Starting from South America, speeding through the world

Chapter 192: Will Wu Fu go alone?
California, 5:43 a.m.

Order has not yet been restored inside the building, and the remaining power is being supplied by backup generators.

The low-frequency vibrations penetrated the wall continuously, causing annoyance.

Lieutenant Colonel Hank Mercer sat in a metal chair, his rank insignia hidden under the turned-up collar of his jacket.

Three hours have passed since he was "invited" into the room.

Nobody said this was an interrogation.

But Hank also knew that it wasn't chatting either.

The people across the table changed twice, three cups of coffee were served, and the chandelier remained on the whole time.

His M18, comms, and that encrypted, publicly issued Apple phone were all confiscated.

As the adrenaline subsided, a deep sense of regret followed.

The next second, the door opened.

The officer who entered was wearing an OCP uniform, but not a standard name tag or combat unit insignia.

A badge was pinned to the collar.

It clearly came from the military law department.

The man following behind was wearing a CID[1] coat and seemed to have been sent to "listen in".

“Lieutenant Colonel Mercer,” the former began, his voice weary. “This is not a formal hearing for AR 15-6[2].

Hank nodded, his Adam's apple bobbing. "I understand."

Upon seeing this, the other party casually tossed his briefcase onto the table.

Without much small talk, he sat down and got straight to the point:

“Yesterday morning, you deployed five MRAPs outside the state capitol building.”

"M203 and 40mm CS tear gas were used at the scene, resulting in the deaths of 18 civilians and injuries to 54 others."

"Have you received any ROE (Rules of Engagement) Level 4 authorization for this area?"

Hank looked at him and answered crisply, "I received orders from Northern Command."

“A policy recommendation memorandum [3] with an updated COG-1 document.”

Upon hearing this, the officer immediately frowned.

"So, you didn't receive any actual 'upgrade' instructions?"

Hank suddenly felt a belated sense of panic.

He swallowed hard and explained with difficulty, "My understanding is that it's an implicit authorization."

Upon hearing this, the CID man's expression turned even uglier, as if he had been forced to swallow a mouthful of excrement.

"Who told you to 'understand' it that way?" he asked.

“Nobody.” Hank shook his head. “The wording of the directive states that, provided critical infrastructure is kept stable, any group of people with the potential for significant disruption can be considered a hostile element.”

"My assessment at the time was that the risk of losing control had increased significantly."

"Your judgment?" The CID man scoffed. "Young people holding signs and carrying water bottles are considered hostile elements?"

Hank's shoulders twitched: "You guys sit in the back watching the video, while I'm sitting in MRAP."

"All channels are muted, relays are interrupted, streets are blocked, I have to make the decisions myself."

The military law officers were not convinced and raised their own questions:
"The problem is that you didn't report it through J2 liaison or submit it for SJA review."

"They even bypassed the entire garrison command before issuing the order to deploy forces."

Do you know what this means legally?

Hank stared at him, his gaze vacant, and murmured:

"No one could answer my calls at that time."

"I did what I had to do."

The officer remained unmoved and continued, "Who authorized you to deploy less-lethal[4] munitions?"

“In accordance with the TM 3-22.40[5] training guidelines,” Hank’s voice grew hoarse. “Indeed, it is within the scope of the license.”

"But you used live ammunition."

“That was a misjudgment.” Hank gritted his teeth. “The soldier who fired the shot was just transferred from the 8th Infantry Brigade.”

"Nobody told him that the ROE had been revised to 'avoid uninvited contact' yesterday."

"Furthermore, the vehicle was attacked from below by an explosive device, which can be seen in the video."

“We’ve seen it,” the CID man coldly interrupted his explanation.

"No one questions the first shot. But what about the next 138 shots?"

Hank remained silent.

He pursed his lips, clearly not wanting to answer.

The two people at the table did not urge them.

They simply stared at him silently, seemingly certain that the man would speak.

The stalemate lasted for another ten seconds or so.

In the end, Hank was the first to give in, saying in a deep voice, "The noise on site is loud and there are many sources of interference. Some teams mistakenly thought they were being attacked a second time."

As soon as he finished speaking, the officer opened the folder and pulled out a few photos.

The focus is on the woman lying on the ground.

A hole exploded in her back, and her shoe slid off three meters away.

"The woman in the video is shouting, 'Don't shoot, we have no weapons.'"

"What do you think?"

Hank's throat tightened, and he averted his gaze as if fleeing. "She wasn't the target I ordered to be shot."

