Taxes are only within machine gun range!

Chapter 139 The Battle of Defense Begins

The female reporter quickly stepped forward and asked, "Mr. Lopez, you haven't directly addressed the evidence presented in Milton's live television broadcast. Everyone is waiting for your response. Can you offer some explanation today?"

Lopez almost stormed off, but seeing so many people there, he suppressed his anger and forced a smile: "Maybe you're mistaken. I've already given a positive response. Those are all fake news, fake information. It's Milton's shameful frame-up against me."

After saying that, Lopez turned his head and tried to leave.

But the female reporter persisted, pushing her way out of the crowd once more: "Mr. Lopez, this isn't a direct response! Every single one of those documents aligns with our province's policies... Do you remember the Green Ivy Foundation that was embroiled in scandal? You accepted their lobbying and took their money!"

“I’m just a member of parliament,” Lopez said impatiently. “You should ask the provincial government, the officials, and the high-ranking officials about policy matters, not me.”

The female reporter shouted, "But everyone knows that you are the one who really makes the decisions. Please give a direct answer."

So what if they're high-ranking officials?
Lopez disagrees; who can take that position?
If it weren't for López's candidacy for Congress and his desire to gain greater benefits in the upcoming new government, he could have easily become a high-ranking official himself.

"Answer our questions directly! Lopez, answer our questions directly!"

"You got to this position because of one of my reasons, and you have an obligation to explain yourself to me!"

"My mother died from taking fake medicine, you executioner!"

"Step down!"

"How is Milton a rebel? He did so many things! If it weren't for him, I'd still be taking fake medicine! If it weren't for him, I wouldn't even know that my sister's organs were sold by the hospital!"

"Enough!" Lopez finally lost his temper and was about to turn around and reprimand her when his gaze was suddenly drawn to the female reporter's short skirt as it slipped down.

These legs are really...

"Mr. Congressman! Watch out, get down right now!!!"

Suddenly, Iker, who had been following Lopez, shouted angrily, and then several bodyguards dragged him into the back seat of the bulletproof car.

boom! boom! boom!
To Lopez's shock, several gunshots rang out, and splattered blood stained the car window in front of him!
The female reporter actually pulled out a Raven MP-25 pocket pistol from under her skirt and pulled the trigger violently in Lopez's direction, shooting through the neck of one of the bodyguards!

Her eyes held a deep-seated hatred that chilled even Lopez, and a profound regret for the failed assassination attempt.

The only thing they didn't fear was death.

The next second, a burst of gunfire rang out as the bodyguards drew their sidearms and fired at the female reporter.

Bang bang bang! Bang bang bang...

The crowd gathered at the scene screamed, and a large number of them immediately lay down.

Iker got into the car as well, his voice a little flustered: "Mr. Councilor, we have to leave immediately. We don't know how many assassins are still at the scene!"

"Then hurry up and go!!!" Lopez roared, losing his temper. "What are you waiting for?"

"There's someone lying down up ahead..."

"That's a blind spot! You think it's a speed bump! That's what you say when someone asks you that!" Lopez was so angry he was dizzy, and he roared, "The most important thing right now is for me to live, understand?!"

Woo!
Iker slammed on the gas.

The engine roared, ran over several people lying on the ground, and sped away from the scene.

Only after the car was far away from the scene did Lopez, still shaken, reach out and grab the handrail by the car door: "That bitch, that madwoman! She came here specifically to kill me!"

“Mr. Congressman…” Iker’s forehead was covered in sweat, “Should we investigate her identity? Do you think it’s possible that she was sent by Milton?”

“Milton wouldn’t send such a clumsy, amateur assassin,” Lopez said through gritted teeth. “Don’t forget, Milton is the kind of madman who can set people on fire right outside the courthouse with a helicopter. Would he send a reporter who’s so awkward at even drawing a gun to make me suspicious for no reason?”

