This is a passion work. So, I would really appreciate it if you leave behind a review when you're done reading.
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CH13: ARRIVING AREA OF OPERATION.
The port of Port Harcourt was first opened in 1913 and is one of the oldest ports in the country. It is a natural harbour capable of catering to all manner of cargo. The port is fairly large and thousands of containers are usually docked on it, awaiting clearance from Customs.
Today was unlike any other day as the port was shut down for routine maintenance. No personnel was expected to be on site. However, dozens of vehicles could be seen entering the port's main gate.
After almost an hour of travel, the military helicopter landed in a deserted field in the city of Port Harcourt. The twelve Operators disembarked the aircraft and saw a man waiting for them. The man walked up to them and shook hands with Second Lieutenant Kunle Balogun-Keshinro while introducing himself
"Welcome to Port Harcourt, Ladies and Gentlemen." He said. "My name is Eze Okoro. You can think of me as an NDI asset in PH(1). I'm told we are on the clock, so come. Your vehicles await."
Eze Okoro led them to two cars parked just off the field.
"Alright, both teams know what to do. Each team will take one car. Move out immediately." Second Lieutenant Kunle Balogun-Keshinro said.
He got into the front seat of one of the cars while Staff Sergeant Afeez Bayero took the wheel. The rest got into the back seats and Alpha team drove off.
Before Bravo team got into their car, Korede Balogun approached Eze Okoro and asked,
"Is there another vehicle around?"
"Yes, there is. My bike is just outside the fence. Is there a problem? I was told I only needed to provide two cars." Eze Okoro responded.
"I need you to get my man over there." Korede said as he pointed to the tall building on the horizon. Abdul-Lateef Abdul-Salam approached them carrying his gun case.
Eze was surprised by the request but he knew better than to ask unnecessary questions, so he just nodded. Both he and Abdul-Lateef walked away from the team causing the other team members to be surprised.
"What are you up to?" Corporal Mary Izamoje asked.
"Setting up a contingency" Korede replied cryptically.
Mary was not satisfied with the answer and was about to say something else when Corporal Fatima Mohammed shook her head at her. Mary recalled their mission was merely to evaluate the recruits and keep them safe, not to nitpick their decisions.
When the team had a good look at their car, Corporal Fatima was grateful Korede had sent Abdul-Lateef somewhere else because, unlike the Jeep the Alpha team chose which could seat seven people, theirs could only seat five comfortably. So, if Abdul-Lateef were around, they would have had to squeeze themselves in.
"Temitope, you were bragging about your driving skill during the camp, you're up." Korede said as he threw the keys to Temitope Lawal and sat in the front seat. Fatima sat in the back seat and Mary joined her while pulling Champion Onuoha who had an ugly expression on his face.
Temitope shook his head and got into the driving seat. The car left the field and quickly got onto the main road.
"Champion, by the time we get to the port, I need you to head to the command center and check out their computer systems for me. Report back anything you find." Korede said but didn't receive any response.
He looked back and saw Champion looking at Mary with a displeased expression because of the way she was holding his arm. Fatima also saw this but didn't say anything. Korede chuckled
"Come on, Champ. Isn't it great you're on the same team as your sister? Perhaps, if you show her enough manliness, she would stop treating you like a kid."
Both Fatima and Temitope were surprised by Korede's revelation while Mary wondered how he knew about their relationship.
As if reading her mind, Korede said to her with a smile, "No need to wonder how I know. These past couple years you were on duty, I've been a regular visitor to the Onuoha household. Mr. Onuoha is my programming teacher while in exchange, I taught Champion hand-to-hand combat. Mr. Onuoha couldn't keep quiet about how proud of his adoptive daughter he is."
His smile suddenly turned into a teasing one, "And someone here always complained of how you always treated him like a kid when you're only a few years older than him. Though, he followed in your footsteps the first chance he got."(2)
With all Korede had said, something clicked in Mary's head.
"So you are the so-called prodigy of the Balogun's current generation." She turned to Fatima, "We are in the presence of royalty. Not only is he related to the Team Leader, but he is also the younger brother of Colonel Kola Balogun." She said exaggeratedly causing everyone in the car to chuckle.
