Nightfall descends on Badi Town in the southwest region of Illigo, near the border with Siria.
A convoy races along the sandy roads under the moonlight towards the town.
As they near the town, several pickups appear by the roadside with I5I5 terrorists armed to the teeth aiming their guns at the convoy, and the large-caliber Desheka machine guns in the truck beds also swing around to target the speeding SUVs.
"They're here!"
The lead spotter, upon seeing the SUV convoy, picks up the walkie-talkie to call the commander in the rear headquarters.
"Looks like it's the CIA."
"Check them out, then bring them in."
"No problem."
The small-time leader puts down the walkie-talkie, holding an AKM assault rifle, and steps into the middle of the road with a hand gesture signaling the approaching convey to stop.
The convoy does indeed slow down, stopping in front of the small-time leader with the full beard.
The vehicle doors open, and several armed "Watcher" operatives unfold into a defensive formation.
Although both sides know they are cooperators, neither holds a good impression of the other, and both can see caution in each other's eyes.
The door of the second car opens, and Mr. Rod, the temporary person in charge of this operation, appears in the sight of the small-time leader.
The scene suddenly becomes somewhat bizarre.
A group of CIA operatives entirely equipped in American style and members of a group designated by the United States and the international community as a terrorist organization are standing together.
These two completely opposing groups are now each other's cooperators.
Mr. Rod walks up to the small-time leader and gets straight to the point with his identity: "We are CIA operatives, here to assist you in combat. Lead us in to see your commander."
The small-time leader sizes up Mr. Rod, and after confirming identities with a look over the other "Watcher" members around him, he nods and waves a hand: "Follow my truck."
After saying this, he walks back to a pickup, gesticulating and giving orders to his subordinates: "You guys keep watch here, I'll take them inside."
Once done, he hops onto the vehicle, quickly moving away from the roadside and entering the dirt road towards the center of the town.
Mr. Rod has already returned to his own vehicle, pointing at the pickup in front saying to the driver, "Follow them."
The convoy moves on, with Mr. Rod watching the surrounding scenery through his night vision goggles.
This frontier town was never densely populated to begin with.
In the last two years, the situation here has been chaotic; armed factions fighting has left even fewer people remaining.
The town is less than two kilometers ahead, where a faint glimmer of light can be seen, and the occasional tree flickering by the roadside, desolate like lost souls.
Under the small-time leader's guidance, the CIA's convoy quickly arrives at the I5I5 temporary headquarters.
Tonight, the I5I5 are armed as if facing a formidable enemy.
According to intelligence provided by the CIA, the "People's Power" militia has mobilized a large number of soldiers moving towards Badi Town.
Badi Town is strategically important.
Located to the south of the west side of Mosul, traveling north takes one to Persia, west to Siria, northwest to Turkey, and going south heads towards Saudi, which is also the direction of the stronghold of the People's Power militia.
Song Heping once discussed this "arc of resistance" with Avanti; Persia must expel the I5I5 militants obstructing the southwest and northwest regions across the Euphrates River to completely clear the corridor and connect the local militias of Illigo and the pro-Shiye Sect militants.
In doing so, the Persia-Illigo link of the "arc of resistance" will be penetrated, forming a triangular matrix with Siria, which in the future will be able to pose a tripartite stance against the Daishe Bird Country.
And what the CIA wants is for the I5I5 militants to take root here and preferably control all of the border regions to the west of Illigo and Siria, effectively inserting a wedge into this "arc of resistance" to cut it off, ensuring that the pro-Shiye militias of Illigo, the Siria Government Army, and Persia cannot connect, becoming three disjointed fragments.
"Mr. Ahmair."
Mr. Rod takes the initiative to greet the supreme commander here.
"Mr. Rod, welcome to my headquarters."
Ahmair too greets him with a forced smile, the two exchange pleasantries formally, and then Mr. Rod says, "We need to occupy a little space in your command center."
He glances around, pointing to a few tables in the corner of the room.
"My people need to start working immediately."
"No problem..."
Ahmair turns and directs his subordinates with a flurry of commands.
"Quick, clear that area for our friends."
A few I5I5 militants go and drag away the tables, removing the debris from the ground.
Mr. Rod asks Ahmair, "Where is Mr. Baghdadi?"
Ahmair smiles mysteriously and says, "He's not here. You said that Mr. Song is targeting him, so our leader doesn't plan on staying here. I will be in command of the operation tonight."
Mr. Rod asks, "Did he go to Siria?"
Ahmair nods, "But for security reasons, I cannot tell you where he is right now."
Mr. Rod internally scoffs but outwardly pretends nonchalance: "As long as he's safe. We're not here to protect him, we're here to find Song Heping."
This hidden barb seemed to irritate Ahmair somewhat.
"I heard that it wasn't supposed to be you, Mr. Rod, assisting us, but a manager named Nathan, who was attacked right after disembarking from the plane?"