Vector was a field agent for the Spear Bureau. During her pre-service intelligence training, she had learned that communicating with people was an essential skill for any field agent. But even after reviewing the entire course from beginning to end and going over the instructors' tips for striking up conversations, she still couldn't think of how to keep talking with Xiang Qian about whether she should pay for the toilet paper herself.
Unlike Vector, who was racking her brains for something to say, Xiang Qian wasn't giving much thought to the rather pretty female agent beside him. What concerned him more at the moment was how to effectively monitor the blockade ahead in real time. With the situation liable to change at any moment, any response would need solid intelligence to support it.
The Spear Bureau's intelligence support for the joint operation focused almost exclusively on the Ten Rings. The intelligence and reconnaissance forces under the joint command center's control were likewise tasked with monitoring external threats, not friendly forces. Hashimov and his subordinates, however, were on the friendly side and therefore fell into a blind spot. The Ground-Penetrating Drone did have surveillance cameras, but its ground-penetrating radar was already connected to the command center's system and on standby to guide bunker-busting bombs. It couldn't be turned around and sent to monitor an unrelated defensive zone on the perimeter.
To conduct effective surveillance without alerting the other side, Xiang Qian had to set up an independent monitoring operation outside the command center's control. The biggest problem was that there was almost no time.
Xiang Qian considered several plans, but had to reject them all because there wasn't enough time. Finally, he pulled out his phone to call in outside help.
"Hey, personal communications are prohibited under battlefield regulations," Vector objected instinctively.
Xiang Qian pointed disdainfully at the officers nearby. "Do you think they care about that regulation? Nobody even asked me to hand over my communications device when I came in."
Xiang Qian dialed without a care in the world, and nobody in the command center raised an objection—not even the staff officer responsible for communications security. Vector couldn't help rolling her eyes. The Russian-style military was known for its rough-and-ready approach. Outsiders saw them as fearless in the face of adversity, ready to fight to the death rather than surrender. But when the odds were in their favor, they could be just as careless and sloppy. It was a longstanding bad habit.
"Hey, Tony, it's me." Xiang Qian's call had connected. The voice coming through the receiver was so faint that Vector couldn't make it out. All she could hear was Xiang Qian chatting away in English—thankfully, she understood it.
"Of course I know it's midnight in Los Angeles right now. Doesn't your exciting life start at midnight every day?"
"What, a Maxim Magazine cover girl? I don't have time. My schedule's packed. Right, right, you're ahead four to zero. I give up, okay? You know I've got a lot to do this year, especially that experiment in a month. The whole world's watching! You'd better watch out. By the time you're in bed with a cover girl, you might not be the richest man in the world anymore."
"Six years behind? No, no, that's different, Tony. Six years ago, you had something we didn't. A month from now, we'll have it too. How about a bet? Whose reactor will be the first to go into practical use?"
"Your birthday? I'd forgotten. Looks like we won't be able to celebrate; it's too close to the experiment. Your birthday? We might still make it. Who knows? I can't promise anything."
"Ha! What did you say? Buddy, I think you've got it wrong. Whether your birthday party is a big, lavish affair doesn't depend on you. It depends on Pepper."
"Admit it: your daily life is completely in Pepper's hands. You can't even function without her. Having a woman like that look after you is the greatest fortune of your life. She might as well feed you by hand."
"Anyway, I've run into a bit of trouble. Lend me a near-Earth reconnaissance satellite. I'll send you the coordinates right away. The timing... six hours. I need it now, as soon as possible. Send the authorization code to this phone... Great. I'll make sure to order you a big cake for your birthday."
"What, you don't want a cake? You want to meet the models from China who are competing in Victoria's Secret this year? Buddy, you're too late. I already asked her out last month. How long ago? That was a month ago. We've already parted on very friendly terms... Oh, I've got the satellite signal. I'll talk to you later. Bye!"
Xiang Qian hung up and picked up the tablet. A signal from a satellite orbiting more than a thousand kilometers above the Earth connected to the computer. At Xiang Qian's command, the satellite's camera precisely locked onto a ground coordinate. Soon, a real-time video appeared on the screen, filmed from a near-overhead angle. It showed a makeshift field camp occupied by an armed force of several hundred people.
The video wasn't high-resolution, but it was clear enough to distinguish the people, vehicles, equipment, roadblock barriers, checkpoints, and more. There was no doubt: this was the defensive zone of Kuliya's armed police, under Hashimov's command.
Everything was ready. Xiang Qian glanced at his watch. The satellite would remain in orbit over this area for about six hours. According to plan, the bunker-busting bombs being transported from the rear by the joint command center would arrive in no more than four hours. If Hashimov and Temugin were going to do anything, they would have to act within those four hours. There was plenty of time. Xiang Qian relaxed, like a predator resting before the hunt.
"You've been staring at me for at least ten minutes again. That's twice now, Comrade Vector," Xiang Qian suddenly said, nearly making her jump.
Vector hadn't stopped looking astonished since the moment Xiang Qian made the call. She felt that she'd lost her composure more times today than in the past twenty-odd years combined. "You... you just... who were you talking to?"
"So you can still join the Special Task Force even if you stutter." Xiang Qian's remark turned Vector's face bright red. "As an agent, if you've been listening this whole time and still can't figure out who was on the other end, then you must have cheated on your entrance exam."
Vector nearly lost it. Could he just talk normally for once? Could he?!
"Was that Tony Stark? The richest man in the world?" Even though Vector was a hundred percent certain of her conclusion, she still sounded incredulous when she said it. She could hardly imagine that someone right beside her could casually call the richest man in the world on his private line. Nor could she imagine someone at the very top of society chatting so casually about anything and everything.
Of course, what Vector found hardest to imagine was what Xiang Qian had asked him for. "You borrowed a satellite with just one phone call?" She'd heard of people borrowing money, cars, and houses, but never a satellite—especially not one borrowed privately between two people.
One glance at the live surveillance footage on the screen was enough for Vector to understand the satellite's technical capabilities. Never mind the strategic significance and military value of satellites like this; just the construction cost would run to hundreds of millions. Add the launch costs, and the figure would be astronomical—more than Vector could earn in ten lifetimes. And Xiang Qian had gotten one of those satellites with a single phone call?
Xiang Qian gave Vector a puzzled look. "My relationship with Tony Stark isn't exactly a secret. The whole world knows about it, doesn't it?"
"But does the whole world know that you can borrow the most advanced reconnaissance satellite just by asking?" Vector silently thought to herself.
Xiang Qian paid no attention to what Vector might be thinking. He tapped the screen with satisfaction and remarked, "You have to admit, when it comes to satellite signal transmission and image-generation technology, Stark Industries leads the world. We can't match that level yet."