In Illiguo, Simon received the notice that Director Kelly wanted to connect with him via video call on a secure line.
After the security department handled it, a link prompt soon popped up on his computer.
"Sir, what do you need from me?"
He could hardly hide his shock.
Although he was not Kelly's subordinate but was instead a station chief of one of the Middle East division's branches under the Intelligence Department,
for a person like Kelly to contact him directly indicated that the matter was extremely urgent and the level of secrecy extremely high.
"Simon, there's a person I want to ask you about."
"Who?"
"A China Person, Chinese name—Song Heping."
As this name entered Simon's ears, it was like a thunderbolt.
His complexion changed slightly, and his muscles stiffened a bit.
"What's wrong? You seem surprised."
Even though it was a video call, Kelly acutely noticed Simon's unnatural reaction.
"Yes."
Simon, after all, was a station chief. Though he was shocked and it showed, he quickly recovered.
"I've dealt with him before, have detained him, and had some conflicts with him."
He distanced himself relationally.
Regardless, that was the safest approach.
"I have some knowledge of these matters, which is why I've come to you."
Kelly got straight to the point, "I want to know if he has been in Illiguo recently."
"Not here," Simon stated frankly, "He appears to be in South America, Venezuela."
Kelly asked further, "What kind of relation does this person have with the U.S. Military in Illiguo?"
"Not clear," Simon said, "But their company has taken on transportation contracts for the U.S. Military stationed in Illiguo, and those who can get this kind of contract are deeply connected with the military. I don't think I need to elaborate on that."
Kelly nodded thoughtfully, "He seems to have helped the military with arms trading business? In a report you submitted before, there was mention of a misunderstanding with his company over this, and that he was detained because of it?"
Simon felt a little nervous inside.
He least wanted to mention the SA-9 missile trade in Africa.
Because of this incident, he's been at Song Heping's mercy to this day, not daring to provoke the man again.
"Correct, there was such an incident, but then General Peter came personally to explain it was a military action. As for the purpose and involving military secrets, I have no authority to inquire."
"That's quite interesting."
Kelly smiled, "There is information indicating that he purchased two SU-24 fighter bombers in Illiguo in the name of military processing, correct?"
"That did happen, and without military approval, he wouldn't have been able to buy such aircraft," Simon replied, relieved that Kelly did not continue to talk about the African arms deal.
Aside from that incident, he could chat pleasantly about anything else.
Kelly asked further, "Just the aircraft without any armaments?"
Simon furrowed his brows, "Sir, why do you ask?"
Kelly explained, "A few days ago, an unexpected development occurred in 'Operation Viper,' a joint initiative between the White House and the Colombian government. The entire command structure of the AUC militants we were working with was wiped out. The information from the site suggests they suffered a high-yield bomb attack. Our technicians analyzed that based on the aircraft of Soviet make only able to use Soviet munitions, they must have used at least large FAB aerial bombs or ODAB thermo-baric bombs to achieve such a lethal effect. That's why I'm asking you, since you're more familiar with the current situation in Illiguo, did Sadam's forces ever procure large FAB aerial bombs or ODAB thermo-baric bombs?"
"We have FAB models, but only 500-kilogram class. We did not import ODAB thermo-baric bombs, as the Soviet back then strictly controlled these types of major weapons, second only to 'mushroom' weapons and China arms, and fundamentally did not sell them abroad."
Simon gave a definitive negative answer.
"Currently, although Sadam's stockpile weapons are all being processed, as far as I know, these large-yield bombs are being disposed of through destruction, not sold to others."
Simon's certainty plunged Kelly deeper into suspicion.
If the "Musician" defense couldn't purchase ODAB thermo-baric bombs, then what kind of bomb caused such terrifying damage?
Could it possibly be a high-yield FAB bomb?
But Illiguo only had 500-kilogram yield FAB aerial bombs, which weren't nearly enough to cause such extensive damage.
For a moment, Kelly even thought her suspicions were mistaken.
A private military company, how could they possibly get their hands on Russian ODAB thermo-baric bombs?
"SIR? What do you want to investigate?"
Seeing that Kelly was silent, Simon pressed on, "Do you suspect that Song Heping bombed the AUC with thermo-baric bombs?"
"I've had that thought."
Kelly said, "I even sent people to scout near his school in southern Venezuela, but there was an accident, and they all died."
Simon immediately thought of the recent news, where Venezuela's officials announced the killing of three CIA agents who had infiltrated their territory.
That news was still very hot.