921: Chapter 911 Acting According to Plan 921: Chapter 911 Acting According to Plan Passing through Fallujah was simpler than Gao Yang had imagined.
Inside the city of Fallujah, it was chaotic and dangerous, but Highway 1 passed outside of Fallujah, so the convoy did not need to go through the city.
There were many checkpoints set up by government forces around the outskirts of Fallujah, especially on Highway 1.
Gao Yang and his team had to pass through two checkpoints.
For this kind of thing, Gao Yang and his team didn’t need to prepare, as Tomler naturally had the travel documents ready.
Without the travel documents, Gao Yang and his team wouldn’t even be able to leave Baghdad, because the curfew in Baghdad had been in place for many years.
Whether it was in Baghdad or on the roads outside Fallujah, when passing through checkpoints, they simply showed their travel documents and handed over the universally effective US Dollars.
The convoy wasn’t delayed much and passed through Fallujah.
Passing through Fallujah wasted a bit of time, but once they were past Fallujah, the danger wasn’t as great, and the road conditions improved somewhat, so the convoy picked up speed, heading straight for Ramadi.
Ramadi was about sixty to seventy kilometers from Fallujah, and it took Gao Yang and his team about an hour and a half to get there.
Near Ramadi city, the Euphrates River took an S-shaped bend.
Ramadi was on the south bank, and Highway 1 was on the north bank, some distance from the Ramadi urban area.
However, the stretch of Highway 1 here passed through rural areas.
This region was notorious for roadside bomb attacks, so they had to remain vigilant.
There was an overpass on Highway 1, and the road leading into Ramadi city was accessed from a ramp off the overpass.
However, Gao Yang and his team didn’t head south into Ramadi city.
Instead, after getting off Highway 1, they turned north.
After driving almost two kilometers, Frey spoke up from the lead vehicle in a grave tone, “Boss, we should be there.
We’ve found the signpost for the supply point.”
Gao Yang responded in a serious tone, “Toad and Rabbit, announce our presence.
Scan the surroundings and don’t forget to say we were referred by Polovich.
Enter only after confirming it’s safe.”
The convoy stopped about two hundred meters away from the lead vehicle.
Gao Yang set up his “Blade of Satan” to observe as Jinfang and Cui Bo got out of the vehicle and began to call out at what looked like a typical Iraqi farmhouse.
Lights quickly turned on inside the house.
Gao Yang watched a person come out and exchange a few words with Jinfang and Cui Bo before waving the rest of the people inside.
However, only Jinfang and Cui Bo went in.
After a few minutes, Jinfang reported on the radio, “It’s this place, the people match Polovich’s description, and the location is correct.
There are four armed men here, but they pose no threat.
We can come in.”
Gao Yang breathed a sigh of relief, put away his rifle, and said over the radio, “All right, the rest of the convoy can move in.
Stick to the original plan.”
After speaking over the radio, Gao Yang picked up a walkie-talkie dedicated to communicating with the trucks and said in a deep voice, “We’ve reached the supply point.
Follow me.”
The SUVs had already driven into the yard, and Gao Yang and his men followed suit.
As Gao Yang got out of the vehicle, he saw a man in a white robe with an AK47 slung over his back and a big, beaming beard.
After getting out of the vehicle, the big bearded man in the white robe greeted them warmly, “Welcome, welcome, please come in.
You must be tired from driving all night.
You can get some good sleep, and a hot, fragrant meal will be ready soon.
Please, come in.”
Gao Yang, with his rifle slung back and a shotgun in hand, politely smiled and asked, “Hello, may I ask if you are Mr.
Masum?”
The big bearded man in the white robe laughed heartily and said, “Yes, it’s me!
Please come inside.
You are a friend of the Russian fellow, which means you are our friend.
Please, come on in.”
Gao Yang smiled and said, “Mr.
Masum, we can eat and rest later.
Let’s take care of the important stuff first.
We need to refuel the vehicles and take enough oil and water for crossing the desert.”
Masum laughed heartily and said, “No problem.
We’ll refuel you right away.”
After saying this in English, Masum turned around and shouted in Arabic, “Ahmed!
Hasan, stop preparing the food, refuel our guests’ vehicles.
Foudi, where’s Fudi?
That lazy bum, get him to bring our guests some drinks.”
After calling out a couple of times, Masum looked at Gao Yang with a smile and asked, “What would you like to drink?
Coke?
Or beer?
I have a generator here; everything is ice-cold.”
Gao Yang was taken aback and asked, “You have beer?”
“We have everything!”
Gao Yang smiled and said, “I’ll take Coke, and for all of us, we’ll take Coke.
Bring a lot.”
After speaking, Gao Yang shouted into the walkie-talkie, “Come down and have a drink.”
By saying they should come down, Gao Yang indicated that they could proceed with the plan.
Gao Yang approached the trucks and waved at the people inside the cab, smiling and saying, “Come on down, have a drink, take a break.”
Mulafa glanced at Gao Yang and then opened the car door, speaking to Gao Yang, “Do us a favor, just watch them fill up the tanks.
We won’t get down.
We’ll eat and drink in the car, so it won’t delay things.”
