"Food, yours."
His English was worse than an Asian's.
The terrorist with a veil and an AK47 placed a plate of muddy soup and a piece of black bread on the table in the room. He mockingly glanced at the man squatting in the corner and slammed the door shut.
After he saw the man leave, Robert moved weakly and quickly moved to the side of the table. He grabbed the bread that was as hard as a rock.
His blonde curly hair had some grease on it, and his face had turned a weak yellow, but his eyes were still clear. Even if he didn't know what kind of soup was in front of him, and the bread in his hand was almost too hard to chew, he didn't show the slightest frustration.
He chewed very carefully, even if the food in his hand was as hard to swallow as pig feed.
But he also knew that this was the only way to maximize energy absorption and preserve his stamina so he could seize the opportunity to escape when the time came.
The expression on Robert's face was very relaxed. Even when the unfortunate reporter squatting next to him screamed like a pig being slaughtered, he didn't show any emotions of fear.
Without a doubt, that person was definitely dragged into a horror film with his throat slit. After all, most governments would never compromise with terrorist organizations and pay ransom for hostages. Maybe in two days, he would see that unlucky guy again on Facebook in the form of a video … if he could survive and go online.
It wasn't the first time Robert faced a dangerous situation like this. He was kidnapped by guerrillas in Kuwait and almost had his neck slit. Fortunately, Blackwater International did something after receiving the money. They cooperated with the UA Marine Corps and rescued him in the nick of time.
But now, the situation was a bit uncertain. Although he was a UA citizen and what he did a few years ago was in the national interest, his smuggling of crude oil from Iran in the past two years had been targeted by the FBA. Apparently, special agents were collecting evidence in this area, but there was no need to worry. It was very likely that the sudden betrayal of the informant was the FBA's trick of borrowing a knife to kill him. Then why would the UA send someone to save him?
Barton was a coward. He was afraid that after the FBI gave him a few warnings, he would join some witness protection program and sell out his old friend.
Robert wasn't too angry about this. He had seen many betrayals. If he died here, then that bald Bud would be lucky, but if he made it back to Los Angeles alive … Humph.
A vicious smile appeared on Robert's face.
Of course, all of this was nonsense. After all, his chances of survival were quite slim. Although Nick was trustworthy, he was also a decent warrior. But no matter what, he was only one person. It was too unrealistic for him to deal with a group of fully armed terrorists.
What's more, it was a hostage rescue, so he had to make it quick.
Shaking his head in self-mockery, Robert ate the last bit of bread and lay back on the bed.
His instincts told him that he would be fine this time. His intuition had saved his life more than once, so he trusted his intuition and did not give up hope of survival …
…
When Jiang Chen got off the plane, his feet stepped onto the ground of Baghdad International Airport.
The city filled with a religious atmosphere was not exactly as the news portrayed it to be in dire straits, at least not near the airport.
The scars left by the war on this city filled with exotic charm were gradually healed by time. The foreign tourists coming and going at the airport also seemed to prove this point. Of course, he also knew that this prosperity had its limits.
IS already occupied half of Northern Iraq. Even if the sky above Baghdad was still clear, it wouldn't be long before the sky was once again filled with the color of war.
Wearing sunglasses, Jiang Chen stood in front of the airport for a while before he took out his phone to search Google Maps. He quickly found the location where he agreed to meet Nick.
Just as he was about to hail a taxi, a car without a license plate stopped in front of him.
"Sir, do you need a taxi service?"
It was Chinese? Although it was not fluent.
"Indeed, do you know Chinese?" Jiang Chen was slightly surprised. After a moment of hesitation, he opened the door.
"Because I often find work near your oil wells, such as picking up and dropping off CNPC employees. After a while, I learned to speak Chinese. " The young man smiled, revealing his white teeth, and started the car. "My name is Isa. What about you, sir?"
"Jiang Chen, go to this location on the map." Jiang Chen directly pointed the location on the phone to Isa.
"Okay."
Jiang Chen looked at the changing scenery on both sides as he chatted with the taxi driver who looked about the same age as him. He heard a lot of interesting things.
"Sir, if you are here to travel, I recommend a few cities in the south that are quite interesting. Don't go north. Town Haditha has almost fallen. It won't be long before Baghdad is not safe anymore. "
"Oh? Looks like you know a lot about this area. How long have you been doing this? "Jiang Chen asked with a smile.
"Almost six years. After I retired from the army, I started working as a taxi driver. I also worked as a tour guide for a while." Isa grinned.
"You were in the army? I don't think you're older than me. "Jiang Chen was confused.
"I joined the army when I was 12 years old. In your words, it should be called the Iraq War." Aiza shrugged his shoulders and said, "A farce that even the enemy couldn't see, and it was over in no time. At that time, I felt like Saddam had given me a gun, and I had to rush to the front line to surrender. "
He was shocked at the young man's experience, but he didn't continue the topic.
The car soon arrived at the destination, and Jiang Chen generously handed him 10 USD. Looking at the direction the car left in, Jiang Chen stretched his back and began to search for Nick.
"Over here." Just then, a foreigner drinking coffee under the shed suddenly waved at Jiang Chen.
Jiang Chen sat across from Nick. Nick spoke hurriedly before he could even sit down.
"Are you alone?"
"That's right." Jiang Chen picked up the empty cup and poured himself a cup.
It was bitter, and it seemed to be the pure Turkish coffee.
Jiang Chen took a sip before putting it down. He noticed the slightly disappointed expression on Nick's face.
"Oh? You look disappointed? "Jiang Chen raised his eyebrows.
"You should be strong, but with just the two of us, it'll be hard," Nick said in a low voice.
"I'm not only strong in terms of skills. You'll know when the time comes." Jiang Chen shrugged. "Where's your weapon?"
