Chapter 104 - All A Ruse
Huo Shaoheng didn’t know much about Gu Yanran’s situation and could only glean from the information the Secret Service had provided. His focus was not her, but rather the agreement she had with the Deputy Director Feng of the Secret Service–to eliminate the eight mercenaries. Because the entire affair transpired through the Secret Service, the 6th Military Region was unable to exceed authority to that extent. The only one to interact with Gu Yanran was Deputy Director Feng. Huo Shaoheng and his men were directly charged by the military to eliminate the eight mercenaries targetting Gu Yanran.
Zhao Liangze was in front of his laptop and found something curious while investigating He Zhichu’s social relations. “Hmm, Mr. Huo, this is interesting.” He waved at Huo Shaoheng.
Huo Shaoheng looked over as he threw a cigarette butt into the trashcan, “What is it?”
“Have a look at this. Is it a coincidence or something more?”
Huo Shaoheng walked over and stood behind Zhao Liangze to glance at the monitor. He paused, then laughed, “This is interesting.” It turned out when Zhao Liangze researched He Zhichu’s relations, he discovered that Gu Yanran was one of his law firm’s clients. However, she wasn’t a direct client of his.
“Hehe, this Gu Ranyan is certainly wealthy. Look, she can afford to retain such a bigshot firm for legal representation. She’s not just any typical rich person.”
“That’s not surprising. You think a normal billionaire can account for half the GDP of a small nation?” Huo Shaoheng shook his head, unimpressed, “He Zhichu belongs to the largest law firm in America, so the clients are mostly rich or famous. This is nothing strange.”
“It’s not strange, but I think it’s too much of a coincidence.” Zhao Liangze had a mouse in his hands and kept clicking between Gu Yanran and He Zhichu’s names.
Huo Shaoheng mulled over it for a while, then asked, “He Zhichu went back to the States?”
“Yes, that’s what is says on B University’s Faculty of Law webpage.” Zhao Liangze looked it up, “According to the itinerary, Gu Yanran is coming to the Empire. They just missed each other.”
Huo Shaoheng’s brows furrowed, “Remember this point and send it to Big Xiong. He can make sure to follow up on it when he goes to the States with Nianzhi.”
Zhao Liangze nodded and encrypted the file on Gu Yanran before sending it to Yin Shixiong.
“How are things going on our end? When can we make the move?” Huo Shaoheng asked, “Did the team members send letters over yet?”
Once their team left the country, they split up in groups of two to find lodgings. Huo Shaoheng was with Zhaoliangze, and the others were paired off as snipers and spotters. The plan was to eliminate the three mercenaries in Prague using the US Navy SEALs’ usual method.
Zhao Liangze checked his inbox, “Almost, in one more day the three teams will be able to get into position.”
Huo Shaoheng returned to the bed to lie down and flip through a Czech magazine. He suddenly asked Zhao Liangze, “You think Gu Yanran will be safe once the eight mercenaries are killed?”
Zhao Liangze laughed and rose to stretch. He walked to the window to see Prague’s night view as he shook his head, “Actually I thought this mission was weird to begin with. The thing with mercenaries is that the more you kill off, the more that appear. If her enemy truly wants her dead, what good is killing these eight mercenaries? She needs to find the mastermind behind this. Otherwise, the mastermind can hire even more lethal mercenaries once these eight are eliminated.” He glanced at Huo Shaoheng, “Mr. Huo, it can’t be that we have to keep killing more?”
“That’s impossible.” Huo Shaoheng’s eyes dimmed, “The agreement was to kill these eight mercenaries targeting her, and she will handover the blueprints. If she doesn’t hold up to the deal…”
Huo Shaoheng smiled, he was more vicious than mercenaries…
Zhao Liangze understood what he meant and gave a shrug. Miss Gu better have a prayer if she dared to default on the Special Ops. The Whitewater Security Group was nothing in comparison to the power of the Imperial Army’s Special Operations Forces.
Huo Shaoheng flipped another page of the magazine and concluded, “So I think killing the mercenaries is all a ruse. That’s not her true goal.”
“But why did Mr. Huo come anyway?!” Zhao Liangze was shocked, “Are you not worried that this was to lure you away?!”
Huo Shaoheng glanced at him, “You think the Empire’s millions of soldiers are useless? The Empire is doomed without us? –Don’t be so arrogant.”
“Hehe, I don’t know if the Empire will be fine without us or not, but I know that our Special Ops can’t do without Mr. Huo!” Zhao Liangze jumped on the chance to butter up Huo Shaoheng.
Huo Shaoheng ignored him and pretended he didn’t hear anything as he continued to flip through the magazine.
…
A day later, they got into position to eliminate all three mercenaries at the same time. This was because all three targets were extremely vigilant and also had special devices that enabled contact between them. If they couldn’t be killed at the same time, the survivors would get wind and certainly disappear for good. If it came to that, it would be much more difficult to track them down. On the day of the operation, Huo Shaoheng simply disguised himself. He applied thick facial hair, wore sunglasses, a black T-shirt and bleached jeans. He carried a duffel backpack as he left the hotel with Zhao Liangze to the Old Town Square to feed the pigeons. A Bluetooth headset was in his ear, and he also had a tracker and communicator connected to the Nandou Global Satellite Tracking System. This was a global communication and navigation system developed and produced by the Empire. The system was extremely accurate and could guarantee 24 hour coverage without blind spots.
It was early June and the weather in Prague was beautiful–blue skies stretched as far as the eye could see, the colour like the most beautiful sapphire. In the blue clouds and white skies, pigeons weaved through the clouds and cried in the air. Huo Shaoheng sat on a long bench in the Old Town Square and threw the beadcumbs on the ground to attract a drove of pigeons with grey heads and white bodies. They circled around him. Huo Shaoheng sat casually and his strapping figure was comparable to that of the Eastern Europeans. Hence he blended in perfectly, and was dressed similar to the artists on the square.
“Alpha, Target A in position. Three storey building in Old Town, eating breakfast by the window. End of report.” This was Rahm’s position.
“Alpha, Target B is in postion. Hostel near St. Vitus Cathedral, room 319 on the second floor, distance of approximately 1 meter from a closed window, AMR required. End of report. This was Huttu’s position.
“Alpha, Target C is in position. Presently in the upper right corner of Old Town Square. End of report.” This was Mike’s position and direction. That also meant that Mike and Huo Shaoheng were in the same place. He was the youngest of the mercenaries and didn’t have a set address, making him the hardest to track.