Tehran Grocery Store: My Intelligence is Priced Clearly

The next morning.

Inside the CIA's underground safe house in Tehran, the exhaust fan was still humming.

At the communications station, operator Harry yawned widely and rubbed his sore neck.

He then picked up the encrypted communicator next to him and opened the roster on the table.

As is customary, 6 a.m. every day is the time for the external informants to report that they are safe and sound.

Harry pressed the first number.

A long "beep-beep" sound came from the receiver until the call was automatically disconnected.

He pursed his lips, not taking it seriously.

These thugs and informants from the south of the city often arrive a few minutes late at night because they're usually drunk or still on some woman's belly.

Slide your finger to dial the second number.

"Sorry, the number you dialed is temporarily unavailable..."

Harry frowned slightly.

What's going on? Two calls in a row without a response?

He sat up straight and began typing rapidly on the keyboard.

They quickly dialed the third informant's dedicated frequency and sent an emergency call signal.

"beep--!"

A minute passed.

There was no response on the screen, not even a confirmation message.

Harry's heart began to race, and an ominous premonition spread through his mind.

He swallowed hard, then frantically started dialing the fourth, fifth, and sixth numbers...

result……

Without exception, they were all silent!

Thirteen names, eight strongholds—it's as if they've vanished completely from the map of Tehran, without a single response!

Harry ripped off his headphones; even if he was slow to react, he knew something terrible had happened!

He scrambled and stumbled towards the inner office, barging in without even knocking.

"Chief! Something terrible has happened!"

Exhausted from the F-16DJ, Hall was just about to take a nap when Harry rushed in. His expression changed, and he roared at Harry.

"How many times have I told you, don't overreact!"

Harry was deathly pale, and his lips were trembling.

"We can't worry about the section chief anymore. All our informants in the south of the city...the south of the city, have been wiped out!"

Hall's hand froze instantly.

"What did you say?"

"We just conducted our routine contact scouting. Thirteen people, eight sentries—we can't reach a single one! They've all lost contact!"

Harry's voice trembled, and his eyes were filled with panic.

Hall's head buzzed, as if he had been hit with a hammer.

Have they all lost contact?

How is that possible!

Those informants didn't even know each other!

The outposts were also completely independent.

Even if they were taken down by the Iranian internal security forces, it's impossible for them to be unable to send out an alarm overnight!

"Get back to your starting point and continue making calls! Activate the backup channel! Go!"

Hall's forehead veins bulged, and he roared as he slammed the teacup on the table away.

boom!

The cup shattered into pieces, and the last bit of coffee inside spilled all over the floor.

Just then, a steady footstep sounded outside the door.

Langley, dressed in a dark gray trench coat, walked in with two expressionless senior agents, his face grim, stepping over shards of teacups scattered on the floor.

Hall's cursing stopped abruptly.

He looked at his boss's face, which was as black as the bottom of a pot, and cold sweat instantly soaked his back.

"Director... why did you come in person?"

Langley stopped, frowned as he glanced at the mess on the ground, and stared at Hall.

"If I hadn't come soon, would we have been able to take down the sign for this Middle East branch?"

Hall swallowed hard, unable to utter a single word.

Langley walked to the sofa and sat down with an air of authority.

"I was outside just now and I heard you shouting something about everything being cut off. What happened?"

Hall's legs went weak, but he forced himself to take two steps forward.

"Chief, the communications station just reported that our network of informants deployed around the South City Bazaar... has all lost contact."

Langley paused.

He raised his head, his eyes fixed intently on Hall.

"all?"

"It's... thirteen core informants and eight transit points, and there's been no response since midnight."

Hall's voice grew softer and softer until it was almost inaudible.

"waste."

Langley slammed his hand on the table, his eyes flashing with murderous intent.

"A bunch of good-for-nothings!"

He suddenly stood up and grabbed Hall by the collar.

"I handed over full operational authority over Iran to you, and I approved funding for you despite pressure from politicians in Washington! Is this how you repay me?"

"An F-16DJ was shot down from the sky like a turkey, and not a single trace was found!"

"Now look what's happened! They've found their way to your doorstep and gouged out all the eyes you'd scattered overnight!"

"The whole of Tehran is now blind and deaf!"

Langley shoved Hall away.

Hall stumbled, his back slamming against the desk. A sharp pain shot through him, causing him to hiss, but he quickly sucked it back in, barely daring to breathe.

