War Photographer's Notebook

Chapter 1936 Executioner and Cannon Fodder
"What's your name?" Wei Ran asked as he released the other person's hand.

Thomas

The bearded man replied, "Thomas Sanson, shall I also call you Mr. T?"

"That's right, Mr. T is fine."

Wei Ran said, "And you? Are you the Sanson who beheaded Louis XVI, the Monsieur of Paris? (The Sanson family was responsible for executing Louis XVI, and the family had a seven-generation line of beheading masters. Why 10 and not 16? Because his head was cut off!)"

"Yes, that's the executioner, but I'm not sure if my surname is related to his by blood."

Thomas smiled slightly helplessly. "How did you know I'm French? My accent?"

"The Hubert logo on the back of your hand is probably more recognizable than your French passport."

Wei Ran tapped his neck as he spoke, "Also, is the tattoo on your neck a guillotine? Could you really be a descendant of the Sangsong family?"

"It seems you really know a lot about France."

Thomas laughed and pulled open his collar to show off the guillotine tattoo on the side of his neck. "I got this tattoo as payment for losing a bet during my military service."

"I'll take it as if it really is true," Wei Ran joked. "Can I ask which group you're from?"

"Group D, I used to be in the Dragoon Regiment."

Thomas seemed quite candid about it, but his next question steered the conversation towards Wei Ran: "So you're one of the mercenaries I hired at a high price? Which unit are you from?"

"From a women's self-defense school you've never heard of."

Wei Ran nodded in response, glancing at the other person's stiff neck, and steered the conversation back to the other person, "Are you really a reporter now?"

Among the cameras hidden under that thick beard, the most conspicuous was a Nikon F3/T camera painted with camouflage paint, and the viewfinder even had an "HP" logo.

In this era, this machine was considered one of the "standard weapons" for frontline war photographers.

Besides this obvious main camera, he also had a small Olympus PEN-F and a Leica M6 hanging around his neck.

The two spare cameras were each housed in a canvas protective case with Velcro, which was then attached to the chest area of ​​the bulletproof vest to reduce the strain on the neck.

"I arrived here even before the Olympics were over."

Thomas didn't delve into the issue of the women's defense school. He simply sat down next to her and glanced at the camera in Wei Ran's hand. "The last athlete I interviewed at the Olympics was that 'Run Faster' girl. She suggested I come here to take a look."

"So why did you hire us?" Wei Ran continued to ask in French.

"They are all excellent shooting athletes."

Thomas said, "But they are not good snipers and soldiers, and they need specialized instructors for this."

"Aren't you going to teach them yourself?" Wei Ran shook the back of his hand, reminding the other person.

"I wasn't a sniper when I was in the military."

Thomas picked up the Nikon camera hanging around his neck and shook it. "Besides, I have more important work to do. Like you just said, I have to document the killings."

"So you came here to record the killings or to check on our work?" Wei Ran asked casually.

"I received a notification during the day that the coach I hired has arrived."

Thomas put down his camera and, while taking things out of his bag, continued, "So I came to check on you and brought you some food and supplies."

Where are you based? At the Holiday Inn?

Wei Ran observed the canned food and compressed biscuits that the other party had taken out. These items were clearly intended for war correspondents, and some of them even had the UN logo on them.

"That's right, but I haven't been back for two days."

As he spoke, Thomas took out a canvas bag from his backpack, while Zorana took the car battery first.

As soon as the other party opened the not-so-large canvas bag, Wei Ran immediately recognized it as an SE6861 individual radio.

For him, this was an old friend. Whether it was helping old man Nikolai find his enemy or accidentally wandering into Grozny, he had seen this machine and remembered it vividly.

"Another reason I'm here is to recharge my radio station."

As Thomas spoke, he removed the battery pack and, in an extremely crude manner, began to power it using the car battery.

"Why did you come here to charge your phone?" Wei Ran asked curiously.

"It's closer to the tunnel here, which is dangerous but convenient, and at least I don't have to worry about anyone stealing the battery I bought at a high price."

Thomas explained matter-of-factly, then switched to Serbian and said to Zorana, "You don't need to go out to look for food today. This should be enough for you for a few days. Our supplies will arrive tomorrow, and I will bring you some more then."

"What about you? What will you do?" Zorana asked immediately.

"Do not worry"

Thomas confidently replied, "This was all put together by me and a few friends. Zorana, what do you think of the coach I hired for you?"

“Mr. T just guided me to shoot an enemy! They didn’t even know the bullet came from me!” Zorana said excitedly.

"Prioritize teaching them how to survive."

Thomas switched back to French and said to Wei Ran, "I'd much rather have the opportunity to photograph them hitting their targets on the battlefield than on the battlefield."

"I try my best"

While responding absentmindedly, Wei Ran glanced at the other person's radio station again.

“I used to be in charge of radio communications support in Hubert,” Thomas said. “What channels do you need to communicate with?”

"Thank you, but no need."

