Taxes are only within machine gun range!

Chapter 279 SMU's Joint Operation

Upon hearing that the American support would not stop, Reggie's expression softened slightly, but it was quickly filled with worry again.

"Can one plane and one American pilot really turn the tide?"

"The Americans have proven with their actions that they may not be able to defeat Milton either."

"Perhaps Milton was already prepared."

This staff officer was not only an advisor in the army, but also a confidant of Arsu, responsible for reporting the situation in the army to the president. So even Reggie had to ask him a lot of questions.

In other words, this staff officer was originally there to pass on intelligence from Arsu to Reggie.

The staff officer smiled and shook his head: "It's not just a plane and a pilot. There's also a very, very powerful squad. They carry a lot of advanced equipment and have organized an instructor team that can assist our grassroots units in critical moments."

Reggie's brow remained furrowed: "Wasn't it the same before? SAD and the SEALs were instructors and caused trouble, but in the end? Milton easily dealt with them... Oh, it's not even easy, Milton practically wiped them all out."

"Doesn't the CIA still have a few surviving agents lurking in Milton's territory? They don't seem to have ever sent out any valuable intelligence."

"What will be different this time compared to before?"

The staff officer smiled and slowly uttered three letters: "SMU".

Reggie sat up straight immediately!

Special Mission Unit is the term used by the U.S. Department of Defense to refer to some of the U.S. military's special operations forces. Of course, the U.S. government has not explicitly specified which units are defined as Special Mission Units.

However, in the early 1990s, the then Commander-in-Chief of the U.S. Special Operations Command clearly stated that the U.S. Army's 1st Special Forces D Operations Detachment (Delta Force) and the U.S. Navy's Special Warfare Development Group (SEAL Team Six, DEVGRU) were permanent special mission units.

The SMUs that have been confirmed so far are all very famous, including Delta Force and Team Six, as well as the 24th Special Tactics Squadron of the U.S. Air Force, the regimental reconnaissance company of the 75th Ranger Regiment, and the U.S. Army Intelligence Support Operations.

Each one is a Tier 1 T1, the highest-ranking special operations force in the United States, renowned for its outstanding combat record.

SAD and the previous SEALs were already very strong, but they are even stronger now. You could say they have mastered special operations to an unparalleled degree.

Reggie was now finally interested: "Has Milton finally angered them?"

“Yes…” the staff officer nodded, “However, Milton did not seek to reveal the identities of those people; he simply executed them. Therefore, this ‘instructor group’ also came in secret and cannot be made public.”

"The situation in the Balkans is very tense right now. The U.S. military is focused there and does not want to openly intervene in the Guatemalan civil war for the time being."

By 1995, the Balkans were a complete powder keg. The Bosnian War was drawing to a close, and all of NATO's attention was focused there.

Arsu has certainly sought full NATO intervention, willing to pay any price to completely crush Milton, but Guatemala, a place of little geopolitical and economic importance, and unable to cause any trouble in America's backyard, is clearly not as important as the Balkans.

Since World War II, Europe has not seen a war of such intensity.

Sending SMU over at this time already shows that they attach great importance to it.

Reggie continued, "How many people exactly, and who came?"

"There are two action teams. One is a covert operation, and we don't know what they are planning. The other is an instructor team that goes directly into the joint command to help us coordinate the coalition forces."

"I don't know any more detailed information."

“Yeah,” Reggie chuckled self-deprecatingly. “Milton has infiltrated so much of our organization that it’s normal for them not to share specific intelligence with us… Um, this message should only be circulated among the top management. Don’t tell anyone else, understand?”

"Of course...we are also conducting a rigorous internal audit of potential moles."

Strictly audit insiders.

Reggie frowned, generally pessimistic about the situation—the two sides in the civil war shared borders, Milton did not restrict the outflow of people, and the Guatemalan government had not begun a general mobilization.

Population movement is always present.

Current population movement trends suggest that Milton is becoming more attractive.

Many refugees who intended to flee to the United States chose not to proceed and remained in Milton's occupied territory.

Milton has already shown signs of suppressing the government in terms of "soft power" in the economy, production, and other aspects. The only advantage the government now has is its existing military strength and possible external assistance.

They only have military victory left to pursue.

Reggie took a deep breath: "Let them speed up, we don't have much time left."

"..."

……

Oaxaca, Mexico.

A helicopter suddenly descended over a very inconspicuous little village, and several DEA officers wearing bulletproof vests and gas masks skillfully rappelled down to the ground.

