Chapter 885 - 822: Flawless?

"Do you think an old fox like Pence wouldn't know how much of a threat the high points around his hotel pose to him?"

Song Heping said in a deep voice, "Especially since he's seen my dossier and knows about my sniper record in Mosul."

"Right..."

Jiang Feng suddenly realized.

Reconnaissance.

This is the key in all the preliminary processes of a mission.

You have to consider everything and ensure nothing goes wrong.

If we rashly head to the rooftop of the Telecom Building, if Pence already has scouts there, there will definitely be a firefight.

By then, it would be too late.

As he pushed open the fire door to the top floor of the commercial building, a wave of heat hit him face-on.

The afternoon sun in Chad poured down like molten iron on the concrete rooftop, making the ground scorching hot.

He gestured for White Bear and Jiang Feng behind him to stop, carefully observing outside while sticking close to the door frame.

"Safe."

He murmured, his voice drowned out by the roar of the rooftop air conditioning unit.

The three quickly dispersed, each finding cover.

Song Heping took a high-power binocular from his backpack, adjusted the focus, and aimed at the N'Djamena Hotel three streets away.

The nine-story yellow building gleamed golden in the sunlight, with nothing on the rooftop heliport.

"Eleven o'clock direction, Telecom Building rooftop."

Song Heping slowly moved the binoculars.

"Did you see the reflection?"

Jiang Feng adjusted his observation mirror following the instructions.

"Damn, it's sniper scope glare. They've indeed controlled the best sniper positions."

White Bear lay on the side, assembling a rangefinder.

"Distance to the hotel is 412 meters, perfect range. That old fox Pence has blocked all our paths."

Song Heping's lips tightened.

In the binoculars, behind the water tank on the Telecom Building rooftop, a black figure was faintly visible, with a high-precision camera set up nearby.

That was no ordinary security guard but a professional sniper spotter.

"Look again at the two o'clock direction, that red apartment building." Song Heping turned the binoculars.

"Another one," Jiang Feng gritted his teeth. "Behind the curtains on the seventh-floor balcony, I see the barrel of a gun."

White Bear suddenly lowered his voice, "Boss, nine o'clock direction, bank building rooftop!"

Song Heping immediately switched directions. Beside the billboard frame on the bank building, a man in local attire was watching the surroundings of the hotel with binoculars.

The man had a communicator on his ear, and the bulge at his waist was clearly a gun.

"All three sniper points are controlled."

Song Heping put down the binoculars, the sweat on his forehead dripping onto his eyelashes.

"Pence has turned the entire area into his safe zone."

Jiang Feng punched the concrete ground, "Damn! This old guy is harder to crack than a turtle shell. If we move any of the sniper points, Pence in the hotel will know immediately."

White Bear wiped the sweat from the rangefinder, "Boss, what do we do? That position on the Telecom Building is too perfect, if we can't use it..."

"Wait." Song Heping suddenly raised his hand to interrupt him, the binoculars realigned with the hotel rooftop, "Look at that small house next to the heliport."

Jiang Feng adjusted the focus, "Looks like an equipment room?"

"No, it's a guardhouse." Song Heping's pupils slightly narrowed, "There are two people at the door, wearing hotel uniforms, but their stance is military. Look at the bulge at their waists."

White Bear whistled, "Pence even has his escape route ready. That helicopter can take him away at any time."

Song Heping's satellite phone vibrated in his pocket at this moment.

He quickly took it out and answered, "Speak."

"It's me." From the other end, Weber's voice came, "We just intercepted a hotel internal line call, Pence increased his gym time in the afternoon, from three to four. Additionally, the front desk record shows he booked a helicopter for tomorrow morning. This indicates he won't be staying at the hotel for long, you need to hurry."

Song Heping exchanged glances with his two teammates, "Got it."

He hung up the phone and then looked at his watch - 4:17 PM.

"Not much time left." Jiang Feng anxiously tugged at his collar, "The Shepherd has been out of contact for over 20 hours, Pence will get suspicious any moment."