Wei Ran waved his hand, saying that the 13th Dragoon Regiment, where the other party had served, was a long-established French army intelligence unit, and that Hubert, whom he later served, was an elite force selected from the best of the best.

In particular, the "D Group" mentioned earlier was Hubert's special amphibious reconnaissance team, which made it hard for him not to suspect the other party's motives for coming to Sarajevo—especially since France was supporting the Serb armed groups outside at that time.

Compared to his skepticism, the other party's statement, "I used to be in charge of radio communications support in Hubert," became the most irrelevant and inconsequential platitude.

Seemingly sensing Wei Ran's suspicion, Thomas pulled out a pack of Marlboro cigarettes, took one out and handed it to Wei Ran, then took out a lighter and lit them for the two of them before explaining, "In 1991, I participated in the Gulf War. After that war ended, I left the army and became a war photographer."

"I didn't suspect anything," Wei Ran denied outright.

Thomas just smiled and said, "A freelance journalist died next to me, and I picked up his camera and went to the Barcelona Olympics in his place."

“I have no doubts,” Wei Ran said again.

"I just want to document this war, without taking sides," Thomas stated more and more bluntly.

"We are mercenaries, and we don't take sides either," Wei Ran stated his position in the simplest way.

“I’m relieved to hear that,” Thomas said, then asked, “What about your other two companions?”

“They’re teaching four other newbies how to hunt,” Wei Ran explained. “Do you want to stay and interview them?”

"I"

"crash"

Just then, the sound of stones rolling down came from the distant entrance.

Before the sound could even stop, Wei Ran reacted swiftly and raised his submachine gun again. Immediately afterward, Thomas also reacted quickly, drawing a Glock 17 from his back waist, aiming it in the direction of the sound, grabbing his backpack, and pushing Zorana, who had just picked up her gun, towards the stairs.

"Who is it?" Wei Ran asked from the corner.

"It's us," Dragan responded, "The lesson is over."

With just one sentence proving that the other party was safe, Wei Ran breathed a sigh of relief. "Come in, the employer has just arrived."

Only after he finished speaking did Dragan and Klaus lead Luna and the other three into the room. Then, Thomas put away his gun and led Zorana down the stairs.

"Let me introduce myself," Wei Ran said, as everyone sat down and he gave a brief introduction of both sides.

"So you gave this to me?"

As Klaus spoke, he rummaged through his backpack, pulled out a walkie-talkie, and waved it around. "Alf said the employer might assign us some other work temporarily."

"That's right"

Thomas nodded, patted his backpack, and said, "It can communicate with my radio station."

"Why don't you get a few more?" Dragan asked.

"It's meaningless"

Thomas explained, "There's almost no electricity here, charging is a huge hassle, and walkie-talkies are too expensive, batteries are even more expensive, and..."

Thomas stopped there.

“Just say it,” Dragan said.

“Let’s communicate in French,” Wei Ran suggested.

“My radio communications appear to be being monitored,” Thomas said.

“This radio station isn’t so easy to listen to,” Klaus reminded him in broken French. “I’ve used this kind of radio before.”

"Radio stations may be harder to intercept, but walkie-talkies are much easier."

Thomas said, "And my partner is at the airport; it's easier to eavesdrop on him than on a walkie-talkie."

"Who's listening in? Is it Alf who brought us here or..." "I don't know," Thomas said, "but my communications have definitely been tapped."

'New problems'

While Klaus was translating the conversation into German, Wei Ran asked, "Did you specifically request that we bring silenced weapons when you hired us?"

Upon hearing this, Thomas hesitated for a moment before becoming wary and replied decisively, "No, I don't need that at all. In comparison, I would prefer you to bring more food and medicine, but that will cost extra."

“It seems someone is making a profit in the middle,” Dragan said, seemingly unsurprised.

“And it seems we’ve been given other tasks,” Klaus said.

'New problems'

Wei Ran continued, "Does the commission you're offering us include an extra bonus for sniping enemies?"

"Do you think I have this need?" Thomas asked seriously, clearly aware of the problem.

“It seems we do have an extra mission,” Dragan said.

"And it should be an assassination mission within the city."

Klaus said with great delight, "We'll have to negotiate a good price then."

"This is not the time for jokes."

Thomas frowned and said, "It seems Deyang Company is going to make me a scapegoat."

These are just our guesses.

Dragan said, "But we need to be careful with the use of walkie-talkies from now on."

"Didn't your company anticipate that you would be in contact with the employer?" Thomas asked.

"The company probably didn't expect us, I mean, especially Mr. T, to bring up this topic so frankly."

Klaus said sarcastically, "Of course, the company probably didn't expect Mr. T to notice the anomaly of this mission so quickly, and I guess they probably don't care."

"Now is not the time to praise me."

As Wei Ran took out the sesame seed cakes he had prepared in advance from his bag and distributed them to everyone, he said, "On the contrary, I think we need to clarify our positions first."

Mercenaries have no principles.

Klaus took the sesame seed cake and said, "US dollars represent stance. Also, what's this? Where did you get it?"

