Mercenary I am the king

Chapter 459 Breaking News

Colonel Reid walked into his office in the Pentagon with a lighthearted look on his face, taking small, easy steps.

Nothing happened on Yilige's side these past two days, and the battlefield in Afghanistan was also surprisingly quiet. The routine press conferences were just some simple updates, and the atmosphere in the press conference room was more relaxed than ever. He even joked with the reporters present to make his image more humorous.

Sitting in his chair, Reid asked his secretary to make him a cup of coffee, and then he slowly sipped it while reading today's newspaper.

Suddenly, a piece of news caught my eye.

Colonel Ryder nearly spit out his coffee.

"The US military intervened in Colombia's anti-bandit campaign..."

The headlines in the newspaper shocked Colonel Ryder so much that he put down his coffee cup and flipped through several other newspapers.

"Experts say the US military's participation in this Colombian military operation is not targeting drug cartels..."

"Being involved in the joint military operation in Colombia, the US government is suspected of interfering in internal affairs..."

The last newspaper caused Reid's blood pressure to rise sharply.

"A DOD spokesperson publicly lied, claiming the U.S. military was not involved in the Colombian military operation..."

"WTF!"

He felt the blood rushing to his head.

At this moment, the phone on the table rang.

"I'm Ryder."

"Ryder, did you know about the leak of Operation Columbia?"

On the other end was his boss, the Deputy Secretary of DOD.

"SIR, I just got to the office and saw the newspaper. OH MY GOD! WHAT'S GOING ON!"

"The intelligence department is currently investigating who leaked the information. You must be mentally prepared before that. I guess you will be very busy in the next two days."

"God...Okay, I'll call a meeting to discuss countermeasures."

"Okay, let's try to keep this matter low-key and keep silent as much as possible."

"As you command, sir."

After the call ended, before Colonel Reid had time to take a closer look at the contents of the newspaper, the secretary knocked on the door and came in.

"SIR, I think you should turn on the TV."

After saying that, he picked up the remote control on the table and turned on the LCD TV without asking Colonel Reid for his consent.

The screen opened to a CNN interview program.

When Ryder saw the guests, his expression became even uglier.

"Fell! I should have guessed it was him! Damn it!"

On TV, Fair was talking to the host about the US military's involvement in the military operation in Colombia.

"...It's clear, based on the data collected over the years, that the ELN is not a drug trafficking organization. They rarely engage in drug trafficking. Although they do engage in dirty work, such as kidnapping and extortion, this left-wing armed group really hates drugs..."

“Are there any armed groups in Colombia that are not involved in drug trafficking?”

"Of course there are. For example, armed groups like the ELN believe in Marxism. Are you surprised?"

Fair's eloquence is indeed amazing, worthy of being a well-known commentator and famous journalist. His tone is relaxed and humorous, and he can easily come up with information and is very knowledgeable.

"Because of their left-wing political stance, they often clash with the AUC armed forces, which collude with drug traffickers for profit. There are frequent clashes between the two organizations. If you go to Colombia and ask locals if the ELN is an accomplice of the drug cartels, you will be laughed at."

The host was a blonde girl, and when she heard what Fair said, she burst out laughing.

"Here comes the problem..." Fair took out a photo from the documents on the table, showed it to the host, and then showed it to the camera.

In the photo, US military adviser Colonel Lawrence, the deputy commander of the Colombian government army, and another person in camouflage uniform are eating together.

Judging from the background, it seems to be on a simple long table in a command post.

"Lena, do you know who these three people are?"

Fair was as gentle as a teacher asking questions to his students in class.

However, Colonel Reid, who was watching outside the TV, was terrified. His mind was in a mess and he kept saying FUCK! FUCK! FUCK!

"Have you noticed this? This is Colonel Lawrence, commander of our army's special operations forces. He is also the senior military advisor for this operation in Colombia."

"I have some interesting information. Colonel Lawrence's deployment to Columbia is documented in the DOD's public records. Let me show you what the DOD says... Ah, here..."

As he spoke, he picked up another document.

"Assist in combating drug crimes in Colombia, cut off drug smuggling routes into our country, and provide Colombian military and police with strategies and tactical deployments to combat drug trafficking..."

He put down the information and said with a smile, "Lena, there's nothing here about helping Colombia win the civil war. Essentially, the battle between the ELN and government forces is an operation to eliminate rebel forces, not an operation to combat drug trafficking."

Blonde Lena asked, "Maybe this is an invitation from the government..."

"Good question." Fair picked up the photo again and pointed at the two people besides Colonel Lawrence and said, "This is the deputy commander of the Colombian government army, and this is the key point—"

He looked at Lena.

"Do you know who this is?"

Lena asked curiously, "He looks like a native of Colombia."

"That's right, Lena, you've always been a smart girl." Fair pointed at the man with his pen and said, "He's a major officer in the AUC armed organization and the liaison officer for this operation."

"AUC armed forces?" Lena feigned surprise, for the sake of showmanship. "Really?! You're saying this person is the AUC armed forces member who's most closely aligned with the drug cartels?"

"That's right," Fair said. "So this operation is very interesting. A senior military adviser of our country, a deputy commander of the Colombian government army, and an officer of an armed group that has been engaged in drug trafficking crimes for many years. Lena, how do you think these three people came together?"

"Is this a social gathering?" Lena scoffed sarcastically.

Fair continued to push the interview program to a climax: "The information I have received so far is that the ACU, the Colombian Army, and the Colombian Air Force have each sent large numbers of troops to launch a fierce attack on the ELN in northwestern Colombia. If you've been paying attention to the news over the past two days, you should know that fighting has broken out there."

"Then the question arises: Why would the US military, Colombian government forces, and a drug cartel collude to attack an armed group that is not involved in drug trafficking? Why is this?!"

As he spoke, he turned to the camera.

Fair's eyes were full of ridicule.

It was as if he was looking through the TV screen at Colonel Reid who was sitting in the office watching TV.

Colonel Ryder's fingers trembled slightly.

After all, he is a DOD spokesperson, so he has a high ability to control his emotions.

"Todd."

He picked up the phone on the table and dialed a number.

"I want to meet Jophiel."

"Where is it? DOD?"

"No, no, no, it's not convenient here. So, you arrange a quiet place and keep it confidential. I want to meet him in person."

"OK, I'll arrange it right away."

　Asking for a monthly ticket!