"He'll definitely send a crazy lunatic, strapped with bombs, to me, and blow everyone to bits!"

Iker thought about the scene and shuddered: "That's true... Milton, that madman, is capable of anything, he certainly wouldn't send an assassin like that. So, you're not going to investigate? Mr. Senator, I'm just worried that this footage will be filmed and released, which could be even more detrimental to your approval rating."

This is actually something that Lopez is worried about.

When news headlines like "A lawmaker was unable to answer the victim's questions, was stabbed in the street, nearly died, and ended up running over several passersby while fleeing in panic" appear, one wonders how much his approval rating will drop.

“We’re not investigating because it’s pointless. She might actually be a reporter for Quetzaltenango TV, and I just killed someone in her family.” Lopez shook his head. “But not investigating doesn’t mean we can’t frame someone… We have to find a way to pin this on Milton, to make it seem like Milton orchestrated the terrorist attack.”

“Talk about how patriotic the bodyguard was, how many people in his family were waiting for him to eat... and so on, and then strongly condemn Milton.”

"As for the matter of running someone over, just like I said, say that the driver was too flustered and mistook the person for a speed bump, and then make a big fuss about paying compensation. In short, it's all Milton's fault, and they must absolve me of all responsibility!"

Lopez spoke very quickly, but his tone carried a hint of unease—his intuition told him that if he didn't act quickly, public opinion would really get out of control.

We must take out Milton immediately, right now, as quickly as possible!
Dead men don't defend themselves. Once Milton is killed, you can smear him with whatever accusations you want.

A few hours later, the port of Champelli was already visible from the car.

Not far away, a fairly large luxury yacht—the kind with a helipad—can be clearly seen.

It's clearly a seaside entertainment center that integrates dining, massage, parties, leisure and entertainment, and more.

Iker took a deep breath and asked, "Mr. Congressman, are you going on the yacht again today?"

"Go on," Lopez waved his hand wearily. "We're already here, are we going to go home now?"

"Yes."

"Well... Mr. Congressman, I have some good news for you. Our raid on the rebels was a great success. The first wave of attacks wiped out an entire company of them."

"Tanks and armored vehicles will follow immediately. Conservatively speaking, we can take out more than 30 more of their men and seize at least 6 of their defensive positions."

Lopez nodded, his expression easing considerably.

As long as we can maintain our military victories, there's no problem...

Soon, the car drove into the port—a port that wasn't large, nor was it Guatemala's main port, but it was López's lifeline.

As long as the port and Quetzaltenango remain, Lopez will be able to completely overwhelm Milton in terms of economic power.

The goal is to continuously "produce" weapons and equipment for Lopez, allowing him to maintain his advantage over Milton.

There were already many fully armed soldiers stationed at key locations along the dock.

Now there are 2 AMX-13s, 5 EE-11 infantry fighting vehicles, a large number of armored vehicles, and pickup trucks that are not armored but have been armed.

To prevent Milton's sneak attack, the outer perimeter was guarded by vehicles with relatively weak combat capabilities, while all armored forces were kept in the safest place inside the port, ready to be dispatched to provide support if any problems arose.

This arrangement prevents Milton from launching a surprise attack on the tanks and allows for a quick and concentrated counterattack with the strongest forces, rather than dispersing the armored forces.

“I’m actually hoping Milton’s helicopter can come over… I’ve deployed an air defense force here that he would never even imagine, anti-aircraft guns, anti-aircraft missiles, there’s bound to be one that suits him.” Lopez opened the door and got out of the car. Surrounded by a group of men in suits, he walked through a special passage to the dock and boarded the yacht.

Even on this yacht, a large number of combat personnel were deployed, including fixed machine gun positions.

After boarding the yacht and having a bite to eat in the spacious living room to relax, the phone suddenly rang.

Lopez answered the phone.

“Mr. Lopez, this is Grey. I heard you’ve just had some bad luck? Are you injured?”

