North American riot police: Start by arresting P. Diddy!

Chapter 237 The Meeting Between Hammer and Rorschach
"Hammer, Hammer"

An East African military airfield, just beginning to lighten at dawn.

An elite force of three hundred men, under the personal command of Old Hanmo, is boarding military transport planes disguised as civilian airliners in batches.

At the boarding gate, the base's deputy commander, Lauren, was blocked by a middle-aged officer with graying temples.

"Although I know your mind is made up."

Lauren stared into the old man's deep blue eyes, her voice heavy, "But I must ask you one more time, have you really considered the consequences?"

The old man paused silently, looked up at the sky at dawn.

"Lauren, what do you think I'm doing?"

The deputy commander remained silent for a long time: "I believe this is an absurd rebellion. As the supreme commander of the Africa theater, instead of directing operations on the front lines, you are hijacking poison gas missiles and using the lives of millions to blackmail the government, all for the sake of seeking so-called justice for the fallen soldiers? This is simply... simply a betrayal of your military insignia!"

Suddenly, his longtime colleague stepped forward, grabbed Hammer's shoulders tightly, and growled in a low voice, "The illicit income we've made in Africa over the years, the minerals we sold to Cobra, is enough to give those children three times their compensation! Why do we have to do this?"

"Because this is what the country owes them!"

The old man suddenly flung his hands away, his voice booming: "What right does a government have to call itself a government if it doesn't vindicate its fallen soldiers and take responsibility for their families?! Yes, we're now richer than a country, and we can easily pay out of our own pockets, but what's the difference between that and charity?!"

He pointed his finger at Lauren's nose: "Soldiers sacrificed their lives for their country, their bodies wrapped in horsehide, their souls returning to foreign lands! Now the Federation is turning a deaf ear, so I will speak in a language they understand—poison gas missiles!"

"If the White House cannot offer dignity, then let's use steel and blood to teach those politicians respect!"

Amidst the deafening roar, Lauren closed her eyes briefly before opening them again.

The old soldier in front of me, who was nearly seventy years old but still stood tall, had his hands clenched into fists with bulging veins, and his angry roar echoed like that of a raging lion on the empty tarmac.

He knew he couldn't persuade his old friend, who had been preparing a plan for over a decade and was almost obsessive about it, but he couldn't bear to see the old man go to his death like that.

Yes, that's right. In Lauren's eyes, old Hammer's actions were no different from suicide.

When Hammer was stationed in Africa, the Federation would have hesitated to act rashly because he held a large military force and controlled all of Aramco's interests in Africa.

Despite their glamorous appearance, almost all of America's overseas military bases are actually private domains of interest groups.

Bases like those in Japan and Germany are staffed by commanders who are all spokespeople for Wall Street, multi-billion dollar arms dealers.

Although the Americans are fully aware of this, they can only turn a blind eye for the sake of their global strategic layout.

But now that he's in North America, the situation is completely different!

The Federation will never tolerate such provocation. Even if Old Hammer succeeds in implementing the plan and achieves the desired effect, they will have no chance of leaving North America alive and returning to Africa.

"Don't worry about me, old buddy."

Hammer patted Lauren on the shoulder, his gaze sweeping over the seemingly ordinary staff members in the military camp. They were either soldiers or employees, and on the surface they were just ordinary people, but in reality they were all working for different forces.

"On the contrary, it's you, Lauren."

Hammer lowered his voice: "I'm afraid the Cobra guys will get restless as soon as I leave the base. Let's not get caught off guard, buddy."

"Hahaha, you underestimate me too much. I've been fighting the war on terror for so many years, and I've done at least eight hundred, if not a thousand, infiltrations and intelligence operations behind enemy lines. These guys think their infiltration methods are very subtle, but they can't escape my eyes."

Lauren's face revealed a cold smile. He punched Old Man Mo's arm twice, his expression gradually becoming serious. "Don't worry about the base. With me here, neither Cobra nor the Federation will be able to get their hands on us! This is our last bastion, and..."

He said earnestly, “If you are captured by the Federation, I will threaten you with eight military bases, 32 mineral sites, and 16 oil fields in East Africa, and I will appeal with the governments of seven African countries to get the Federation to release you without charge!”

"Haha, I think you should make more money and retire early. You have grandchildren, go enjoy your family life."

The old man silently gave one last word of advice, then strode onto the plane, the cabin door slamming shut behind him.

Soon, the roar of the transport planes faded into the distance, leaving Lauren alone standing there, gazing silently at the distant sky.

"Sir?"

One of his men cautiously approached: "General Hammer is most likely not coming back this time. Should we..."

The adjutant hesitated, but Lauren clearly understood his meaning.

