996: Chapter 981 Shadow 996: Chapter 981 Shadow Gao Yang, dressed in a Syrian military uniform with the rank of Major, surrounded the conference table with a group of people, analyzing the latest photographs that had arrived.
Originally, Gao Yang only wanted to be a simple combatant, but ultimately he found that he had no choice but to become a strategist.
The photographs were very blurry, and despite having been selected beforehand, most of them still featured just vague shadows.
After scrutinizing them closely for a long time, Gao Yang pulled out one of the photos and handed it to Glolov who was beside him, saying, “Take a look at this one.”
After examining it carefully for a while, Glolov nodded and said, “Caucasian, but the clothing doesn’t seem to be that of the Iron Madonna.”
Gao Yang knocked on the table and said, “But their guns, though indiscernible, are clearly not AKs.”
Glolov nodded and said, “That’s right, not AKs.”
Gao Yang turned and walked to the large map hanging on the wall, marked an X at a point on it, and then returned to sit at the table.
He spoke in a deep tone, “We can consider it a priority surveillance target.
Hmm, based on priority level, what rank should it be?”
Standing beside Gao Yang, Number Thirteen said softly, “Fourteenth in order.”
After jotting it down quickly on a piece of paper, Gao Yang scratched his head and said, “The targets are too scattered.
Where is Badadi hiding exactly?
F**k, if we hit these places one by one, when will we ever finish?”
After finishing, Gao Yang looked at Number Thirteen and asked, “Are you sure you don’t want to sit down?”
Number Thirteen said in a stern voice, “For the third time, I don’t need to.
Don’t ask me again.”
Gao Yang set down his pen and sighed, “Next, we’ll look at the photographs from the Al-Tahaba Region.
They mentioned that foreigners were spotted there too, but that was four days ago.
We should still check them.”
Gao Yang and his team’s primary targets were Badadi, the leader of IS, and the Iron Madonna.
Although they weren’t sure if the Iron Madonna was still with Badadi, the distinctive features of her clothing and appearance made it slightly easier to identify foreigners among a pile of intelligence.
Therefore, Gao Yang was searching for both Badadi and the Iron Madonna together.
Syria was also searching for IS.
If Syrian Army could eliminate Badadi, they would certainly do so, but unfortunately, they had never managed to precisely track Badadi’s whereabouts.
Hence, the intelligence provided by Dani to Gao Yang was unable to specify where Badadi was.
Apart from relying on Syria’s intelligence system, Gao Yang had his own source of information, Justin.
Gao Yang was willing to pay a high price for information on Badadi, but unfortunately, Badadi was well-hidden, and Justin was not omniscient, so so far, Justin had not been able to provide any valuable information.
Gao Yang wanted to spend money but had nowhere to spend it.
Things must be done one at a time, but for special operations, intelligence is of utmost importance.
So amidst many ongoing issues, Gao Yang first began his work on identifying the most valuable targets for attack.
Faced with a pile of photographs and purely textual intelligence, Gao Yang felt a sense of helplessness about where to start.
No one under his command had ever worked in an intelligence system.
While people like Li Jinfang and Eileen might be involved in gathering intelligence, they were not trained to analyze it.
It required professional training to sift through complex, convoluted intelligence and extract the genuinely valuable parts.
No one was skilled at evaluating intelligence, and Gao Yang did not want Dani to complete this part of the task for him, as that would be tantamount to handing over command to Dani.
As Gao Yang was wrestling with this headache, Eileen shouted from outside the door, “Reporting!”
“Come in.”
Eileen rushed into the room, grabbed the half-cup of water in front of Gao Yang, and guzzled it down in one gulp.
Catching her breath, she said, “Commander, the Mi-17’s maintenance work is finished, and it has already passed the test flight.
They are now installing the night vision system, and it should be ready for another test flight tonight.”
Gao Yang, surprised, asked, “That fast?”
Eileen, with disdain, said, “What’s it?
That Russian Guy has acted recklessly.
He just hung the thermal imaging detector beneath the cockpit and fixed a display screen above the dashboard, even using exposed wiring.
F**k, Russians are so reckless!”
After completing her rant, Eileen slapped Glolov on the back and then said nonchalantly, “I’m not talking about you, just about that mechanic.”
Gao Yang waved his hand and asked, “How is the plane now?
Is the mechanic any good?”
Eileen pursed her lips and said, “He’s alright, just alright.
I have never seen a mechanic like that; he doesn’t follow any protocols, just listens and looks and then makes decisions.
If he were in my old unit, hmm, hmm-hmm.”
Gao Yang frowned and asked, “So, did he solve the problem?
