Ultimate Firepower
Chapter 286 - 272: Better to Die than to Give In

Chapter 286: Chapter 272: Better to Die than to Give In

"What’s going on, how did we end up in Libya?"

Gao Yi believed that Marina had already received the news, so he didn’t need to start from the beginning. Although his tone was slightly impolite, it was ultimately due to a problem with the aircraft arranged by the French—it was only right to ask her.

"I don’t know exactly what happened, but I’m sure the Americans took action. What’s the situation on your end?"

"We escaped from the airport, but what should we do next, where should we flee, how can we leave Tripoli?"

Marina remained silent; at this moment, silence seemed very ominous.

Finally, Marina spoke softly, "We used to have a fairly complete spy network in Libya, but now, we have virtually no available manpower there. It’s a forgotten corner, but the key point is, we also don’t have enough resources to waste on Libya."

The Directorate-General for External Security isn’t the CIA, let alone comparing with them, it doesn’t match up to Military Intelligence Sixth Department either.

Maintaining a global spy network is a game for major powers, and France doesn’t have the capability.

"So, are you saying you can’t help?"

Marina, somewhat embarrassed, said, "I’m from the Counterintelligence Department, my authority is limited within France. Outside of France, I have almost no influence. For now, my advice is to find a safe place and then... ask Shaman for help."

The French can’t be relied on—Marina conveyed that subtly.

There was no use wasting time on the French; it was best to stick with more reliable allies.

Gao Yi immediately hung up and made a quick call to Abdulla.

There shouldn’t be a minor problem that needs to go straight to the boss, better to talk to the person directly in charge.

"Hello, do you have any available manpower in Libya?

Abdulla was startled by Gao Yi’s call; after pondering for a moment, he said, "No, we have no operations in Libya, thus no personnel stationed there."

This outcome should have been anticipated, really.

Think about it, since the Libyan civil war ended, how long had it been since Libya had been in the news?

Whether it was an attack in Libya or some armed faction becoming America’s puppet, it simply showed how long Libya had been forgotten by the world.

Libya was shattered, left for the Libyans to fend for themselves. In such a devastated place, who would bother to station numerous spies?

Even the Americans were reluctant to waste resources. If the CIA had a good, usable team here, they’d handle it themselves, there would be no need to use Libyan soldiers to "terminate" Gao Yi and the others.

In the end, they had to rely on themselves—not that they couldn’t seek help from France or Saudi, but there wouldn’t be enough time.

Gao Yi looked at the people in the ambulance, pondered for a moment, and said, "We can only rely on ourselves for now. Where should we run to next? Does anyone have any suggestions?"

The discussion went in circles, coming back to the original issue.

Feng Biao seemed very helpless, he murmured, "Mercenaries are in a tough spot, but at least they know where to retreat to. Us... are we caught in a jar?"

With the sea on one side and the desert on three, being trapped in Tripoli indeed seemed like being trapped in a jar.

The normally escape-savvy Feng Biao had no ideas either.

Gao Yi glanced at the man with the sunglasses.

Gao Yi knew how to wake the man he had knocked out; everyone was clueless, so it was time to ask this instigator for a breakthrough.

As a last resort, at least venting some frustration would feel good.

"Wake up, wake up!"

He rubbed the man’s neck for a while, pinched his philtrum, then Gao Yi slapped the man’s face twice, demanding, "Open your eyes, stop pretending to be unconscious."

The man with the sunglasses finally opened his eyes, his sunglasses already removed.

"You... I..."

Not knowing what to say to start, the man hesitated for a moment, but eventually he just sighed and said, "Forget it."

With a fierce look, Gao Yi demanded, "Who are you!"

Feigning ignorance was also sensible—it was essential to start from what he knew to gradually break down the interrogation subject’s psychological defenses.

The man’s eyes darted around; he seemed to be thinking about how to respond.

Gao Yi wasn’t in a rush and simply continued to watch him coldly.

The ambulance jolted sharply, and after the man was shaken, he suddenly said, "We’re on the road, there’s no place this bumpy inside the airport, does this mean you escaped the airport?"

"You think fast," Gao Yi chuckled and said, "Yes, we escaped."

The man in sunglasses frowned, then his face expressed helplessness, and soon after, it turned into despair.

"You let them escape?"

Although the man in sunglasses seemed to be questioning Gao Yi, it was more like self-mockery. He said with a face full of despair, "Oh, I’m done for, completely done for. I can’t even manage such a simple task."

Gao Yi coughed lightly and said, "Since you are aware of your situation, you should tell us everything you know. You are definitely going to die, but do you want to die after being tortured for a long time, or by a single gunshot? You should know how to choose."

