Chapter 25
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 25
Chapter Title: Coup d'État Begins. 1 - Tehran's Spring
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"Let's start by cleaning this up."
Before my words could even finish,
Hassan, standing by my side, nodded.
And then, some of the rifles pointed at us from the surrounding soldiers swiveled sideways.
"What the...? Right now..."
"Why?"
As the soldiers and officers were thrown into confusion by the sudden actions of their comrades,
the troops who had turned their guns fired without hesitation.
Tatata-tangtang-tatata-tangtangtang~~~!!!
Muzzles flashed with fire.
"Ugh!"
"Gah!"
"Damn it!"
Thud! Thud! Splatter! Splatter~!!
Soldiers pierced by bullets collapsed and sprawled across the ground in heaps.
Startled, Major General Izhar instinctively reached for the pistol at his waist.
But.
Click!
A cold gun barrel was already pressed against his temple.
Izhar's eyes turned to see Colonel Murabak's face, the man now holding the gun to his head.
"You! You bastard! Murabak, what the hell do you think you're doing...?"
"Don't do anything stupid. Hands off."
"Do you even know what this is, you son of a bitch?! Hey!"
"What is it? It's the same thing you did. A revolution."
"You... After I promoted you all the way to colonel."
"It wasn't you who led me here. It was the Third Prince standing right in front of you. Prince Sahour Pahlavi."
Izhar's eyes widened in shock; he hadn't expected Sahour's name to come up.
He looked at Sahour, who gazed down at the surroundings with a bored expression.
Sahour's face was serene, as if he had known this would happen all along.
Rage filled Izhar's eyes.
He realized he'd been played by that prince this whole time.
"You bastards think you can take us down like this?! We... We're the revolutionary government backed by the people! We overthrew the monarchy and established the republic. We have the legitimacy granted by the people's support..."
I turned my head toward the shouting Izhar.
"Don't worry. We're fully prepared to shatter that so-called legitimacy of yours."
"What? What nonsense is..."
"Shut up. Load him onto the helicopter."
Hassan, standing beside me, asked,
"The helicopter, Your Highness? You're not handling him here...?"
"I was going to, but seeing him like this, killing him outright feels like a waste."
"Understood. Load the major general onto the helicopter."
"Yes!"
"Yes!"
The parade ground was now a puddle of blood.
The officers and soldiers still standing with rifles quickly seized Major General Izhar's arms and dragged him away.
I called out to Colonel Murabak as he watched them go.
"Murabak."
The colonel approached, standing ramrod straight.
"Yes, Your Highness! Your orders?"
"How many shadows are ready to move right now?"
"17th Mechanized Infantry Brigade, 6th Airborne, 11th Airborne, and 47th Cavalry. Total of 13,000 men. Plus half the battalion-level forces are ours."
"Communications?"
"Secured immediately after Major General Izhar left his post. All outgoing communications from the base are fully under control."
"What about the theocratic government's rats?"
"Ordered to eliminate them first the moment the signal goes out in each unit."
Yesterday evening, I'd heard that a deserter had fled from the boy soldiers' barracks.
Izhar, upon receiving the report, had flown into a rage and headed to the base himself to make an example of them.
The moment we got word,
orders went out to every shadow embedded in the division, including Murabak.
- Tomorrow morning. When the gunfire starts, shadows capture the rats and seize the units.
Murabak spoke with confidence.
"The signal's gone out now. The units should be moving any moment..."
Before his words finished.
Bang~! Tatatang~~!! Bangbangbang~~!! Tatatatangtangtang~!!
Gunfire erupted from all over the base.
Screams, shouts, and curses faintly carried between the shots.
The meaning of the gunfire was obvious.
"Looks like it's started. Lock down communications tight. No one should know until we reach Tehran."
Murabak nodded.
"It'll be handled perfectly."
I turned to Hassan as Murabak replied.
"Then we should get going."
Hassan checked his watch.
"They'll be here soon."
At that moment.
A roar of propellers started from the south of the garrison.
Dududududududu~~~!!
Five massive helicopters crested a low hill and flew toward us.
The base stirred at the sight of these enormous helicopters, unlike anything in the Iranian arsenal.
"What the hell is that?!"
"Never seen one like it. Did we even have those?"
"Isn't that the one from TV this spring? The one the Americans ditched?"
"Yeah, now that you mention it."
The helicopters attempting to land, crossing over the base, were the massive transport Stallions deployed in the U.S. secret op last April and left behind.
Gunfire echoing from every direction, now topped by these behemoths.
As the soldiers buzzed,
the helicopters slowly entered the airspace above the parade ground.
Dududududududu~~~!!!
Abandoned due to sand damage in the intake during capture,
but the engines and parts were fine.
After handover to the air force, mechanics secretly cleaned the sand, replaced filters,
and fixed minor issues.
Now they flew perfectly.
Kept hidden in the air force hangar while repairs were done,
last night I contacted the unit.
- Be in operational standby tomorrow morning.
The five Stallions, fueled and waiting, arrived at Basra Assault Army Camp early morning on orders.
Dududududu~~~!!
Whoooosh~~~!!!
