Summoning America

Chapter 109: In The Shadows

Standing over a head above his comrades, one man distinguished himself from the entire group. Wearing the sleek black uniform of a Gra Valkan Intelligence Bureau officer, it was clear that he was the leader of the group. He even carried himself with a pompous demeanor and his face appeared to be contorted permanently into a disdainful sneer.

"Well then," he said, his voice sounding as cold as his heart, "The next Muan convoy should be arriving soon." The officer's words cut through the air like forks scraping on plates, but the other men didn't care. Where a sane man would've shied away from the sinister officer, these Gra Valkans instead grinned evilly.

The officer reciprocated their emotions, amplifying the murderous atmosphere of the room. His seemingly permanent sneer disappeared, giving way to an uncanny smile. "It's time we show these primitive fucks what we learned."

——

The Gra Valkan team split up as they took both sides of the street, positioning themselves on rooftops and by windows. Patiently, they waited for the convoy to reach the explosives that they had planted last night, which currently lined a relatively busy market. Despite the blatant immorality of their procedure, they cared less for the collateral damage and ignored the families walking below.

The only things they paid heed to were the eastern side of the main road — from which the convoy would be approaching from — and a group of guards that stood watch over a checkpoint located west, toward the supply depot. For the Gra Valkans, everything seemed to be going according to plan until the guard began to move, opening a gate. Muan trucks came into view, rolling in from the direction of the western base.

"Captain Jaeger," a Gra Valkan sniper whispered into his small, handheld radio, "Three Muan trucks approaching from the guard post to the west. Distance: 300 meters. Cargo unknown."

The Gra Valkan officer grumbled under his breath, cursing the misfortune that had appeared to disrupt his well-planned ambush. Wondering what these trucks could possibly be doing, he ordered the sniper to continue monitoring the vehicles. He hoped that they were an escort for the convoy, or perhaps going back inland to retrieve more supplies.

His hopes were dashed in the most unexpected fashion as the next update came in. "Sir, I see thirty men exiting the trucks, all Muan soldiers. They're mostly armed with American M16s and American body armor."

Jaeger grew pale at his subordinate's words. Including the guards already present, the Muans had 36 men at their disposal. Just what did they need so many men for? Wanting to analyze the situation for himself, he climbed up the stairs of his building and approached the sniper, who sat next to a machine gunner on the rooftop.

"Have they moved at all?" Jaeger asked the man, who kept his rifle scope trained on the mass of Muan soldiers.

"No, sir. Have a look for yourself," he said, giving a pair of binoculars to Jaeger.

Jaeger accepted the equipment and focused on the guard post in the distance. Sure enough, the Muans were still maintaining their position, appearing to gather around a group of lieutenants who were giving orders. He tried to watch the movement of the Muans' mouths, but found it too difficult and gave up. Instead, he turned his attention to their next actions.

By the hectic body language of the enemy officers, it was easy to tell that they were in some sort of a hurry. Jaeger interpreted this as an implication that somehow, the Muan had caught a whiff of Gra Valkan activity in the area. What other urgent matter would require the presence of so many men?

Assuming that it was only a matter of time before his plot was discovered, Jaeger considered the mission objective. His squad was to destroy the incoming convoy, which was still two hours away from the ambush point. However, it would be impossible to stay hidden for that long, especially if the Muans were indeed actively seeking his squad. Moving the explosives further east was also impossible, since retrieval would have to occur in broad daylight and in a populated marketplace.