The meeting ended only after 9:00 PM, with almost 20 hours remaining until the operation.
The members of the action team, whether from Team A (covering the operation) or Team B (undertaking the assault), had already prepared to be deployed into combat as soon as they boarded the airship, the Air Dominator transport aircraft, earlier.
This meant that for the next several hours, until the hour before the operation's scheduled start when everyone would gather to check their equipment, there would be nothing for anyone to do.
Under a high-alert combat readiness status, they couldn't leave the base for a casual stroll in the city.
All they could do was patiently "hibernate" within the base.
Dragon Zhan had planned, even during the meeting at the DG headquarters building, to find Mandy and talk to her to resolve the misunderstandings and get to know the CIA senior intelligence officer better.
Now that there was time to kill, he decided to stay at the base.
With Team B members scattered around doing their own things—some were sleeping, some walking their military dogs, and others like Clay were tinkering with various high-end equipment—Dragon Zhan brewed two cups of coffee using the machine, adding two sugar packets to each, and found Mandy alone in the conference room, daydreaming.
"You don't look too well. Has work been exhausting lately? Drink this to help you wake up," Dragon Zhan said in a familiar tone, as if speaking to an old friend, even though this was the first time he was speaking with Mandy.
"Thanks!"
Mandy looked up, and seeing Dragon Zhan, who had impressed her earlier with his performance, she didn't refuse the hot coffee he handed her.
"I'm really sorry about what happened last time at the kill house. I hope you can forgive me. If you're still upset, I'll let you hit back. But you need to be able to land a blow first because I've studied Tyson's butterfly step, fast as lightning."
Dragon Zhan's teasing yet humorous tone, coupled with his exaggerated head movements pretending to dodge an imaginary punch, made Mandy laugh uncontrollably.
"Your smile is really beautiful, like the stars at night—charming yet mysterious."
Dragon Zhan was not shy with his compliments. After all, most women liked flattery, and a sweet word often worked better than anything else.
Most of the men at the base were married, and the only bachelor, Sonny, had his sights set on Diaz. Meanwhile, Mandy's role as a special "intelligence agent" meant it had been a long time since any man had praised her in such a bold way.
Now, with Dragon Zhan's daring compliment, she felt embarrassed, hiding it behind her coffee cup.
After taking a sip, she looked at Dragon Zhan with a more complex expression.
Mandy liked her coffee with two sugar packets, a habit that set her apart from most people. Dragon Zhan, however, had made her coffee just the way she liked it.
Was it a coincidence? Or was it intentional?
Mandy couldn't tell, but one thing she was sure of was that her mood had lifted after spending some time with Dragon Zhan.
With her mood lightened and her feelings soothed, her perception of him had completely changed.
As their conversation deepened, covering amusing incidents from their daily lives, the earlier awkwardness faded away.
They ended up having lunch together at the base, and after dinner, they walked together around the base.
The relationship between them progressed smoothly, though they weren't quite best friends yet. At least, they had become friendly enough to greet each other with smiles.
…
2:30 AM!
After a few hours of sleep, Teams A and B were all awake and gathered at the base's departure point, preparing for the final checks before the mission.
This was a mandatory procedure before every mission.
On one hand, they checked all the equipment and gear to ensure nothing had been tampered with or damaged, making sure everything would function properly during the operation.
For instance: Were the infrared night vision goggles fully charged? Was the IR laser pointer working?
Electronics, after all, sometimes break down for no apparent reason.
On the other hand, adjustments were made to certain equipment and protective gear to better suit the specifics of the operation.
Since this operation was a stealth mission, the primary concern was concealment.
Therefore, they needed to check whether everyone had switched to subsonic ammunition to minimize gunfire noise. If not, they had to replace the ammunition.
Grenades attached to tactical vests posed a risk of triggering their safety pins during the night operation, so cheap yet effective black vinyl tape was wrapped around the top of the grenades to secure the safety pins beneath it.
Other checks included making sure silencers were tightened, determining whether the heavy bulletproof vests were suitable for the environment, and ensuring there were night operation-compatible tracer rounds in the magazines.
All these seemingly "insignificant" details were essential to special operations, accumulated over decades of experience through life-and-death situations by counter-terrorism forces.
The operational strength of special forces is built upon these unnoticeable, meticulous preparations.
3:30 AM!
The base's main gate creaked loudly as it retracted.
"Move out!"
With Jason's command, "Snoopy" was once again on the move.
Seven men—either tall and muscular, solidly built, or stocky—each fully armed and quite large—had a tough time fitting into the 4-meter-long van.
Fortunately, the mission's constraints meant that the target building had narrow hallways and required climbing to the second floor. They couldn't carry backpacks weighing over 60 pounds filled with combat supplies.
Instead, they carried smaller tactical backpacks, similar in size to school bags, which could only hold essential items for close-quarter combat (CQB) like plastic explosives, equipment batteries, and emergency medical supplies.
Without the seven large backpacks consuming space, Team B barely managed to squeeze into the van.
After about 20 minutes of "turtle-paced" progress, with the "Snoopy" van groaning all the way, they finally arrived outside the Lionheart Town.