The hostages were imprisoned in an underground bunker that was difficult to breach quickly. Forced entry was extremely difficult, and even if a breakthrough was achieved, there was a high probability of a complete catastrophe, with the high probability of further casualties.
Luring the hostages out seemed to be the most feasible option at the moment.
The advantage of having someone above them was that the people responsible for the work below would have fewer constraints.
Crucially, with the approval of those above them, even if Jack's plan was crude and rudimentary, a group of experts would quickly arrive to help refine it.
Of course, the experts here didn't refer to the great scholars who would help with the "debate," but rather to special operations staff.
Years of asymmetric warfare and security operations had ensured that the Federation had no shortage of experienced commanders and staff in special operations.
After Rossi reported Jack's plan, Special Operations Command quickly conducted a sandbox simulation, elaborating on the details and ultimately concluding that it was feasible.
In reality, eliminating the terrorists occupying the White House's above-ground structure was only a matter of time; the challenge lay in how to capture the "PEOC" in the underground bunker with minimal effort.
It wasn't just Jason's SEAL Team B; all Special Forces members on leave or training in the country had received the order to deploy and were arriving one after another.
Team B was in the tunnel not because they were the closest, but because Master Sergeant Jason Hayes had been personally selected by Maureen.
While Jack wasn't well-known, his combat record was well documented, and a significant portion of that was achieved in collaboration with Jason's Team B.
Therefore, when Maureen specifically singled out Jason Hayes and his Team B, no one in the Pentagon thought much of it, simply interpreting it as a reminder from Jack's superior, Dana Moger.
Similarly, when Jack suggested forcing the hostages for a demonstration, some raised concerns, but once the "we don't trade with terrorists" label was laid, the opposition naturally vanished.
Soon after, when the "PEOC" sent another communication request to the Pentagon, it was simply ignored.
Soon after, the police cars surrounding the White House retreated to the intersections of various blocks, replaced by more military trucks, armored vehicles, and even tanks.
Several terrorists patrolling the rooftops with Stingers quickly noticed this unusual change. The PEOC then sent several more communication requests, but all were ignored.
The pressure was now on the terrorists.
Time ticked by, and Jack's two walkie-talkies rang several times.
One was from the two men he had killed in the corridor outside the Lincoln Bedroom, and the other was from the patrol team whose two men he had captured.
Apparently, the PEOC had not yet restored surveillance of the White House, and could only confirm its safety by frequently contacting the various patrol teams.
Jack was thankful to have left two men alive. After the communication was confirmed, the men underground remained unaware of the abnormality, providing a safeguard for the subsequent operation.
Time quickly came to 2:30 in the morning. Just as everyone was anxiously waiting, Kate's voice sounded again in Jack's earphones, "I'm sorry, Jack, I'm late."
"Are you okay?" Jack blurted out, drawing curious glances from the SEALs huddled in the laundry room awaiting their orders.
"I'm fine, and we've successfully tracked the location of the Samaritan," Kate replied.
Jack's eyes lit up, and he quickly asked, "Where is it?"
"Someone uploaded the Samaritan main program to a server within the PEOC, giving it extremely high-level permissions.
Finch discovered their true purpose by hacking into the Department of Defense network. They cracked the Cerberus code not to destroy intercontinental missiles, but to gain control of unmanned missile silos."
Kate had previously mentioned to Jack that the military network can be broadly divided into three different levels of security (Chapter 1494), known as the "DISN" system.
Among these, "NIPRNET" was the lowest level, directly connected to the Internet. During the SEALs' early missions in Mexico, Clay and Stella, then his wife, used this network for their daily video calls.
Finch's previous speculation was incorrect. Although intelligence suggests the Samaritan was handed over from the NSA to the Department of Defense before its development was complete, the military clearly wasn't foolish enough to integrate it directly into the Defense Information Systems Network (DISN).
Just as the "machine" underwent years of data training before being officially handed over to the NSA, the Samaritan has long been housed in a secret Decima computer room, receiving intelligence data from the DISN and undergoing trial operations.
After Jack eliminated Decima's leader, Greer, the organization has been leaderless and gradually stagnant. This is why Harry's Omega team has been unable to uncover many useful leads.
Then, an interesting development unfolded: Always Vigilant, the terrorist organization deliberately cultivated by Mr. Greer as a scapegoat, suddenly emerged and miraculously devoured Decima Technology.
Greer originally cultivated the "Always Vigilant" group to counter the NSA and the "Machine." In the original story, its leader, Michael Collier, experienced firsthand the true meaning of "killing the dog after the rabbit has died.
" After successfully exposing the "Aurora Project" and the existence of the "Machine," this self-proclaimed righteous organization was blasted into space by a bomb planted by Decima. Michael Collier was killed and subsequently charged with being a "terrorist organization."
In this world, when the leader was accidentally killed and the organization was on the verge of collapse, a mysterious individual contacted Michael Collier, the leader of "Always Vigilant."
Michael Collier had once been a poor man. His brother was imprisoned for his involvement in a terrorist attack. Ultimately, due to his black skin color and religious beliefs, he was never rehabilitated and ultimately committed suicide.
Soon after, Decima funded Michael Collier to establish "Always Vigilant," a group dedicated to exposing and protesting the government's unwarranted surveillance of ordinary people.
Under Mr. Greer's deliberate guidance, both Michael Collier and the organization he led gradually became radicalized. However, due to its inherent idealism, "Warm Vigilant" wasn't necessarily a terrorist organization.
However, after Mr. Greer's death, things changed. Someone found Michael Collier and revealed everything to him. At that moment, this idealist finally turned evil. A
mysterious person helped Michael Collier seize control of Decima Technologies and obtained the original program for "Samaritan."
At this point, "Warm Vigilant" was no longer a small protest group, but rapidly transformed into an anti-government organization seeking to overthrow federal rule and restore state autonomy.
"Are you saying that after gaining control of "Cerberus," "Samaritan" could actually launch a nuclear missile?" Jack asked suspiciously. After all, not long ago, Pentagon experts had sworn that such a thing was impossible.
(End of Chapter)