Upon seeing the DEA approach, almost everyone here turned and ran!
This includes ordinary people who don't look like rich people and appear very kind and benevolent.

This small village, from the youngest to the oldest, has been completely devoured by drug traffickers. Almost everyone is involved in drug production, which is their only way to make a living.

Many children even looked at the drugs and raw materials, their eyes flashing with sadness and reluctance.

Without these things, they might not be able to pay their tuition or even afford bread...

But the DEA, having witnessed many things, remained unmoved. They raised their guns and shouted:
"DEA, don't move!"

"Everyone get down!"

"If you run again, we'll shoot!"

Boom boom boom!
Winnie, who had become the leader of this tactical action team, quickly raided the drug lord's hideout.

She ignored the fleeing civilians and focused her attention on a brick house, ordering her men to surround it.

Having blocked all escape routes, Winnie showed no mercy, ordering her team members to take out stun grenades and hurl them at the hut as if they were free.

boom! boom! boom!
The stun grenade exploded immediately, and the bright light and loud noise filled the small house in an instant!
A man's scream came from inside: "Ah!!! My eyes, my ears, I can't see, I can't hear... Am I going deaf? No... Ah!"

Without hesitation, the DEA team used the most professional methods to clean the room and quickly identified several men dressed in very luxurious clothes, who looked like they had even taken great care of their hair.

Winnie grabbed the leader's chin, examined him carefully, and nodded: "Take the raw materials and retreat."

"Roger that!"

While the team was clearing out the drug dealers, Winnie raised her M16A1 and pulled the trigger at two unimportant drug dealers—the helicopter couldn't hold that many people, so proper personnel optimization was necessary.

Boom!Boom!
Two shots to the head, and the two drug dealers fell to the ground on the spot.

Winnie pressed her gas mask and said, "Drive the villagers away as much as possible, and burn all the drugs that can't be taken away."

"Yes!"

The DEA agents acted swiftly. After a quick check of their gas masks, they gathered the poppies and related materials together, looked around to make sure no one was nearby, then poured gasoline on them and set them on fire.

The flames completely engulfed the drugs, and the team members escorted the drug dealers onto a helicopter, away from the scene.

In the distance, you can still see several children rushing out of the house despite the adults' attempts to stop them, wailing as they look at the pile of drugs that is beyond saving.

"Captain...sigh."

Winnie raised her hand: "We've seen this kind of thing many times. Does that mean we shouldn't ban drugs just because of this? Wouldn't that just hurt more people?"

“I am not heartless. This operation was originally intended to solve the problem at its root.”

"This drug dealer has a lot of crucial intelligence—critical intelligence about our enemy."

After Milton's previous attempt to hunt down a SAD team to the Chiapas border but ultimately failed to let them escape, Winnie didn't rest. She continued to rely on various intelligence she found to locate this drug dealer with deep ties to the CIA.

This drug dealer may have the most direct evidence to prove that the CIA local supervisor who appeared on the border between Oaxaca and Chiapas states last time had direct collusion with the drug dealer.

"We finally caught you, didn't we?" Winnie chuckled, kicking the drug dealer with her boot. "SAD's local influence has been almost completely worn down by Milton, and some members have even defected. Otherwise, we wouldn't have been able to catch you so easily."

"Heh, heh heh..." The drug dealer, somewhat resigned to his fate, spat out a mouthful of bloody saliva. "Ask whatever you want!"

"No rush. When we get back to the interrogation room, there will be plenty of good things for you. I will ask you questions then."

Winnie was in a very good mood and casually made a threat.

The entire squad was in high spirits—because the helicopter had already flown over Oaxaca and into Chiapas, which was friendly territory, so they weren't worried about being shot down or encountering a missile that came out of nowhere while flying at low altitude.

The CIA's usual method of making people disappear is completely ineffective on Milton's turf.

They couldn't even guarantee that they wouldn't vanish into thin air on Milton's turf.

The helicopter flew at high altitude for a while, and just as it was about to land, the radio on the helicopter suddenly came on.

The team member answered the phone, listened for a couple of minutes, then turned to Winnie and said, "Captain, it's for you."

"it is good."

Winnie took the phone, and after hearing just one sentence, her languid expression instantly turned serious.
She began, "Director?"

After listening to a couple of sentences, Winnie's forehead veins bulged and disbelief flashed in her eyes.

"Just one step away, just one step away! We've caught the most crucial person. Give me three days for interrogation, just three days!"

"They killed our entire squad, and I'm the only one who survived!"

"Orders? How can you order me to give up avenging the captain? He saved my life before!"

"..."