Gao Yang, appearing nonchalant, smiled and said, “No problem at all.
Oh, diesel or gasoline?”
“Diesel.”
Gao Yang turned around and smilingly said to Masum, “Fill up all five vehicles, three with diesel.
The off-road vehicle and the sedan take gasoline.
Thanks.”
Masum shouted at two people, and they each pulled over a fuel nozzle.
The convoy had already stopped in its designated spot; all that was left was to open the fuel caps and start fueling.
The two men picked up the fuel guns, but didn’t start pumping.
It was then that Masum turned to Gao Yang, smiled, and said, “Sorry, but it’s our rule here to pay first.”
Gao Yang looked apologetic as he said, “Oh, oh, sorry, I knew that, but I forgot.
Apologies, how much?”
Masum smiled and said, “It’s all good quality fuel.
A thousand US dollars to fill up a truck, and for the other vehicles, five hundred each.
If you need gasoline in barrels, that’s five hundred a barrel.”
Needless to say, it was a rip-off, but Masum had his reasons.
He was making money off the risk; serving armed organizations, fueling people under Polovich’s command who transported arms—in short, it was all pretty shady business.
Plus, ensuring safety warranted higher charges.
Gao Yang took out his money, counted out the correct amount, and with a smile said, “In addition to the fuel, we need water and to cover our lodging expenses.
How about I give you an additional two thousand dollars?
Would that be enough?
We’ll pay for the barreled fuel separately, based on the amount.”
Masum accepted the money with a smile, “That’s enough.
A friend of a friend is my friend, after all—a friendly price.
It’ll do.”
After paying, the fuel started flowing, and Gao Yang waved his hand and shouted, “Everyone, come help with the oil barrels!
Estimate how much we need and load that much.
Try to bring as much drinking water as possible.”
Thirty liters per barrel, and whether it was gasoline or diesel, it cost five hundred a barrel—a fortune in a place where water cost more than oil.
But Gao Yang had no intention of bargaining.
That was the price, and finding a place where they didn’t have to worry about fuel quality or getting hit by a rocket while fueling was worth it.
There was already fuel prepared in their vehicles, but it was better to stock up more when the opportunity arose.
After loading two more barrels onto the vehicle, Gao Yang, carrying a barrel of oil, and Glolov also carrying one, walked toward the truck.
As they passed by the front of the truck, Gao Yang nonchalantly called out to Mulafa, “Come down and help load the oil into the truck.
You’re not just planning to watch, are you?”
Before Mulafa could reply, Gao Yang and Glolov reached the back of the truck.
Gao Yang gave Glolov a signal with his eyes and then knocked impatiently on the locked door of the cargo hold, shouting, “Open up, open up.
Time to load oil.”
By this time, Mulafa had gotten out of the driver’s seat and ran to the rear of the truck.
He gently tapped Gao Yang on the shoulder and said in a deep voice, “Put it down, we’ll handle it.”
Gao Yang smirked, and with Glolov, set down the oil barrels and turned to leave.
But after taking a couple of steps, Gao Yang turned and spoke in an irritated tone, “I think it’s better to be clear, buddy.
We’re all in this together now.
We’re escorting and responsible for your safety and the cargo.
Buddy, I don’t think it’s a good choice for you to keep being so wary of us.”
Glolov pushed Gao Yang, discontentedly saying, “Why bother with so much, let’s go.
I’m thirsty and hungry.”
Gao Yang shrugged his shoulders, turned to Mulafa, and said, “All right, have it your way.
I’m quite happy not to help, but I think we’ve got a long road ahead of us.
If you think the people inside can stay in there the whole time, that’s up to you.”
As Gao Yang turned to leave, Mulafa hesitated and then said, “Sorry.
They don’t understand English.
I’m worried about causing a misunderstanding, not about guarding against you.
Please wait, could you still give us a hand?
It’d help us load the oil faster.”
Glolov made a helpless gesture, and then Mulafa knocked on the cargo hold, spoke a few words in Arabic, and the door was opened from inside.
Gao Yang glanced inside, picked up the barrel he had put on the ground, and slid it into the truck, before calling out to the four people inside, “Come down and help out.”
The truck was filled with crate after crate, reaching almost to the ceiling, while the space left for the four men at the end was quite cramped.
Also, each of the four men in the truck was holding a gun, and without any courtesy, pointed their muzzles at Gao Yang and Glolov.
Three out of the four guns were AK47s with the stocks and aiming sights sawed off, and magazines taped together in pairs for quick changes.
Gao Yang’s brows furrowed, looking as if he was offended by the guns pointed at him.
He said to Mulafa, “What’s the meaning of this?
Never mind, you do it yourselves.”
Mulafa said something, and the four men put their guns away.
He then said to Gao Yang, “Sorry, please don’t mind them.
They can’t leave this truck, so, we have to trouble you to help us move the oil after all.”
Gao Yang, visibly annoyed, said, “Buddy, we’ve got nearly two thousand kilometers to go, and once we leave here, there won’t be any more safe supply points, so the amount of fuel we need to prepare is not small.
Do you think there’s still room on your truck for oil barrels?”
(To be continued.
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