White Bear suddenly pointed at the hotel, "Look! Gym!"

On the eighth floor of the hotel, behind a full-length window, several figures were moving. Song Heping immediately increased the magnification of the binoculars and saw Pence appearing in front of the window wearing a white tracksuit, followed by three bodyguards.

This former CIA deputy director was thinner than in the photos, his grey hair meticulously combed, talking into a phone.

"Damn, he's on a call!" Jiang Feng tensed up, "Could he be contacting the Shepherd?"

Song Heping's temples throbbed.

In the binoculars, Pence's expression gradually turned grim, the call seemingly not going well.

He made a gesture, and a bodyguard immediately drew the gym curtains, blocking the view inside.

"We need a different approach." Song Heping put away the binoculars, signaling to leave, "Return to the safe house."

The three quickly cleared traces and left the rooftop.

In the elevator going down, Jiang Feng couldn't help asking, "Old squad leader, do you have an idea?"

Song Heping stared at the floor indicator numbers continuously changing, whispered, "Not yet, I need to think."

Half an hour later, inside the safe house.

The three sat around the tactical board.

Song Heping drew a circle on the hotel floor plan with a red marker.

"The key is here—the rooftop heliport." He tapped the circle, "Pence booked a helicopter for tomorrow morning, but with his caution, he'll definitely check the escape route in advance."

Jiang Feng pulled up the image data provided by Geoffrey on his laptop, "The hotel rooftop guards change shifts every two hours, we've observed four armed guards so far."

"When does the helicopter arrive?" White Bear asked.

Song Heping took out his satellite phone, opened a message just sent by Weber.

"According to aviation control records, it's a Bell 429, flying in from neighboring Cameroon tomorrow morning at seven."

"Are you thinking of making a move only when he's on the helicopter?"

Jiang Feng voiced his concerns, "But our sniper rifle is just an M24, not an anti-materiel sniper rifle, it won't take down the helicopter."

"Could we create a fire alarm inside the hotel, forcing an evacuation of guests for safety?" White Bear suggested his plan, "We ambush him at the exit of the fire escape for the Presidential Suite."

"Do you think this is a movie?" Song Heping shook his head, rubbing his fake beard, "Conducting a raid inside the building is the most troublesome, the corridors are too narrow, bodyguards will form a human wall. Success rate won't exceed 40%. Plus, we'd be in a tough fight, with Chad's military and police on the way, we'd be in big trouble."

The room fell silent.

Every plan had obvious flaws, and time was ticking away.

Suddenly, the satellite phone vibrated again.

Song Heping took out the phone, this time not a call, but a message.

It contained just one line—"Intercepted Pence just sent a code via encrypted channel—'Shepherd hurry home.' This is an emergency recall signal."

Song Heping's pupils constricted—this was a sign that Pence was beginning to suspect.

They might only have a few hours left.

"Change plans." Song Heping suddenly stood up, his voice sharp as a blade, "Make the move on the street."

"On the street?!"

White Bear and Jiang Feng didn't grasp it immediately.

"How do you make a move on the street?"

"Make him come out." Song Heping turned to Jiang Feng, "When you were in the army, did you ever catch snakes during field survival training?"

Jiang Feng was stunned for a moment, then nodded, "Of course!"

Song Heping said, "When a snake goes into a hole, how do you catch it?"

Jiang Feng answered without thinking, "Block the hole, smoke it out, force it to come out."

Song Heping said, "Exactly, we need to force Pence out of the hotel."

White Bear's eyes lit up, "Fire alarm?!"

"No."

Song Heping said, "No time to explain now, White Bear, quickly take out all our explosives, bring them; Jiang Feng, go to the nearby hardware store and buy 20 kilograms of screws, nails will also work."

"Screws, nails?"

Jiang Feng was stunned.

"Yes, hurry! I'm giving you fifteen minutes! Drive there!"

Song Heping's tone was unquestionable.