Mike, who had been grumbling at Burimer, immediately fell silent.

  “Captain, forget the raccoon. It’s a survival game from now on.” Black Mamba spoke as though he had been cut with a knife.

  The mercenaries stared at him with surprised faces. Usually, Black Mamba was someone of action rather than words. This was the first time they had seen him state his stance strongly. There was a weight which gave them no choice but to comply.

  The Captain’s forehead creased into a frown. “Why do you think so?”


  Black Mamba didn’t reply and instead closed his eyes. The rest was up to the leader. If he tried to convince them with reasons, he was only going to tire himself out.

  His comrades made a strange expression at the obvious reaction and turned to Burimer. Burimer was Black Mamba’s spokesman.

  “This is the 17th day. The mid-Chad region which we’re traveling in is as large as France. What are the possibilities of our activities being revealed in such a vast place? The headquarters are leaking our movements as informative bait. There’s a different team to rescue that raccoon. What we have done is distracting the FROLINAT’s attention elsewhere to open the road for the real rescue team. I don’t know who they are, but they must have extracted the raccoon already,” Burimer replied on Black Mamba’s behalf.

  “They’re using Black Mamba as bait?” Jang Shin asked with an incredulous look to his narrow eyes.

  “They could if they didn’t know the real value of Black. Mitterrand is more concerned about losing Chad. He’s capable of throwing away a mercenary unit without any problems. Black’s angry; whoever it is, they’re not going to sleep well tonight. Tsk!” Emil clicked his tongue.

  “The way the information leaked isn’t even by a mole, it was a part of the plan from the start!” Mike began shouting.

  “That can’t be! If this is a back-door operation, there’s no reason for every single one of our activities to be leaked. It’s only when the information is controlled that a back-door operation succeeds in probability. The way our activities are leaked can only indicate a mole in the communication line. Otherwise, they would have thought about keeping a moving bait alive.”


  Bell Man, who refused to talk on the best of days, supported Mike’s claim.

  Everyone nodded. It was the moment when everyone agreed to such logic while becoming gloomier at the same time. They had become an abandoned card while being betrayed by a spy. It was the moment they were sieged on both sides.

  “We’re Legion Etranger. We will follow whatever your decision might be, Captain.”


  Burimer asked for the Captain’s decision on behalf of all the mercenaries.

  “I’m sorry. I’m now confirming the situation, after the battle of Toco Toom, that a spy’s in the communication line. This means our information is being leaked at all times in the headquarters. The corpse Black Mamba found was the raccoon’s guard. From the assassin’s bullet and how they covered up the place, it’s GIGN.”


  “GIGN!”


  Several exclaimed with shouts.

  GIGN was France’s proudest unit of terror team. They were recognized worldwide in the fields of suppressing terrorism, extracting captives, special protections, aerial inceptions, and much more.

  Team Ratel was overwhelming in terms of battle, but even they had to step aside in a hostage rescue situation.

  “Why is GIGN gunning with Makumbo?”


  Of course, Mike was impatient.

  “They probably didn’t sign well with the raccoon’s side.”


  At Burimer’s reply, Mike nodded. It was possible. In a situation where both sides were trigger-happy, one slight mistake could pull the trigger.

  “It’s probably that they killed the guards for security,” the Captain continued.

  “I agree with Burimer’s theory. We were placed as bait for GIGN to move with ease. While our team was being chased by those scores of Piranhas, I assume the GIGN took out the raccoon relatively easily.”


  “They would the FAP massacres of those locals have anything to do with GIGN?” Miguel asked with an uncertain voice.

  “That should have been a coincidence. According to Bell Man’s theory, it’s been three days since the locals have died. The death of that raccoon’s guard coincides with that day. We can assume the FAP entered the village after the GIGN extracted the raccoon.”


  The Captain said his conclusion after analyzing the situation and evidence he had seen until then.

  There was a large difference between suspicion and the truth.

  There was a way to resolve a suspicion through denial, but when the suspicion became the truth, it became a dead end. When the leader gave his conclusion, everyone’s suspicion turned into anger.

  Sparks ignited in the mercenaries’ eyes.

  “Who’s the bastard?!” Mike, rabid, gritted his teeth and jumped out of his seat.

