Chapter 651 - 593: Meticulous Planning

The killing of Diki did not have any impact on the squad led by Song Heping.

That's the way PMC operates; combat is merely business, devoid of emotions.

Moreover, what about an American?

The South American team members in the squad had few good impressions of the Americans.

What follows is a long wait.

Reconnaissance is an extremely grueling task.

Each reconnaissance team must record everything during their assigned time, including entries and exits of personnel and equipment, sudden incidents, and even sketching terrain maps and recording every terrain detail of the target point when there's nothing else to do.

At nine in the morning, Song Heping and Jiang Feng switched shifts, then Song Heping returned to the cave in the hiding spot to rest.

This cave, said to be a cave, is not exactly one; it is merely a crack between two colossal boulders of the mountain.

This location was chosen as a hiding spot because it is more than seven hundred meters from the Main God Mountain; it is neither too close nor too far. It is within the range of sniper coverage, able to handle some emergencies, and the location is adequately concealed, so people from the Ata Organization going to Main God Mountain would not pass through this mountain.

Moreover, the altitude here is not lower than that of Main God Mountain, giving it certain geographical advantages. If necessary, one can head west where there are many potential landing spots available for calling in helicopters to provide retreat support.

After reviewing the Main God Mountain conditions and maps reported by various groups, Song Heping became concerned.

Main God Mountain is far more complex than he had imagined.

He arranged for Lange to reconnoitre the mountain from different directions, and just in one day, they noted nine possible entrances and exits.

This is quite disadvantageous for an ambush.

Song Heping had initially planned to use the "disturbing the snake by hitting the grass" strategy, calling in US Army planes to bomb the mountain directly after dusk.

Previously, discussing throwing GBU-57 Ground Penetrating Bombs with Willie was merely a joke, and Song Heping wouldn't dare actually do that.

That thing is loaded with over two tons of high explosives, producing a destruction effect akin to a small nuclear event after explosion, and capable of penetrating 60 meters of reinforced concrete or 40 meters of mountain rock.

If the hostages were to be killed by this, then everything would be utterly ruined.

"Willie."

After lunch at noon, Song Heping took the initiative to find Willie.

As before, these two American Special Soldiers always appeared out of place, even in a cave, where he and Dax found their own corner, maintaining minimal communication except for reporting the situation here to the forward command, and rarely engaging in basic interactions with members of the Falcon Squad, which added an air of mystery to them.

"Song, what's the matter?"

Willie was very polite when he saw Song Heping coming over.

On a personal level, Song Heping did not dislike Willie.

Willie was a quiet person, holding the rank of Captain, but beyond that, Song Heping knew nothing else about him. Miles had not mentioned anything else in the briefing, just that two people were sent to assist.

But Song Heping could guess that Willie and Dax must be Special Forces personnel, probably from ISA, although the first time he collaborated with ISA in Afghanistan, he had not seen them.

Either they were deployed elsewhere before, or their unit was not under Niki's command.

Besides working, Willie just closed his eyes and rested against the cave wall, not much of a talker.

Song Heping did not like people who talked too much.

"I want to discuss my plan with you."

Song Heping took out the hand-drawn terrain map, spread it on the ground, and started to introduce the characteristics of Main God Mountain.

"...So far from our observation, there are 9 entrances and exits, maybe more, and there's a path to the east. If you follow it for three kilometers, there's a mountain valley pass which, if held, could block an enemy force ten times our size. I suspect this place would be their preferred escape route..."

The reason why Special Soldiers need to draw maps by hand is that neither regular official maps nor the latest 3D technology generated electronic maps can provide the most specific details and situations on the ground.

"Once they retreat, they will definitely go this way, because about ten kilometers east from here is the border with Algeria. Once past that, there is a range of mountains. I guess the Ata Organization's stronghold within Ba Country is in those mountains, so once they are under aerial attack, they'll definitely think the US Army's main force will come, or that a storming force will enter here to fight them. If I were Hou Saini, I'd also take the hostages away from here, and then we can set an ambush here in advance, catching them off guard..."

