Chapter 1975: Chapter 827: The Captain Is Here~_3

More questions arose. But Gals knew, the waters in the Congo were deeper and murkier than he had imagined. Their operation this time barely spared their lives, yet it only uncovered a corner of the gigantic iceberg.

The same day at dawn, Scotland, Caithness County, the abandoned "Black Sheep Farm".

This place was far from the city, with only the howling North Sea winds and desolate heather. The farm’s barn was in ruins, but inside it had been cleared out, with two vans parked.

Diego Ramirez glanced at his watch, twenty past three in the morning. The agreed delivery time had already passed by twenty minutes. The "engineers" from Eastern Europe and that batch of "key components" had yet to appear.

"Something’s wrong, Boss." Carlos leaned in, lowering his voice, "The lookout said there seemed to be headlights at a distance, but they stopped and didn’t come over. Also, radio silence, we can’t reach our people at the dock warehouse." 𝘧𝘳𝘦ℯ𝓌𝘦𝒷𝘯𝑜𝑣𝘦𝓁.𝒸𝘰𝓂

Ramirez’s gaze was sharp and menacing. He had survived the drug wars in Mexico by relying on his beast-like intuition for danger. At this moment, the hairs on the back of his neck stood up.

"Get in the car, let’s go. Forget the goods." He ordered decisively.

But it was already too late.

Suddenly, countless bright white lights flooded the wasteland surrounding the farm! They weren’t headlights, but a remotely controlled array of searchlights, illuminating the entire farm area as bright as day! Simultaneously, a high-decibel loudspeaker announced, in a crisp Scottish-accented English:

"Attention inside! This is the Scottish Self-Defense Army! You are surrounded! Drop your weapons, fold your hands over your head, and walk out of the building slowly! I repeat, drop your weapons, hands over your head!"

No warning shots, no negotiations. Just an ultimatum.

Ramirez cursed, pulled out a pistol: "Break out! Scatter and run!"

His men had just burst open the barn door, ready to dash for the vans—

"Whiz—Bang!"

A sniper rifle bullet pierced precisely through the hood of the first van, damaging the engine. Immediately after, a second shot struck the ground at the feet of the lead thug, kicking up debris and forcing them back.

"There’s a sniper! More than one!" Carlos shouted.

Ramirez’s face turned ashen. This wasn’t the work of the police, it was a military assault, and an extremely professional, well-prepared one at that. His whereabouts were exposed, the plan compromised.

"Retreat to the barn! Hold our ground!" he shouted, though he knew that holding their ground would lead to certain death. The opponents undoubtedly had brought in heavy artillery.

Indeed, the loudspeaker blared again: "Final warning! If you do not surrender within thirty seconds, we will commence a firepower sweep!"

Through the gap in the door, Ramirez saw rough silhouettes of several off-road vehicles on the distant wasteland, not mounted with machine guns but automatic grenade launchers! Further away, what seemed to be mortar racks were being set up.

"How could they have these..." Carlos’s voice trembled. This firepower could wage a small war.

Ramirez knew it was over. Surrender? For what he had done, falling into Scottish hands would also lead to a dead end, plus they would extract every bit of intelligence from him. A trace of madness flashed in his eyes as he looked toward the corner of the barn where several lead-sealed crates containing the radioactive core components of a "dirty bomb" and conventional explosives remained unopened.

"Bring them in..." Ramirez grinned fiercely, whispering to Carlos, "Then we’ll put on the brightest fireworks show for the Scots..."

He hadn’t finished speaking—

"Boom!!!"

It wasn’t a shell incoming from outside. The explosion originated from beneath another van parked inside the barn! A massive fireball and shockwave instantly engulfed half the barn, violently hurling Ramirez, Carlos, and several nearby subordinates against the wall!

It was a remote-controlled bomb! Someone had long infiltrated and planted the explosive!

Amidst the agony and ringing in his ears, Ramirez saw shattered silhouettes outside the barn, several figures clad in black tactical gear and wearing gas masks advancing through the intense light. Their steps were steady, their guns lowered, evidently aware the threat inside had been neutralized.

The leading figure knelt down in front of the barely breathing Ramirez, speaking in a voice with a strange electronic texture: "Diego Ramirez. Former Zetas demolition crew. We’ve taken over your Eastern European supply chain. Your radioactive toys now belong to us. As for you..."

The person raised a hand, not holding a gun, but a syringe, which was deftly inserted into Ramirez’s neck.

"You need to take a nap and then go where you belong, say what you need to say."

Ramirez’s last conscious sight was of the syringe, on which was an extremely tiny, nearly invisible insignia—a feathered serpent entwined with a tech grid.

Not the Scottish Self-Defense Army...

Then, darkness completely consumed him.

...

A few kilometers away in the command vehicle, John McLean watched the real-time footage transmitted from the assault team’s helmet cameras: Ramirez subdued, radioactive materials securely contained, the site fully under control. The entire process was clean and swift, taking less than five minutes.

He hadn’t given orders for the car bomb installation or the final assault. His instruction was "perimeter watch, prevent target escape, and assume control of the site and radioactive materials post-operation."

The real capture and cleanup were executed by another squad. Their equipment was a generation more advanced than his, their operations as seamless as a single entity. Where did they come from? McLean didn’t know, nor was he permitted to inquire. He only knew that while he and Chairman McTavish were arguing over intelligence sources and action plans, an encrypted message had been sent directly to his device, providing the exact time and place of Ramirez’s transaction, and a brief postscript: "Neutralize the threat, ensure safety of materials. We’ll handle the rest."