Chapter 1127 General Hammer

Chapter 1127 General Hammer

"It's not about saving the world, but saving the West Coast, or more precisely, the greater San Francisco area." When Rossi got off a bulletproof extended Lincoln, he seemed to know what Jack was thinking and answered his question.

Jack took off his pressurized flight suit with the help of two ground staff, took the shirt and suit from Rossi and put them on, "What happened?"

Seeing his favorite disciple, Rossi's ugly face finally eased a little, "The details are currently top secret, and we'll talk about it when we get to the Pentagon. All I can tell you now is that Alcatraz Prison has reopened."

Sure enough, when Jack met the "middle-aged Cage" Dr. Stanley Goosby, he had a vague foreboding premonition, and this time it really came true.

He also secretly checked the famous prison across the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco. Unlike his previous life, this prison built on an island called "The Rock" was not officially closed until nearly 30 years ago.

In this prison called Alcatraz, the most famous prisoner was Al Capone, the "godfather" of the Chicago Mafia. He contracted syphilis, an incurable disease at the time, and died of complications of cerebral hemorrhage eight years after his release from prison.

This was Jack's first visit to the Pentagon. In a long table meeting room on an unknown floor underground, a group of generals with stars and badges and several old guys in suits were sitting on both sides.

Everyone's expression was not very good, but compared to those old guys in suits, Jack saw some gloating on the faces of the generals whose shoulder straps had silver five-pointed stars ranging from 2 to 4.

The military ranks of the US military, especially the ranks of general officers, are very easy to recognize. Just count the stars. One silver star is a brigadier general, two major generals, three lieutenant generals, and four are generals.

Of course, there are also five-star generals with five stars in a circle, such as the Marshal Mai (fog) who likes to post various comments on the Chinese Internet. There have been a total of ten in American history, which is equivalent to marshals in other countries.

Among them, Raymond Spruance, a famous naval commander in World War II, was awarded the title posthumously.

So it is not that the United States does not have marshals. It is simply a misunderstanding caused by translation problems, because the word "Marshal" corresponding to the marshal in common cognition is actually more appropriately called the supreme commander.

For example, the word "Marshal" does not appear in the British naval marshal title "Admiral of the Fleet".

This specialization of the translation of American military ranks belongs to the consistent bone-softness of the Seres, and some magical fantasy stories have been specially created for this purpose.

Such ridiculous statements as respecting John Joseph Pershing and not daring to surpass, or American culture emphasizes personal ability and contribution, and does not want to reflect this through a system of clear superiors and subordinates such as military ranks.

Rossi and Jack behind him should be the last group of people to arrive. When they saw the old and the young walking into the conference room, the people on both sides of the long table looked at the two of them in unison.

Jack did not know most of these people, especially the generals from various branches of the military. Only a few of them had been seen on TV and could be called by name.

For example, the bespectacled Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Al Kleiman, who is also an Army General, and the middle-aged lady who had met Rossi once, the Assistant Director of the FBI, Rossi's "Little Muffin" (Chapter 471).

Jack also knew the old man sitting next to "Little Muffin" who looked much older than Rossi. He was the current FBI Director Jim Womack, who had awarded Jack the Medal of Valor.

The old man was over 60 years old, with a head of white and yellow hair that was a little sparse, but not bald. It was combed meticulously, and there was a deep nasolabial fold on each side of his cheeks.

Under his coat was a black tuxedo with a loose bow tie, as if he was dragged back from a banquet.

The Director not only nodded slightly to Rossi, but when he saw Jack behind him, he forced a smile on his ugly old face, as if he was very familiar with this supervisory agent who he had only met once.

In contrast, Assistant Director "Little Pancake" Auntie's smile was much more sincere, and she pointed to the two chairs next to her, indicating that they should sit next to her.

"Welcome, gentlemen." Seeing Rossi and Jack sitting down, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Army General Al Kleiman, adjusted his glasses and read the opening remarks.