How is the plane’s condition now?”
Eileen just purse her lips and finally said, “Okay, not bad.”
Glolov spread his hands and said with a nonchalant face, “Hey, as long as he can solve the problem, it’s fine.
No need for him to be too rigid.”
After he finished speaking, Glolov looked at Gao Yang helplessly and said, “Look, that’s how the Germans are, they’re too rigid.
For something simple, they have to define so many steps and then follow them in sequence, their minds are all stiff.”
Eileen yelled, “Germans are rigid?
Are you kidding me?
Am I rigid?”
Glolov pointed at Gao and said, “Right now, you’re the only one who still insists on calling him the commander.”
Eileen stiffened her neck, but after thinking for a bit, waved her hand and said loudly, “It’s impossible to talk with you guys, you’re too imprecise.
I’m going back to keep an eye on that mechanic.”
Loud and careless, as long as a Russian tinkers a bit and it works, he’s fine.
Often coming off as deranged, paired with Germans known for their strictness, always keen on drawing boxes around themselves and not allowing anyone, including themselves, to step out of line.
When a mechanic and a pilot come together, it’s odd if they could see eye to eye.
After Eileen had stormed out, Gao Yang and Glolov sighed in unison, “Germans, huh!”
Speaking in unison, Gao Yang and Glolov laughed together, and then Gao threw down his pen and, rubbing his head, said, “One Mi-24 has finished its modifications, and by tomorrow, both should be ready.
If all goes well, we can strike tomorrow.”
Glolov nodded and said, “Yes, we can initiate the operation tomorrow evening, but should we first conduct a daytime run to let the new guys and the planes adjust to each other?
After all, some people haven’t done air drop operations before.”
Gao couldn’t look at the intelligence documents any further, especially after Eileen had interrupted him.
Now, hearing Glolov’s suggestion, he threw the pen down and exclaimed, “Let’s go and have a look.”
Apart from Gao and Glolov, everyone else was busy with their tasks, especially the assault teams.
They were executing repeated drills getting on and off a grounded Mi-17 transport plane to improve coordination and avoid confusion about group assignments during combat.
Gao and Li Jinfang sauntered to the apron, and of course, Number Thirteen followed Gao like a shadow.
Standing outside the apron, they watched as Li Jinfang and Ludwig rushed out of the Mi-17’s tail hold, each taking positions on either side.
Then, the others streamed out of the cabin and split into three groups, rushing toward the airport guard turned opposing force targets.
The exercise lasted for four minutes and then ended.
Li Jinfang then ordered the troops to regroup and return to the plane, waiting for Farouk, who was commanding the opposing force, to rearrange the enemy positions in preparation for the next drill.
After watching for a bit, Gao suddenly said, “Farouk seems quite enthusiastic.
It looks like he’s eager to learn.”
Glolov shrugged and replied, “Clearly, Farouk has always been looking to transition into special operations.”
Gao took a breath and said, “Do you think we should ask Farouk to draft a special forces unit over?
He might be capable if he wants to learn special operations, commanding a special team seems more fitting than airport security.”
Glolov shook his head smilingly and said, “No, you haven’t been a soldier, so you don’t understand.
Don’t forget about the faction issues.
Farouk hopes to set up the framework for their Third Infantry Brigade Special Combat Team.
If a special squad is brought over, then it won’t be commanded by Farouk, he’d only be a spectator.
But as a spectator, how would he gain as deep an understanding as being directly involved?”
The exercise began again.
This time, two teams left the plane and rushed toward the area where Farouk had set an ambush, while Li Jinfang, with one team, stayed near the plane for protection and also served as reserves.
The exercise went smoothly.
Li Jinfang’s command was very fluid, showing that the initial assertiveness had a significant effect.
Gao firmly believed that if they hadn’t been put in their place first, then the command couldn’t have been as effective as it was now.
Everyone was here to make money, and since they didn’t know each other, why should I attack more dangerous targets, why does his situation seem safer than mine, why am I not the covering force instead of being the spearhead.
Such thoughts were bound to exist, and with such thoughts, operations couldn’t run smoothly.
But with authority, instilling a sense of awe made things much easier.
Just then, Number Thirteen suddenly said, “Shadow!
That British guy called Yake.”
Gao looked at Number Thirteen and asked, “What about him?”
Number Thirteen spoke gravely, “He has a problem.”
“What problem?”
Pointing at Yake, Number Thirteen said with a smile, “You need someone with an intelligence background, and he’s the one.
His movements, and the way he handles a gun, I don’t know if he understands intelligence analysis, but I know for sure he’s been in the intelligence service for a long time.” (To be continued.
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