"I'm not injured, just a little shaken." Lopez frowned, clearly not wanting to bring it up. "Let's get down to business. Why did you call me?"

Grey's voice came through the receiver: "The publicity work is done. Hmm... I also took the liberty of handling that matter for you just now, but the negative public opinion impact is probably still unavoidable." "I trust you to do things." Lopez stood up from the sofa, glanced at the sunset, and tried to soothe his bad mood. "The first batch of recruitment should be completed. I estimate there are one or two hundred people. Let's send them to the front line first and give Milton a surprise."

"From today onwards, such encirclement and suppression will continue indefinitely."

Grey paused for a moment, then said, "I wish you a successful start... Oh, by the way, today's assassination attempt will be broadcast on the evening news and published in tomorrow's daily newspaper. We have already responded on your behalf."

“We investigated the reporter, and she is indeed an employee of Quetzaltenango TV. The TV station is very concerned about this matter and is willing to cooperate with us.”

Of course they were willing to cooperate, not only because they feared Lopez, but also because of their own interests.

A TV reporter stabbing an interviewee during an interview is a huge stain on the TV station—who would dare to invite their reporters to interview them in the future?

It was a consensus between Lopez and the TV station to quickly shift the blame onto Milton.

Lopez nodded: "Great... I'm on the yacht right now, so I can catch the news."

"Heh, my howitzer should already be on some ship at sea, heading this way, right?"

"I can't wait, I really can't wait."

"..."

……

beep...

The sound of the Y-5 engine, which sounded like a tractor, kept reaching Milton's ears.

Because they brought a crew member with them this time, Milton and Flora sat in the crew cabin to let the pilots get used to flying a plane again, so that they could get familiar with the controls as soon as possible.

Flora glanced at Milton and nudged him with her elbow: "What's wrong? Why are you suddenly so quiet? Are you really worried about that big siege?"

While eating at the rebel camp, Lak mentioned the "Great Encirclement and Suppression".

Milton gave her a disdainful look: "Attack my base? No matter how many come, they'll all die. What I'm afraid of is never someone trying to fight me head-on."

"Then what are you thinking about?"

“I’m afraid someone might cause trouble for me.” Milton stood up, took a map from the storage compartment in front of him, and pointed to the location bordering Mexico. “Don’t forget, our enemies are not just López, but also the Sinaloa Group.”

"No, in terms of strength, the Sinaloa Group is even stronger than Lopez... It's just that their stronghold is too far from here, so they can't project too much power over here."

“I have a deep grudge against Guzman. Putting him in that prison is like a joke to me. He definitely won’t let this go.”

Flora nodded slightly: "Yes... The Sinaloa Group has indeed been relatively quiet lately, which is inconsistent with their usual practice of seeking revenge."

“No activity for a short period of time means something big is definitely coming.” Milton pushed the map towards Flora. “Where do you think they’ll make their move?”

“The Sinaloa Group has already tried attacking trade routes with bounties, but it seems to be completely ineffective,” Flora muttered. “I think if it were me, I would back off a bit. If the Sinaloa Group can’t deal with Guatemala, can’t they deal with Mexico? I’d just ruin this border city, Tapachula, and destroy your trade at its source.”

"And now that he's doing this, he doesn't have to worry about hurting his teammates anymore—before, he had to consider Lyman's feelings, but now that both checkpoints are his, he doesn't have to think about that anymore."

Milton agreed with Flora's assessment: "That's right... The Sinaloa Group will definitely make a move on this place, but I don't know who Guzman will send this time."

“No matter who comes, we’re already short-handed.” Milton shook his head. “We have to fight the regular army in the north, the Sinaloa Group on the border, and we need to garrison two small towns. We also have to organize a VBSS in the south soon. We simply don’t have enough manpower.”

Flora tapped on the airplane window and suggested hesitantly, "How about we cooperate with the official forces in Tapachula? Get the local police to pay more attention? Get them to increase their anti-drug efforts? Any anti-drug effort is equivalent to cracking down on the Sinaloa Cartel."

