35: Chapter 35 Reinforcements 35: Chapter 35 Reinforcements Morgan Reeves was feeling restless and anxious; he had gotten himself into trouble—and it was a dangerously critical situation.
Morgan hadn’t expected his trip to Sudan to be dangerous, but he was aware of the risks of coming to Libya.
However, he had to represent certain people in Washington D.C.
and make contact with the Libyan opposition to handle some delicate matters for the politicians back home, before securing a substantial benefit for himself.
As a businessman—and a very successful one at that—the deals Morgan made weren’t just about how much money he earned.
If this venture succeeded, he would even control the economic pulse of the nation.
So, even though he knew Libya was a ticking bomb, he had no choice but to come.
But what he hadn’t anticipated was the rapid deterioration of the situation and the incompetence of his partners.
It was incomprehensible to Morgan that the leaders of more than a dozen factions, negotiating the fate of a nation, could be intercepted by intelligence agencies.
And despite heavy security, a government force of over one hundred men had attacked the doorstep of their meeting place.
Morgan truly didn’t know if he could turn the tide this time, and what was even more concerning was that his only son was trapped with him in the chaos of Benghazi.
The opposition and the government forces were still engaged in fierce battle, and it was uncertain who would take Benghazi.
But Morgan felt that he could not overcome the immediate challenge; more than a hundred government soldiers had cordoned off the building where he met with the opposition leaders and were continuously trying to breach it.
The opposition, despite numbering over three hundred, could not break through the government’s blockade.
If it wasn’t for the exceptional skills of Morgan’s two bodyguards, who led a handful of opposition guards to keep the government soldiers at bay, the building would have been overrun by now.
But the situation had reached a critical juncture: most of the guards were dead or dying, and the opposition leaders were nothing more than cornered animals—yelling wildly without any effective plans.
Morgan decided it was time to take matters into his own hands.
He drew his handgun, a Colt M1873 revolver, identical to General Patton’s famous ivory-handled Colt M1873.
The Colt M1873 was of much greater value as a collector’s item than for combat.
Although powerful, it was fine for hunting trips, but hardly suited for warfare.
However, Morgan had no other choice.
The main reason he had the gun out wasn’t to provide much support to his bodyguard Simon, but to make it easier to commit suicide.
He would rather die by suicide or get killed by the government forces than be captured alive.
Morgan had lost all hope.
The only consolation was that his only son, Morgan, was with Gao Yang and had successfully avoided the melee.
They should be able to leave the country alive.
The good news for Morgan was that, due to the hasty nature of the attack, the government forces hadn’t managed to bring along heavy weaponry.
They had a few rocket launchers but had used up all their rockets.
If they wanted to take the building, they would have to kill every guard inside it.
However, Simon and his companion were still defending the building’s only main entrance with three guards.
But the worst news was that Simon and the others were running out of bullets.
They had been there for a mere meeting.
Most bodyguards were only armed with handguns, and the four submachine guns were considered heavy firepower.
But now the ammunition for the submachine guns was spent, and the handgun bullets were nearly gone.
If Morgan’s two bodyguards hadn’t been so formidable—ensuring that one bullet meant one enemy killed—the fight wouldn’t have dragged on for three hours without end.
The building had six floors.
Morgan, with his handgun, made his way from the top floor down to the lobby on the first floor.
Without saying a word, he stood behind Simon and aimed his gun at the main door.
Simon glanced at Morgan but said nothing.
He knew the gravity of Morgan’s predicament.
They only had two choices: leave safely or die here.
The idea of surrendering was not even worth considering.
Looking out through the main door, they saw the government forces grouping about thirty men together.
The battle was about to begin.
Simon, who had never feared any fight, now felt utterly hopeless because he knew that all their bullets added up to less than fifty—and they only had six handguns to fire them.
As the government troops completed their formation and spread out into a fan shape to charge, Simon gripped his handgun, ready to shoot once the enemy stormed the door.
But as the attackers neared the entrance, the two leading figures suddenly fell, followed by at least six or seven others toppling to the ground.
The remainder, realizing they were being attacked from behind, quickly scattered to find cover, abandoning their assault.
“What’s going on?
How did those useless ones suddenly become so formidable?
Have we received new reinforcements?”
Hearing Morgan’s query, Simon shrugged and said, “If it were those useless ones, we wouldn’t be in this situation.
So, I think new reinforcements must have arrived.
Boss, your call for help had an effect.”
As soon as Simon finished speaking, Morgan’s satellite phone suddenly rang.
