Chapter 1815 - 1379: Deployment to the Special Operations Joint Task Force (3)

Lemont's voice was steady, but Song Heping noticed he skipped some time points.

He jumped directly from 2013 to 2014, missing nearly a year of information in between.

"In August 2014, Misu left Baghdad for Siria. At the time, 1515 Armed was taking advantage of the Syrian civil war to expand crazily, desperately needing technical talents."

Lemont switched the photo, the image became a surveillance screenshot of the border area, blurry but recognizable as Misu's face.

"He soon gained importance with his professional knowledge and became a core member of the 1515 chemical weapons project, receiving a meeting with Buckdadi and becoming his confidant."

The photos switched quickly.

A crude laboratory, chemical containers, personnel in protective gear. One photo showed Misu next to a pile of steel cylinders marked "chlorine gas."

"Between 2015 and 2017, 1515 launched at least twelve confirmed chemical weapon attacks in Illiguo and Siria, causing over eight hundred civilian deaths."

Lemont's voice became heavy.

"All the chemical weapons used in these attacks came from the laboratory Misu was responsible for. He not only manufactured the weapons but also trained others to use them."

A Delta Force captain raised his hand: "So he's a thorough extremist?"

"Seems like it."

Lemont nodded, but Song Heping noticed he slightly avoided eye contact.

Interesting...

Lemont continued: "He went from a mild scholar to a core technical expert of 1515, a process we're still researching. But the point is that now, he is one of Buckdadi's most trusted technical experts and might hold clues to Buckdadi's whereabouts."

General Duke walked to the whiteboard and took over the conversation: "Our mission is clear: find Misu, extract all intelligence from his brain—especially information about Buckdadi's hiding place. Misu is one of the few people who might know Buckdadi's whereabouts."

He paused, scanning the room with his gaze: "But I want to clarify the rules of engagement. The priority is to capture him alive. However, if circumstances do not allow, if he is about to escape, or if the capture mission endangers our personnel, then lethal force may be used."

Song Heping's brain was quickly analyzing.

Priority for capture, but lethal force permitted.

If Misu is really crucial to finding Buckdadi, then even with casualties, he should be captured alive.

Unless they don't want him to speak.

"Song." Duke looked at him: "I need your troops scattered along the border line. This is your area of operation—"

A map appeared with a dozen blue markers, distributed along the Iraq-Syria border, from the Sinjar Mountain Area to the Rabia Plain.

"Deploy one squad per point, monitoring 24 hours. Your advantage is your mercenary status, this is your territory, not as conspicuous as us. If anything is found, report in time; the Delta Force will execute the mission immediately. You only need to handle the perimeter monitoring and interception. Understood?"

"Sounds simple enough." Song Heping smiled: "My troops can be in position before dawn tomorrow."

"Good." Duke nodded, turning his gaze to the captain of the Delta Force: "At the same time, the Delta Force will act on another CIA lead. In the border town of Badi, Nineveh Province, there is a suspicious person, a retired teacher, also one of Misu's few relatives in Illiguo, his uncle. Intelligence indicates he may have had contact with Misu last week. Tomorrow morning, Team A will carry out an arrest, hoping to obtain Misu's real-time location."

The briefing lasted another forty minutes.

Next, Lemont provided more details.

The aliases Misu might be using, his preferred type of transportation, his health issues such as mild asthma requiring regular inhaler use.

But regarding Misu's activities from 2013 to 2014, about the specifics of his transformation, Lemont remained always vague.

After the meeting, the Delta Force soldiers left swiftly to prepare for the dawn operation.

The CIA team packed up their materials, Lemont took one last complex glance at Song Heping.

Captain Walker walked over: "Mr. Song, your accommodation is on the third floor. The rooms are assigned, each room has basic facilities. The cafeteria is on the first floor, providing hot meals. You can find me if you need anything."

"Thank you." Song Heping said: "Can the communication devices used by my troops access your command network?"

"We will provide encrypted radios, but the command network is separate."

Walker answered cautiously.

"You can receive orders and send reports, but cannot access the intelligence database. This is the security protocol."

"Oh, okay then."

Song Heping nodded meaningfully.

These Americans are still very cautious.

The third-floor corridor was covered with a worn-out carpet, once possibly red, now turned dark brown by dirt and stains.

There were bullet holes in the walls, some filled with putty hastily, some left open, exposing the bricks and wires inside.

A musty smell permeated the air.

Song Heping's room was at the end of the corridor, room 310.

The door was a regular wooden door, but the hinges were newly replaced heavy-duty steel hinges, and the lock was a high-security electronic lock.

Walker gave him a door card and a six-digit password.

"Change the password every day, updated at six in the morning." Walker said: "In case of emergency, there are evacuation routes within the building, the map is behind the door."

The room was small, less than ten square meters.

A camp bed, a metal table, two folding chairs.

The window glass was shattered, taped with plastic sheets, rustling in the wind.

There was a simple clothes rack in the corner of the room, a military storage box on the floor.

Song Heping checked the room, ensuring there were no eavesdropping devices or hidden cameras.

Soon, he discovered three hidden cameras.

One in the smoke detector, lens pointed at the bed; one behind the grille of the air conditioner vent, covering the entire room; the third, most concealed, was in a screw hole of the power outlet, well disguised, but the slight color difference between the metal screw and the plastic edge exposed it.

The Americans wanted to monitor him.

This was both expected and revealed more information.

They didn't trust him, or rather, they feared he might discover something.

Song Heping directly dismantled all the cameras.

This kind of trivial matter, anyway, everyone knew tacitly.

After dismantling, they wouldn't admit it, nor would they take it for discussion.

The secret battle was an unspoken mutual understanding.

After checking the room, he walked to the window, looking at the gradually darkening sky outside.

He watched the scenery for a while, then checked the time.

Then he took out the satellite phone and dialed Henry's number.