988: Chapter 973: The Volunteer Army 988: Chapter 973: The Volunteer Army Damascus, the skies above.
Aboard a Bombardier CRJ700 regional jetliner, Gao Yang and his team had reached the airspace of Damascus.
After arriving over Damascus Airport within the landing zone, the co-pilot came out of the cockpit and said to Gao Yang, “Sir, the control tower is asking us to identify ourselves.”
Gao Yang entered the cockpit, took the radio, and said in a deep voice, “This is Special Mission charter flight, requesting to land.”
After a brief wait, the voice of the Damascus International Airport tower controller came on, “Special Protection Mission charter flight, please hold, you will be speaking with someone else shortly.”
After a moment of waiting, a deep voice came through, “Special Mission, we’ve experienced an unexpected change of plans.
Please follow the directions to land at MEZZE Military Airport, someone is waiting for you there.”
The pilot would follow the airport’s guidance to land, Gao Yang left the cockpit and returned to his seat, then said to everyone, “We’ve run into a little problem, we won’t be landing at the civilian airport, but at a military airport instead, someone is waiting for us there.”
Upon hearing they would be going to a military airport, Jacklan and the other four Israeli pilots all shifted uneasily in their seats.
A man with graying hair who looked at least sixty years old curled his lip and said, “I’m quite familiar with Syrian airports, but that’s as targets for our attacks.
It’s quite strange to hear about landing at a Syrian military airport.”
The four pilots who came with Jacklan ranged in age, with the oldest being sixty-two and the youngest fifty-five, all retired from active duty.
No younger pilots came.
Gao Yang had a headache.
He urgently needed pilots, but due to the tight schedule, it was impossible to recruit enough pilots quickly.
Out of necessity, he had to rely on Destin and Jacklan to find four elderly retired pilots.
Their skills and experience were top-notch, but the problem was that they were from Israel.
Israel and Syria are mortal enemies, and with Israeli pilots in Syria, who knew what could happen.
Thus, Gao Yang had to smile again and say, “I must repeat, gentlemen, you all know where we are going, please be sure to keep your secrets.”
An old pilot with graying hair snapped his fingers, looking carefree, “Don’t worry, we’re not foolish.
No need to fret over us.”
The plane turned and, guided by the ground control, finally landed on a runway at a military airport.
When the plane came to a stop, Gao Yang was the first to step out of the aircraft door, and then he saw an officer with the rank of captain, who saluted him excitedly and extended his hand.
This was his first time in Syria, having been employed by Polovich, followed by a battle Satan fought in Syria, where he met Colonel Jihad, as well as Lieutenant Faisal and Lieutenant Farouk, with whom he had fought side by side.
Now, greeting Gao Yang beneath the plane, he looked like Farouk, but Gao Yang wasn’t quite sure.
After a long time, Farouk looked somewhat different from his memory.
Gao Yang returned the salute, then shook hands with the captain, and said with some hesitation, “I’m sorry, are you Lieutenant Farouk?
Oh no, Captain Farouk?”
“Yes, it’s me, Mr.
Ram, it’s been a while.
Thanks to you, I am now a captain, haha.”
Gao Yang knew that after a major victory, the officers who had fought alongside him were likely to be promoted, indeed, in a short period of time, Farouk had gone from lieutenant to captain.
But even more impressive was Colonel Jihad, who had become a major general.
To rise from lieutenant to captain, advancing two ranks within a year was rare enough, but to jump from colonel to the rank of major general was even more unusual.
For a field-grade officer to be promoted to general, it was more than difficult – it was something that one wouldn’t even dream of unless during a time of war.
With a smile on his face, Gao Yang shook Farouk’s hand vigorously, “Congratulations, Captain!”
Farouk smiled broadly, whispering in Gao Yang’s ear, “If all goes well, I’ll soon be a major.
Also, Lieutenant Faisal is now a major and will soon be a lieutenant colonel, while General Jihad, he has become a brigadier general!”
Gao Yang was startled, “That quickly?”
Farouk smiled and said, “General Jihad has fought well.
Last week, he received commendation and was also granted the rank of brigadier general.”
A great victory for Gao Yang and his men had cleared the way home, but for Jihad and the others, it became the ladder to the clouds.
Gao Yang was truly happy because the higher the ranks of his allies, the better it was for him.
Gao Yang was about to speak when one of the two suit-clad men behind Farouk cleared his throat lightly, stepped forward, and said softly, “Mr.
Ram, I’m from the Military Intelligence Bureau.
There are some matters we need to understand first.
Please come with me.”
Farouk shrugged, let go of Gao Yang’s hand, and said with a light laugh, “It’s just some necessary procedures, they’ll be over quickly.”
