Just when Az was determined to pursue Song Heping at all costs, in the Baghdad Green Zone's Joint Command Center.
The air conditioning system, maintaining constant temperature and humidity, emitted a low hum, evenly distributing filtered cool air to every corner. The air was filled with the metallic cooling scent peculiar to electronic equipment and a faint aroma of coffee.
The huge electronic screen was divided into several windows: real-time satellite cloud images, electromagnetic signal spectrum analysis, updates on the positions of friendly units...
But the most central and eye-catching was the real-time image transmitted from a "Global Hawk" UAV silently hovering at tens of thousands of feet high.
In the footage, the landscape showed the unique ochre yellow and reddish-brown of the Gobi Desert, with a dried-up riverbed snaking through like a massive scar.
Along this riverbed, a cloud of dust kicked up by vehicles and men was struggling to creep toward Iji.