He smiled and casually asked, "Nick, what do you think is the reason we join the army?"

Lieutenant Nick paused for a moment, thought for a while, and then answered honestly, "To serve the country and earn a good reward."

"Yes, that's a very sincere answer."

Lauren took a deep breath, her eyes blazing: "Now, a seventy-year-old veteran, who could easily be a billionaire with a large army in Africa, is willing to give up his wealth and power for the sake of more than a thousand soldiers who died unjustly, just to seek justice for these poor children. Do you think what we should do is fight for power and line our own pockets after he's gone?"

“Well… what you say makes sense, sir, but…” Nick’s forehead was beaded with cold sweat.

"But it's too late, isn't it?"

Lauren suddenly sneered: "Because you've already accepted a five million dollar check from Cobra, and this morning you changed the defenses of key areas of the base, preparing to launch a military coup in half an hour, to seize control from within and without?"

Nick's pupils contracted sharply. After a fraction of a second of shock, he quickly drew the pistol from his waist, ready to strike first.

But a sniper bullet pierced his chest even faster, and the enormous impact knocked him to the ground.

At the same time, a dense barrage of gunfire suddenly erupted throughout the base, both inside and out.

The sniper shot was like a signal to begin a full-scale operation. Countless traitors in different positions, those who had been infiltrated and bribed by Cobra, were all preemptively and precisely eliminated, leaving no one behind.

Lauren calmly returned to her office under the protection of a team of special forces soldiers.

He lit a cigar, walked to the window, and quietly watched the cleanup operation, his expression calm.

Just like what he said when he sent the old man away.

As a commander who has personally planned and carried out nearly a thousand intrusion and counter-espionage operations on the front lines of counterterrorism.

The actions of [Cobra] could not possibly be concealed from the African military base that Old Man Mo and the two of them had long since built up as an impregnable fortress.

The reason we hadn't taken action before was because there were indeed many benefits and profits to be gained from cooperating with [Cobra]. But now that Old Hanmo has embarked on a path of no return, there's no need to hold back; we must eliminate them completely!

Just as they had previously underestimated the various federal law enforcement agencies, Cobra had also underestimated this group of veterans who had fought the war on terror for decades!

The suppression was swift; before Cobra could even react, the entire base had been wiped out.

By the time Lauren had finished handling all the aftermath and destroyed all the evidence, it was already getting dark.

Meanwhile, General Hammer had led an elite squad to successfully infiltrate North America and launch a surprise attack on a heavily guarded military research institute in New Mexico.

During the operation, they still encountered fierce resistance from CTU agents.

From the moment they entered the country, the counterterrorism agency seemed to have tracked their movements.

But under Hammer’s personal command, this elite special forces team, which was even more elite than the previous operations team, managed to capture more than 30 VX nerve agent warheads after suffering half of its casualties.

"Stop!" Hammer raised his hand to stop the guards' subordinates who were about to execute them.

Looking around, dozens of corpses lay scattered throughout the research institute, along with hundreds of wounded soldiers lying on the ground.

A flicker of reluctance crossed the old general's eyes, but he could only sigh helplessly in the end. He knew these soldiers were innocent, but for the mission to succeed, he had no choice but to kill them. Back in the vehicle, he stared for a long time at the poison gas warheads sealed in special containers, gleaming with an eerie green light.

These were the ultimate bargaining chips he had been planning for years and relied on for negotiations.

As expected, the federal leadership must have already received the news and is urgently deploying countermeasures.

"General, shall we proceed to Devil's Island immediately?" the subordinate asked cautiously.

Hammer glanced at his watch and ordered in a deep voice, "You must arrive before dawn and complete the deployment."

"Then you...?" The subordinate hesitated, as if he wanted to say something but then stopped.

The old man straightened his collar, a meaningful smile playing on his lips: "I need to go to New York to meet an old friend and settle a matter on my mind."

Upon hearing this, his subordinate looked worried: "General, judging from the fact that we've been monitored since we entered the country, the Counter-Terrorism Bureau clearly has a sophisticated system for monitoring inbound travelers. Isn't it too risky for you to act alone?"

“It’s alright, Helena will bring people to meet me in New York,” Hammer explained calmly, unconcerned.

As the largest overseas base of the U.S. military, Africa Command sees a large number of soldiers returning to the U.S. every day under the guise of taking leave to visit family.

While some were genuinely on leave, many more were using this opportunity to disperse special agents lying in wait. Even with the strongest counterterrorism capabilities, it's difficult for the counterterrorism agency to monitor every soldier entering the country in real time.

In fact, during the six months of preparation for the operation, Hammer had already dispatched hundreds of elite troops, who are now scattered and lurking in safe houses and secret hideouts across the United States.