"Over there is Dobagagel Ridge. A lot of intelligence shows that Alta's hideout is there, but every time Ba Country has been perfunctory. Every time we organize an operation, the plans get leaked. However, we have no authority to operate independently there, otherwise we would have eliminated them long ago."

Willie clearly agreed with Song Heping's statement, his finger stabbing at the western side of the map, as if piercing Dobagagel Ridge itself.

"But there are many details that require the support of the Air Force, not just bombing, but also at least two Black Hawk helicopters and two Apache armed helicopters forming an air group to collaborate with our operation."

"We don't have much time, we'll start moving after dark, making our way to control the advantageous terrain near that valley, then wait for the bombing to arrive…"

"Wait a minute. Since that area is the best route for retreat, Hou Saini will definitely post guards there, after all, it's their lifeline."

Willie raised his own concerns.

"If we go there and occupy the advantageous terrain, we'll definitely clash with them, which would alert them to our presence and make them choose another route to escape."

"I've thought about that," Song Heping replied, "So I've already prepared a tactical plan. Even if Hou Saini has people guarding the crucial pass, we can stealthily eliminate the guards at the valley entrance at night. As long as the operation is successful and we take them out before they have time to resist, everything will be fine."

"Hmm, makes some sense…" Willie was convinced, nodding repeatedly, "If it fails, the entire operation will fail."

"Isn't that what special operations are all about?" Song Heping smiled, "Like a precise machine, if it malfunctions, it jams, leading to disastrous consequences."

Having said that, he continued pointing at the map, "When the bomber takes off and reaches the airspace near Main God Mountain for the bombing, the helicopter support group must be on their way. If the Student Army's people escorting the hostages pass here on their way to retreat towards Ba Country, we will take action to eliminate them all and rescue the hostages. The entire fight must be controlled within half an hour, because that's enough time for the people at Main God Mountain to react and come to support. Once we feel their extensive support approaching, my plan will be ruined."

"Even though our raid is very successful and can finish the fight within half an hour, that might not necessarily mean victory. The helicopter squad must act fast; if they can't arrive in time, we have a 90% chance of dying there."

"What about the other 10% chance?" Willie asked curiously.

Song Heping said: "You can never say for sure with good things in this world. If something really happens, we will have to adapt on our own. But among the 14 of us here, how many can actually survive to the end remains an unknown."

Song Heping spent over ten minutes detailing his plan.

Willie listened with a furrowed brow, pondered for a while before saying, "This plan is good, I agree. Besides, I believe no one else can think of any other solution since we cannot employ ground troops."

"Then let's report it. Let's get ready and rest a bit. These past few days, the Student Army's main force is probably engaged in combat with your troops and the British Army. Based on the inflow and outflow of people here, there are at most two companies' strength."

"Ok, I'll report it and ask them to prepare for the bombing and helicopter support."

"Wait."

Song Heping stopped Willie, who was preparing to contact headquarters.

"Tell them not to use large ground penetrating bombs; don't accidentally kill the hostages."

Willie nodded slightly, "Alright."

As he turned to report the plan, Song Heping sensed something unusual.

When he just cautioned not to use large ground penetrating bombs, Willie nodded in agreement, but there was a fleeting strange expression in his eyes...

He couldn't help but look towards Willie and Dax.

It took a while before he could pull himself back from his thoughts.

After all, there was still much to prepare for, and tonight's operation must succeed; failure meant death.

But the expression Willie had just made lingered uneasily on Song Heping's mind, weighing heavily on him.

This operation was too strange.

From the very beginning, not mentioning the Green Berets hostages, to Willie and Dax being usually quiet, yet always avoiding others when they finally spoke, their expressions were exceptionally gloomy during their conversation, as if they were planning something indecent.

"Just have to take it one step at a time..."

Song Heping comforted himself.

Heaven never seals off all exits.

If these two were up to some mischief, he would simply take them out and throw them into the mountains to feed the wolves!