Chapter 1924 - 1417: Walker Out of Control (Part 2)

"It seems the weather isn't on our side."

Swift, who had been silently standing in the corner, suddenly spoke up.

Everyone in the command room turned to look at him.

Swift and Walker are in charge of different sectors; Walker is responsible for equipment transfer and logistics coordination, while Swift handles intelligence integration and coordination.

In theory, the two are not subordinate to each other, but in practice, Walker often holds the advantage due to his connections with certain people in Washington.

At this moment, Swift walked slowly toward the console.

"Under certain conditions, the northern Illiguo mountains can naturally form dense fog," Swift pointed at the meteorological data. "But if someone releases smoke agents or weather intervention agents at the right location, it's entirely possible to create or extend the duration of the fog to cover the transfer of a large convoy."

Walker stared at Swift: "What are you trying to say?"

"I'm saying this isn't something the 1515 remnants could pull off," Swift met Walker's gaze. "This isn't a terrorist attack, it's a professionally orchestrated military operation. The attackers had time, intelligence, and resources. Most importantly, they knew the convoy would be passing through there, and they knew what's loaded on it."

The command room fell into dead silence.

Walker suddenly punched the console.

Boom!

The metal surface emitted a dull thud, overturning the coffee cup beside it.

The semi-warm coffee splashed out, spreading a stain on the map of the northern Illiguo area, coincidentally covering the location of Amadiye Canyon.

"It's Song Heping! It must be him!" Walker gritted his teeth, each word squeezed out through clenched teeth: "Only he has the motive to do this!"

"Evidence?" Swift's voice remained calm: "Walker, we currently have no direct evidence pointing to Song Heping. No attackers' bodies were left at the scene, no weapon remnants traceable to a specific force. Are you concluding based solely on your claim?"

He pointed at the screen: "Based on thermal imaging and radar data, the attack happened in a very short time. The first round of salvos was likely covered by mortars or rockets. Look at these crater distributions—"

Swift enlarged the explosion points marked on the map.

"Six shells landed simultaneously, creating a perfect kill zone. Then heavy machine guns suppressed from both sides of the mountains, and finally, infantry rappelled for cleanup. The entire process wouldn't exceed fifteen minutes."

Swift turned to face Walker: "Tell me, Walker, in the northern Illiguo, what other force is capable of carrying out an ambush of this level? The Tenth Border Defense Division? Whose troops are they?"

"The Tenth Division was exercising north of Mosul last night."

Walker said, but his tone was no longer so certain.

"That's right! It must be the Tenth Division that did it! Damn! That Samir is just Song Heping's dog! FUCK! I should have guessed it earlier!"

He began to lose control of his emotions, swearing profusely.

The atmosphere in the command room grew increasingly tense.

A few young operators exchanged glances. Some put on headphones and quietly turned around, clearly not wanting to hear too much undesirable content.

Walker became aware of this.

He took a deep breath, forcing himself to calm down, but the veins on his temples were still throbbing.

"Everyone." Walker scanned the command room: "What you just saw and heard is classified as the highest level of confidentiality. According to Article 104 of the Unified Military Judicial Code, any unauthorized disclosure of this information will be treated as treason. Is that clear?"

"Yes, sir!"

The response was uniform but somewhat shaky.

"Continue monitoring the area, search for any possible convoy tracks. I want updates on the report every ten minutes."

After speaking, Walker turned to Swift.

"Let's talk alone."

The two walked into the intelligence analysis cubicle adjacent to the command room.

The cubicle is designed with acoustic shielding; once the door is closed, outside noise disappears completely.

"What did you mean by your earlier words?" Walker stared at Swift: "What are you implying?"

Swift didn't immediately answer.

He went over to the mini fridge, pulled out two bottles of iced water, tossed one to Walker, and opened another to take a big gulp.

"I mean, this matter is more complex than it appears."

Swift candidly said: "Walker, we've both been in this business long enough to know the rules. Some deals can be made, but they must be done cleanly. If done uncleanly..."

He paused, shrugged: "Then all participants must face the consequences."

Walker opened the water bottle but didn't drink: "Consequences?! You think a contractor can make us face consequences!?"

Swift interrupted him: "I've warned you not to underestimate Song Heping!"

"You're just a coward! A wimp!"

Walker, already filled with rage, felt as though Swift's words were blaming him, causing him to explode again.

They stared at each other, and the air in the cubicle was nearly sparking.

"So you knew, you knew beforehand he was going to act? To take action?!" Walker said: "You knew, but you didn't prevent it or report it."

"Why should I report?" Swift countered: "This is your 'business,' Walker. As long as it doesn't impact my area of responsibility, doesn't endanger the Alliance Army's operations, and doesn't leave evidence that could backfire on us, what you do is none of my concern. Besides, I warned you! And I also have no evidence proving Song Heping had the exact transportation routes to target the convoy; you arranged the route yourself, and now you're blaming me?"

"And now what?" Walker raised his voice: "Now the goods are gone! Equipment worth several million US Dollars, including twelve sets of 'Spring Blade' 300 loitering munition systems, forty 'Stinger' Block II missiles, two hundred 'Crow' small drones—these were sensitive pieces of equipment the higher-ups specifically requested 'special handling' for! Now they're all fucking vanished!"