The 3 B's- Beauty, Brains and Bravery

Chapter 537: Sheer nothingness

Terrorism is not an old concept. The term itself was coined back in the 1790s, so to refer to the terror, the fright caused during the French Revolution by the revolutionaries against their opponents. Maximilien Robespierre's Jacobin party carried out a Reign of Terror, involving mass assassinations, and executions by the guillotine. Though back then, terrorism meant an act of violence initiated by a state against its domestic enemies.

Now, in the 20th century, the meaning of it had changed, for the worse but. For them, for these organizations, it was a way to be heard. Loud, and clear. The calculated use of violence to install fear, and thereby to achieve political goals, where direct military victory wasn't possible. Presently, in order to maintain the publicity necessary to generate widespread fear, terrorists, more often than not, engage themselves in quite the ostentatious, brutal, and high-profile attacks. Which involve hijackings, hostage-takings, mass butchery, bombardments, and, continually, suicide bombings.

Lashkar ul-Mujahidin was one such organization. Actively lead by Ahmed Ali Fadhil, the institution was a synonym to dread for many, mostly, to the countries which were weaker, when compared in terms of Military strengths. Country X had been no less a victim to such endless attacks itself. For decades, the nation had witnessed numerous petrifying bloodbaths on its land, orchestrated by countless nemeses, Fadhil being one of them.

It was, but a scenario, before Rong Xinghe was sworn in as the country's First Woman Military Chief. As for the recent three years, the nation had not undergone anything as disastrous as what it had gone through in the past. There had been attacks, of course, but none unnoticed by the vigilance of the Army. It was admirable, really, the efficiency with which the woman had upgraded the security status of the land. Remarkable, too. 

And she intended to have it that way, for years to come. So as Sun rose from the east, gradually, Rong Xinghe, along with her Hybrids, walked into an abandoned and evidently local hospital building in Panjshir Valley, 116 km from Kabul, the nation's capital. The location was of course chosen, whilst keeping the sensitivity of the mission in mind. Roughly 2 hours drive from Kabul, this hospital building, which stood weakly at the borders of the valley, was unbothered about for years now, and so, the perfect place for the Hybrids to assemble. 

"Are you okay, Xinghe?", Orlov walked over to the girl with a cup of tea, his voice laced with concern. 

"I will be. Eventually.", the woman smiled, taking the beverage from the man, "Until then, shall we begin with the matter at hand?", she said, eyeing the documents placed over one of the hospital beds inside the general ward. 

"Yeah.", Jackson Marshal nodded, retrieving a Brown envelope from the pile of charts and pages, "Here.", he said, passing the data to Elijah as the girl sipped her tea, "I sneaked into Sharia Enterprises' Archive Center a week ago. Aftaab Ali's company headquarters. I got in as one of the Security staff and the entire place seemed usual, you know, initially. Even so, I couldn't shake off the feeling that there was something suspicious about it. So I stuck around for a few more days.

"I was right. To this Archive Center, was yet another room connected, smartly integrated with the innermost wall. It was a challenge, to hack past the whole security system shielding this secret chamber, but when I got in, this is what I found out. Xinghe, the whole place was a display of attacks engineered by Fadhil to date. In Country N, and in Afghanistan itself, against the Militaries of several nations, and even Country X. From the attack on Country X's Parliament to how our former Vice President was annihilated, the files were frighteningly detailed and organized. 

"But there was no point extracting those pieces of information, I thought. After all, the man's a declared criminal anyway. Why would we need evidence to prove that? It was unnecessary. Though, among those documents, and folders, I found this one.", Marshal explained, pointing his chin at the file in Elijah's hands. 

Rong Xinghe turned slightly, going through the pages one by one, as the Hybrid held onto them for her. Florence brothers too, walked up to them, standing behind the woman curiously. 

And the more she read, the more the coldness in her gaze deepened. Ahmed Ali Fadhil had, very methodically, laid out a plan to take over the entirety of Country X, swathing it into sheer nothingness. To turn it into but a sight of horror, for the world to watch. As she went through the file, the threat she'd received at her Engagement Party came rushing back to her. 

"Beware, Rong Xinghe, for War is on its way. Stop it if you can. Because when that time will come, thousands of bodies will be sacrificed. It will be, but mere collateral damage, for you are both, the reason and the ultimate target of this battle. Only when you'll be standing over the bodies of innocent public, your family, and your love, will he come for you. Beware!"

Fadhil had conveyed this message then, within the bounds of his association with Rong Yufan. It didn't seem he was bluffing. Not anymore. Throughout the past year, her bro Mo had been attacked, and even though she'd increased security around her family, the others had been aimed at too. So far, no movement had been observed around Xi Yuan, thankfully, but one thing was for sure. Ahmed Ali Fadhil was approaching Country X, stealthily but swiftly. And he was coming prepared. 

"He is planning on targeting the public next, Xinghe.", Shawn Florence raised his brows, stepping back a tad, "As in like mass extermination!"

"Would you look at the meticulous selection of explosives here?!", Ashfakh Ali gasped, "RDX. Nitroglycerine. Trinitrotoluene. Aziroazide azide. This is a nightmare! We'd lose half of Country X if he's to succeed in any of these plans, damn it."

Rong Xinghe just remained silent, waiting for her pack to calm down. Throughout the five years of Military Chief Training, they'd come across hundreds of assassination plans. And yet, none as devastating as this one. It was psychotic, Fadhil's intentions for their homeland, and for the people who'd done absolutely nothing to deserve such misery.

She could not let this happen. No matter the price she'd have to pay, so to put an end to it. And at this moment, there lied only one option for them to pursue. To get rid of the monster before that affrighting of a massacre was even to commence.