15:00
Dapunia, Beside Pabna-Ishwardi Highway
Sohel was sitting in the driving seat of the Honda he rented. Aria was showing him unusual activities in Dapunia around an abandoned two-story house. Many people were seen getting in and out of the house at night, and last night a truck unloaded a lot of jute bags in the house. Sohel carefully checked the satellite video footage a few more times and commanded Aria to remove the footage. He called Naomi.
"Naomi, come to Dapunia right now. Bring the Whisper-wing with you."
"Right now?"
"Yes, get here fast. Leave Jacob with my friends so they don't get suspicious."
"Yes, sir."
"And for the last time, DON'T CALL ME SIR. It's weird."
"Why? You're senior in rank."
"But not in age. Naomi, we are of the same age. OK? So stop addressing me as sir when it's not official."
"Ok. Sir."
Sohel got annoyed, but Naomi hung up the phone before he could say anything.
15:28
Naomi reached Sohel's location and saw Sohel waving at him from inside the car. She reached the car and sat on the passenger seat beside the driver. She brought a small briefcase with her. She looked at Sohel and opened the case as he nodded looking at her.
The case contained a tablet and a few drones that looked like flies. As Naomi started operating on the tablet, the drones flew into the house and started streaming footage on a screen fitted with the case.
They looked around every room one by one but found nothing unusual. Every single room was dusty and full of decade-old furniture. As they were getting baffled, the camera caught a small pocket behind a closet with the drone's ultrasound. As the drone flew behind the closet, they found a staircase going down. They flew the drone down, and their eyes widened as they looked at the screen.
They saw lots of jute bags piled atop each other but what was more suspicious was that 4 gunmen were gossiping. It seemed like they were there to guard those bags.
Sohel looked at Naomi and said, "Bring the drone back and get ready."
"With what?" Naomi asked.
Sohel got out of the car and opened the trunk. Naomi followed him, and her eyes widened as she saw their gear laying in the trunk.
"I knew we would fight. So I brought it with me. Now gear up quickly."
Both of them wore plate carriers over their normal outfits and a full-face helmet on their heads.
"Ready?"
Naomi Nodded.
Sohel connected Aria with his headset.
"Aria, do you copy?"
"Solid copy, boss."
"Turn on night vision on my lens and get a UAV in the air. Keep scanning for more hostiles in the area while we sweep through the house."
"Yes, boss."
Sohel checked his comms and said, "Ghost to Medusa, how copy?"
"Solid copy, LT."
"Good. Let's move."
Both of them silently approached the porch of the house. Sohel had his M17 in his hands while Naomi was equipped with an MP5 submachine gun.
Sohels turned the knob, but the door was locked. Sohel then hinted at Naomi to move to the back of the house. They moved back slowly. After searching for a bit, they found a broken window. At that time, Aria informed them that the UAV had been deployed successfully. Sohel asked,
"Give me a sitrep."
"There are 4 tangos in the basement. Nothing else is coming up on the scan for now."
"OK. Keep me updated."
Sohel entered the house through the broken window and came up to the kitchen. After clearing the room, he opened up the door for Naomi. As Naomi entered, he pointed her towards the switchbox.
She reached for the box and opened it. Sohel carefully lifted one side of the closet, moved it and climbed down the stairs. Just a few steps away, Sohel ordered Naomi to switch off the electricity. As Naomi did it, he waited for a moment as he heard them talking; he understood that they thought it was a normal power outage.
One guy got up, saying he was going up to get a lamp. Sohel moved. He turned on his NVG and got down silently. They were on their phone trying to turn on torches. He checked the room and quickly hit three of them on the back of their heads with his pistol's butt.
As the 4th guy heard the cry of his companions, he startled and tried to run up. But before he could, Sohel shot the guy in the leg. He orders Naomi to turn the electricity back on and come down.
Soon the room lit up, followed by a footstep. Naomi came down and stood beside him. Sohel dragged the wounded guy and sat him down on a chair. After interrogating him for a long time, he talked. As they heard the guy spill their plans, their faces turned from angry to fearful to horrified.
19:45
Sohel said, "ARIA, contact Dhaka HQ."
ARIA replied, "Securing connection. Contacting..."
"This is Seven Nation Army regional command. How may I help you?"
"This is Bravo squad leader call sign: Bravo 2-1 Alias: Ghost; asking for a secure connection to General Overlord."
"Bravo 2-1, please state your ID."
"SCBD19."
"1st Lieutenant Sohel Chowdhury identified. Wait a moment, Ghost. You'll be connected with the overlord shortly."
A few seconds of silence later, a rugged but heavy voice said, "Yes, Ghost, this is Overlord. Give me a sitrep."
"Sir, I and Medusa identified a safe house in Dapunia. After sweeping the house and interrogating a tango, we found out..."
"What did you find, Ghost?"
"Sir, Lu Shen is trying to steal uranium from Rooppur tomorrow. And to cover up the heist, he plans to blow up the plant afterwards. What should we do, sir?"
"Do we have concrete proof that Lu Shen is involved?"
"Unfortunately no, sir. He says he was hired by a phone call for the heist. But Lu Shen is behind it for sure. Or he wouldn't suddenly appear in Pabna after staying dark all this time."
"Stay low for now. Tomorrow go to the powerplant and try to gather evidence as well as thwart the heist. Overlord out."
"Yes, sir. Ghost out."
"What did he say?" asked Naomi.
"We are to lay low for now and foil their plans tomorrow."
Aria suddenly said, "Captain, you should get out fast. 3 bogeys are incoming this way. 15 tangos total."
Sohel got scared and annoyed at the same time and said, "Why didn't you warn me before?"
"Sorry, boss. My scans didn't pick the bogies until a moment ago."
Both of them run towards the door and get to the car. As they start the car, the goons reach the compound. They try to duck and hide but get spotted.
""FUCK!" Sohel cried as he pressed the gas pedal all the way.