  “Mike. Sit. The Captain hasn’t finished speaking.” Black Mamba spoke without opening his eyes.

  ‘F***, why isn’t he leaving me alone. I can’t even talk!’


  Mike shrunk back silently at the eerie lift of his voice.

  The Captain continued in a glum voice, “We can’t be sure that our headquarters is involved. The General isn’t someone who would sacrifice his subordinates for the sake of a back-door strategy. I’m considering the DGSE members. The headquarters’ mole is a different matter. Don’t say anything against our headquarters again.”


  The mercenaries nodded with unsatisfied expressions. There was no one who wanted to throw away the pride of being a member of Legion Etranger.

  Bad things didn’t come in ones. Bell Man reported with a grim face, “Captain, Chartres’ condition is getting worse.”


  “What, didn’t you say he was getting better?”


  “It’s the problem of varying temperatures. It’s easy to lose strength, and his muscle reactions are getting worse. I’m suspecting tetanus.”


  The Captain slapped his knee, and the sound rang.

  “S***, I should have sent him on that last helicopter. I’m calling a helicopter now. You get him ready to move. The moment we send the message, we’re leaving this place. It wouldn’t be surprising if rockets bombard this camp at any moment. We’re abiding the survival manual from this point onward as Black said. Everyone, do your best to maintain your condition.”


  At the Captain’s solemn decision, everyone nodded their heads. They had nowhere to turn since the headquarters’ information was untrustworthy. They had no choice but to escape Sahel with their own strength. The raccoon had long left their minds.

  “F***, I should have moved him……”


  The Captain berated himself. He had left Chartres unaided because of his own greed. The reason why he pushed back the transport was that he didn’t want to lose Chartres’ immediate strengths in battle. The difference between day and night in Sahel was difficult for a normal person to bear. He should have had moved Chartres in spite of the helicopter’s sighting.

  – Alpha, come in; Bravo here.

  – Bravo, speak.

  – There’s an emergency patient. Needs transport. Send a helicopter.

  – Bravo, received.

  – Alpha, the raccoon is gone. There’s no way to find him. Decide our return.

  – Bravo, this is outside my authority. Call after 20.

  – Alpha, got it.

  The Captain was nervous about the headquarters’ decision.

  He had had enough losing Mark. He didn’t want to lose any more of his subordinates in a hopeless strategy.

  After 20 minutes, the line opened once more.

  – Alpha, get in. It’s Bravo.

  – Bravo, the emergency helicopter is being sent. Continue the mission. I repeat. The raccoon mission has to be continued.

  The Captain’s arm wound around the phone began to tremble.

  Those bastards sat on their desks rolling their pencils!

  What was he supposed to do?

  What kind of mission was this!

  – Alpha, the raccoon is missing. I ask again. The mission is impossible. Black Mamba took out the 3rd command of FROLINAT. They’re going to jump on us like ants.

  – What? Do you mean Habib’s 3rd command?

  The surprised voice was mixed with the static signal. The Sahel’s sand winds lowered their communication line’s efficiency.

  – Yes. It’s the Koromunga’s 3rd Command Unit.

  – Bravo, I’ll answer the higher-ups. Connect in an hour.

  – Alpha, roger.

  The Captain, who finished the communication, wrapped his head in his hands. The truth had already been revealed at Ongur village. He wanted to argue, but his rationality held him back.

  He looked at his subordinates with dark eyes.

  In consideration of his subordinates, he should have reported the incident in the village and have retreated immediately.

  For the sake of the mission’s success, he had to close his mouth. He was a soldier of Legion Etranger who held the mission first, and all else came second. If the information about Ongur leaked to that rat, the entire mission would go up in flames. He had no choice but to wait for the permission of their retreat from the main quarters.

  First Lieutenant Etang ended the call and made a complicated expression.

  ‘Damn, I’m nervous as hell.’


  Leaking the information on a strategic team was worth martial court material. France was especially strict by law against betrayers. It was, no matter what, imprisonment.

  If it weren’t for his betting debts, he wouldn’t have held hands with the bastard called Twarga. He had no way of knowing whether Twarga was the bastard’s real name, either. Once a noose was hung it was bound to be dragged everywhere. One hundred fifty francs was a large sum unable to be resolved until his retirement.

