The following evening, in the Green Zone of Illiguo, inside the "Musician" Defense's office building.
The cook had just returned from the oil field area and went to look for Song Heping.
He didn't see anyone in Song Heping's room, so he went downstairs to ask someone.
In the first-floor office area, only Ferrari was sitting in front of the computer.
The cook knew that Ferrari was aware of the whole story and its progress, but he hesitated and didn't speak up.
Just then, Grey Wolf and Hunter came out of the kitchen, each holding a plate of spaghetti and eating as they walked.
"Grey Wolf!"
Seeing Grey Wolf, the cook felt like he had seen a savior, otherwise he really couldn't stand asking Ferrari for information.
"The cook is back?" Grey Wolf greeted, and headed to sit down in the dining room.
The cook approached and asked, "Where's Song He? Wasn't it said that he had come back from Istanbul?"
Grey Wolf looked around: "I don't know… I just came back from the water station myself; didn't we all go out together today?"
Because yesterday, Song Heping had called to instruct everyone to immediately prepare everything and to check their work at hand to ensure that going to South America for a rescue mission wouldn't delay the company's main business.
So today, they split into groups: the cook and White Bear went to the oil field, while Grey Wolf and others went to the water station.
Hunter said, "He came back? How come I didn't know?"
Sitting beside the desk, Ferrari finally spoke up, "He came back at noon; you just weren't here."
The cook quickly gestured to Grey Wolf to ask for more information.
Understanding the signal, Grey Wolf willingly asked Ferrari, "Ferrari, where is Song He?"
Ferrari's eyes remained fixed on the computer screen in front, as he had a lot of work recently. There would be a bidding next month, and paperwork was piling up like a mountain.
"He's in the briefing room!"
He seemed somewhat impatient, throwing the sentence at Grey Wolf with displeasure and then began to complain, "FUCK! I need to hire a couple of beauties to help me out; one person just can't manage all this!"
Hearing this, the cook got up and headed toward the briefing room, wanting to find Song Heping.
Ferrari reminded him, "Song said, let no one disturb him; he's planning the rescue operation."
The cook stopped in his tracks, standing awkwardly in the middle of the office.
To go or not to go, yet he was anxious about it.
He looked at his watch; it was already eight o'clock.
In the end, he couldn't help but lean in and ask Ferrari, "Ferrari… how long has Song He been in there? Since noon? Doesn't he need me to bring him something to eat?"
Ferrari was already quite annoyed, overwhelmed by paperwork, especially since the US Army required some documents to be prepared to the highest standards of past bids, considering that the contract involved $240 million in documentation.
"I'm just quoting Song; if you want to knock, go ahead, none of my business!"
This nearly made the cook choke.
The cook knew Song Heping's personality.
When he was concentrating on planning, it was best not to disturb him; otherwise, he would be scolded as well.
After hesitating repeatedly, he still didn't have the courage to knock. He simply took a drink from the fridge and sat back down at the dining table.
He had been sitting for less than ten minutes when the door to the briefing room opened.
Song Heping peeked out from behind the door and yelled, "Everyone to the briefing room, we're having a meeting!"
The cook stood up quickly, overjoyed.
Song Heping calling a meeting meant there must be a preliminary plan for the rescue.
"Song He, I'll make you some lamb and spaghetti; you haven't eaten, right?!"
The cook began to volunteer eagerly.
After all, this was all his own fault.
This time, the loss of goods and ransom together totaled seven million.
That wasn't all; they had already spent five hundred thousand buying intelligence, and Song Heping also owed Chris Chen a favor.
The future expenses for the rescue were still unknown.
One could say that due to his lack of consideration at that time, he had caused losses amounting to tens of millions.
Yet, throughout all this, Song Heping hadn't complained about him even once.
The cook was irritable, but he couldn't be irritable towards Song Heping, respecting him too deeply to speak freely.
"Okay, I'm hungry too. Cook, you've got good skills, bring some food in. I'll eat while we talk," Song Heping said.
Soon, everyone had taken their seats in the briefing room.
"Song, your spaghetti!" the cook exclaimed.
The cook's skills were indeed remarkable; the spaghetti was ready in just ten minutes.
Song Heping picked up a bottle of mineral water and spoke while drinking, "You guys go ahead and take a look at the map and the markings on the wall. All this information is gathered from various intelligence sources and mapped out here, including AUC's military deployment in Amazon Province and Putu Mayo Province, the detention points, and their surrounding military presence, as well as the terrain. I'll eat something first, then I'll share my thoughts, and we can see if anyone has any good suggestions. We need to come up with a plan tonight; we don't have much time."