These were all carefully laid out by the old man, serving both to support the main action and to provide a way out.

After hearing this explanation, the subordinate said no more, but his gaze toward Hammer held an indescribable complexity.

--------

Late at night, in a dimly lit bar in New York.

Seven or eight men and women were sitting around the bar, raising their glasses and drinking.

They were in their early twenties and attracted the attention of many drinkers due to their outstanding looks and figures.

But no one dared to approach or make any rash moves, after all, the fresh blood that had just been wiped off the ground still left faint traces, silently telling the story of the last rude person's fate.

“An Englishman, a Frenchman, and a Soviet man stood in front of an oil painting of Adam and Eve arguing about their nationalities.”

Rorschach swirled his wine glass and began telling jokes.

"The British were the first to say: They were dignified and polite, clearly conservative British."

The Frenchman continued: "Gentlemen, look at this man and woman, they are beautiful and naked, they must be romantic Frenchmen."

"After they finished speaking, the Soviet man shook his head and said seriously: 'Comrades, you are all wrong. Look closely at this painting—these two people have no clothes to wear, no houses to live in, and have to share an apple, yet they are told that they live in paradise. Obviously, they must be Soviets.'"

"."

After telling the joke, Rorschach raised an eyebrow and looked at everyone.

After a brief silence, bursts of laughter erupted.

"Hahaha, Fuck. That's a great joke!"

"If the Russians were here, they would definitely give you a piece of their mind."

"Hey Rorschach, give me a few more jokes about England and Queen Victoria!"

The crowd laughed and cheered.

At this time, in addition to the Irish brothers and their girlfriends, there were also Nikita and Luni who had come from Europe and Hawaii.

In the past few days, as if by telepathy, after completing their respective missions of revenge and settling their scores, they all unexpectedly arrived in New York.

What drew them here was the man who had a profound impact on their lives—Rorschach Butcher.

Rorschach, who already intended to expand his organization, was naturally eager to have these skilled and unwaveringly loyal companions.

However, although he accepted them, Rorschach did not reveal the existence of Harold and the others, as he was cautious and wanted to take precautions.

Even so, Rorschach still prepared entirely new identities for everyone—brand new identification documents, anonymous accounts, and completely erased all traces of them in the digital world through a [machine backdoor], making them, like himself, true [ghosts]!
Inside the bar, old friends clinked glasses and laughed continuously.

Suddenly, Rorschach's phone vibrated.

Looking at the private number he had left for Helena on the screen, the corners of his mouth unconsciously turned up.

But when the call connected, a frail yet familiar voice came from the other end.

Fifteen minutes later, on the rooftop of a skyscraper.

Luo Xia pushed open the rusty iron gate, and in the moonlight, a tall figure stood with his back to him, gazing into the distance from the railing.

That signature white hair swayed slightly in the night breeze, causing Rorschach to unconsciously slow his pace.

"General."

he called softly.

The old man turned around, and the wrinkles on his face immediately smoothed out: "Hahaha, Rorschach!"

He strode forward and gave the young man a tight hug, so strong it was almost suffocating.

“Damn it,” the old man patted Rorschach on the back, carefully examining his former favorite general. “How come you haven’t aged at all? You’re still as energetic as you were back in the Middle East, and you look younger than those greenhorns.”

Rorschach touched his smooth chin: "It's probably because I shaved."

The two chatted happily, from anecdotes from the battlefield to their own experiences over the years, but both tacitly avoided the most important topic.

But Rorschach knew perfectly well why this veteran warrior had risked returning to the United States.

As Rorschach watched Hammer enthusiastically recount his power in Africa, even joking about having the right to virginity to millions of Black girls, his expression gradually turned serious.

“General, forgive my bluntness,” Rorschach suddenly interrupted, “I don’t have a good opinion of your plan this time.”

The old man's smile froze on his face: "Oh? Why?"

"Because you're a good person."

Rorschach looked directly into the old general's eyes: "In the struggle between good and bad people, it is always the good people who suffer. Because if good people also use any means to achieve their goals, then aren't they just like bad people? But bad people are different; they can use any means to achieve their goals, so they can win step by step."

"The Federation knows very well that you can't bring yourself to do it to millions of innocent people. But when it comes to you, they will show no mercy."

The old man remained silent for a long time, then suddenly gave a bitter smile: "You're right. That's why I need a truly wicked person who will strike them in fear to complete the final plan."

He solemnly extended his hand. "Rorschach, would you be willing to help me?"

However, Rorschach fell silent in the face of this invitation.

The night wind howled past, and the lights of New York City flickered beneath their feet.
(End of this chapter)