Taxes are only within machine gun range!

Chapter 176 Black Hawk Down 2.0
When Milton saw this message, he almost rushed back to command post to contact the people at headquarters to prepare for battle to the maximum extent possible!

CIASAD is a special forces unit, and to some extent, it can be considered an elite special forces unit of the US military. At that point in 1994, it was definitely not comparable to the likes of Lopez's army.

Headquarters must concentrate all its armed forces in order to counter CIASAD's hostile actions.

However, not long after, the panel showed that the two helicopters had left their territory and did not appear to be preparing to land.

While Milton breathed a sigh of relief, he didn't naively think he was safe.

"This special operations team did not launch a direct attack; there are only two possibilities."

"First, CIASAD's operation was not aimed at me; it just happened to pass through my area on a short stretch of road. Second... their target is me, but they are unable to act against me for the time being due to issues such as supplies and helicopter fuel."

Milton was not one to deceive himself; he almost immediately concluded that it was the second case.

In this area, the only forces that might prompt them to take action are Milton's Pan Madre Group and the resistance.

The rebel leadership is fragmented, so even if the rebel commanders were killed, the decapitation operation wouldn't be particularly effective.

Only on our side is the group truly centered around the name "Milton".

Milton and the CIA were well aware that if they were gone, the group would inevitably fall apart.

There is at least a 70% chance that this CIA operation was targeting them.

Flora noticed that Milton seemed to be deep in thought, so she asked, "'Tax collector,' what's wrong? What are you thinking about?"

Milton waved his hand, his steps hurried: "Let's go to the temporary command post first. I have a few urgent temporary tasks to arrange."

"it is good."

Soon, the two returned to the command post. Milton walked to the radio station and first contacted the people at headquarters.

Then Milton pretended to say a few words to the other side, his expression gradually becoming serious.

Flora tensed up immediately and asked, "What's wrong?"

Milton controlled his facial muscles, pretending that he had just received the news as well: "A local hunter in the mountains just said that they seem to have spotted two unidentified helicopters flying by. Our people checked and there is no intelligence indicating that the Juarez Group, the Guatemalan regular army, or we have similar helicopters."

"The only thing that might be even remotely related is our UH-1, but our UH-1 helicopters are all at the front lines, how could they possibly fly over from high altitude?"

"In short, there are unidentified helicopters approaching our area, so we must be cautious."

Flora paused for a moment, then gasped in shock: "This... do you think it's possible that the Americans are just angry because they're embarrassed? After all, you just took hundreds of thousands of dollars from them, and then you turned around and messed with them?"

"It's always the CIA playing tricks on others, it's always the CIA running rampant, they certainly won't just let this go."

"And the best, and most common, way for them to express their attitude is to just kill people."

Milton's operation was so large-scale and had lasted for a whole day; the CIA, unless they were blind or deaf, couldn't possibly have missed it.

The CIA has remained silent about Milton's "fraudulent" behavior.

impossible!
Seeing that Flora had made a similar judgment to his own, Milton nodded slightly.

"Get the plane ready, the Juarez Group plane we captured last night. We'll be taking off in 30 minutes at most."

"Help me pick up Brandon; I still have some things to tell you at the front."

The communications soldiers, sitting neatly at their workstations, quickly made contact with Brandon.

"Boss?"

Hearing the familiar voice coming through the radio, Milton said, "You're in charge of pushing forward. A wounded civilian father and daughter just came over here... What happened?"

Quetzaltenango and Champerico are connected by a highway, and it takes a day to drive there, but the problem is, we're currently at war!

War inevitably leads to various forms of displacement, even on battlefields decades later. Only when Milton takes control of Champelliport Port as soon as possible and unlocks the local counter-espionage system can these problems be completely resolved.

The biggest problem is, it's only been one day since the start of the war, how come there are already "vagrants"?

Milton was truly uneasy about bringing Flora's team back to base camp without arranging for these issues to be addressed.

Milton could never afford to be careless when dealing with truly elite, top-tier special operations forces.

Brandon's voice also carried a hint of panic: "Boss, boss... we've laid mines wherever we can, and we've set up multiple checkpoints on the highway. Only those who pass the inspection are allowed to come over, and all the demolition teams are in position, ready to blow things up at any time. But there are just too many people coming from over there!"

Milton was taken aback: "You mean, there are too many civilians coming from Lopez's side?"

“Yes,” Brandon said with certainty. “We screened very carefully, leaving no corner unchecked in any of the cars that came in… We even built a temporary refugee camp nearby for this purpose. Unless there are seriously injured people in the car who can be screened first, everyone else has to wait in line.”

