True Apocalypse Game

(I’m a bit stuck today, so just one Chapter, but it’s a long one at 4,000 characters.)

~

Only the mountains are our friends.

This is a very famous Kurdish proverb.

And from the history of this people, they had experienced betrayals from countries like Britain, Turkey, Persia, the Soviet Union, and Eagle Country, so they had long since learned not to trust anyone lightly.

Hearing Kavan’s words, Hall gave a wry chuckle and said as he walked:

"You must be joking, Kavan. We’re not like those treacherous nations. Those secular folk should all be cleansed by the Divine Spirit. We will give you what you desire most, just as the Israelis received in the land of the rising sun."

Kavan’s expression softened slightly. He nodded at Hall and said:

"We’ve heard similar words from George VI, from Stalin, from Kemal, and even from the current President of Eagle Country. The Persians have said them, the Jews have said them—everyone who wants us to bleed has said them. We understood this a long time ago."

Seeing the awkward smile on Hall’s face, Kavan continued:

"But we don’t reject the idea. To gain something, you must always give something. Besides the mountains, all we have left to give is our own blood."

With that, he strode past Hall, leading the team of more than a hundred men forward.

Hall shrugged and said no more. He walked to the middle of the column, nodded at a middle-aged, blue-eyed man with a large nose, and said in a low voice:

"Ivanovic, that Kurd, Kavan, isn’t easy to control. We need to be careful."

Ivanovic chuckled dryly and patted Hall’s shoulder. "Relax," he said.

"Less than half of this team are Kurds. The rest are greedy mercenaries without any real identities. They only care about money. As for Kavan, he’s all talk. If we hadn’t promised them one million USD, do you really think he would’ve left his base camp to come here?"

Hall nodded. "Good," he said.

"This mission comes directly from the Vice-Chairman, so there can’t be any mistakes. Have their identities been taken care of?"

"Of course. That whole area in Syria has been at war for years. With millions dead or missing, it’s a paradise for creating fake identities," Ivanovic said with a wry laugh. "I’ve already used my Kremlin connections to handle everything on the Turkey side. The rest depends on your connections in Eagle Country."

The strange team continued on. Two days later, they left the mountains and reached a secret hideout concealed on an abandoned farm.

After shedding their mountain camouflage, they found a large cache of Turkish military uniforms and dozens of military vehicles inside the abandoned farm.

After changing into the uniforms and assuming their new identities—all sourced from real Turkish military units—the team rested briefly before boarding the vehicles and pressing on.

Their destination was Incirlik Air Base in southern Turkey.

They soon entered the Turkish heartland, and the entire team grew tense. As their temporary leader, Kavan was equally on high alert.

They were now on hostile terms with Turkey. If they were discovered posing as a regular Turkish army unit, they would face a hail of gunfire.

But contrary to the tense situation and numerous checkpoints they had imagined, the convoy proceeded unimpeded under Ivanovic’s guidance.

Whenever someone tried to block their path, Ivanovic would make a quick phone call, speak a few words, and they would be immediately waved through.

It was as if they had authorization from certain high-level officials within the Turkish military.

By midnight, they had arrived at the gates of Incirlik Air Base.

This was NATO territory, still garrisoned by troops from nations like Eagle Country and Germany.

The convoy was immediately stopped by several Eagle Army guards.

Looking at the heavily armed Eagle Army guards, Hall smiled faintly, stepped forward, and presented his credentials.

"Eagle Country Air Force, Special Mobile Unit. We’ve just completed Mission ’Mountains’ and are here to rest before returning home. You can confirm with Central Theater Command Headquarters."

The guard glanced at the credentials, snapped to attention, and gave Hall a military salute, saying:

"Colonel Hall, please wait a moment."

After making a few calls and confirming their identities, the guard captain finally waved his hand, signaling for them to be let through.

The gates to the air base opened, and the convoy filed in.

In total, about a thousand Eagle Country troops were garrisoned at Incirlik Air Base.

Seeing the rows of hangars and the Eagle Army vehicles moving about, the members of the team grew tense once more.

This was a critical military base for Eagle Country, and indeed for all of NATO, in the Middle East Region.

As longtime residents of the war-torn Syrian region, they were all too familiar with the drones parked in the hangars; many of their own comrades had been killed by missiles fired from such aircraft.

Hall gave the order over the radio, his face devoid of expression:

"Relax. Remember, we are an Eagle Country special forces unit preparing for evacuation. We’re scheduled to fly home on a transport plane. Everyone, begin injecting Serum No. 0 now."

Upon hearing the command, the men inside the vehicles immediately took out pale green injectors and began to administer the contents into their arms as Hall had ordered.

Kavan looked at the serum in his hand, frowned, but injected it anyway.

The green liquid entered his body with a slight sting. Kavan felt a burning sensation in his arm that quickly began to spread throughout his entire body.