When he answered, Bob’s anxious voice came through.
“Dad, are you okay?
Gao Yang and I have come with two more helpers.
You have to find a way to hold on; we’ll find a way to rescue you.”
“Dammit, I told you to get out of here, not to come here and die!
What can a few of you do?
Leave now, immediately!”
Morgan was frantic out of concern for his son.
Earlier, when he thought he was certain to die, he wasn’t as urgent as he was now, berating Bob loudly.
Meanwhile, Gao Yang’s voice came through the phone.
“Mr.
Reeves, there’s no need to blame Bob.
How could he possibly leave on his own with you here?
Now let’s talk about something useful.
I have two helpers; I can block the entrance of the building.
You’d better tell those bosses with you to order their men to cooperate with us,”
Even though Morgan felt hope was slim, Gao Yang’s words undeniably brought a glimmer of light to the darkness, “Reinforcements have come.
We have hope.
Stall for as much time as possible.
I’ll go talk to those idiots.”
After Simon expressed his understanding, Morgan sprinted back to the sixth floor as fast as possible and found the opposition leaders hiding in a room, still blaming and bickering loudly with each other.
After pounding on the door with several punches, Morgan bellowed, “Gentlemen, my reinforcements have arrived.
If you want to live, have your men cooperate and follow the command of my people.”
After speaking, Morgan walked to the window to look down and saw the situation was still the same.
Government troops had used cover to establish a ring of fortifications at the entrance of the building, blocking incoming attacks from the opposition while continuously assaulting to take out the people inside the building.
In fact, the opposition’s men weren’t completely useless.
They had a numerical advantage.
Although these men lacked sufficient courage and skill, after a few attacks, they didn’t dare to assault again, but they also prevented the government troops from attacking the building with their full force.
The opposing forces were at a standoff like this.
Morgan couldn’t see Gao Yang, nor could he discern where the turning point lay.
“Gao Yang, where are you guys?
I can’t see you.
I’m behind the window on the sixth floor.
Can you see me waving?”
“I see you.
I have binoculars.
Look at the three-story building directly opposite you, roughly three hundred meters away.
We’re on the rooftop.
Can you see me?”
Morgan’s surroundings were full of low buildings, and he quickly located the three-story building Gao Yang talked about.
Then he saw Gao Yang on the rooftop, waving.
“I see you.
What’s your plan?”
“I have a good vantage point here, and we’ve got two sniper rifles.
My plan is simple: to pick off the government troops one by one.
I can’t guarantee anything else, but I can assure you that no one will breach your front door until they either collapse or are wiped out.
Have the opposition ensure we’re not disturbed, then send some bullets my way — AK-47 rounds.”
Morgan relayed Gao Yang’s message to the opposition leaders.
As they hurriedly phoned their people, Morgan stood by the window, eager to see how Gao Yang would handle it.
A government soldier, firing from behind a vehicle, suddenly had a burst of blood from his head, then fell to the ground.
A few seconds later, another man went down, writhing and crawling on the ground.
One by one, the government troops fell.
Previously, they could stand nearly all out in the open without fear of being hit by bullets, but now, as soon as they exposed themselves to Gao Yang’s line of sight, they were sure to be shot.
Morgan kept count for Gao Yang.
When the sixteenth government soldier was shot, the troops finally realized a sniper was taking them down.
They launched an attack almost without warning, turning and charging toward the door defended by Simon and his men.
But as they approached the door one after another, a barrage of bullets came flying, taking down everyone near the door.
The door became a death zone; anyone who came close was met with fatal bullets, and the fire was continuous.
Morgan knew this level of blockade couldn’t possibly be the work of a sniper; snipers didn’t fire that rapidly.
If the government troops stopped advancing, unless they had good enough cover to completely shield their bodies, they could only wait for the deadly bullets to come — completely different from the opposition’s wasted rounds, the bullets from Gao Yang and his men hardly ever missed.
When the government troops finally gave up their assault and hid behind cover, Gao Yang and his crew also ran out of options.
Bullets can’t turn corners.
At this point, Morgan turned to the opposition leaders with a smile and said, “Our hope has arrived.
If you want to resolve the fight quickly, have your men launch an attack to flush those guys out from behind their cover.
I think we can leave here soon.”
Morgan’s words acted like a shot of adrenaline to the opposition, and after the bosses yelled into their phones, the opposition, who had been idly shooting around the perimeter, finally began a hesitant attack toward the government troops’ position.