It wasn't that the defenses were too leaky and too many people escaped; basic order was still maintained.

Milton nodded slightly and asked, "Why are so many people coming over there? Do you have any clue?"

Brandon gave a wry smile and replied, "We asked a few people, and boss, the situation on Lopez's side is much worse and more chaotic than we imagined."

On the very first day of the war, even when the authorities were still trying to deceive the public by saying that Champellico had not fallen, so many people were still fleeing like madmen.

That really explains the situation.

Lopez is under immense pressure, and the casualties on the front lines are certainly not light.

Otherwise, so many people wouldn't have fled to enemy-occupied territory as soon as the war started.

“Lopez’s rule has been shaken,” Milton said. “Now his own government is a powder keg.”

"Yes, I've seen many of the people who escaped here, and they are all truly law-abiding citizens... I heard them describe it, and it's said that various military and gang robberies, many businesses have absconded, the government can't pay out compensation, and so on and so forth, it's a complete mess."

"The congressional elections are about to begin. Losing the port of Champerico is like strangling Lopez, causing their internal conflicts to erupt..."

“Didn’t you send a spy over there before? That spy has recently sent a lot of useful information… I think Lopez is likely not getting enough votes.”

Milton nodded slightly: "Very good, that's exactly what we need to do. We need to create chaos within Lopez's ranks so that he'll be even more eager to pursue military victory. We need to drive Lopez to desperation."

After learning the truth about the father and daughter's arrival, Milton was finally able to leave the front lines with peace of mind and return to the rear to prepare for CIASAD's shameless sneak attack.

"Oh, right, there's another training plan that needs to be put on the agenda as soon as possible." Before leaving, Milton gave one last instruction, "Right now, the military is communicating in plain language, which is very risky. We must find a way to use code words from now on, understand?"

Now, Milton, relying on military frequency-hopping radios, is taking advantage of the Guatemalan army's lack of relevant military skills and equipment, and can communicate in plain language with impunity.

But we must never underestimate the enemy – what if they have the technology to crack the code? What if they successfully eavesdrop and decode the code?

Even if we take a step back and assume that we encounter a situation in the future where there are no military frequency-hopping radios available, what then?

Communicating in plain language does not mean handing over the battle plan.
Code word training must be conducted as soon as possible.

"Understood!"

"very good."

“Uh…wait, boss, there’s one more thing.” Brandon quickly said as Milton seemed about to leave, “It’s something to do with you.”

Since Brandon hadn't reported anything, it meant it wasn't an emergency. Milton took a sip of water and said briefly, "Speak."

"Well, according to the information we received from our intelligence network over there, it seems that you're starting to gain support."

Milton nearly choked on his water: "What?! What do I have?!"

What is approval rating anyway?!

“That’s right, your approval rating among the public,” Brandon said in a low voice. “Our informant said that several media outlets were conducting polls, and your name was originally on them, but they removed it under pressure from Lopez’s team.”

"Of course... there is support, but the ranking is not high."

"I feel it will be very difficult to win the election this year."

Milton laughed in exasperation: "Why would I run for Congress? I'm a warlord... Besides, you want me to attend a meeting in the Guatemala City parliament? Are you sure I won't be arrested the moment I get off the plane?"

"Alright, I have other things to do here. I'll report any important intelligence later."

What a load of rubbish—the idea of ​​electing members of parliament!
However, Milton really thinks the voters in these countries are quite amazing—as the "devil" in the propaganda machine, as the "enemy," how can they still have support?
What exactly is the mentality of these people who choose to support me?
After internally ranting, Milton left the command post, got into a car, and went to the barracks that had the makeshift runway and a Juarez Group aircraft parked there.

Cenat's turboprop aircraft...

Milton nodded slightly, and surrounded by a group of surrendered soldiers, he loudly proclaimed that he would return to the main camp in Malacan for a day to gather more resources for the front lines before boarding the plane.

His intention was simple—there must still be a large number of enemies in the city who hadn't had time to escape.

The news that Milton was going back would reach Lopez's ears within an hour, and then be relayed to the CIA.

Without much deliberation, Milton was determined to make this "decapitation operation" take place at his own base.

It won't affect the frontline battles, and the panel will assist in combat, greatly increasing the win rate.

Flora's team of three followed Milton onto the plane, and soon the engine started, heading towards the town of Malacan.

After they had been airborne for quite some distance, Flora finally spoke, asking, "'Tax Collector,' what are you planning to do? Let me remind you, if our guess is correct, they are definitely an extremely powerful special forces unit."