After the Military Intelligence Bureau personnel gestured for Gao Yang to follow, he got in a car with them and then they arrived at a small hut next to the main airport building.
Gao Yang wasn’t too worried.
The Military Intelligence Bureau personnel showed no hostility.
As Syria’s largest intelligence agency, if the Military Intelligence Bureau held any hostility against them, they wouldn’t have been greeted by three men at the airport, but by a squad of fully armed soldiers instead.
There was no sign of an escort.
After getting out of the car, the two men in suits walked ahead of Gao Yang, knocked on the door to one of the row of huts, pushed it open, and signaled for Gao Yang to enter.
Gao Yang entered the hut.
Inside, there was an office desk with a man in his forties standing behind it.
“Hello, I work for the Military Intelligence Bureau.
You can call me Dani.
There are some questions that we need your cooperation to understand.
Please have a seat.”
Gao Yang sat down in front of Dani, who then reached for a folder on the desk, took out a pen, and stared at Gao Yang.
In a deep voice, he said, “General Jihad has mentioned that a group of foreign volunteers is willing to help us fight against the Rebel Army.
He speaks very highly of you and strongly advocates providing you with all necessary support.
I want to know, who are you really?”
The Syrian Military Intelligence Bureau’s capabilities were, frankly, rather limited.
Within the Middle East, they had a reputation as a less impressive intelligence agency compared to Mossad.
Even compared to a major Middle Eastern country like Yemen, their intelligence agency didn’t stand out much.
However, they did have a claim to fame—the capture of Mossad’s most notorious spy in history, Eli Cohen.
For the Syrian Military Intelligence Bureau, being unable to ascertain Gao Yang’s origins was quite normal.
After thinking for a moment, Gao Yang looked up at Dani and said in a deep voice, “The Rebel Army has many sympathizers, as well as many supporters from abroad, right?”
“I must admit it is so.”
Gao Yang waved his hand and said, “Then stop asking us who we are, and don’t bother checking our background.
All you need to know is that we are your supporters.
We are allies with a common enemy.
You just said something very true—we are volunteers.”
Dani gave a bitter smile and said, “I can’t include that in my report.
As an intelligence officer, I completely understand what you are saying, but this report will be read by the military higher-ups, so you’ll have to give me an official response.”
Gao Yang exhaled and asked, “Isn’t what I said enough?
Then what do you think I should say that would be more appropriate?”
Dani looked at Gao Yang and said indifferently, “For instance, you could say that you are here under the commission of a certain country to help us, perhaps Russia or Huaxia?”
Gao Yang immediately shook his head and replied, “No, no, we are allies, but don’t burden us with responsibilities we shouldn’t bear, sir.
That wouldn’t be right.”
Dani fell silent, and Gao Yang continued, “Sir, we possess formidable combat capabilities.
I think General Jihad must have informed you of this fact.
It’s not bragging, but though we are few in number, we can provide the vertical strike capability that Syria is currently lacking the most.
So stop worrying about our origins.
Isn’t having an extra ally a good thing?”
Dani exhaled and said, “Alright, you’re volunteers.
But you still need to give me a convincing reason, Mr.
Ram.
You came from abroad, and although General Jihad vouches for you as friends, we represent a country.
The official government will satisfy all your requests.
You need to give me a reason to convince others to believe that you are here to help us, not harboring some malicious intent.
Look, the way I’m sitting and talking with you right now should prove our sincerity, right?”
Gao Yang thought for a while and then said, “Here’s how it is: we have a personal vendetta against a particular armed faction of the Rebel Army, that is a private enmity and a fact.
And coincidentally, we are very powerful.
So we have become allies.
You need to strike at the Rebel Army, and we need to as well.
It’s that simple.”
Dani nodded and said, “Fine, it’s simple but a convincing reason.
Then I will regard you as volunteers.
Whether you like it or not, we must present it this way.
Of course, your image and name will be kept absolutely confidential.
Since we are allies, we won’t do anything to harm you.”
Gao Yang nodded and replied, “Thank you.”
“How many people do you have?
Just the ones here now?”
Gao Yang shrugged and said, “No, there are many more.
We are just the vanguard.
More people will arrive tomorrow, and the exact number will be known then.”
Dani quickly wrote several things in the folder, then closed it with a laugh and said, “Good.
We need to maintain open communication, so there will always be someone from us stationed here.
Oh, and I haven’t yet told you.
From now on, this airport will be your base in Syria, and this room will be your office.”
After finishing his words, Dani stood up, smiled at Gao Yang, and said, “Syria needs friends, Mr.
Ram.
Thank you for joining our righteous war as a volunteer!” (To be continued.
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