The Malaysian Operative

Chapter 2 : Exfiltrate

Azeem contacted the helicopter pilot, updating their status.

"Alpha 1 to Night Owl, Alpha 1 to Night Owl,"

Azeem waited. So far no reply. He repeated his call.

The short period of static was followed by a reply on the other side of the communicator.

"This is Night Owl, proceed Alpha 1,"

"We are heading to LZ...repeat...we are heading to LZ!"

'Copy that Alpha 1, see you there, over and out,"

So far their mission ran exactly as it was planned. Neutralized the enemies, secured the hostage and now the final stage – exfiltrate.

Azeem and his men began to stride into the night. They maintained their pace across the jungle. Meanwhile, Zulaikha remained in her position, monitoring the surrounding area.

Corporal Andrew was the point man and was leading the team. While walking in front, he observed and maintained his attentiveness to their surroundings. His vigilance was what would save his team while they were moving out from the danger zone.

They were heading into an open area about 2 kilometres from the hut. The area was mostly covered with tall grass and small trees, making it the most suitable place for a helicopter to land.

All of them were pushing themselves albeit exhaustion to make sure they could arrive at the landing area within the next 10 minutes. The helicopter would wait for them and send them to Bangkok.

As Azeem walked and supported the Chinese man, he could feel that the Chinese man was using every bit of energy he got left in him to continue walking.

"Hang on, a little bit further," assured Azeem, trying to provide moral support to the Chinese man. There were few times when the Chinese tripped his leg with fallen branches and creepers, almost making him fall but Azeem quickly pulled the man back on his feet, pushing him to continue walking towards their destination.

As they were walking, Andrew suddenly halted his steps while instantaneously raising his left fist. It was a tactical hand signal to stop.

Azeem, Haris and Ramasamy followed suit. From the rear, they could see that Andrew was standing idly as if he was looking at something. Andrew's right hand which was holding his weapon remained trained at something.

Without hesitation, Azeem and Haris both moved sideways, providing some space to Ramasamy who was the last person following behind and the one with the machine gun. If anything happens, they would want Ramasamy to get a clear line of fire with his destructive weapon.

A minute passed by. Andrew dropped his hand. Azeem and the others felt a relief.

"See anything?" asked Azeem.

"I thought I saw movement 10 metres ahead, among the trees. But it was nothing."

"Are you sure?"

" Yes, I'm pretty sure, sir,"

"Ok. Proceed with caution. "

All of them continued to advance to the landing zone.

Meanwhile, Zulaikha was running mildly. She was still on the plateau that ran parallel to the landing zone. From her position, she could oversee the area.

Shortly after, the tranquillity of the surroundings was disrupted by the sound of a flying helicopter. Zulaikha abruptly stopped running, catching her breath. She tried to listen to the sound, trying to determine the distance and direction of the helicopter.