"Last night, General Francis Hammer led a group of brave and sturdy commandos disguised as security inspections, and openly and without bloodshed, removed fifteen E21 VX gas missiles from the San Francisco Navy ammunition warehouse.

In the process, one of his men was unfortunately killed.

This afternoon, General Hammer and the commandos loyal to him occupied the Alcatraz Prison in San Francisco, imprisoned a total of 81 hostages including tourists and tour guides who visited the island, and aimed those VX gas missiles at the San Francisco Bay area.

These are photos of General Hammer in Iraq, when he was only a major."

As the admiral spoke, a frontal photo of a sturdy Marine appeared on the screen that occupied the entire wall at one end of the conference table. He was holding an M16 and had a cloth band on his forehead. He looked like Rambo.

Sitting opposite Admiral Al Kleiman, the guy wearing glasses was the only "young man" besides Jack, and he looked like he was even under 40.

He was flipping through the documents in his hand, and he said, "He performed many missions in Operation Desert Storm, and fought in many battles such as the First and Second Gulf Wars, the Kosovo War, and the Afghanistan War.

Won three Purple Hearts, two Silver Stars, and the Navy Medal of Honor? My God, this guy is a hero!"

The Purple Heart can be regarded as the highest level of war medal in the United States, although it is not too high in the current US military medal system, and ordinary soldiers can also receive it.

But every Purple Heart means that its owner has had a close encounter with the god of death. If you are lucky, you will have the opportunity to wear it on your chest, but if you are unlucky, you can only have your relatives and friends receive it on your behalf.

The Silver Star Medal is a cross-service universal award, and its value is much higher than the Purple Heart. For example, if an Air Force pilot becomes an air combat ace (shooting down five or more enemy aircraft in total), he will be considered to have met the conditions for the Silver Star Medal.

As for the Medal of Honor, it is regarded as the highest-level military medal in the United States. So far, less than 4,000 soldiers have received this medal, and nearly a quarter of them were awarded posthumously.

Considering that the United States has only been at peace for 21 years since its founding, the value of this medal can be seen.

The Medal of Honor is awarded by Congress and must be awarded by the President, who serves as the supreme commander of the country's armed forces. It is also the only medal that is not allowed to be legally bought and sold. Even if others who have not received the medal wear it in public, it is illegal.

There are three styles of the Medal of Honor: Navy, Army and Air Force. Brigadier General Hammer was once a Marine Corps "Marun", so he should have received a Navy Medal of Honor.

John Basilone, the "machine gun master" who was said to have killed hundreds of Japanese devils alone in World War II, once received such a medal.

So strictly speaking, Brigadier General Hammer is not only a war hero, but also a legend.

Obviously, Admiral Al Kleiman agrees with Jack on this point, "I think it would be more accurate to call him a 'legend', Mr. Sinclair."

"But his 'heroic deeds' now have to include kidnapping and extortion." The middle-aged man called Mr. Sinclair teased slightly frivolously, still looking down at the information in his hand.

However, before he could continue, he was interrupted by the admiral. The old man pulled down his glasses and looked at him from above the lenses, with a hint of murderous intent.

"Mr. Sinclair, General Hammer is a man bathed in glory."

The rest of the middle-aged man's words were blocked back, his expression was frozen on his face, his Adam's apple rolled up and down, but he dared not say another word.

At this time, the phone rang, breaking the brief embarrassment. An adjutant picked up the red phone on the table, listened for a moment, covered the receiver and looked at Admiral Al Kleiman.

"General, it's him."

The old man threw a piece of gum into his mouth, chewed it quickly for a while, and then ordered, "Put it in."

Everyone looked at the big screen in unison, and what they saw was a thick cigar that had just been lit, and the cigar was held between two thin lips.

The beard on the chin was shaved clean, but because the distance was too close, the blue stubble could still be seen.

As the face on the screen slowly moved back, Admiral Al Kleiman also spoke, and his tone even had a bit of ease and joy of meeting an old friend again.

"Frank (Francis' nickname), it's me, Al Kleiman."