It may seem absurd to have Mexican police fight drug trafficking, but in 1994, drugs had not yet completely corrupted Chiapas, a state relatively far from the United States, making it possible to organize anti-drug operations.

Moreover, even after Mexico's war on drugs ended abruptly in 2019, there were still Mexican police officers with a strong sense of justice who persisted in the fight against drugs, let alone now.

“You can contact them first, but please be careful,” Milton warned. “You should know what the Sinaloa Group is and what their methods are, even without me reminding you.

You might barely step into the city, barely exchange two words, before being betrayed by corrupt police officers at the station and captured alive the moment you leave.

beep...

In the short time it took to chat, the plane slowly landed at Malakham Airport.

"I feel so busy," Flora rubbed her temples, jumped out of the plane, and sighed. "Enemies are everywhere, and battles are breaking out everywhere. Speaking of which, a month has already passed, and I haven't even had a vacation yet. After we finish fighting this wave of enemies, can I finally accumulate my vacation days and take a vacation all at once?"

“Sure,” Milton waved his hand, “but I still suggest you drink less.”

"Huh? You mean I should drink less?" Flora laughed. "I think you've drunk quite a bit, you practically blew the 'Fountain of Life' straight to your lips?"

It was full of plain water...

Milton skipped the topic: "First, arrange for people, preferably armed personnel, to go to Mexico to see if they can help relieve some of the pressure on us."

As soon as he got off the plane, Milton saw a man in a special IRS uniform running towards him, panting heavily.

"'The Godfather'! We couldn't reach you while you were on the plane..."

Milton raised his hand to indicate that he didn't need to rush and asked, "Is there anything you need to report?"

“Yes!” The man nodded. “The scouts you deployed outside have discovered that an enemy army has been mobilized. Judging from their route, their target should be us! There are more than 100 of them, which is quite a large force.”

Milton frowned. "What about their equipment? What equipment did they bring? Did they scout it out?"

"At present, it seems that basic rifles and some old pickup trucks should be the first to lead the charge."

“A very weak force.” Milton found it strange. “Lopez knows the strength I have. Sending these people here is just asking for death.”

"Yes, so we all thought this was just an advance force, sent to scout and be cannon fodder..."

Milton's expression finally turned serious: "Send a force of over 100 men as cannon fodder? How large will the actual operation be? We definitely need to strengthen our defenses."

"The enemy may be launching a general offensive soon; they are recruiting soldiers like crazy... and have even found another excuse to attack us."

Milton asked, "An excuse? What excuse?"

The soldier was indignant: "Lopez was stabbed to death by a reporter during an interview, and then Lopez actually claimed that we orchestrated a terrorist attack!"

“Tsk, if I had really planned it, Lopez would be dead by now.” Milton shook his head. “There are too many civilians around him. I don’t want to actually plan a terrorist attack, nor do I want my men to commit suicide assassinations. Forget it.”

"By the way, you just said that Lopez is recruiting a lot of new soldiers?"

The soldier nodded: "Yes."

Milton then asked, "Can the scouts confirm the information? This advance force really didn't carry any powerful weapons, like anti-aircraft missiles or anything like that?"

"Confirmed." The soldier nodded. "Even the guns are old, some are even bolt-action rifles..."

“Very good…” Milton nodded, turned to look at the pilots who had followed him, “In that case, there’s no need to waste words with them. Let’s use helicopters. After training for so long, it’s time for some real combat.”

"And you guys... you probably haven't touched a helicopter in a long time, right? Now you have a chance to rediscover that old feeling."

"Lopez wants to wear me down with cannon fodder? What does he think a defensive battle is? Is it child's play?"

"I want to tell him that if he wants to fight me, he can only send his elite troops. No matter how many other people there are, it's useless. It's just a sum of countless zeros, which will always equal zero."

(End of this chapter)