'As I thought, he is the best choice for the team leader. Even though he doesn't like making use of his background, he did so for both groups in the team to gel. At least now, they'll give him the benefit of the doubt and listen to his orders.' Temitope mused to himself while glancing at Korede from the corner of his eye.
The others might not know, but he knew Korede revealed his identity on purpose. What impressed Temitope was that he didn't do it blatantly but subtly. He probably already heard about Mary from Champion and had a grasp of her personality. So he used his words in a way that revealed little but enough information about his identity while also teasing both Mary and Champion causing the former to 'retaliate'. Hence, achieving Korede's goal. The tense atmosphere, formerly around the team, eased. (3)
"So?" Korede asked, looking back at Champion.
"Copy" he replied, nodding his head.
Korede faced forward again and looked at the car's GPS
"Alright team. We're almost at the AO. Let switch on our comms and check-in."
They all switched on their comms.
"This is Bravo 1, checking in. Eagle nest, do you read?" Korede said into the comm
"This is Eagle nest. Reading you loud and clear."
"Bravo Team approaching AO. About 5 minutes out."
"Copy that. Alpha Team on-site. Awaiting your arrival."
"Copy that."
"You heard that. Step on it, I thought you could drive." Korede disdainfully said to Temitope. The latter didn't reply but the car accelerated a bit.
"Bravo 3, this is Bravo 1, come in. Have you arrived?" Korede said into the comm.
"This is Bravo 3. Arrived at the location. Moving to a suitable vantage point." Abdul-Lateef's voice was heard.
"Solid copy, Bravo 3. We're arriving at AO now. Report back if things are as I feared."
"Copy that."
The team finally arrived at the Port of Port Harcourt. They first dropped off Champion who made his way to the control terminal/center. Then, they drove into the port. They found a secluded spot to park the car and proceeded on foot.
"Bravo team on-site." Korede said
"Took you long enough. Alpha Team also on-site." Second Lieutenant Kunle Balogun-Keshinro's displeased voice was heard over the comms.
"Copy that, Alpha team. Bravo team, be advised satellite showed about 30 hostiles entering the area in the last 30 minutes. Over" said the comms personnel from Ops command.
"Can we identify which group they belong to?" Korede asked
"We believe all hostiles to be NDz"
Korede didn't like that answer, his bad feeling was getting worse. However, there was nothing he could do at this point. By now he was even more sure the higher-ups knew about what he feared or the last message wouldn't be shared. Unfortunately, both he and the higher-ups were in a bad spot. The mission couldn't be called off now as this was their only lead to the nuke and possible capture of Sharawy.
"Alpha team, Bravo team, you have been given green light. Commence Operation CatchingFire."(4)(5)
[A.N: Please, don't forget to leave a review of the work to encourage me. Your opinion really matters to me.]
AUTHOR'S NOTE / RAMBLINGS
1 Assets are people who provide resources to intelligence officers or agencies but don't work for them. Resources provided could be anything from information, wealth, shelter to even influence. Some are paid in cash while others are in a mutually beneficial arrangement with said intelligence outfit.
2 There's a lot going on with this line. I initially wanted to explain the backstory but decided to leave it to the future. I feel like I've been removing a lot of suspense the way I explain the backstory of every single matter there and there. Will try to start leaving some for the reader to figure out as the story progresses.
3 I hope this came out well. I originally planned for Korede to say something else but decided to change the script into something that would bring the team together. Some people might disagree, but it's human nature to extend some expectation or benefit of the doubt to someone related to a person, group, or organisation of high repute. At least, at first. It's like a passive effect of having a renowned background.
4 These last few conversations were tough. I find myself second-guessing everything. My knowledge of military vocabulary and mannerisms can only be called poor. However, I hope I did a good job or at least was able to create a 'serious but ominous mission' vibe.
5 To the best of my knowledge, only the team leader communicates to Homebase and other teams through the comms. The other members of the team can use the comms to communicate with themselves but they'll mostly be able to hear the response and instructions from Homebase unless it's something confidential. This is done to maintain order. In some forces, team leaders are given special comms that allow only them to communicate with Homebase.
[A.N: Please, don't forget to leave a review of the work to encourage me. Your opinion really matters to me.]