Chapter 21: Raid

After Joe Ga got out of the car in Karman, he took out his Beretta 92F pistol, switched to subsonic bullets, and fitted a suppressor on the muzzle.

The hotel environment was generally cramped, and Joe Ga felt more confident using a pistol in such conditions.

The so-called hotel was actually a two-story brick building. Joe Ga went around to the back and discovered that of the dozen rooms on the second floor, only one had its lights on.

The side nearest to him featured the hotel balconies, where the spacing between each balcony was less than 50 centimeters, easily stepped over.

The lit room was located at the far east end on the second floor. As Joe Ga stealthily approached, he was surprised to find a heavily modified off-road vehicle covered with tattered tarpaulin parked beneath the balcony, right outside the hotel kitchen's outer wall.

The vehicle's front was facing the street. Joe Ga carefully lifted the tarp and saw the keys still in the ignition. There were two AR rifles on the back seat and a box containing an RPG-7 in the trunk.

Looking at the marks on the ground, it was evident that the vehicle hadn't moved at all that day.

Looking up at the three-meter-high balcony, Joe Ga was sure this vehicle was the escape car prepared by the person on the second floor, because one could simply jump out from the balcony onto the off-road vehicle's roof and quickly drive away.

Joe Ga admired the other person's professional standards and made a mental note to be more cautious himself in the future, always preparing a backup and an escape route wherever he went.

He silently lifted the tarp, quietly opened the car door, and gathered all the weapons into the Omnipotent Toolbox. Then, stepping on the hood, he climbed onto the roof and gently flipped into the balcony.

The balcony entrance of the hotel was a wooden door about 80 centimeters wide, next to which was a window.

Since the weather was quite hot and there was no air conditioning, the window was open.

The moment Joe Ga flipped onto the balcony, he heard a man and a woman talking inside the room.

"Damn it, my people still haven't responded..."

"Tomorrow, we meet with the Kadin Clan. Their president is unreliable, but we can exploit the Kadins' greed and ignorance.

SD will announce in a month that the rights to extract 7 billion barrels of oil will be transferred to a Chinese oil company.

At that time, the President of Southern SD from the Kadin Clan might very well compromise, and our oil and mining companies would be affected.

We need to create chaos within Southern SD. This incident is a good opportunity, a Chinese sold weapons to the enemies of the Kadin Clan..."

"Hey, what about me then? Offending a superpower that calls itself a third world country will ruin my business in Africa.

Give me the money first; otherwise, our plan is off, and I'll leave this damn place tomorrow."

"OK, we will provide you with a new identity. 10 million US dollars will be transferred to your designated account in one hour. Once this job is done, you can go back to Sardinia and enjoy your life."

Joe Ga, who had been listening intently, felt a chill down his spine. He had never imagined that selling a few dozen AK74s to a native would land him in such big trouble.

The Xiluk people, aware that they could not defeat the Dingke People, wanted to provoke him into attacking the Italians to cut off the Dingke People's weapons supply and eliminate this troublemaker.

The guy had already sold out their position. Whether or not Joe Ga would strike at the Italians didn't matter at all. By the time he reached Wau, a clash between the parties was inevitable.

The most amusing part here was that both sides were suspicious of their Chinese background.

The Xiluk people considered themselves a lifeline, while the Italian and the woman with an unknown identity saw themselves as the catalyst for the conflict.

Joe Ga now regretted his position but had no choice but to avoid being the cause of trouble.

Covering his mouth and nose with a mask, Joe Ga's Beretta was pressed against his chest as he slowly edged towards the window along the wall.

The Italian was no longer of value, but the woman still had some usefulness; at least she could serve as a warning to Joe Ga's compatriots about this major event.

With the reflection from the window glass, Joe Ga saw a tall bodyguard with a gun standing in a corner holding a briefcase.

Joe Ga lacked experience in this kind of sudden assault, but he knew he couldn't miss this opportunity, so he decisively sprang out.

"Pop, pop," two shots were fired, hitting the tall bodyguard in the head and the Italian in the eye…

The sudden change startled the woman just as she was reaching for her gun, only to see Joe Ga's gun aimed at her.

Seeing Joe Ga put his index finger to his lips in a 'silence' gesture, the woman instinctively raised her hands to show she was no threat.

Just as Joe Ga was supporting himself on the window ledge to enter the room, the door suddenly swung open, revealing two tall men in black combat gear ready to shoot…

"Pop, pop," two shots rang out, disrupting their action.

The woman, who had intended to take advantage of the situation to draw her gun, saw Joe Ga's gun again aiming at her, and resignedly raised her hands above her head…

It was too fast. Joe Ga's shooting was far quicker than the woman could have imagined. Four people, four bullets, and it all happened in less than five seconds.

Using subsonic bullets and equipped with suppressors, the Berettas made a sound akin to two chopsticks forcefully clapping together. It was audible up close, but barely detectable over 15 meters away or through walls in a complex environment.

Moreover, after being shot in the head, a person really doesn't get the chance to make noise. Even though the subsonic bullets might not penetrate the skull, the chaotic tumbling and the devastating cavitation effect they create would turn the brain into mush.

Ironically, the noise of the bodies falling was louder, which was why the bodyguard outside rushed in so quickly.

With his eyes and gun trained on the woman, Joe Ga carefully stepped over the window ledge, hugged the wall to the door, kicked aside the fallen bodies, and closed the door.

After silently waiting for a few minutes, Joe Ga detected no other activity in the motel and finally breathed a sigh of relief. He then turned to the woman, dressed in a United Nations staff uniform and fairly attractive, and said, "Carefully take out your gun and place it on the ground. Don't try anything."

As he spoke, Joe Ga quickly shifted his aim and fired a shot into each of the bodies on the floor. The woman hadn't even reacted before each of the four corpses was shot in the head again.

Knowing she couldn't escape, but still holding onto a sliver of hope due to Joe Ga's face being concealed by a mask and tactical glasses, she remained level-headed.

She slowly lifted her skirt and carefully extracted a small, silver PPK pistol from her thigh with two fingers, placing it on the ground and kicking it towards Joe Ga.

Joe Ga stepped on the handgun and, pointing the gun at the woman's head, said, "Take off your clothes."