Chapter 135 Convoy

Sunday, August 25, 2013

Folks at home, who were more accustomed to consuming traditional media like television, watched the Sunday morning news while eating breakfast.

A significant portion of them chose to test the new cable outlet advertised everywhere called the Infinity Channel, an auxiliary media platform that broadcasts curated shows and movies for free on cable and satellite TV.

Diana Strong, the blonde Caucasian-American lead news anchor, confidently presented, "Thank you for joining IC News from cable TV or the Infinity Channel app for our first Sunday segment. First, we'll discuss information retrieved by FTB's (Future Tech Broadcasting) from our respondents in Seoul."

The North Korean government released a professionally directed and edited video of a military parade in Pyongyang heavily featuring a newly developed intercontinental ballistic missile. One much bigger and more sophisticated than the Soviet-era Hwasong series they've been upgrading since the 1980s, thanks to previous President Lee and Anarchy.

Diana seriously explained, "Tensions are rising in East Asia as the threat of nuclear war is becoming more apparent. The North Korean leader, Kim Jong-un, who recently inherited the position from his father, has evidently continued progressing their nuclear program to a significant extent. Our news team has reached out to South Korea, Japan, and the USA for further press releases regarding the matter but has yet to receive any comments."

The show presented more segments discussing other international and local news topics, such as the Venezuelan economic crisis due to misguided fiscal policies and the ongoing armed conflict in Syria.

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A regal African-American man in his early 50s sat comfortably in his oval office chair while watching Infinity Channel News with the chief of staff and other members of Obama's administration.

President Obama had a concerned look after the news segment took a short commercial break and asked, "General Douglas, what are your initial thoughts on North Korea's new ICBM?"

The Pentagon had been preoccupied with drafting the military intervention plan for Syria and now had to consider the recent revelation by the North Koreans.

General Douglas honestly answered, "We've never seen anything like those missiles before based on intelligence my department has gathered regarding any thermonuclear threats abroad. North Korea's new ICBMs seem to share more similarities to western missiles than Russian or Chinese. Though they haven't tested them yet, I believe a reconsideration of the tactical strategy for the East Asia theatre is required."

If North Korea could successfully deploy its new ICBMs, then all US-allied nations in the region would be at risk of political strong-arming and nuclear war in the worst-case scenario.

Obama breathed deeply and was silent for a moment before saying, "I'll heed your advice, General. Place our Syria defense package on hold before we discuss the situation with President Won Hyun and Prime Minister Shinzo Abe."

The wars the US had waged in the Middle East for decades were profitable and aligned with its interests. Still, the Western Pacific countries like South Korea and Japan were crucial to the US foreign policy strategy.

Aside from deliberating with his national leader counterparts, Obama also considered reaching out to a reliable corporate ally, Vince Dalton, for his opinion and practical support with the problems currently surfacing one by one.

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Watching TV or livestreams would have to wait for Holo's reconnaissance unit that the FS Command Center dispatched to stalk a convoy of black-armored SUVs and identify the trespassers' using high-powered magnification binoculars and a Stealth Dragonfly.

The team shadowing Pavel's Bratva convoy was the same one that uncovered the warheads in Syria and assisted Felix's Hammer team on the ground.

Holo's three-person team was forced to drive a dinky pickup truck for that mission but now rolled in an off-road SUV colored in Tan to blend into the desert surroundings easily.

Future Tech preferred to manufacture its own service vehicles if possible instead of relying on companies like Oshkosh Defense, Komatsu, or Caterpillar.

Holo was busy piloting the Stealth Dragonfly until he was distracted by a squadmate asking, "Holo, what do you see on your end?"

The FS nethunter answered in an unamused tone, "Assorted weapons. Pistols, sub-machine guns, AK rifles, and explosive grenades."

The new iteration of the military-spec Dragonflies included threat assessment modules that assisted in identifying relevant combat information, given the AI drone had ample scanned data of its targets.