“…Yes.” Winnie turned off the radio, her face extremely grim. She then glanced subconsciously at the drug dealer who was tightly bound but whose expression was full of schadenfreude.

click!
Winnie picked up the rifle and pointed it at his head.

"Don't be so smug, no one can protect you."

"and many more……"

Winnie's eyes burned with increasing murderous intent, and she was almost unable to resist pulling the trigger and riddling the person in front of her with bullets to vent her emotions.

But she held back in the end.

"Land as planned... Contact Milton."

“But Captain, it seems he’s fighting on the front lines. He just captured Solora and has a lot to deal with.”

“It’s alright, just pass the message on to his men…” Winnie said, then couldn’t help but laugh at herself, “Our matter is no longer urgent or important.”

……

Two days after the Battle of Solora ended, the city returned to calm with astonishing speed.

Order was re-established here.

The army, taking advantage of the various supplies that the government troops had not had time to take with them and the positions they had abandoned, quickly rebuilt a solid defensive line.

Many officers believed that they should press their advantage and pursue the enemy, but Milton rejected these decisions and chose to remain in place for the time being.

Milton was not in Solora at this time, but flew back to Quetzaltenango and arrived at the construction site of the Pan Madre Railway.

The construction team was extremely efficient; in just one month, the basic structure of the railway was already visible.

Jin Kang sat under the shed eating fast food, watching Milton jump down from the armored vehicle, and chuckled: "Mr. Milton, isn't the war still going on? What brings you here today?"

As we all know, engaging in political commentary is an instinctive behavior that many people find hard to resist. After the construction team arrived in Guatemala, the locals and foreigners mingled together, and they immediately and unconsciously began discussing current affairs.

The "Hell Tax Collectors" were making rapid progress on the front lines, while rumors circulated that a SEAL team had also been defeated and suffered heavy losses.

This incident was naturally something the workers talked about with great interest.

And now, "Zheng" himself has arrived.

“Of course, we’re looking at the railway.” Milton waved his hand. “We might have to sign a supplementary contract because my territory might grow as you build the railway. For example, Solora, as the capital of Solora province, can’t be left without a railway.”

Jin Kang swallowed a mouthful of fried rice and took a sip of water: "That area is still a war zone, still the front line... We definitely can't do anything there now, let's talk about it later."

"Um……"

Just as Milton was wondering if he could snatch something, the communications officer behind him ran up and indicated that there was a phone call for him.

Since Milton became the boss, this kind of thing has become commonplace. You could say that a phone call comes in every now and then, and he's completely used to it.

However, just as Milton was about to take the phone, the communications officer gave him a wink and didn't hand it to Milton immediately.

Jin Kang was very perceptive; he immediately stood up and moved to a table in a secluded corner to continue eating.

Milton took the phone with a strange look, went outside, and asked the communications officer as he picked up the phone, "Who is it?"

"The phone number is from the 7th Precinct of the Tax Police Corps."

The Tax Police Corps, Seventh Division, also known as the Intelligence Division, is responsible for intelligence work on the entire "Pan-Madre Group." Because their uniforms contrast sharply with those of other departments—they wear raven-black clothes that appear black but shimmer differently when illuminated—they quickly earned a nickname.

"Raven Group".

Of course, Milton secretly complained that it would be better to just call them "Jinyiwei" (Imperial Guards).

"The intelligence came from the tunnel boring machine."

"Shield Machine" was Riley's nickname. Milton felt that "Blade" or similar terms were not rough and powerful enough, so he gave him the nickname "Shield Machine".

"Oh? Give me the phone."

Soon, the intelligence officer on the other end spoke up: "'Godfather,' the 'tunnel boring machine' has provided definite intelligence that the Guatemalan government will continue to receive US aid for some time to come. I've heard that a very elite special operations force will be deployed, including the DEVGRU."

Milton frowned, thought carefully for a moment, and said, "Hmm... I understand. You must keep this information strictly confidential and not leak it easily. Also, do not make any special arrangements based on this intelligence. This level of intelligence should only be known to the Guatemalan president's cabinet. This may be a deliberate release of false information to test Riley's loyalty."

"If we act rashly, we might inadvertently expose Riley, you know?"

"Yes!" the intelligence officer agreed without hesitation, but after thinking for a moment, he continued uncertainly, "Um, Mr. 'Godfather,' there's another piece of intelligence here."

"Then say it."

"The tunnel boring machine also said that the intelligence above is very likely true," the intelligence official said. "Initially, the tunnel boring machine was forcibly taken out for drinks. A cabinet official got so drunk that he was talking nonsense, and even the restaurant waiters heard the intelligence."

