Mercenary I am the king

Chapter 464: Suspension of Operation
Inside the DOD building, Colonel Ryder was holding a small meeting with his team.

"Baker, there's a press conference tomorrow morning. What do you think about this?"

Colonel Ryder asked Major Baker in his team.

Baker is responsible for crisis situation analysis. When an emergency occurs in the military, he will conduct a comprehensive analysis of information obtained from all aspects, make his own judgment, and form a report to provide a basis and reference for his superiors to make judgments.

"I don't think we need to do anything right now, we just need to wait." Baker spread his hands and made a very relaxed expression.

Reid looked a little surprised. He had asked other people before, and they all suggested that he continue to keep in touch with Fair. After all, Fair had been frequently appearing on TV in the past two days, and the newspapers had reported on this matter in great detail, so the public pressure was quite great.

Even at yesterday's White House press conference, some reporters had already asked about this matter.

However, the people in the White House tried to shift the blame by saying that they did not understand the situation and suggested that reporters contact the DOD for information.

Of course the White House can pass the buck.

However, Colonel Reid, the DOD spokesman representing the military, was unable to shirk responsibility.

You can't just say you don't understand the situation, that would make it even more obvious.

But Baker said there was nothing to do and just wait.

This piqued Reid's interest.

"Tell me more specifically what you're basing your argument on, Baker."

Ryder nodded the pen in Baker's direction.

Baker smiled and said, "Colonel, although we don't know why Fair is so concerned about this matter and why he is stirring up a public opinion storm, when we analyze an incident, we usually only need to analyze his purpose."

As he spoke, his eyes swept over the other colleagues present.

"The goal is to pressure our people in Colombia to abandon the joint operation. Now that we know the goal, isn't it simple to do it? We must achieve the purpose of the operation and then make Fair suffer a setback."

"Of course, going against a magazine editor isn't enough to bring any sense of accomplishment, but if they want to make our military's operation fail, then they must be our enemy. Therefore, achieving the goal of the operation is the most crucial thing."

Reid said, "I know everything you said. I'm asking you, is your basis for this assumption? If this drags on, how am I going to face all the reporters asking about this at tomorrow's press conference?"

He picked up some papers on the table.

"This is the outline of the media questions for tomorrow's regular press conference. Look, two-thirds of the reporters have submitted this question on their lists. In other words, unless I'm not afraid of being scolded tomorrow or of public opinion becoming even more turbulent after the press conference, I can indeed turn a blind eye to their questions, as you said. However, the consequences of doing so would be very serious."

"It's not serious," Baker said. "Even if you don't answer this question tomorrow, or if you delay it by being ambiguous, and it eventually leads to a surge in public opinion, it won't be a problem."

He opened the folder in front of him and pulled out a piece of paper.

"This is the operational information I just received from Colonel Lawrence. Operation Viper, a joint operation between us, the Colombian military, and the AUC, has yielded excellent results in the past three days. The ELN has lost 60% of its territory, with the exception of a small force in the jungle near Santa Rita. Their command headquarters in the north has been destroyed by the air force, and their radio signal has disappeared. The two ELN battalions in the central Tamé region have been pushed back to the border. They now face only one choice: flee and retreat into Venezuela, or face death."

Colonel Ryder asked, "You mean, the operation went very smoothly?"

"Yes," Baker replied. "In two days at most, the ELN will be completely destroyed. By then, our objective will have been achieved, and the remaining operations can be handled by the AUC. We can declare the operation over, creating the appearance that we've cancelled it in response to public opinion. This way, both internally and externally, we'll have a perfectly satisfactory explanation without compromising the purpose of the operation."

After listening to Baker's analysis, Colonel Reid did not answer immediately. Instead, he twirled the ballpoint pen in his hand and thought for a long time before he glanced at the other people present.

"What do you think of Baker's analysis? Now you can speak."

The others talked for a while and then shook their heads.

A lieutenant colonel said, "This approach seems feasible. After all, if we delay it for two days, we will win. It's just that you, Colonel, will feel a little uncomfortable when you hold the press conference tomorrow."

After saying that, everyone burst into laughter.

Ryder laughed too.

He remembered the threatening look on Fair's face in the cafe and couldn't help but feel secretly happy.

Damn Fair.

I'll let you curse for two more days.

"Okay, it's settled..."

Just after Colonel Reid decided on the content of tomorrow's press conference, the phone beside him vibrated.

After taking a look at the number, Colonel Reid's expression changed slightly.

"SIR, what are your instructions?"

He picked up the phone and his expression became respectful.

It was obvious that the person on the other end of the phone was an important person.

"Ryder, come into my office."

"Now?"

Reid glanced at his colleagues with a puzzled expression.

The boss knows that there is a small meeting in the spokesperson's office.

Why did he ask me to go to his office immediately?
"Yes, right away."

