It seemed that the entire Rabbani family was here, and the operation had clearly been very successful, given the appearances of the ISA operatives—nobody seemed to be injured, suggesting everything had gone smoothly.
As the child walked past Song Heping, she, who had initially been biting her finger, suddenly grinned at him.
Song Heping felt a sudden jolt inside, a sensation he couldn't quite describe.
Everyone was gathered in the open space at the camp, and soon an ISA officer with a professional camera arrived. After some brief arrangements, it was almost like taking a family portrait in a photo studio, lacking only the ISA officer calling out, "Say cheese!"
After a few clicks of the shutter and flashes of light, the officer gestured an "OK" sign to Niki.
Jinny issued an order to the alert operatives, "Take them all to Room 7, keep them under continuous surveillance 24 hours a day, and before entering, make sure to conduct a thorough body search. No contraband should be brought inside—got it?"
"Yes!"
The squad leader who received the order was just about to carry it out when he heard Niki stop him again, "Oh, and give them some food and water. Have the medic come over to see if there's anything that needs attention, and bring something the child can eat."
"Yes!"
Hearing Niki's orders made Song Heping feel slightly better.
Although he was a killer, abducting a whole family and locking them up seemed somewhat off-putting.
However, he also knew that the family was definitely safe.
They were merely a bargaining chip, meant to force Rabbani to defect.
"Let's go."
Song Heping had no interest in watching further, so he called Mist to head back to sleep.
"There's nothing for us here."
The two returned to their tent and fell asleep immediately.
They slept until the next afternoon. Soon after waking up and while washing up, Thom arrived.
"Song, hurry and get ready, have some lunch, and then we need to meet Han Fei."
Less than half an hour later, Song Heping met Han Fei in one of the wooden houses.
Han Fei was relatively clean, but from the first look, Song Heping knew the guy had been harshly tormented.
There wasn't a hint of color in his face, making him appear like a Western vampire.
The detention point was a metal cage inside the wooden house, smaller than the one outside in the open space, about five square meters. There was a blanket thrown on the ground, a bucket in the corner wafting a stench of excrement.
What caught the eyes most was the huge spotlight hanging from a beam above the cage, evidently very powerful.
No need to ask its purpose.
When Thom entered with Song Heping, Han Fei was curled up on the old blanket in the corner; a guard kicked the cage, startling him awake.
Seeing people, he panicked and instinctively scurried to the side of the cage, trembling as if he had seen a cat.
It was a complete physiological reaction, and Song Heping was well aware that from the time frame, Han Fei had been captured by the American intelligence agency for a month, presumably all spent here.
As for what technical methods the Americans had used to ensure his capture didn't leak, Song Heping was uncertain.
All he knew was this guy had been suffering miserably here.
The intelligence department is different from ordinary judicial departments; they have much less strict boundaries and can adopt measures outside the law to obtain whatever they want.
Soon, Han Fei was yanked out of the cage like a small chicken and pushed into a chair.
Song Heping and Thom sat down opposite him; Thom said, "Song, you can ask him any questions, just like you're talking to an old friend, or you're a journalist interviewing someone."
His intent was clear.
Their presence here was to observe the impersonated target's demeanor, tone, and subtle movements; if they were to replace him, they'd better be convincingly similar.
Seeing Song Heping ignited a flicker of hope in Han Fei's desperate eyes.
"Chinese?"
Song Heping nodded, "Yeah."
Han Fei rubbed his nose, "Are you one of them?"
Song Heping replied, "Sort of."
"Can you help me? We're from the same homeland."
"Homeland? I've seen your file; you deal in drugs in Central Asia, and much of it is sold through the Wakhan Corridor to our place. Being caught by the Americans is actually lucky for you; try that in our country? You'd have been done for long ago."
Song Heping felt no sympathy for this man, hence there was no trace of pity.
Han Fei looked like he was on the verge of tears, begging, "I'm wrong, I'm not human, but please, can you help me?"
"Help how?"
"I've told them everything, confessed everything, can't you show some leniency?" Han Fei's eyes darted desperately, "Isn't there something like witness protection they can grant me? Can you negotiate that for me?"
Song Heping burst into a disbelieving smile, amazed that someone who had been on the streets for so many years could still be so naïve.
"You think this is a police station? Buddy, this is an intelligence branch of the US Army; do you understand what an intelligence agency is? There's no law here; this is a different world, no rights for suspects, certainly no witness protection. Whether you speak or not depends entirely on whether you can endure and whether it's worth it for you to withstand without revealing any information. As for anything else, I think you're hoping for too much..."
"What can I do… they're not human..."
Han Fei descended into despair once again.