"What were you discussing just now?"
Seeing Song Heping and the cook return to the hall, Angel immediately came forward to inquire.
When Song Heping had left earlier, she had felt extremely anxious, as only she, White Bear, and Grey Wolf were left in the hall.
Without Song Heping, Angel felt insecure.
"We were discussing some tactical arrangements,"
Faced with Angel's inquiry, Song Heping of course would not tell the truth.
He and the cook had agreed that they could not let Angel know that the "Musician" Mercenary Group had already teamed up with the CIA.
This matter sounded underhanded.
It seemed like they were selling Angel out.
In actuality, there was nothing dishonorable about it.
After all, the "Musician" Mercenary Group had taken on a PSD task, which was to ensure Angel's safety here.
Beyond that, they had no other obligations.
As long as Angel returned to Country M wholly and unharmed, Song Heping and his team would not be violating the contract.
"Miss Angel, there's something I would like to discuss with you."
"Song, feel free to say whatever's on your mind,"
Among everyone present, only Angel could accurately pronounce her own surname.
This forced Song Heping to reflect on the power of knowledge; Angel truly was a Yale graduate.
Look at the cook and Thomas, those guys.
They definitely hadn't studied well as children, and even now struggled to pronounce names correctly.
"I just talked with the cook, and we think that Sayif's initiative to meet is a huge trap."
"A trap?" Angel exclaimed, "You mean to suggest that I shouldn't go?"
Song Heping said, "This is also for your safety, you know, we still have a responsibility for your security."
This statement was not against his conscience.
After all, she had genuinely spent money to hire them; they couldn't just watch her die.
But Song Heping's statement definitely didn't mean to prevent Angel from meeting Mohammed Sayyaf.
On the contrary, he was eager for Angel to meet Sayyaf.
Otherwise, how would they get down to that five million dollars?
"No, I must go!"
Angel's desire for recognition still overcame her fear.
"This meeting is too important, I can't afford not to go!"
Seeing her so determined, Song Heping was inwardly delighted.
Previously, the cook had worried that Angel might be too frightened to go.
Song Heping had remarked then that with Angel's character, despite her seeming whiny when things got tough, she was a woman fiercely passionate about her career and would never miss an opportunity to shine.
Now, Angel's response confirmed what he had previously discussed with the cook.
The cook also discreetly gave Song Heping a thumbs up from the side, showing his admiration.
"Alright then."
Song Heping spoke gravely, "Taking people's money to ward off their disasters. You are our employer, and since you have decided to go, we will definitely do our best to ensure your safety, but you must cooperate with us, follow all our arrangements, otherwise I cannot guarantee you won't die here."
"Of course!"
Angel was delighted when Song Heping agreed.
"Hold on!" The cook intervened at this moment, "Miss Angel, for this second meeting with you, we need to apply for some intelligence resource assistance from the company. Otherwise, with just a few of us, we cannot guarantee your safety if something happens. All these involve expenses, such as drones or signal tracking services, which are paid services…"
"No problem," Angel said, "money is not an issue!"
Song Heping now witnessed the cook's ability to gather wealth.
In tactical guidance, he was superior to the cook.
But when it came to making money and business operations, the cook was the expert.
It was he who had requested assistance from Thomas, yet through the cook's manipulations, there were additional charges?
It seemed the mercenary business also couldn't escape commercial thinking; understanding how to manage was key to maximizing profits.
This maneuver by the cook had successfully fooled the naive Angel.
"Right," Song Heping remembered something, "This time, we need to track Sayif's phone signal to confirm that it is him coming to meet you. So during every call, you need to try to extend the talk time as much as possible to assist the technicians, understood?"
"Understood!"
The satellite phone rang just as Angel finished speaking.
Checking the number, it was indeed Mr. J, also known as Sayif.
Song Heping signaled Angel to answer and delay the time.
Angel followed suit.
...
Normalcy had been restored in Krasa Town by then.
The US Army's 4th Mechanized Division, Victory Camp, had already stationed in the town, but they had not engaged in combat with the Sadam loyal Suicide Squad.
The members of the Suicide Squad had withdrawn from the town, leaving only some bodies and destroyed vehicles behind.
As the US Army conducted searches in the town with local ICDC forces, a US Army RC-12 electronic reconnaissance plane codenamed "Guardrail" had already been deployed over the area, cruising at an altitude of 4,000 meters.
The RC-12 was fitted with a communication intelligence and direction-finding joint system, a formal piece of equipment for the Army's intelligence sector.
The system's main task was to intercept enemy command and control systems, weapon systems, radars, and other communication electronic signals emitted by transmitters, and to locate these targets.
The satellite phone used digital signal transmission, which meant the signals were first processed digitally, then transmitted via satellite, making them easily distinguishable.
The RC-12 quickly caught the conversation between Angel and Sayif. Although the satellite signals were encrypted and hard to decrypt, as long as the conversation was long enough, it could locate the positions of both parties.
Unfortunately, this time, Sayif didn't seem to be held up for long; he only left an address.
"They want us to arrive in Sajir Town by two before dawn. He will call me precisely at two to inform me of the exact meeting place in the town. If we can't make it on time, he will cancel the meeting," Angel hung up the call with Sayif and stared at Song Heping, "Where is this Sajir Town?"
"It is 30 kilometers south of Tikrit, about 90 kilometers from here," the cook was very familiar with the map, "But I should warn you, there are suspicions that Sadam is hiding in Tikrit, so the area has the most frequent battles. To this day, the coalition forces can't say they control Tikrit. It will be very dangerous to go there."
"Do we have any other choice?" Song Heping spread his hands, "It seems there isn't, right?"
Grey Wolf was straightforward, "Since there are no choices left, let's go."
Soon, all the sentries were withdrawn, and everyone got back into the vehicles.
One of the Lincoln bulletproof cars was damaged, so the only Lincoln left for the Mercenary Group was the one the cook and his team had used before.
Fortunately, the translator Samir's Humvee had most of its occupants run off, leaving only him and two other subordinates, with White Bear and Queen volunteering to take the Humvee, while Song Heping, the cook, Grey Wolf, and Angel remained in the Lincoln.
The convoy quickly left the refinery.
Tikrit was situated to the north of Krasa Town.
The "Musician" Mercenary Group drove north, heading for Sajir Town at top speed.
Above them in the night sky, the RC-12 followed closely.
Additionally, an MQ-1 Predator that had taken off from the Green Zone was also deployed, heading towards Sajir Town.