Holo immediately updated the recon information he was relaying to the FS Command Center before saying, "Let's continue the stalking mission until the Afghan soldiers and FS operators arrive to intercept the convoy. We'll be playing quarterback while they're engaged but keeping a reasonable distance from the battlefield.

Obviously, the intruders crossed the border with ill intentions and headed straight to the heart of Afghanistan, where most of the Opium fields were located.

Director Price had already put two and two together and assumed the Russian trespassers were Bratva planning to retrieve a large amount of poppy based on the high number of vehicles in convoy.

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The interception force consisted of 50 Afghan soldiers (Company) and 25 FS operators (Platoon) led by ex-Canadian Special Forces soldier FS Spectre Ryder.

A total of nine FAV-1s transported the small army over the rough terrain and deserts of Afghanistan to reach the local community maintaining the Opium fields.

Each Hypervisor Helmet shared a secure NetServ communication channel that allowed Ryder to speak clearly with the Afghan force and his operators.

Ryder reviewed the updated information on his Infinity Tablet and said, "The Command Center has confirmed the intruders' destination. Our strike force will notify the civilians to remain in their homes before securing the community's perimeter."

Farrukh's AV touched down and allowed the passengers to disembark before heading further into the desert to hide and mask his presence with the other AVs from his unit.

Ryder allowed the Afghan soldiers to take charge of dealing with the locals while the FS Spectre walked towards the largest home in the village.

The residents of the relatively lavish house were a family that had dealt with the Solntsevskaya Bratva since the 1990s and earned plenty of money for managing the local Opium business.

The family had already signed agreements with the Afghan government and Future Tech regarding their transition to legal distribution of Opium and denied allegations from Ryder suggesting the sale of drugs to the oncoming convoy of Russians.

Ryder apologized for insinuating the family was involved in illegal activities again but requested the use of their home's high walls for protection in case negotiations with the Russians sour.

The FS Spectre vacated the home, patched through the Command Center voice channel, and said, "Director Price, There is no reason to believe the locals double-crossed the deal with Karzai and Future Tech. It seems like the Bratva only wants to procure six months' worth of Opium they assume the locals have harvested and stored since the last smuggling run."

Price found Ryder's conclusion to be logical and replied, "Good. Keep the civilians safe from harm, and let the Afghans deal with the Bratva. It'll be a good experience for them to deal with unreasonable people. Step in if the fight gets too chaotic, but your entourage should have enough resources to apprehend our unwelcome visitors. Ping me if you run into any issues. Price out."

Ryder informed the Afghan Commander of his plans and suggestions about his men's positioning. Holo's recon team confirmed the enemy was equipped with high explosive grenades, so keeping most of the soldiers out of sight until a fight began was the correct play.

Ryder barked orders for the men to find a defensible position to hold during the negotiations and potential firefight.

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Pavel and his convoy were fifteen minutes away from arriving at the largest Opium operation in the heart of Afghanistan.

After crossing the northern border, the young Bratva officer was delighted to find no obstructions in their path.

Pavel skeptically thought, [It seems like rumors about Future Security weren't true at all! I bought so much ammo and weapons for my boys, and they wouldn't even need to use them.]

Unlike Pavel, his right-hand man and childhood friend, Dmitri, was on edge and worriedly asked, "Brother, why did we have to bring so many SUVs? I don't believe the local security forces haven't picked up on our presence already."

Pavel smacked his friend's shoulder and confidently said, "It's been six months since the last deal, and I'm expecting three harvests worth of Opium. One or two vehicles wouldn't be enough to transport that much product. Relax, brother. They would have stopped us at the border if our presence was really known to them. This run is the last time we're buying from Afghanistan because of the apparent risks. My uncle told me about a new deal being discussed with some Islamist Warlord offering land for growing any type of drugs in exchange for weapons. Our struggling Heroin business will be revitalized when that time comes, but we need the Opium now until the deal is settled."

Pavel's hubris, pride, and greed learned from years of serving in the Bratva would soon bite him in the back.

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