“Eric, I know who this woman is, her identity is quite special. I need to report to JSOC and suggest that Bravo Team temporarily cancel the operation, withdraw, and hold a meeting to discuss this before we make a decision.”
Things had taken an unexpected turn, and Mandy had to suggest this to Eric, the team’s commander.
“Okay then, we’ll do as you say.”
Eric also realized the seriousness of the situation. He picked up his communication earpiece and ordered, “Bravo 1, this is Eric. The operation is temporarily canceled, bring everyone back.”
“Bravo1 received. Over.”
Seeing the woman being taken into the target building, Jason frowned, ended the call with the operations center, and immediately started packing his things while ordering, “Gather the team, take everything with you, prepare to evacuate.”
Hearing Jason's orders, everyone started packing their gear without asking any questions.
Such was the speed and efficiency of the special forces.
……
Bravo Team would leave this town the same way they entered it.
Although the time had changed from night to day, since they were leaving, they didn’t have to worry about getting followed anymore, so this wasn’t a major issue.
The seven burly men of Bravo Team squeezed into a cramped van, swaying as they returned to the operations center located in the city. Upon arrival, they were immediately summoned into the conference room.
As Long Zhan walked into the conference room, he sensed that today’s meeting was unusual.
The scene before him was familiar!
On the wall in front hung an over 70-inch LCD screen. On the screen, was a long conference table filled with high-ranking military officials.This was the high-level video conference convened specifically to rescue the woman, straight from the TV show.
From the emblem on the wall behind and the flags on the right, it was easy to tell that this was the United States Joint Special Operations Command.This was the highest-ranking department of the US Special Forces, it oversaw the command of all US Army, Navy, and Air Force special forces, including Delta Force, DEVGRU, and the Air Force's 24th Special Tactics Squadron.
These gentlemen, most of whom were over 50 years old, were all Long Zhan's future superiors.
When he first watched it on TV, he simply thought it was imposing, but now, sitting in the conference room in person, the atmosphere gave Long Zhan a completely different feeling.
To face the pinnacle of the military and sit together with them in a meeting, this is what it truly means to be a special forces soldier!
The conscript and mercenary he had been in his past life, as well as the two years he spent in the Navy SEALs in this life… he had been nothing more than a war machine.
……
“I believe everyone is now in position. Ms. Ellis, please tell us what information we currently have regarding this unfortunate American citizen.”
The admiral sitting in the main position on the screen began the video conference as soon as he saw Bravo Team enter the room.
Mandy, as the chief intelligence officer for this operation, stood in front of the screen and reported, “Sir, her last name is Marshall, Stacey Marshall.
Last April, she was abducted from an NGO (non-governmental organization) center in South Sudan and has been held captive for over 10 months.
Currently, our intelligence cannot ascertain how she fell into the hands of Boko Haram.
We suspect this is just a case of trafficking and reselling hostages. Western women that are very attractive are often resold multiple times to fetch a higher ransom, which is why Ms. Marshall ended up here.”
Terrorists kidnapping citizens from various countries for ransom happens every day.
The U.S. has always seen itself as the world’s police, placing itself in a superior position and not allowing its hegemonic status to be shaken.
Once it discovers that any of its citizens have been kidnapped, it will spare no expense to rescue them for the sake of their prestige.
This time is no different!
“Eric, have you prepared a plan to bring this young American citizen home to her parents,” the admiral asked.
His tone was casual, as if he were discussing something mundane over a cup of tea.
These high-ranking special forces leaders, who came from military academies like West Point, haven't had to participate in any actual special operations. The US Special Forces model doesn't allow officers to participate in grassroots combat. They've climbed to their current positions without ever facing any danger, relying solely on their seniority and political maneuvering.
They seemed unaware of how dangerous it would be to enter a terrorist stronghold to rescue a hostage.
They also didn’t seem to realize that one wrong remark of theirs could lead to the sacrifice of many special operations personnel.
Of course, it's also possible that they were fully aware but simply didn’t care.
They only wanted to package the rescue of a hostage into a tear-jerking story to gain more political benefits for themselves.
“Sir!”
Before Eric could speak, Mandy Ellis jumped in first.
“If Samir continues to live, it means that hundreds more will die, including civilians in Africa and our other allied forces.
“Moreover, we believe that he may have already realized that we are planning on capturing him. If we try to rescue one hostage, we risk…”“I’m going to stop you right there, Ms. Ellis.”
The admiral dismissed Mandy’s remarks with a hint of mockery in this voice, saying, “Are you suggesting that we should not rescue Ms. Marshall, and instead continue on with our current mission to capture Abu Samir alive, which we now know would be putting an American citizen at risk?
“I don’t think that’s appropriate, it is our responsibility to protect every American citizen.”
No wonder he could become an admiral, his rhetoric was impressive, and any American citizen hearing it would surely applaud.
“Rescuing hostages is indeed our duty, but capturing Samir is equally important. We cannot let him go free,” Mandy continued to argue.
Mandy specialized in counter-terrorism intelligence work, and her thinking leaned more towards “risk assessment.”
“Enough.”
The admiral seemed a bit impatient, not wanting to continue the argument with Mandy. He turned to the operation group commander and asked, “Eric, do we have the capability to rescue the hostage while successfully capturing the high-value target?”
This was indeed a clever way to shift the focus of the conversation, and Mandy could only helplessly back down.
“Sir, it’s difficult to give a definitive answer. We need time to discuss and come up with a plan.”
Eric spoke conservatively, as they indeed had not yet held a meeting to discuss the operation plan.
“Sir!”
At this moment, Long Zhan suddenly stood up.
“I have a plan that has a high probability of accomplishing both missions simultaneously. I wonder if you’d like to hear it.”
Long Zhan’s voice was exceptionally loud, and while it seemed he was addressing Eric, he was actually using the microphone to ensure that the big shots on the other side of the camera could hear him.
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