"If the SEALs are the pinnacle of US special forces, then the SAD is the pinnacle of intelligence and espionage... Although they are not as strong as the SEALs in the field of 'combat,' they are still not to be underestimated."

Give me a break. They could kill Castro no matter how long they wanted to.

米尔顿看着窗外的景色，慢悠悠的说道：“1961年4月17日；1993年10月3日。”

Flora was taken aback: "What?" "Castro can give SAD a disastrous defeat at Giron Beach (Bay of Pigs), and I can give them a Bay of Pigs 2.0," Milton said calmly. "Somalia can give the US military a Black Hawk Down, and I can give SAD a Black Hawk Down 2.0."

"They are strong, but definitely not invincible."

How could Flora not have heard of the Bay of Pigs Invasion, how could she not have heard of Black Hawk Down? She just couldn't believe that Milton could be so audacious!
This is aimed at annihilating the SAD squad, leaving no survivors!
Having been a mercenary for so many years, Flora has dealt with many formidable enemies, but she has never faced a real, active-duty special forces unit!
Moreover, he was hunting down this unit as a hunter!

"Great! Exciting! I love it!"

The pilot, "Poison," made a rather uncooperative remark: "Come on, 'Bottle,' you've been with the boss so many times, don't you know his style? The kind of battles you're imagining from those American blockbusters are very likely to never happen."

"Anvil" nodded in agreement: "I reckon some unlucky guy will be taking the blame again..."

Flora was taken aback, then turned and asked, "Really? You've found another unlucky guy this time?"

Milton, on the contrary, shook his head with amusement: "No... you guys shouldn't over-mythologize me. I'm not an omniscient or omnipotent person."

"The Anvil" was shocked: "So you're not? I thought you were."

“Don’t pick up that bad habit of ‘Bottle’s’ complaining!” Milton slammed his hand on his chair. “SAD’s operation this time was unexpected, but I’m not one to sit idly by. There’s no good scapegoat this time, so let’s pretend as much as we can, as long as it looks good on the surface.”

"Since we've already offended the CIA, it doesn't matter if we offend them even more."

"This level of disturbance is not enough to directly attract the US military."

At this point in 1994, the US military dared to launch a large-scale invasion of Iraq, but was less willing to use the same methods to attack American countries.

Doing this is a huge loss—it's practically creating countless refugees for yourself, and it's destroying your chances of getting elected.

The US midterm elections are less than two months away, and the ruling party's chances are hanging by a thread. If this happens again, will they lose all their votes?

Regarding intervention in Latin America, as long as it does not truly threaten national security, the United States tends to resort to assassinations, supporting opposition groups, and at most, small-scale military operations.

And the memories of his past life were still vivid in his mind—Clinton did indeed lose this midterm election, losing more than 50 House seats and becoming a lame-duck president, enough to cause chaos and wrangling over there for a while.

In short, with the right timing, location, and people, Milton dared to plot against SAD.

He knew this would only provoke retaliation from the CIA, and the situation wouldn't escalate in the short term.

"Okay... what do you plan to do?"

Milton continued, "Simple. Make a big show of returning to the tax office, then sneak away. When their helicopter arrives, we'll catch them like fish in a jar!"

"Anti-aircraft missiles, heavy machine guns, incendiary bombs, artillery shells, aerial bombs, nuclear bombs... Bomb them all! I just want to make sure they're completely dead!"

The enemy is the most elite special forces, so we won't engage in special operations with them.

Milton would never fall into the trap of "exchanging pieces".

"Be careful, that's SAD. They have all sorts of advanced equipment, including life detectors and infrared thermal imagers."

"Yeah, I don't mind if someone gives me equipment."

"...If you keep bombing like that, you'd have to praise American industry as invincible if there's still a scrap of equipment left."

"..."

A while later, Milton's plane landed at Malacan Airport.

Just then, a Y-5 transport plane took off carrying cargo, delivering supplies to the rebels.

"Hmm?" "Poison," the pilot, suddenly asked in confusion, "Look over there, is that helicopter ours?"

An unfamiliar helicopter has appeared at the airport?!

Milton glanced at the panel instinctively. It confirmed that he still had complete control over the territory, and the Y-5 had just flown away...

"If it's not ours, then it must be a 'guest' who has arrived. Let's go take a look."

The plane came to a quick stop, and Milton jumped out of the cabin.

The guards responsible for protecting the airport were already waiting there. Before Milton could even ask a question, they ran over and said, "Reporting, Mr. 'Godfather,' three people just arrived at the airport. They said they were 'old friends' and came to see you. We have verified their identities and made them lay down their arms."