"I brought this, eat it quickly."

As Wei Ran spoke, he distributed one to each of the young men and women around him.

"Don't you have any?" Thomas asked, holding a sesame seed cake.

“I’ve already eaten, and we don’t need to pray together before meals, so I’m not going to wait for you to have dinner together.”

Wei Ran unscrewed the kettle and took a sip of water. "Let's talk about our stance. If Alf contacts us via walkie-talkie, whether he's pretending to be our employer or not, what should we do?"

"We're here to make money."

Klaus paused for a moment, then said, "Our mission here is to be sniper instructors and earn some extra money on the side."

I fully understand.

Thomas promptly stated his position: "Although your company is suspected of using me as an employer to do some dirty work, I am still grateful that you are willing to be so honest."

"This is not something we can decide."

After listening to Wei Ran's translation, Dragan said, "But we will definitely help you teach these young people well."

"I'm very satisfied with this."

Thomas then switched to Serbian, saying, "Now it's your turn. I've already heard the three gentlemen tell me about everything that happened today. Now, who would like to tell me what you've learned today?"

I did something stupid.

Golan scratched his head first, swallowed the last bite of his flatbread with vegetables, and recounted with apology the dangerous consequences of his impulsive shooting that day, as well as what he had learned from Klaus.

As the building grew darker, Dragan gently patted Wei Ran and Klaus on the shoulder while the other young men and women took turns sharing their learning experiences, then got up and went up to the second floor of the building.

“What’s going on with this body?” Dragan asked.

"Just a thief."

Wei Ran found a corner where they wouldn't be observed from the outside and stopped. He took out a cigarette from his pocket and offered one to each of them.

As the cigarettes were lit one by one, Dragan spoke in a low voice in German, "I don't trust Yarf."

“I don’t trust that bastard either,” Klaus added, “but he probably doesn’t know the inside story.”

"I am now almost certain that someone is planning to use us as cannon fodder."

Dragan said, "If what Yalf said yesterday is true, it seems there are other colleagues here. So do you think we are all cannon fodder, or some of us are cannon fodder?"

“There’s no difference,” Klaus shook his head. “Are you planning to team up with other groups?”

"I'm not that stupid."

Dragan shook his head. "But we must leave here, and we must leave as soon as possible, and leave quietly."

“I guess we probably won’t be able to leave Sarajevo safely,” Klaus said.

"Then let's find a way to hide."

Dragan took a deep drag on his cigarette. "We're here to make money, not to be cannon fodder."

What do you guys think of Thomas?

"Military radio, journalist, and French."

Wei Ran said truthfully, "It seems there's no question that we'll definitely be used as cannon fodder, but it's uncertain whose cannon fodder we'll be."

"You mean"

Klaus frowned. "Are Alf and Thomas in cahoots?"

“Aren’t we subconsciously choosing sides right now?” Wei Ran countered, “choosing Alf or Thomas.”

"This possibility cannot be ruled out."

Dragan said cautiously, "Besides, Thomas didn't say who his partner is who he's monitoring, so none of us can believe him right now."

"What about the rookies?" Klaus pressed. "Them?"

I'll try to ask about it tomorrow.

After a moment's thought, Dragan said, "Here's what we'll do, Mr. T. Have another woman stay tomorrow. I'll take care of Klaus, Golan, and the girl who stayed today. You take care of the other two young men."

"No problem," Klaus readily agreed.

"Take your backpack and secondary weapon with you at all times tomorrow."

As Dragan flicked away his cigarette butt, he muttered, "If necessary, we might have to split up."

"The possibility of taking over that tunnel"

'Unlikely'

Dragan didn't give Klaus a chance to finish speaking, "Not to mention that the other side is a non-combat zone, there are countless hidden sentries along this route alone."

“We still have one and only chance,” Wei Ran reminded him.

"really"

Dragan nodded. "A week from now, when Alf sends us supplies."

“In that case, the problem becomes simple.” Klaus flicked his cigarette butt away as well. “Let’s just get through this week.”

"Conserve ammunition, conserve supplies."

Dragan concluded, "Also, maintain good relationships with those rookies and try to extract as much information as possible. Okay, let's go downstairs."

After saying that, he was the first to step downstairs. Wei Ran also switched to Serbian and the topic at the right time, "In general, this building is not safe. We need to find a higher floor to guard, and it would be best to blow up the staircase."

"I wonder if Mr. Thomas has pushed it."

Mr. Thomas has left.

By the newly lit campfire, Luna picked up the conversation, saying, "He wants to get back to the Holiday Inn before it gets dark."

"I hope we can meet again."

Dragan stopped the previous topic and began to arrange the personnel for tomorrow.

Was that executioner's descendant a good person or a bad person?

Wei Ran couldn't help but feel uneasy. No matter how frank the conversation had been, he had to remain vigilant and cautious—this was Sarajevo.

"boom!"

Just then, another mortar shell struck the city, and the five young men and women gathered around the campfire couldn't help but show expressions of worry.