"You FBI kidnapped my daughter. I can't let you die." Mason's excuse was a bit perfunctory.
Aside from Jack, no one present had much of a personal connection with him. Since the old man had offered to accompany Jack on this adventure, the others were merely surprised, but no one strongly objected.
Team B members offered various suggestions during the operation, but obedience to command was a fundamental military quality. After Captain Jason gave the order, everyone, though still somewhat concerned for Jack, quickly gathered their equipment.
They had a long way to go. First, they had to return to the sewers to retrieve their diving equipment, then circle halfway around the island to the base of the lighthouse's cliffs, and then find a way to climb up.
Although Jack promised to distract the enemy, the risks faced by the SEALs were no less significant.
Standing twenty or thirty meters high, the cliffs, eroded by years of wind, were prone to collapse. Two guards on the lighthouse constantly monitored the sea. If they were discovered during the climb, they would face a similarly dangerous fate.
"
Hold your guns! We surrender!"
"Who are you?" the general, standing erect beside the hostages, demanded sharply, watching an old man and a young man emerge from the prison hospital with their hands raised.
"We're the ones you're looking for, General," Jack, blinded by the searchlight, replied with a similarly loud voice, tilting his head.
"Nonsense!" Hammer cursed as his adjutant, Major Baxter, waved at the two soldiers, signaling them to move forward and investigate.
The two soldiers exchanged a hesitant glance before reluctantly leaving their cover, carefully passing Jack and Mason, each providing cover as they entered the prison hospital.
As Jack and Mason slowly ascended the steps, their hands raised high, and approached the crowd, the searchlight shifted away from their faces.
As they raised their heads, General Hammer couldn't help but express surprise at the face of one who appeared too young, the other too old.
His gaze darted between the two men's faces, finally settling on Mason's. "I thought I was the only old man here. State your name and rank, old sailor."
Major Buster and another soldier stepped forward, pointing their guns at Jack and Mason's backs, checking them for hidden weapons.
"Actually, I'm an Army soldier." Compared to Jack's awkwardness—after all, he usually did this to check suspects—Mason, who was often frisked by prison guards, was much calmer.
"Answer the question! And use honorifics!" Major Buster nudged him in the back with the muzzle of his gun.
Mason sighed, lowered his hands, and stood up straight, answering with the manner of a junior officer addressing his superior. "I'm Captain John Mason, a respected general of the British Royal Airborne Special Service. Now retired, of course."
"British? Captain, how are you involved in this matter?" Hammer was surprised by the answer.
Mason glared at Jack beside him unhappily, "I'm quite familiar with this prison. I've been here before."
"What about you, young man?" Hammer followed his gaze and looked at Jack next to him, "State your identity."
Jack also put down his hand, "I'm not a soldier, but an FBI agent, Jack Tavola, General, just call me Jack."
"FBI? Not special forces? Why are there only two of you, where did the others go?"
Before Jack could answer, the two soldiers who had just entered the prison hospital ran out in panic, "Damn, they dismantled all the missiles, and the poison warheads inside are missing."
Hammer's deputy general style could no longer be maintained. He reached out and grabbed Jack's collar, thought about it and let him go, turned around and grabbed Mason's collar.
"What on earth did you do? Where are your companions?"
"Of course we're evacuating, taking the dangerous VX with us." Jack ignored Mason's plaintive look. "Don't embarrass Mr. Mason. He's just a hapless guide who was coerced and bribed by his superiors."
Even as a battle-hardened general, Hammer was baffled by this maneuver. "Evacuate? I still have 81 hostages and two missiles ready to launch. Why are you evacuating? Who gave you the permission to do this?"
"Of course it was an order from the Pentagon, General," Jack said casually. "The military deemed the remaining two VX missiles no longer a threat
. As for the 81 hostages..." He blinked, a puzzled expression on his face. "Wasn't it you, General, who requested the news be kept secret? So there wasn't a terrorist attack, just a ferry accident caused by poor sea conditions.
Or perhaps an accident at the dilapidated prison facility, or perhaps an incident at the island's undiscovered arsenal.
You know the FBI is best at covering up the truth, right?"
Feeling as if a huge stone had blocked his chest, the general's face paled and turned blue, nearly spitting out blood.
"You damn bastard!" A soldier stepped forward and slammed the butt of his rifle into Jack's now-demonstrably handsome face.
Jack tilted his face slightly, avoiding his nose, and the butt of the rifle struck his forehead. Blood immediately flowed from his brow to his cheek, finally dripping down his chin.
"Stop!" Hammer extended his hand to stop the soldier's advance, then continued with a sullen expression, "Then why are you two surrendering?"
"Of course, it's for those 81 hostages. It's time to call it quits, General. We've volunteered to be your prisoners. You can take us and the remaining two missiles and evacuate safely by helicopter,"
Jack replied matter-of-factly, with Mason chiming in.
"Your blackmail scheme has failed. The Air Force could be deployed at any moment to turn this place into a sea of fire. For the sake of those 81 innocent people, or for the lives of your men, it's time to gracefully admit failure."
As Mason spoke, Jack's gaze swept over the faces of the people present, comparing them with the information he had received.
As Red had expected, the composition of the general's soldiers had shifted.
The only confirmed Hammer faction members were Major Baxter and a captain who looked over 30 years old. The rest were likely "mercenaries."
The impulsive attacker was a thick-lipped, bowl-cut black soldier, one of these "mercenaries."
"Blackmail?" Hammer looked at Mason who was speaking for Jack, "I'm not a terrorist, so they just used you as a guide and didn't tell you why I did that, right?"
Mason spread his hands and started to play dumb. The old man had always remembered that Jack said the purpose of their trip was to delay time, so he had a lot to say at this moment.
"Although I have been imprisoned, I have seen you on TV, the famous war hero, right? I don't think you did this for money."
"As a former outstanding soldier, you should also understand the pain of being betrayed by those fucking upper echelons, Captain Mason, we should be on the same side."
Hammer stood in front of Mason with his arms folded, as if he felt that he had nothing to say to Jack, the FBI.
(End of this chapter)