"Eric, I know who this woman is. Her identity is quite special. I need to report to JCOC. I suggest we temporarily cancel Team B's operation, withdraw, and hold a meeting to discuss further decisions."
Things had escalated unexpectedly, and Mandy had no choice but to suggest this to the operation team commander, Eric.
"OK, do as you see fit."
Eric realized the seriousness of the situation. He grabbed his clothes and communication earpiece and ordered, "B1, this is Eric. The operation is temporarily canceled. Bring the team back."
"B1 received. Over."
Seeing the woman being taken into the target building, Jason furrowed his brows. He ended the call with the operations center and immediately started packing his things while giving orders: "Pack up, bring everything, prepare for withdrawal."
Upon hearing Jason's orders, no one asked any questions. They immediately started gathering their gear.
This was the speed of a special forces team!
...
Team B entered and exited the small town the same way.
Although the time had shifted from night to day, there was no need to worry about being followed, so it didn't cause any issues.
Team B, consisting of seven burly men, squeezed into the cramped, stuffy van, swaying back toward the operations center in the city. They were immediately gathered into a conference room.
As Long Zhan walked into the conference room, he immediately sensed that this meeting was unlike the usual ones.
The scene was familiar to him!
On the wall ahead, a large 70-inch-plus LCD screen displayed a video conference. The long conference table was flanked by high-ranking military officers wearing uniforms adorned with stars, filling the seats on both sides and at the main seat.
This was like a high-level video conference for rescuing a woman, something you'd see in a TV drama.
The emblem on the back wall and the two crossed flags beside it clearly indicated that this was the United States Joint Special Operations Command (JSOC).
This included top-tier special forces units from all branches of the U.S. military—Delta Force, DEVGRU, the 24th Special Tactics Squadron of the Air Force, and others—all under the highest authority of U.S. Special Forces.
The men in the room, most of them over 50 years old, were the future superiors of Long Zhan, the ones who would report directly to him.
Back when he watched such scenes on TV, he only thought they were cool. Now that he was sitting in the room, the atmosphere felt entirely different.
Facing the military elite and sitting with them for a meeting—this was what it truly meant to be a special forces soldier!
His past as a conscript and mercenary, and even his two years as a Navy SEAL in this life, could only be called "war machines" compared to this.
...
"I believe everyone is in position now. Ms. Alice, please provide the information we have on this unfortunate American citizen," the admiral, sitting at the main seat on the screen, said, immediately beginning the video conference as he noticed Team B had entered.
Mandy, as the intelligence officer for this operation, stood in front of the screen to report, "Sir, her name is Marshall, Stacey Marshall.
Last April, she was kidnapped from a non-governmental organization center in South Sudan and has been held for over ten months now.
Currently, our intelligence cannot confirm how she fell into the hands of Boko Haram.
We suspect this is a case of the common practice of trafficking and reselling hostages. Western women are highly attractive to terrorist organizations and are often sold multiple times for higher ransoms. This is likely why Ms. Marshall ended up here."
Kidnapping for ransom of citizens from various countries is an everyday occurrence in the world.
As the U.S. has always considered itself the world's police, it consistently positions itself as superior, unwilling to allow its hegemonic status to be shaken.
Whenever an American citizen is kidnapped, they will go to great lengths, no matter the cost, to rescue them.
And this time was no different!
"Eric, have you prepared a plan? To bring this young American citizen back home to her parents?" the admiral asked.
His tone was casual, as if he were simply having tea.
These high-ranking officers, who had come from prestigious military academies like West Point, had never faced real special operations combat. Their careers, built more on seniority and political maneuvering than on direct action, had led them to this lofty position.
It seemed they had no concept of how dangerous it was to enter a terrorist's lair to rescue a hostage.
They didn't realize that their seemingly trivial words could cost the lives of many special forces personnel, who might come back as nothing but ashes.
Of course, it was also possible that they knew the risks but simply didn't care.
They just wanted to turn the rescue of one hostage into a tear-jerking story to gain more political capital.
"Sir!"
Before Eric could speak, Mandy Alice jumped in.
"If Samir stays alive, it means hundreds more will die, including African civilians and allied troops.
And in fact, we're fairly certain he's already aware that we're coming after him. If we focus solely on rescuing a hostage…"
"I'm going to interrupt you there, Ms. Alice," the admiral said, dismissing Mandy's argument with a hint of mockery. "Are you suggesting we abandon the rescue of Ms. Marshall to continue focusing on capturing Abu Samir, letting an American citizen remain in danger?
I don't think that's acceptable. It is our duty to protect every American citizen."
As expected from a man who had risen to the rank of admiral, his rhetoric was polished and convincing. If any American civilians were to hear him, they would undoubtedly cheer.
"Rescuing hostages is indeed our duty, but capturing Samir is equally important. We can't let him remain at large any longer," Mandy continued to argue.
Mandy specialized in counterterrorism intelligence, so her thinking was more risk-assessment-based.
"OK."
The admiral, growing impatient, turned to the team commander and asked, "Eric, do we have the capability to rescue the hostage while also successfully capturing the high-value target?"
This was a clever way to change the subject, and Mandy had no choice but to fall back.
"Sir, it's hard to give an accurate answer right now. The situation is too urgent. We'll need time to completely revise the mission plan."
Eric was being cautious, as they hadn't yet discussed the operational plan.
"Sir!"
At that moment, Long Zhan suddenly stood up.
"I have a great plan. There's a high chance we can accomplish both missions simultaneously. Would you like to hear it?"
Long Zhan's voice was unusually loud, and while it seemed like he was addressing Eric, he was actually speaking through the microphone, ensuring the high-ranking officials on the other end heard him too.