"He suspected it might be a trap, but this kind of thing had happened countless times, and the secret had long since been leaked to who-knows-where. He suspected that even a waiter in Guatemala City knew about it before the general in the joint operations command was aware of it."

"Some people even sold intelligence to the Honduran military and Mexican drug cartels in exchange for US dollars..."

“Uh, Mr. Godfather, our enemies may not be as formidable as you think.”

Milton: "...Okay, I understand."

After hanging up the phone, Milton mentally complained about what kind of shoddy, makeshift team this was. He had just fought against elite forces like the SEALs, and he couldn't get used to opponents whose skill level had suddenly plummeted.

However... DEVGRU's entry into the fray is indeed a piece of information that deserves serious attention.

No matter how weak the government forces are, as long as an elite team plays an important role and high-level officers are placed in the middle command, even a lousy force can have decent combat effectiveness.

This is clearly an attempt to interfere in our internal affairs.

Flora had just heard the news too. Seeing Milton's slightly unpleasant expression, she said, "By the way, that girl from DEA, Winnie, said she wanted to talk to you sometime. I don't think it's anything urgent, and I was planning to wait until you got back. But now... since we've already had some bad news, it's better to get it over with quickly. Why don't we ask her now what happened?"

The call request came almost immediately after the seals' demise, and Flora, based on her own speculation, believed it couldn't be anything good.

But it wasn't particularly urgent either, otherwise Winnie wouldn't have had this attitude.

So Flora originally planned to wait until Milton had fully enjoyed the joy of victory before dealing with these trivial matters.

“Let’s call,” Milton said casually. “Actually, I can guess what it is. They’re under pressure to reduce or cut off contact with us altogether.”

Sure enough, as soon as Winnie opened her mouth, you could hear the intense weariness in her voice.

“‘Hell Tax Collector’, ah… I’m suddenly a little envious of you.”

At least Winnie's attitude hadn't changed. Milton paused for a moment, then asked calmly, "Is there something you need?"

"Do you remember the last time you chased a SAD squad all the way to the state border?"

"Of course I remember. What happened?"

Winnie chuckled self-deprecatingly: "We've found the most crucial clue. In three days, just three days, I'll be able to catch the CIA who orchestrated this whole thing."

Milton stated, "But you don't even have three days left."

"The pressure came from my direct supervisor... a supervisor who was willing to turn against the CIA and support all my actions. As far as I know, my supervisor was also under pressure that he couldn't withstand. The entire operation had to stop here and could not be investigated any further."

"Perhaps, after a while, even our connection will be severed."

The day has come.

DEA finally couldn't cover up Milton's affair anymore.

Milton said, "It seems our cooperation will soon come to an end, won't it?"

Winnie's regret was undisguised: "...Yes, but I'm still very grateful to you personally, and I'll miss our collaboration. Before I leave, I'd like to give you a gift."

"All the intelligence we've gathered, all the valuable prisoners we have, the clues we've compiled, and all the information that doesn't involve core secrets will be compiled and given to you during this period."

"You're in charge, no one can stop anything from happening under your leadership. Keep it up, 'Hell Tax Collector,' I'm waiting for your success."

Milton glanced at the panel, which was now displaying a notification that the DEA squad would soon be removed from the allied list.

"Okay, stay safe."

Winnie laughed: "You're the same. Maybe ten or twenty years from now, after I leave the DEA, or even retire completely, I'll still hope to see all sorts of reports about you on TV... Maybe by then, you'll be the head of state, who knows?"

"Let's go, let's go!"

"..."

Milton calmly put down the phone and walked straight toward Jin Kang, who was almost finished eating.

"Jin Gong, I'd like to sell you something, do you want it?"

Jin Kang looked at Milton suspiciously and asked, "What is it? Oil? I can't make that decision, or I can get you to contact someone..."

“It’s not oil,” Milton interrupted. “I have a batch of advanced individual soldier equipment that I seized from the CIA and SEALs: micro drones, individual PDAs, individual search radars… and much more.”

"The requirements are that after you crack the code, we must have permanent access to purchase these counterfeit equipment at cost price; and once we have the ability to produce them independently, we must also sell one of our production lines to you unconditionally."

"Go contact them. I only have one question—do you want it or not?"

Jin Kang was dumbfounded and almost jumped off his chair—he didn't understand many of the terms, but he keenly sensed how damn important and damn terrifying Milton's words were!
It even has strategic significance!
"Wait a minute, I'll go contact them!"

(End of this chapter)