly pointed at Yuliy, "You, find a sniper position on the high ground east of the dam to block the entrance on the opposite side leading to the dam. Grey Wolf, drive the car to the edge of the woods and hide, then lie in ambush on the shore to meet us. As for the cook and White Bear, you two find a spot on the side of the dam to set up a firepower point.
If things really go south, use your machine guns to cover us and buy me time to swim those fifty meters."
Finally, Song Heping shoved the map back to the dumbfounded cook.
"There, that settles it. Why discuss for so long? It's already seven o'clock! Time is almost up! Let's get moving!"