Bella's group was restocking supplies in Tel Aviv while waiting for 006, but the old comrade never showed up.
She didn't want to call—that could expose her position. Tel Aviv was near Mossad headquarters. Due to Israel's precarious situation, the city had numerous surveillance devices, and the streets teemed with agents—American, British, French, German... The place was like a transfer station for agents from around the world. You could see operatives of every ethnicity from every organization.
Calling to discuss how to deal with Mossad while in an Israeli city would be incredibly stupid.
She sent 006 a text message asking where he was.
In less than half a minute, 006 called her back.
So careless? Bella scratched her head. 006 had zero sense of caution—no wonder he had such bad luck.
After thinking it over, she answered the call but slightly altered her voice and used an alias to avoid exposing herself: "Hello, this is Daisy Johnson. Who's calling?"
On the other end, 006—buried in a coffin hoping for her help—was stunned. Who was Daisy Johnson?
"Sorry, wrong number." He hung up, rubbed his eyes, held up his phone, and used the flickering lighter flame to carefully check the number. It was right! The correct number!
He quickly called again.
Bella was equally confused. Why did he hang up as soon as she spoke? Was he sending some kind of signal?
Fortunately, he called back. She still used the Daisy Johnson alias as her greeting. 006 carefully identified her voice and roughly understood her meaning.
"Rose and Sharon—remember them?"
"Yes, yes!" Bella nodded, thinking to herself: why are you making small talk?
006 exhaled in relief. "Thank God. I've got a small situation here. That is... I might need your help."
Bella didn't hesitate. They were friends—when help was needed, she'd help: "Okay, where are you?"
006's voice paused. "I don't know where I am..."
Are you messing with me? Bella asked skeptically, "Are you drunk? If you're busy, you can come to Tel Aviv in a few days. I'm not in a hurry."
In a few days I'll be dead! 006 was frantic but had received rigorous training and managed to stay calm. He slowed his breathing to conserve oxygen and quickly explained his situation.
"I was riding in a truck heading to Tel Aviv. Then the truck was attacked. I think someone planted landmines on the road. I got knocked out by the blast. When I woke up, I was in a coffin with a lighter, diary, and pen... I need you to rescue me."
Bella frowned deeply. This was truly troublesome. 006 didn't know where he'd been buried—how was she supposed to find him?
She couldn't do divination magic at all—not even the basics. She'd have to use technological means.
Root wasn't at the base—off on some errand somewhere. She'd have to ask Crusher for help.
Using the base's technology and Professor Charles's private satellite should allow them to pinpoint 006's location.
"Two hundred barrels of aviation fuel!" Crusher stated his price directly.
"...That costs money! I'm poor! Fifty barrels!"
After haggling, they settled on one hundred barrels.
The cost definitely couldn't come from Bella—006 could pay for it later. This was a necessary rescue expense.
As for whether rescue operations and aviation fuel had any necessary connection, 006 would have to figure that out himself.
The location coordinates arrived on Bella's phone quickly. Crusher's search speed was even faster than Root's—made it look easy...
Bella received the coordinates and looked at them from the front, the back, upside down. She realized she couldn't understand these coordinates!
She was a scholar! Not a special forces operative! Given military map coordinates, how was she supposed to read them?
Too embarrassed to tell Crusher she couldn't understand, she decided to find someone else who could help.
She told 006 she had some leads and to hang up to save his battery. Then Bella called her adopted sister.
"I have a friend..."
Natasha's voice held a hint of concern, though she masked it with laughter: "This 'friend' you're talking about—isn't that you? Buried in a coffin? That's just your style with all that bad luck!"
"Nonsense! It really is my friend. Actually, not that close—slightly better than a stranger. I'm just helping out because I feel sorry for him."
Though Natasha was teasing verbally, her actions were swift. She input the coordinates into her computer, calculated them on the map herself, then converted them into terms Bella could understand.
"Go to Netanya, then find a town called Yasar. Search within about eight hundred meters east of the town."
Bella made an excuse about her period, telling the expedition team to rest in Tel Aviv for two more days.
She was the team leader. Her word was final.
Sam and the four American soldiers had no objections. If the employer wanted rest, they'd rest.
Bella's three companions also arranged to go shopping.
Their safety wasn't a concern. Barbara came from four generations of military—she probably had relatives or old friends in Israel. Heather was now the niece of the Black president and was quite clever herself. As for Sam Winchester—if anything happened to him, the demon king Lucifer might descend directly on Israel! At that point, "hell on earth" would no longer be just a figure of speech.
Bella rented a car and left Tel Aviv alone.
006 remained calm and trusted she'd come to rescue him, so he didn't call again. However, Bella was still anxious—she estimated the oxygen on 006's end was nearly depleted.
Heading north, she found the town called Yasar after over an hour had passed.
At the town entrance, she noticed something unusual. This obscure little town had a lot of armed men!
Though they weren't wearing traditional headwear or robes, their language and accents clearly indicated who they were.
About twenty percent of Israel's population was Arab, so their presence wasn't unusual. But in this remote town, having over thirty armed guards standing at the entrance was rather strange.
They were all young men in their prime, with fierce demeanors and weapons in hand. Not a single woman among them.
Bella's vision was exceptionally sharp. She could see deeper into the town—many people busily moving supplies, and a humanoid creature over two meters tall wearing a green military coat standing quietly in the center.
Bella's eyelids twitched. A Tyrant from Resident Evil? The locals definitely didn't develop this themselves. The question was: what was this thing doing here? And another question: who brought it here?