"They landed according to procedure, and we tracked them in real time with multiple air defense missiles throughout the entire process to ensure there was no risk."

"I was going to contact you, but I told them you'd be there soon, so they're waiting here."

Milton nodded in satisfaction, walked towards the lounge, and asked, "'Old friend,' what old friend?"

"The DEA agent you met in Tapachula."

As soon as he finished speaking, Milton saw three people in the lounge... no, to be precise, there were four people.

One of them was handcuffed and blindfolded, and the bruises on his face indicated that he had been beaten quite a bit.

The three appeared to be discussing something in hushed tones.

"Winnie, are you serious? Teaming up with the people here? What kind of fighting power do they have?"

"Look at this small-time boss of the Gulf Group right here. He had over twenty men protecting him, and the three of us wiped them all out and captured them alive..."

"We've confirmed that you were betrayed and ambushed last time. The heavy casualties weren't your or the captain's responsibility..."

Winnie shook her head: "I'm not scared. You weren't in Tapachula at the time. If you were, you would know that I'm not exaggerating. This is a very worthwhile force to win over. Hmm... they're here."

Milton walked into the room and glanced at the four people: "I thought it would be a long time before we met again. What happened?"

Winnie handed over an envelope first: "Medical expenses and map money, clean and ready to use."

"Actually, while I was in the hospital, my trusted agents and I were already planning this mission. We took advantage of the chaos at the Gulf Group to secretly investigate some things... Once I had recovered from my injuries, we started this operation."

"The operation was successfully completed last night."

Milton ignored the distrust and wariness in Winnie's two teammates' eyes, casually sat down, and asked, "Look at this person on the ground, that's your catch... So, did you get anything out of him?"

A DEA agent said warily, "This isn't you..."

“It’s okay, we can tell him.” Winnie raised her hand to stop her teammate. “There’s not much to say about the details, and this guy isn’t a big shot, so he can’t give us any important information… But he’s a small leader at the operational level. Now we can be sure that the CIA was involved in Tapachula’s attack on our team. They definitely were.”

When the letters CIA were announced, Winnie's other two teammates let out heavy sighs.

“Winnie, I really have to remind you, this is not in accordance with procedure.”

"A program? Can it allow us to take revenge?"

"Sigh... never mind, let's just pretend we didn't see it this time."

Milton listened quietly for a while, then asked, "There's no news about who it is, is that right?"

After the question was asked, the person on the ground suddenly gagged, and with a flick of his tongue, he managed to push the rag stuffed in his mouth out.

“Brother, I don’t care who you are… these DEA cops have proven my identity; I’m a small-time boss at the Gulf Group! You know the Gulf Group? I can give you dollars, lots of dollars and gold! Just save me!”

"This is your territory, right? You could easily take them all down. Save me! I'll give you money!!!"

Winnie's two teammates' expressions changed drastically, and they involuntarily took a step back.

Milton didn't even look at the drug dealer on the ground, and simply said calmly, "My name is Milton."

The drug dealer fell silent.

The next second, an unimaginable potential erupted from his body, and he shrank back towards the DEA agents: "Sirs, I was just joking! Please, don't hand me over to this madman, please, I can give you money..."

"..."

The DEA agent quickly gagged the man again, then looked at Milton with a puzzled expression.

What did this person do that made the drug dealers so afraid?

"Alright, let's get down to business." Milton waved his hand at Winnie. "What do you want from me?"

“We need to further investigate the incident in this area, and I would like to receive your support in various ways—including logistics, equipment, safe houses, and so on. In return, we will provide funding for this support.”

"Your channels are well-hidden and secure, making them difficult for the enemy to detect."

"This envelope is the first payment—all subsequent transactions will be cash and face-to-face, is that alright?"

It was a fair deal, and Milton didn't hesitate: "No problem."

"Okay, let's start..."

Milton raised his hand: "Wait, didn't you say you were investigating the CIA?"

"Yes, what's wrong? Do you have any leads? I can buy it."

“I wouldn’t call it a clue.” Milton chuckled, his tone devoid of emotion. “But I do know that some CIA agents have evaded taxes with me.”

"There will be a large-scale enforcement operation by the tax police tonight, and we need your help."

This was a huge amount of information, and Winnie's mind was in turmoil. She instinctively asked, "What kind of help?"

"I'll borrow this small-time boss of the Gulf Group that you captured... for a while."

A friend wrote some entertainment articles; you might want to check them out.


(End of this chapter)