"Okay sir, I'll be right there."

After hanging up the phone, Reid was stunned for a moment, then suddenly remembered that everyone had not left yet.

"Everyone, let's adjourn the meeting."

He stood up, put his hat on his head, straightened his military attire, picked up his documents, and quickly left the office. Soon, in the office of a DOD general, Reid sat uneasily across from him.

The general quickly signed his name on a document with a pen and asked his secretary to take it away.

Without waiting for the secretary to close the door, Reid asked impatiently, "Sir, what's the hurry?"

The general gently intertwined his fingers, rubbing them together several times before sighing and saying, "We've decided to halt Operation Viper. Therefore, you can simply announce this truthfully at tomorrow morning's press conference."

"Stop Operation Viper?" Ryder nearly jumped out of his seat. "We've just reviewed this matter and believe there's no need to stop it. The objective of the operation should be achieved in two days."

"I know the effect of the action better than you do."

The general took a cigar from a box beside him and held it out to Ryder.

It's a reward.

When a superior hands a cigar to a subordinate, it is both a comfort and a compliment.

Ryder shook his head.

His meaning was also very clear, he wanted an answer.

The answer is bigger than this cigar.

"General, what's the problem?"

Seeing that he didn't take the cigar, the general put it away, picked up the cigar cutter to cut the end, then nodded with a ZIPPO lighter, took a leisurely puff, and then said: "You may not have received the latest battlefield intelligence yet, but I have."

He reached out and tapped a report on the table.

"Someone must have told you that the ELN forces would collapse within two days, right?"

Then he pushed the report in front of Colonel Ryder.

"Unfortunately, that's not the case..."

Colonel Reid picked up the report in confusion and opened it to read it carefully.

This is the latest front-line battle report of Operation Viper, sent one hour ago.

Obviously, the intelligence was more up-to-date than what Baker had obtained.

For high-ranking figures like generals, the intelligence they receive is of course the fastest and most accurate.

"What……"

Ryder couldn't believe his eyes.

Judging from the contents of the report, the ELN organization currently shows no signs of collapse, and the bodies of leader Morins and others were not found at its headquarters.

More importantly, electronic reconnaissance aircraft later detected that the ELN organization's communications had not been interrupted, but it had adopted a radio silence and scheduled online communication mode to avoid bombing.

Although this method is a bit crude, it is very effective.

It will be silent for a long time, and then it will be turned on after a certain period of time. It will complete the command in a short time, and then cut off the communication and continue to be silent.

Not to mention that before the reconnaissance plane locked onto the signal source, even if it did, the other party would have already moved away by the time the bomber flew over the signal source.

The final battle report made Reid shudder with fear.

After the bombing of the ELN headquarters, an assault team was sent to land near the headquarters for a mopping-up attack. So far, all of them have been killed in the jungles of the Tbilisi Mountains.

"The entire assault team was wiped out?" Colonel Reid couldn't believe his eyes. "That place had already been bombed. How could they have wiped out an airborne team?!"

He knew that these airborne troops were all members of the Colombian Special Forces and had received American special forces training.

Some of the remaining soldiers in the command center were already frightened after the bombing. It was a miracle that they did not flee in all directions. How could they possibly destroy an entire commando team?
"This is not surprising."

The general picked up another document and threw it over.

"Remember the ODA team that was killed in the Tame area a few months ago? The investigative report shows it was a single person. An ODA team, wiped out by one person, and it was an ELN member. Of course, the investigative report doesn't indicate it was an ELN militant, but rather someone supporting the ELN. Exactly who it was is currently unknown. However, intelligence now believes he's in the Tbilisi Mountains, and it was this same person who killed the airdrop team."

"Then we should send more troops in! We should send more troops! Send out the best Delta Force to catch this damn guy!"

Reid said to his superior with a sullen face, "We can't let this guy go."

The general said, "Of course. Why else do you think we'd risk collaborating with an armed group like the AUC against the ELN? It's because of what happened last time."

"So... Commander, did you ask me to come here because you're planning on how to deal with those reporters?"

Reid believed that the general called him here because he was planning to send special forces deep into the Tbilisi Mountains to hunt down the mysterious man who supported the ELN armed forces, so he asked him to be aware of the situation at the press conference tomorrow and that the military had no intention of interrupting cooperation or canceling the operation.

"Do not."

The general shook his head helplessly. "I asked you to come so that you could announce at tomorrow's press conference that we will be suspending Operation Viper and that our troops will be withdrawn from Colombia."

These words were like a thunderbolt that cut through the darkness and struck Colonel Reid directly on the head.

"Why?!"

He raised his voice somewhat uncontrollably.

"Abort the operation!? We still have two days to win!"

　Asking for a monthly ticket! Asking for a monthly ticket!

　　
　
(End of this chapter)