  “Ugh!”


  He automatically sighed. The bastard had planned this entire thing from the moment he sat next to him in the casino. It was too late for regrets. Etang glared at the clothes hook attached firmly in the corner of the wall. It looked strong enough to endure his weight.

  Etang, who had been staring at the hook for a long time, shook his head.

  His mother in the Province awaited his return.

  “I’ll think about it after reporting to the central,” Etang murmured as he took out the connection, heading to the reporting station.

  “Staff chief, Team Ratel is requesting a retreat.”


  Major Geofrey smirked at the message.

  “There’s nothing different about the environment of their mission. Seems like Paul’s turned into a coward, too. There’s no retreat. Tell them to continue the mission.”


  “Shouldn’t we notify the higher-ups?”


  “I’ll deal with it. It’s an order. The mission continues. We’ll send the emergency helicopter immediately.”


  Etang looked at Major Geofrey’s face, which looked as though it wouldn’t bleed a drop of blood even when poked, in heavy silence. Major Geofrey was the immediate liaison in charge as the Ratel Team’s strategist. He had been dispatched to the Deuxieme Rep’s headquarters as a member of the 11th airborne squadron.

  ‘Does he have a noose around his neck as I do?’


  “Is there a rouge on my face?”


  “Ah, no.”


  “You send them my regards once the line’s back in connection.”


  Etang wasn’t able to continue the conversation with Major Geofrey, who closed it with a knife’s edge.

  “I understand.”


  Once Etang disappeared, Geofrey made an easy smile.

  “Hmm, the raccoon is on the verge of escaping, but the badger wants to escape too? That’s not right. No, it should play with the hyenas for a bit longer. But how do I hide this from Colonel Philip?”


  Geofrey, who had been looking into the details of the written communication, tilted his head.

  ‘Is this Black Mamba guy some Rambo dude? It’s all unbelievable. It’s going to be irritating if this guy survives……what if he returns alive! No, I need a contingency plan.”


  Geofrey took up the phone.

  The Captain’s face when he restarted the communications wasn’t bright.

  – Alpha, it’s Bravo.

  – Bravo, I can hear you clearly.

  – Alpha, tell me the decision.

  – Bravo, there’s no retreat. The mission continues.

  – What? Shibal Jotto!

  – Bravo, what does that mean?

  – Ah, nothing.

  He had sworn by instinct. He was the captain who had gotten more used to Black Mamba’s Korean swears than the French prostitute.

  He was swept with indecision about revealing the information about Makumbo and the concerns which followed. The Captain’s expression changed constantly.

  ‘Ah, comrades, forgive me.’


  He was a soldier. His subordinates were all soldiers. Whether they were baits or not, they were all a part of a mission. His teeth broke by the force of his grit, but he couldn’t impair the entire mission. The mission had to be completed, even if he had to shoot at those involved when he returned.

  The Captain decided to bear the burden himself.

  – Alpha, understood. The coordinates are 216-342, along 70km west of Chicha and 12km west of Ongur Oasis. I want the helicopter at 0100.

  – Bravo, received. I’m sorry.

  The Captain, after closing the line, called Black Mamba.

  “Black, are you a sniper or a warrior?”


  “I don’t understand the point of your question.”


  “I’ve called the helicopter to move Chartres. When the information leaks, the enemy is going to attempt to shoot down the helicopter. I need you to shoot the enemy down.”


  It was often said to fool your allies is to fool your enemies.

  The best result was when FROLINAT didn’t interfere. On the other hand, if the information leaked, he planned to have the helicopter as a sacrifice. The Captain strengthened his weakening resolve and hid everything from Black Mamba.

  “Moving Chartres? Okay. I don’t care where the battle is. I should be ready for close-quarter combat if it’s to protect the helicopter and Chartres. The mountain ranges are more advantageous than an open field.”


  “Good. The Er Ekdim valley should be just right.”


  He ordered the move immediately.

  There was no way the enemy could figure out their rendezvous point, but wariness closed in around him like chains.

  The coordinates the Captain sent the headquarters had been their camp the day before. It was a place 15km south-west of Tanga in Vilma’s direction, 10km from their current camp. The Er Ekdim valley was a deep valley the size of a passing iceberg, in a large U shape.