"Chief, this was absolutely a premeditated purge!"

"The other party's method was too clean, which means..."

"What does that prove? It proves your incompetence!"

Langley irritably loosened his tie, plopped back down on the sofa, and gasped for breath.

He had originally hoped to use the bazaar connection to find the mysterious person who bought the weapons and, in turn, uncover the mole who leaked the air raid information.

Now, all the leads have gone cold.

The other party not only has extremely strong counter-surveillance capabilities, but also acts ruthlessly and decisively, and does not play by the rules at all.

This is absolutely not something that Iran's rigid internal security forces would do.

The room was so quiet that only the sound of the exhaust fan could be heard.

Hall didn't dare say a word when he saw Langley's furious expression.

Only after he calmed down a bit did he cautiously approach.

"Chief... what should we do now?"

Langley closed his eyes, rubbed his throbbing temples, and his brain was racing.

The situation has deteriorated to the extreme, and we must act swiftly and decisively.

He suddenly opened his eyes and issued a series of instructions.

"First, contact Mossad immediately."

"The Israelis have a deeper foothold in Tehran than we do; let them share the current ground intelligence."

"While you're at it, ask them if they've received any important intelligence lately."

"Secondly, send all your office workers and logistics staff out there!"

"A basic early warning network must be re-established in the south of the city within 24 hours!"

"If this continues, we won't even know how we died!"

"third."

Langley narrowed his eyes, a fierce glint flashing in them.

"Deploy the Night Hawks commando team."

Hall suddenly looked up.

"Nighthawks? Chief, the situation is unclear, are we going to use them directly..."

"We can't worry about that now!"

Langley interrupted him sharply.

"Have him set out immediately and bring the 'blacksmith' back to me!"

Langley snorted coldly.

"Take him directly to the safe house, I will interrogate him personally."

"If he just speaks up, I don't believe we can't find that buyer!"

"Understood! I'll arrange for the Nighthawks to take care of it immediately!"

Hall realized what was happening, but he didn't immediately leave.

Langley glanced at him.

"Is there anything else?"

"Chief, although we've lost our footing in the south of the city, I actually still have one more card to play."

Hall lowered his voice, his expression becoming somewhat mysterious.

Langley raised an eyebrow.

"What brand?"

Hall moved closer.

"I previously recruited a mid-level official from Iran's Defense Intelligence Agency privately. Although it cost a lot, I think it was worth it."

Langley's eyes lit up instantly.

The Defense Intelligence Agency? That's the core intelligence agency of the Iranian military!

"Does he have access to core secrets?"

"His rank wasn't particularly high, but he had access to a lot of classified documents."

Hall swallowed hard.

"The air defense command must have detailed battle reports and intelligence sources for this F-16 being shot down."

"If we activate it, we might be able to get the answer we want directly!"

Langley stood up abruptly, placed his hands on the desk, and stared intently at Hall.

"Why are you only telling me about someone so important now?"

"This piece is too sensitive; once activated, it will be easily exposed."

"I originally wanted to wait until the situation became clearer before..."

"Now is the time when it's most needed!"

Langley, his eyes red, roared in a low voice.

"Contact him immediately!"

"I need to know immediately who betrayed our flight path!"

Hall nodded repeatedly.

"I'll get on it right away!"

Langley gave him a deep look.

"Remember, this is your last chance."

"If this line breaks again, you can prepare to spend the rest of your life counting ants in Guantanamo Bay."

Hall wiped the cold sweat from his forehead, turned around, and rushed out of the office.

Watching Hall's departing figure, Langley walked to the window, pushed it open a crack, and looked out at the gray sky.

The wind in Tehran is getting stronger.

At the same time.

The basement of the grocery store.

A system notification suddenly sounded in Zhang Jian's mind.

【Ding! 】

[The investigation has been detected by CIA Deputy Director and Middle East Bureau Chief Langley; the host exposure risk is about to reach a critical level!]

"CIA Deputy Director, Langley?"

Zhang Jian stared at the blue light screen in front of him, and his heart skipped a beat.

The CIA really thinks highly of him, actually sending a deputy director to deal with him personally.

If that's the case, then I'm afraid I really need to make several more preparations.

He turned around, looked at the map of Tehran on the wall, and his gaze instantly sharpened.

"Farhad".

"The boss?"

"Go and fetch Shahra."

Zhang Jian had his hands behind his back.

"I'm afraid our troubles are really coming."