After at least five extremely stringent checks—verifying passwords, inspecting documents, and even requiring everyone in the vehicle to disembark for a body check and facial verification—the pickup truck was finally allowed to enter the courtyard of an extremely ordinary, low-rise but unusually thick-walled reinforced concrete building.
"We're here. Follow me."
The lead agent seemed to breathe a sigh of relief upon seeing Song Heping.
Song Heping got out of the car with the canvas bag and followed him into the building.
The corridor inside was narrow and dimly lit; the walls were rough, unpainted concrete, emitting a pungent moldy smell.
Static noise from radio communications, rapid Russian and Arabic commands, the sound of keyboards typing, and maps being flipped could be heard constantly from behind the tightly closed iron doors on either side of the corridor, creating a highly tense and busy wartime command atmosphere.
