Chapter 17: Preparing to Depart (Seeking Collections, Recommendation Tickets, Monthly Tickets)
"Bell, Mohadi has agreed. The commission for 200 people for one month will be in the account tomorrow. He now needs us to escort his family safely to the port to board the Huaxia warship." Michael put down the phone and relayed the content of the call.
"Wasn't their safety always the responsibility of the Intelligence Bureau?" Nikita asked.
"The President was kidnapped. Do you think Mohadi still dares to use people from the Intelligence Bureau?"
"Alright, I was just about to go give Dong Qin her personal belongings. Also, there's a rebel informant at the port. It's a good chance to catch them and get some information." Xu Chuan, holding Dong Qin's backpack, walked out while shouting, "Williams, Sanborn, come with me. Swagg, Pike, Curtis, take the other car."
"Smith, have Modok prepare the plane. Get ready to depart for Bassem. Have everyone else prepare for departure." After making arrangements, Xu Chuan got into the car and drove towards Secretary-General Mohadi's official residence.
After picking up Mohadi's family and escorting several bulletproof Mercedes-Benzes, Mohadi didn't put all his trust in Umbrella. He also had his trusted subordinates organize a portion of reliable Government Army soldiers to act as guards. Surprisingly, they arrived at the port without incident.
"Swagg, get out of the car first and find a sniper position," Xu Chuan directed via the walkie-talkie. "Understood."
The car behind slowed down slightly. Swagg agilely jumped out of the car and quickly ran into a nearby building.
"Everyone else, pay attention. We're not entering the port. We'll circle around from the front and break away from the convoy. Watch out for a silver-gray SUV on the east side of the road."
"Received"...
As they passed the target, Xu Chuan, sitting in the passenger seat, looked past Sanborn, who was driving, towards the target vehicle. Then he picked up the walkie-talkie and said, "It's a female. Everyone be careful. These lunatics usually wear bomb vests."
"Pike and I will control the target, Sanborn will assist, Curtis will watch the perimeter, Williams will check for explosives. I repeat, watch her hands."
"Received."
The two cars circled the port entrance, their front ends facing the target vehicle. Through the car window, they could see the target person seemingly bowing her head, preparing to make a call. Xu Chuan seized the opportunity and shouted, "Ram it."
Sanborn, who was driving, didn't hesitate for a moment and slammed on the accelerator. The modified military Humvee roared like a monster, crashing into the right side of the target vehicle.
The civilian car's exterior was basically like paper in front of this modified, bulletproof armored Humvee. The engine compartment was completely deformed from the impact. The target inside was pulled by inertia, first hitting the passenger seat on the right side, then bouncing to the driver's side door in the opposite direction, her head smashing against the car door glass, splattering blood.
Xu Chuan pushed open the car door and swiftly lunged out, like a cheetah leaping over the engine compartment. He pulled open the car door, and before the opponent could instinctively reach for her waist, he firmly grabbed her hands and pulled her out of the car. The woman, her face covered in blood, struggled and resisted madly, like a beast that knew it was heading towards destruction.
Xu Chuan used almost all his strength to pull half of her body out of the car, practically lying on the ground.
Pike pulled open the back seat door and, in an extremely awkward posture, pinned down the target's legs. Curtis quickly circled around, delivered a fierce punch to the target's ribs, and then threw his entire body onto the target, holding her upper body.
This punch finally became the last straw that broke the camel's back. The severe pain in her ribs significantly reduced the target's struggling force. "Williams, she has something on her waist!" Curtis shouted.
"Coming!" Williams ran over with his tool bag, knelt on the ground, and tore open the target's outer clothing. A black canvas belt was tightly tied around her waist. "Shit, a bomb belt."
Sanborn stood by, holding an MK18 and keeping watch, nervously saying, "Careful, buddy. That thing can blow us to pieces."
"Shut up, fuck, I know that!" Williams carefully inspected it. No one urged him.
"The safety is off. It'll explode with just a press of a switch. Boss, we're so lucky," Williams said, his face covered in cold sweat.
Feeling that the target's hands were no longer resisting and she seemed to have given up, only cursing them with various vicious words, Xu Chuan finally breathed a sigh of relief.
Williams very carefully reset the safety, removed the detonator, and after confirming it was safe again, cautiously took it off the target's body. He stood up and ran dozens of meters away to place it in an open area.
Curtis pinned the target to the ground on one knee, tied her hands behind her back with specialized restraints. Xu Chuan sat on the ground, looking at Templeton Pike, who was sprawled in the back seat of the car, a clear shoeprint on his handsome face.
Xu Chuan couldn't help but smile. Pike looked up, "Fuck, next time you take the lower half." Xu Chuan laughed at what sounded like a suggestive remark. Pike also laughed, and the two bumped fists.
"Nice work," Xu Chuan was pulled up by Sanborn. Williams and Sanborn had only recently been recruited into Umbrella. Both had previously been members of the Navy Marine Corps Explosive Ordnance Disposal unit.
The two were lucky to survive and retire, but even unluckier to encounter the financial crisis. To support their families, they had no choice but to return to their old profession and the place they knew best.
"Boss, I found this," Williams handed over a disposable phone. Xu Chuan opened the call log; there was only one number, and the most recent call was three hours ago.
"You two pick up Swagg and take this woman back to Niki," Xu Chuan said to Curtis and Pike. "Take this phone back and have Berkhoff check the call records inside."
"Understood."
Xu Chuan had Williams and the other man wait outside the port, while he took Dong Qin's backpack and walked in.
On the warship, Yang Rui and Luo Jialing were both looking out with binoculars. They had watched Xu Chuan and the others' actions from start to finish. Luo Jialing wiped the cold sweat from her forehead, "Good thing I didn't bring you along. Otherwise, the two of us would have almost certainly met our end here."
"Tsk, you've been in the office too long. You have no sense of crisis at all," Dong Qin jumped off the railing. "I'm going down to meet him."
"Ah, good thing I didn't let this girl come with me. If anything happened to her, I'd definitely be dead," Luo Jialing said with lingering fear.
Yang Rui put away his binoculars, "Look on the bright side, if the bomb exploded, you'd die instantly, and nothing else could happen to you afterwards." He pulled Luo Jialing, who was leaning against the ship's railing. "Safety rule, don't lean on it."
Luo Jialing stood up and pouted, "Heh, you just don't understand this person."
"I'm quite curious, who is this young man? A mercenary?" Yang Rui watched Xu Chuan walking below the warship. Dong Qin happily ran over. They were a bit far, so he couldn't hear what they were saying.
"Just assume he is. Alright, the informant has been dealt with. Let's go back and see how their preparations are coming along. We need to hurry."