The man in sunglasses looked particularly conflicted.

At that moment, Luca suddenly shouted over the radio, "We’ve been caught up, there are pursuers behind us!"

It hasn’t been that long, and we’re already caught up?

Gao Yi sighed helplessly, then said to the man in sunglasses, "Now, you answer whatever I ask. If you fail to answer even one question, I will blow your head off instantly because you’re not of much value anymore, understand?"

Being interrogated while being chased, the interrogation would inevitably be very simple, very direct.

The man in sunglasses feared this scenario more than anyone.

"Ask then."

"Who are you."

"Joelson Aiden, CIA, Deputy Head of the Libya Working Group, in charge of three people. Our group consists of five members in total."

Five people in total? Gao Yi was somewhat disbelieving.

Unlike France, Libya is currently under American control. How could they have only five permanent staff in Libya?

"The entire Libya, only five people?"

"Nine in total, five in Tripoli side, four in Benghazi. Yes, only so few because Libya is totally under control. We are CIA, do you understand? It’s not the CIA’s responsibility to control occupied areas, now there are more people from the Department of Homeland Security stationed in Libya."

The man in sunglasses now had a name, his name was Joelson, and Joelson now seemed ready to spill everything.

Gao Yi was about to ask more when he suddenly heard two popping sounds. He looked up and saw two bullet holes in the roof of the ambulance, the bullets penetrating one side of the vehicle and then passing out the roof.

Feng Biao glanced at the bullet holes and immediately said, "7.62, judging by the angle, they’re less than a hundred meters away."

By observing the bullet holes made by the bullets, and considering the height of the ambulance, the approximate height of the gun when fired can also estimate the distance.

Joelson seemed even more desperate than Gao Yi.

Gao Yi said gravely, "I won’t ask those meaningless questions now. Tell me, what’s going on with all this."

Joelson did not hesitate and said, "We received a notification that a plane might make an emergency landing at Tripoli Airport, and that an important individual from Sky Garden, a truck driver, was aboard this plane."

"Wait, what? What do you mean by truck driver?"

"I don’t know. All I know is that Sky Garden is a target that must be dealt with, and the truck driver is a vital person who must be eliminated, preferably captured alive."

"Continue."

Joelson took a breath and said, "Our team leader wanted to take charge of capturing the truck driver, but I overtook him. Yes, I fought hard and won over the leader, securing the task of capturing you because I thought surrounding a downed transport plane and then capturing the highly sought-after individual would be a great achievement, especially since this operation is led by ’Freedom Wind.’"

Gao Yi could only say, "Hold on, ’Freedom Wind’?"

"Let me put it this way."

Joelson paused briefly for thought, then he solemnly said, "Freedom Wind is a legendary operation team of the CIA. They belong to the Intelligence Bureau, not the Action Office, but they often operate independently and have high autonomy. Freedom Wind intercepted the truck driver in France, then tampered with the plane he was on, causing it very likely to make an emergency landing at Tripoli Airport."

After speaking, Joelson spread his hands and said, "This is it. A star CIA intelligence group planned an operation and executed it themselves, but because the distance was too far, they needed our help here to capture the target. This last step was supposed to be the easiest, but then I took over the command of this operation and screwed it up."

Freedom Wind, the name sounded a bit juvenile but to accurately locate a flying transport aircraft, infiltrate a heavily secured military airport, plant a bomb or something on the flying aircraft, and specifically control the type and severity of the malfunction to precisely force the transport plane to make an emergency landing at Tripoli Airport.

Every step was difficult, much more difficult than the final capture operation, yet all the most challenging parts were accurately accomplished, only to fail in the last and supposedly easiest part.

Gao Yi looked at Joelson with sympathy in his eyes and couldn’t help but say, "Then you’re really finished, and this operation was even one you took over yourself. Buddy, hope you didn’t secure this task through your connections."

Joelson sighed deeply and then helplessly said, "How could I have secured this task without any backing?"

After saying this, Joelson’s eyes shifted, and he looked earnestly at Gao Yi, "Now that you have captured me, the only one who can order the Libyans to chase you is my superior and competitor, the team leader. If he can capture you and incidentally rescue me, that would truly be my end. Actually, I know I won’t likely survive in your hands, but I can’t let the team leader have the last laugh."

"Oh, you have a way to help us escape?" Gao Yi said, quite surprised.

"No, but I can help you eliminate the team leader."

After saying this, Joelson looked hopeful and said, "As long as the team leader is dead, no one can command the Libyans anymore. Your situation will at least be better than now. What do you think? Listen to me, shall we cooperate?"