At New York Airport, a plane slowly touched down. A group of imposing, burly men escorted a bald man and a long-haired, middle-aged man through the airport.
Everyone they encountered instinctively kept their distance, watching them leave with apprehensive expressions.
Outside the airport, a line of luxury cars waited at the exit.
Only after the long-haired man and his companions got in did the cars slowly pull away from the airport.
Although the Ten Rings was a terrorist organization, its members all had legitimate, respectable identities on paper.
This group was traveling as senior executives of an American security company.
In the back seat, the long-haired man rested with his eyes closed. The bald man sat beside him, leafing through some documents as he respectfully asked, "My lord, should we begin the operation immediately?"
"There's no rush."
"First, send Tony a gift for me. Also, arrange a meeting with Carls. I'd like to see him."
"Understood!"
The bald man nodded, quickly took out his phone, and made several calls to set things in motion.
Half an hour later, a package arrived at Carls's official residence. It specifically required his personal signature, so the housekeeper who answered the door had to fetch Carls, who was enjoying a rare day off.
Soon, Carls appeared at the door, his eyes full of confusion as he looked at the courier.
"Who sent you?"
The courier grew visibly cautious at his question. After all, the man before him was one of the few people at the very pinnacle of power in the United States.
"Mr. Karls, I don't know who sent it either. The instructions only said that you had to sign for it personally."
Carls frowned at that, but he did not give the courier a hard time. He simply nodded and signed for