"In the car. Do you need me to prepare one for you?" Nick saw that Jiang Chen was empty-handed, so he asked.
"No need, my weapon is ready. I believe you already have clues about your boss. We'll go rescue him now. Hehe, he still owes me a business deal. " Jiang Chen smiled. His tone was relaxed as if he didn't care about the terrorists at all.
Jiang Chen's "underestimation" made Nick frown, but there was no better way. It would be dangerous to drag this on for another day.
As a soldier, his instinct told him that this person was not weak, but he wasn't sure of the specifics.
"We'll talk about the specifics in the car. Robert's situation is not looking good. If you saw the news yesterday, IS already executed a UA reporter. If they don't receive the ransom by tomorrow, IS may kill the hostage. "Nick lit a cigarette and handed one to Jiang Chen as he led him to his car.
"Your boss can't afford the ransom?" Jiang Chen put the cigarette in his mouth and lit it up.
"IS asked the UA government for it," Nick said emotionlessly.
The meaning behind it was self-evident.
The car started. Nick controlled the steering wheel and drove out of the city. They passed by two security checkpoints along the way, but they only checked symbolically and were allowed to pass after they found no bombs. The rifle Nick hid under the seat also passed through the security checkpoint twice.
On the way, Nick explained to Jiang Chen what kind of trouble they encountered this time.
About five days ago, Robert was invited to Iraq by his old friend Barton. An arms order worth 20 million USD, the buyer was a Kurdish military officer fighting against IS on the frontline. It was a common practice in the desert to place orders with Merika middlemen and obtain additional military supplies. Although Robert felt something was wrong, he didn't doubt it too much.
After all, this was a 20 million USD deal, and he could make more than a million USD from it.
Barton, that old guy, was just too kind!
Yes, that was very interesting …
They finally managed to get the arms to the frontline of the battle between the government forces and IS, but they didn't expect to see a group of extremist militants chanting "Allah Huba Aka".
Nick was indeed a good fighter. With an M27, he killed at least nine fearless criminals, but it was useless.
In order to intercept this batch of arms, IS, who obtained "secret intelligence", sent at least one infantry company, equipped with heavy machine guns, RPGs, and other firepower. In a matter of minutes, he was beaten black and blue and almost died there.
The firearms fell into the hands of IS and Robert was captured. Nick desperately carved out a path of blood and finally escaped to a safe area.
Of course, this didn't mean he would leave his boss behind. Robert saved his life. But he knew he had to escape first to save his boss.
He had been wandering in Haditha since he had a feeling that IS didn't take Robert to the rear. Sure enough, the next day, he suddenly received a call from an unknown number. The person on the other side of the phone claimed to have found a ten dollar bill. On it was written, "Call this number and tell him the location of the bill. You will receive a reward of 100 USD." Nick's first reaction was that it might be a trap, but it was his only clue. After meeting up with the Arab man, Nick paid him 100 USD and followed him to the area where the bill was found.
Fortunately, it was not a trap. Robert was indeed an old fox. He always had a ten dollar bill hidden under his shoe. He believed that the first UA Treasury Secretary could bring him fortune. At the same time, he could save his life at a crucial moment.
Obviously, "Hamilton" saved his life.
"Why didn't you contact the embassy? Isn't your UA soldier an expert at rescuing hostages?" Jiang Chen's expression was relaxed.
"It was the FBA's doing. Those idiots couldn't find any evidence, so they just wanted to get rid of the troublesome Robert." Nick had a cigarette in his mouth. He had already put on his sunglasses, so Jiang Chen couldn't see his expression.
"Oh? I thought Robert represented the interest of your government. "Jiang Chen shrugged.
"Yes in Iraq, yes in Kane, but not in Iran." Nick simply summarized the problem. He turned the steering wheel and drove off the road.
It was obvious that Robert trusted his bodyguard very much since he even told him these inconvenient things.
Speaking of this, Jiang Chen seemed to remember that Robert told him before that he had done oil smuggling. He must have exposed himself and was targeted by the FBA.
"Not going on the road?"
"There is an IS checkpoint in front of us. We can't pass through. Also, we are almost there. "Robert calmly drove into the alley and turned off the engine.
Jiang Chen opened the door, got out of the car, and looked around. It seemed to be a ghetto. Occasionally, one or two children peeked their skinny faces out of the window and curiously looked at the two foreigners. But very soon, a big hand would reach out and pull those active children back, and then the window would be tightly closed.
"Looks like these civilians are quite sensitive to war." Jiang Chen smiled and threw away the cigarette in his hand.
"From the moment they opened their eyes, they experienced war." Nick took out a backpack from under the seat and slung it over his shoulder. When he saw Jiang Chen's calm expression, he raised his eyebrows. "Are you okay with this?"
"No problem, trust me." Jiang Chen sighed.
"In Iraq, China's Kungfu is useless."
"In the eyes of you foreigners, do all Chinese know Kungfu?" Jiang Chen laughed.
[Do I have to show off my skills?]
Jiang Chen's right hand reached behind his back and opened the storage dimension. In Nick's eyes, it only looked like a shake, but a handgun appeared in Jiang Chen's hand.
Nick was shocked. Even a veteran like him didn't notice where Jiang Chen hid the gun.
Also, he didn't have any impression of the gun.
"What is this gun?"
"Type-11 tactical pistol, custom-made. Don't worry about it." Jiang Chen put the pistol in his bag and shrugged.
After witnessing this scene, Nick nodded and didn't say anything more about his abilities.
Just like that, Jiang Chen followed Nick to the building where Robert was detained.
You've already exceeded your reading limit for today. If you want to read more, please log in.
Login
Select text and click 'Report' to let us know about any bad translation.