As the opposite camera zoomed out, Jack finally saw the full picture of General Hammer.

His cheeks were thin and slightly concave, and his hairline was almost at the top of his head, but because he had a common crew cut among soldiers, he looked very energetic.

The graying temples and the fine crow's feet at the corners of his eyes showed that he was no longer young, but his sharp eyes reminded Jack of a word, eagle-eyed and wolf-like.

This was a tough soldier who had come all the way from the hell of blood and fire.

"Hi, Al." General Hammer seemed to be really familiar with this four-star admiral. He took a puff of cigar and then exhaled the smoke, and greeted him very familiarly, "Long time no see, how are you doing recently?"

"I don't know, Frank, what do you think? These gentlemen and ladies here are all very worried now." Admiral Al Kleiman chewed gum quickly while speaking, and made an introduction gesture to the people around him.

"Then I'll get to the point directly." General Hammer obviously didn't have the heart to reminisce with his old friend.

"Under my command, a total of 83 Amphibious Reconnaissance Brigade soldiers died for their country but were unknown, of which 47 died in the Himalayas and Macau alone."

"The southern border of Seres and Macau?" A discordant voice suddenly interrupted the speech, still the middle-aged man called Mr. Sinclair.

"We have never admitted to deploying military presence there."

"Who is talking there? Show your identity!" General Hammer's originally calm tone suddenly became irritable, and he was obviously very dissatisfied with his speech being interrupted.

Jack glanced at Rossi, and the old agent smiled bitterly at him and silently lip-synced the word "politician".

However, Jack didn't need to guess the specific identity of the middle-aged man, because he directly stated it next, even with a slightly smug tone.

"Hayden Sinclair, Assistant to the President and Director of the Office of Liaison of the White House Office."

There was a harsh sound of friction between the chair and the ground from the other side of the video phone, and General Hammer stood up and put his face in front of the camera again.

"How old are you, Director Sinclair?"

"I'm 33 years old." The middle-aged man adjusted his glasses, trying to show his calm momentum.

At the same time, the FBI Director Jim Womack, who looked at him on the other side, had the word "idiot" written in his eyes.

General Hammer's voice was full of disdain. "Well, Director Sinclair, I forgive your stupidity and ignorance.

Because ten years ago, when you were still an idiot who only knew how to smoke a big gun and sleep with girls in the fraternity, my people and I sneaked into Macau with the help of the CIA and tried to kill the leaker. We lost 16 brothers that time.

So, Al, why don't you ask someone to bring some tape to cover Director Sinclair's mouth? He is just wasting my time."

Seeing that a certain politician and bureaucrat from the White House had a visibly gray face and finally stopped talking, Admiral Al Kleiman also adjusted his glasses.

"You can continue, Frank."

"Remember the Desert Storm Operation in the first Gulf War? Those wonderful shots in CNN reports were the result of my leading my soldiers to aim lasers at targets on the ground.

After the war, 20 of my brothers stayed in Baghdad forever.

However, all the sacrifices, all the dead, some were listed as missing because their bodies could not be found, and some simply did not even have a military funeral because of the so-called military presence that politicians did not recognize."

General Hammer's low narration echoed throughout the underground conference room. This time everyone remained silent and no one interrupted.

"Now, I have decided not to tolerate this situation any longer. You will transfer one billion dollars from the Red Sea Trading Company to the account I designated, and the families of all 83 soldiers will receive 10 million dollars as compensation.

Have I made my intention clear enough?"

As if he had accidentally heard some incredible information, Jack raised one hand to half cover his face and whispered to Rossi, "Are you sure I won't be silenced after I leave that door?"

In response, Rossi smiled bitterly and shook his head. Even FBI Director Jim Womack looked at Admiral Al Kleiman, whose face became a little embarrassed, with surprise.

"What is the Red Sea Trading Company he is talking about?"

This was a bit loud, and General Hammer happened to hear it, or maybe Jack's boss had intentional elements when asking the question, because he didn't think anyone on his side would answer this question.