Chapter 1804 - 1376: Hell on the Screen_2

Delta Force soldiers wore all-terrain camouflage, their faces painted with camouflage grease, the muzzles not directly pointed at anyone, but fingers on the trigger guards, ready to fire at any moment.

What was even more infuriating, was that hundreds of Iliko Government Army soldiers had been disarmed, sitting by the roadside, faces mixed with humiliation and rage.

Their weapons were piled aside, guarded by two Delta Force soldiers.

Colonel Khalid saw Song Heping, and immediately rushed over, his face reddening: "They barged right in! Saying that this place is now under US Army control! I protested, but that major general just had his soldiers point their guns at me!"

Song Heping patted his shoulder, signaling him to calm down.

Then he headed for the entrance.

A Delta sergeant stopped him: "Sorry, sir, this area is now a military control zone."

"Get out of the way!"

Song Heping didn't even look at him, directly heading inside: "Duke! Come out and talk!"

A few seconds later, the largest tent in the center of the tent area had its curtain lifted.

Major General Duke came out.

He still looked the same.

Neatly trimmed short hair, well-ironed combat uniform, the stars on his shoulders polished bright.

A tall, thin civilian man followed him, wearing glasses.

Song Heping immediately recognized him as the new CIA station chief at the Iliko Station, less than a week in the role, who he once crossed paths with in Baghdad but hadn't interacted with.

"Song."

Duke greeted him like an old friend.

"You came pretty fast."

"If I didn't come now, something would have happened here."

Song Heping's voice was cold as ice water.

"Explain why my people are fighting hard at the front, and you're causing trouble here? Are you trying to emulate Kote?"

Duke made a gesture, and the nearby Delta Force soldiers who were holding their guns at the ready lowered their barrels, though still tense in posture.

"Necessary measures. The people here weren't very cooperative, and I was pressed for time, so I had no time to explain to them and had to forcibly take over first."

"Duke. This is my operational area." Song Heping said coldly: "Why are you disarming them? These are Iliko Government Army, and you consulted the Ministry of Defense before interfering with another army's management?"

"Actually, I did."

Duke pulled out a folded document from his breast pocket and unfolded it before Song Heping.

"Joint counter-terrorism agreement between the Iliko Government and US Army, Clause Seven: Regarding high-value terrorist targets, US Army has the right to take temporary control measures when necessary. It was notified through diplomatic channels, sent at 3 am today."

Song Heping took the document and quickly glanced it over.

The format correct, the seal intact, even carrying the signature of the Deputy Minister of the Illigo Ministry of Defense.

He handed the document back: "So you're here to arrest someone. Among eight thousand civilians, just after a chemical attack happens, and my troops suffer heavy casualties, you're here to add to the mess?"

Duke's expression remained unchanged: "The timing is indeed poor, I admit. But urgent situations wait for no one."

"What situation justifies you coming to create chaos at such a time?"

Song Heping's patience was exhausted, saying impatiently: "My soldiers were killed by gas in Titrick, Duke, Abu You's life is uncertain, and Samir's advance troops lost one-third of their men. And you're here to cause trouble just to catch a terrorist?"

"Not just any 'terrorist'."

The tall, thin man standing next to Duke spoke.

"Mr. Song, I've heard a lot about you, let me introduce myself, I'm Lemont, CIA Iliko Station Chief. The person we're looking for is named Misu. He's Buckdadi's exclusive messenger, possibly the only one in Iliko currently who knows Buckdadi's exact hiding location, and he came to Iliko this time to deliver Buckdadi's handwritten letter to Zakavi, initiating this chemical suicide attack."

Song Heping stared at him for a few seconds, then suddenly turned to Duke: "So you already knew Zakavi had chemical weapons. You knew what would happen today."

"We suspected he might have them but weren't certain." Duke corrected: "Intercepted communications three weeks ago mentioned a 'special gift'. But we didn't know exactly what it was or its deployment location."

"And you didn't share that intelligence."

"We issued a warning." Lemont interjected: "Through diplomatic channels, to all relevant parties."

"A generalized warning." Song Heping sneered: "'Possible chemical weapon threat'! We can receive a dozen of such warnings every month. On the battlefield, what we need is specific information! What weapon, possible deployment locations, how to identify it. Not a diplomatic statement shirking responsibility."

The atmosphere outside the tent was as tense as a drawn bowstring.

The Delta Force soldiers' fingers shifted back to the trigger guards, while Song Heping's guard instinctively tightened their grip on their weapons.

Duke raised his hand toward the Delta Force troops, making a downward pressing gesture.

"Arguing about this is pointless, Song. The current fact is, Misu might be among these civilians. He was once a chemistry professor, and if Titrick's chemical weapons were homemade, he likely participated. If we catch him now, we might find Buckdadi. And catching Buckdadi—"

"Can end this war, save more lives. I'm familiar with this rhetoric."

Song Heping interrupted him: "For greater interests, some small sacrifices can be made. But those 'small sacrifices' are my soldiers. They have names, they have families, and today they died in that city."