The gusts from all five battered the parade ground.
The boy soldiers gathered there, frozen in shock, squeezed their eyes shut and bowed their heads against the sandstorm kicked up by the giant helicopters.
"Argh!"
"My eyes!"
"Watch out!"
"Sand!!"
Roaring engines and a sandstorm.
The kids backed away in panic.
I glanced at them, then ordered the nearby soldiers.
"Move the kids to the side."
"Yes, sir! Quick, get the kids to the sides!"
"Hey! Move left and right! Hurry!! Move it!!"
The soldiers herded the boys, clearing a large open space in the center of the parade ground.
The helicopters descended one by one onto it.
I turned to Colonel Murabak.
"Handle cleanup here. Follow with the main force once it's sorted."
"Yes, Your Highness! We'll wrap up quick and catch up."
"Good. See you in Tehran then. Bring spring to Tehran."
"Yes! Tehran's spring!"
I walked toward the helicopters with Hassan.
The boy soldiers huddled to one side, away from the choppers. More awestruck by the giants than afraid, they looked every bit the innocent kids.
Hassan's eyes met one—the boy who'd escaped earlier. One cheek swollen red, but his eyes sparkled.
"What's your name?"
"Sorap."
His clear voice, unflustered by the sudden question, sparked an odd fondness.
"Sorap. Stay safe."
Stroking his head in brief farewell, as we walked away, Murabak and the officers saluted.
"Loyalty!!"
"Loyalty!"
"Loyalty!"
The Stallions had modified interiors.
Along with me and Hassan, fifty fully armed commandos from the 13th Special Forces boarded.
Lieutenant Colonel Jahandar, 3rd Battalion commander of the 13th Special Forces, had his direct subordinates on standby since dawn, awaiting the signal.
The moment gunfire roared from one side of the base,
he raided the regimental HQ with his men.
Killed the regimental commander,
arrested and detained all officers colonel and above.
Then led his troops to the rally point,
boarding the waiting helicopters amid the gusts.
Confirming his men's boarding, Lieutenant Colonel Jahandar approached and saluted.
"Gunfire!! Black King 1st Commando boarding complete."
"Good. Let's move out."
"Yes, sir. But this one..."
The lieutenant colonel's eyes went to Corps Commander Izhar, bound and dumped like luggage on the floor.
"We'll drop him off on the way."
"Pardon?"
"Depart first."
"Yes, sir. Departing!! Everyone hold tight!"
Brief radio chatter.
The massive Stallion lifted off lightly.
Dududududududu~~~!!
Ascending quickly, it flew across the base.
Exiting the base, the helicopters headed west, not north.
Speeding on, they soon crossed into Iraq.
Ahead on the ground.
Iraqi army lines faintly visible in the distance,
surrounded by barbed wire and machine-gun nests.
I grabbed the radio mic and transmitted.
"Lower altitude."
The helicopter dropped low, skimming the ground.
"Hassan. Handle it."
"Yes, Your Highness."
At my call, Hassan stood, dragging the sprawled Izhar to the side door.
Drag~ Thud!
Pushing the heavy door aside, Hassan hauled the corps commander to his feet.
In the fierce wind, Izhar peered out with narrowed eyes and freaked.
As Basra assault leader, he'd scouted the terrain multiple times to breach enemy lines,
so he instinctively knew this landscape.
"Th-this is a mine... What are you planning?!"
Hassan whispered low in the corps commander's ear.
"Planning? Just experience your beloved God's will firsthand."
With that, he shoved the panicked man out the door.
"Argh!"
Splat.
Izhar tumbled from the helicopter to the ground.
But with the chopper nearly touching down, he soon writhed and stood.
"W-wait! Spare me! Please!!"
Ignoring his cries, the helicopter banked away and accelerated.
Izhar stumbled after the rising, receding chopper.
"Please! Don't leave me! Mercy..."
Mid-desperate sprint.
Click!
A faint mechanical click underfoot froze him.
Startled, Major General Izhar looked down involuntarily.
Moments later.
Faint behind his fading screams from inside came a distant explosion.
Kaboom~!!!
Hearing it, Hassan approached and reported.
"It's done."
"Good. No more to see. Proceed as planned. Tehran's spring."
"Yes, Your Highness."
Turning north, passing the base again, the other four large helicopters formed up on either side.
Dudududududu~~~!!!
Fifty commandos per Stallion transport.
The formation carrying 250 sped north toward Tehran.
Basra Assault Army central comms command post after the helicopters departed.
Bloodstains still fresh, Murabak—who'd seized it with his loyalists—ordered the comms officer.
"Open the cipher line."
The comms officer tuned to the prearranged frequency.
"Commander, line ready."
Murabak picked up the mic on the table.
And spoke.
"This is Colonel Murabak of the old Basra Assault Army HQ, now Sahour Revolutionary Army command. The Sahour Revolutionary Army has just seized the 4th Corps. Prince Sahour has departed for Tehran. We'll move out once our forces are ready. Comrades, fulfill your assigned duties."
Taking a deep breath, Murabak broadcast the next message gravely.
"At 0813 hours, Operation: Tehran's Spring commences."