The CID man's expression held a hint of mockery: "Do you know that your operation is now being called 'Mercer's Raid' in the media?"

"It's not a tactical term, it's a nickname the public gave you." "Congratulations, you've become the center of attention."

At this point, Hank finally couldn't withstand any more pressure.

He leaned forward, slammed his hand on the table, and was about to stand up from his chair.

"I was just carrying out a mission."

"Under COG-1 status, the situation could spiral out of control at any moment."

"I'm saving this country! I don't want to see it fall apart!"

The sudden outburst of anger stunned the investigators.

The officer paused for a few seconds, then slowly asked, "Are you aware that the President has never signed a domestic mission authorization under Title 10?"

Hank was stunned.

"COG is activated, I thought—"

"What do you think? What do you think?" The CID man laughed in anger.

"Have you read the OPLAN[6] appendix that you forwarded?"

"Annex Q[7] wrote very clearly that all use of lethal firepower must be subject to cross-departmental legal review."

"Were you fucking on drugs back then?"

Hank's breathing instantly became heavy, and his chest heaved violently.

His brow twitched incessantly, and he clenched his teeth, speaking slowly and deliberately:
"I can't wait any longer."

“I’m afraid we’ll end up like we did in 2005 [8], watching the whole city spiral out of control on CNN.”

"Moreover, the current situation is a thousand times or a hundred times more serious than it was then."

“I love this country.”

“I must take action.”

The room was dead silent.

After a long pause, the officer sighed and said softly, "This is just a demonstration."

Upon hearing his assessment, Hank abruptly raised his head, a hint of almost mocking despair flashing in his eyes.

"No, you're wrong."

"That was a coordinated, distributed operation."

"They used signals, short-frequency broadcasts, set up observation points at street corners, and also used radio interference."

“This is not the so-called ‘harmless group’ at all.”

"We are facing a different kind of war."

"A more dangerous war."

His voice grew lower and lower until finally only his lips moved.

The next second, a crashing sound came from outside.

In the interrogation room next door, someone has lost control.

The officer closed the document and gave up asking further questions.

“This is not a formal military court procedure,” he said.

"Therefore, we will not label you as 'overstepping your authority to fire' or 'deploying lethal weapons without authorization'."

Hank blinked in confusion, completely unprepared for the possibility that things could be salvaged.

“In exchange, we need you to write a report,” the CID man said calmly.

“Explain why you believe the incident constitutes a threat to federal continuity infrastructure.”

Hank looked at him blankly, thinking he had misheard or was hallucinating.

He stared at the face, trying to read even the slightest hint of a joke, sarcasm, or accusation.

The man offered no comment, continuing to organize the documents with his head down.

Hank's Adam's apple bobbed.
At that moment, he realized that the other party did not want to arrest him, prosecute him, or try him.

They weren't trying to convict him, but rather to get him to write something, for whatever reason.

That's it.

Hank's breathing suddenly became erratic, his shoulders slumped, and he sank into the back of the chair.

Upon seeing this, the officer chuckled twice, "Don't write it too realistically."

"what?"

"The more accurate it is written, the bigger the problem becomes."

After the man finished speaking, he stood up, paused, and said, "The memorandum that you 'misunderstood' as an approval of the action came from Washington."

He glanced at Hank, as if to make sure the other had really understood.

"As long as you don't mention it, no one will bother to find out who posted it."

"But if you insist on including it in the report, then someone has to take the blame."

"Believe me, you don't want to be that person."

Hank didn't say anything.

He didn't loosen his fist until the door closed; his palms were already covered in bloodstains.

In the distance, the sound of helicopter rotors could be heard lingering over the city.

　[1] CID, the Army’s internal criminal investigation agency, handles illegal and irregular activities among personnel, officers, and units.

　　[2] AR 15-6，陆军第15-6号规程，对军事事件、误伤、违规行为、失职等情形进行正式或非正式调查
　　[3] Category of informal executive directives (this time with the White House behind it)
　　[4] The officially used term, meaning "reduced lethality".

　　[5] Training Manual (TM) 3-22.40: 40mm Grenade Launcher, M203, clearly covers the operation, shooting techniques and types of ammunition used for the M203 grenade launcher, and is intended for soldiers to use as a reference during training and combat deployment.

　　[6] Operation Plan

　　[7] Annex Q, Logistics/Civil/Legal Support in Operational Plans
　　[8] During Hurricane Katrina, the deployment of federal troops was severely delayed due to FEMA reasons.
　　
　
(End of this chapter)