The good news from Fer was quickly confirmed.
At three o'clock in the morning, when he opened the radio to send and receive a message again, Anthony was the first to bring the good news.
"Commander! The government army troops on my side seem to be organizing a retreat!"
"Are you sure!?"
Song Heping was suddenly wide awake.
"Sure!"
"Immediately dispatch a few reconnaissance teams to keep an eye on them, and as soon as they retreat, reinforce the southern defense area, head to San Rita, find the AUC forces, and stab them in the back. Remember, coordinate well with the combat troops in the southern defense area, you strike south, they attack north, and jointly strike the AUC armed forces there."
"Understood, Commander, I'll definitely put on a good show for you!"
Anthony seemed very confident.
Morins was most concerned about the communication issue; he asked Song Heping, "Can we start reopening the radio to restore communication now?"
"Be careful, let's wait another hour. Once Anthony has completely confirmed, then we'll turn on the radio."
Song Heping soothed the leader of this armed group to prevent him from rushing and causing some trouble, as he did not want to be dragged down with him.
If the reconnaissance plane was still there, and if the government army had not completely evacuated, it would be all too easy for them to drop a few bombs on their heads before leaving.
He could not afford a small oversight to cost them the victory that was almost within reach.
Song Heping began planning the counterattack in his mind.
In an hour, if the reconnaissance teams sent by Anthony confirmed the government army had withdrawn, it would mean that the Tame region had lost its pressure. This drama was set by the Americans, the Colombian Government Army, and the AUC armed forces. But from now on, it would likely be just the AUC left alone on stage to finish this monodrama!
"Morins, it's time for us to start preparing for a counterattack."
Just as Song Heping felt the pressure decreasing immensely, chaos had erupted far away in the joint operations command center near Tame.
"You Americans are all liars! Liars!"
Major Dorti, a representative of the AUC armed forces, pointed at Lawrence and Sanders of the government army in the command center, cursing like an infuriated bull.
"We were so close, victory was right in front of us, Morrison's command center has been destroyed, their command hub completely cut by us, our troops poured out and split their north and south defense areas, and now you f*****g tell me you are withdrawing?! If you withdraw, who among the ELN troops in the Tame region is going to pursue? Should I redirect troops?"
"ELN forces have already been heavily hit. With your tens of thousands of troops, can't you handle them?"
Sanders, although knowing he was at fault, wouldn't admit it.
"We've already tied down two of their battalions, and nearly pushed them to the border; just bring in two battalions, and Tame can still be taken."
"General, do you think I'm a naive elementary school student that can be easily fooled?! Our AUC forces are attacking in two different defense areas, hundreds of kilometers apart, you don't give any time to coordinate, and then you tell me just bringing two battalions could entirely capture the Tame region? God... do you think this is magic?! To move two battalions over a few hundred kilometers, I need at least a day! Do you think the remaining two ELN battalions in Tame will sit there waiting for our men to arrive and surround them?! They will run, they are living people!"
Dorti became increasingly agitated, his face turning red like a frantic rooster.
Sanders was left speechless.
He knew all too well what canceling the operation at this point meant.
The government army had already lost an entire battalion of troops in this operation, and though success was in sight, they were forced to let go, leaving him also helpless.
Helpless as it was, if the Americans asked to stop, they had to, considering all the equipment and money invested in this operation were part of a drug combat cooperation plan.
Not listening to the Americans would have severe consequences, and their money was not easy to handle.
Colonel Lawrence also blushed silently, but he had to obey the orders from above.
"I'm sorry, we can only stop here; I have received orders to pull back, the rest is up to you guys."
He could only try to comfort Dorti.
"After all, from the current situation, you are at an advantage, both in terms of troops and equipment, AUC will win, it might just take a bit more time. Don't you think your more than thirty thousand troops can defeat their few thousand?"
After saying this, he picked up his briefcase and lightly waved to Dorti.
"Goodbye."
Seeing Lawrence leave, General Sanders said to Dolti, "The helicopter is arranged. My people will take you back to your base. Currently, your headquarters is near Mituas. The helicopter will take you there. You can take any maps and intelligence here that you find useful. Goodbye, Dolti."
Having said that, he also left.
Dolti stood there, feeling like an abandoned child.
Just as the joint Colombian command disbanded, the lights were bright at the Eagle Special Soldier School in Venezuela.
Lao Gao was awakened by the noise outside. He got out of bed, slipped into his slippers, walked to the door, and opened it to find that he wasn't the only one disturbed by the noise.
Many workers stood at their doorways or on the barrack's corridors, looking toward the distant runway.
On the tarmac next to the runway, two SU-24 fighter bombers had been pulled out of the hangar and parked on the runway's edge.
Those "big guys" that normally rested on the ammunition racks inside the hangar had been loaded under the wings. From a distance, they looked like thick, stout cigars; their very size exuded a terrifying murderous intent.
The ground crew was busy checking the planes back and forth, while Dominic, the man in charge of this operation, was arguing with the fighter group's leader, Peterovich.
"I am the head of the company's aviation department and the commander of this bombing mission. Why can't I fly one of them?"
"You a Frenchman, do you even know how to operate our aircraft? Stop using your position for personal gain. If something goes wrong, how will you explain it to the boss?"
"Bullshit! You think your SU-24 is some secret model? It's been everywhere. I've flown it during joint exercises with Eastern European countries when I was with the French Air Force. It's nothing compared to the Rafale!"
"Russians should fly Russian planes. You Frenchies love your Rafale, go fly that. I'm not jealous."
"I am commanding this operation, and I order that I personally operate one of the planes. You only need to keep one bomber."
"Fine, have the boss call me. If he agrees, I have no problem! You want to die, Frenchman, I won't stop you."
"We don't need to ask the boss about this!"
Of course, Dominic knew that calling Song Heping to ask for permission would not work.
But he was really itching to fly.
It had been a long time since he last flew a fighter bomber. Since retiring from the military, he had only been piloting helicopters.
Now, with two SU-24s right in front of him, it was an opportunity he couldn't pass up.
Besides, it was a low-altitude mission crossing the border, then flying over three hundred kilometers to perform precision bombing to decapitate the target.
Wow!
There's nothing more exhilarating than this!
It was a perfect mission to infiltrate Colombian airspace. If detected by radar or intercepted, they would have to engage in a deadly aerial dogfight.
As the two continued to argue, Peterovich's phone rang.
He took it out, looked at it, and handed it to Dominic, "The boss is calling. Do you want to tell him about flying the SU-24?"
Dominic instantly backed down.
He was indeed using his position for personal gain, and Song Heping had never agreed to let him personally pilot the aircraft. He was just supposed to coordinate the operation, manage the ground crew and flight teams, and arrange the bomber group's departure, among other things.
"Boss, are we cleared for takeoff? We're all ready!"
Seeing Dominic drop the matter, Peterovich answered the call.
"Peterovich, have you got all your flight routes confirmed?"
"Confirmed."
"Good, your target is Mituas, and the other aircraft's target is near Cucuta in the northern AUC Northern War Zone Command. Remember, there are only four ODAB bombs, make sure your hits are accurate! Don't mess up!"
"Absolutely not, as long as the ground guidance is accurate, we will not make any mistakes." Peterovich remembered something and quickly asked, "Boss, what about the remaining aerial bombs? How should we handle those?"
Song Heping said on the phone, "Bomb their encirclement. Pick a spot where there are lots of them and drop bombs. Make sure it's impactful; break their morale!"
"No problem!"
"Then set off! Now, immediately!"