Seeing Monica, Owen felt his mood lift. However, Monica clearly didn't recognize him.
"Much appreciated. Yes, this is the one. Mr. Montel, from now on, the Montel family is a friend of Red Dawn. We are always generous to our friends. Oh, by the way, could you arrange a quiet room for me? I need to ask her a few things…"
"Of course, no problem. Latum, arrange a room for Mr. Salim…"
Latum nodded and was about to leave when, suddenly, the silent middle-aged man in the room spoke up:
"...&%@%@（@!@..."
Everyone turned to look at him, realizing that he was speaking directly to Owen.
Owen immediately understood—this guy was testing his identity.
Somehow, he had noticed a flaw in Owen's disguise. The language he spoke was either Hebrew or another Middle Eastern dialect, meant to test Owen's authenticity.
Owen panicked internally.
He had no idea what the guy had just said.
Hell, he couldn't even tell which language it was!
"Excuse me, and who might this be?"
With no other option, Owen chose to stall for time, deliberately ignoring the man and instead turning to Brancato.
"Oh, this is Mr. Russell, from the White Mask organization…"
White Mask?
Owen's eyes narrowed instantly.
That name was on CTU's watchlist.
CTU classified White Mask as "under continuous surveillance"—there was no direct evidence linking them to terrorist attacks, but too many clues pointed in their direction.
At that moment, Silly White Sweet's voice came through his earpiece:
"Oh! Found it! He's speaking Hebrew. He's asking you what Red Dawn's combat doctrine is. Repeat after me: @!@##@（￥）@!~~~~"
Owen calmly repeated the phrase in as natural a tone as possible, even though he had no clue what he was actually saying.
Russell seemed about to ask something else, but Owen raised a hand to stop him.
He then gestured toward Brancato.
"Let's stick to English."
This move actually seemed reasonable—after all, they were in Brancato's house. Speaking in a language the host didn't understand would be disrespectful.
Russell nodded and switched to English.
"Mr. Salim, I have a question."
Owen's nerves tensed.
He had no idea what Russell was about to ask, but it was clear he wasn't letting this go.
"To my knowledge, during your last deal with Cruel Angel, your reputation wasn't exactly great.
"We introduced you to Cruel Angel for a nuclear weapon trade—yet after receiving payment, you killed the pickup team and framed the U.S. government."
Owen was stunned for a second.
Pickup team?
He must have meant James—but was this guy present at the time?
Owen quickly dismissed that thought.
CTU had completely cleared the area back then, and every corner of the building had been searched thoroughly.
If Russell had been there, he wouldn't have escaped.
Most likely, James had been carrying a hidden recording device—something CTU didn't detect at the time.
Either way, Owen just picked up a critical piece of intel.
It was White Mask that had set up the Cruel Angel–Red Dawn connection.
This organization had serious reach.
Owen mentally noted to warn Jack Bauer about them later.
"Regarding Red Dawn's credibility, perhaps this FBI agent can explain."
Owen's response made everyone in the room frown in confusion.
He casually walked over to Monica.
Monica, the idiot, just stared at him blankly.
She obviously had no idea why Owen had suddenly involved her.
You moron.
Owen cursed internally.
He hadn't even changed his voice, yet she still hadn't recognized him.
With no other choice, Owen pulled out a pack of chewing gum and held it in front of her.
"This, madam… Do you remember this?"
The moment Monica saw it, her eyes lit up.
Owen sighed in relief.
Finally, this woman was reacting.
This wasn't just any gum—it was the same pack left behind at the scene of her kidnapping.
And it was her favorite brand.
Monica had a small quirk—she never used store-bought gum packs. Instead, she transferred the gum into a custom box she made herself.
Seeing her own box in Owen's hand, there was no way she wouldn't recognize it.
Monica looked back and forth between the gum and Owen, her excitement growing—but also confusion.
The mask had fooled her too.
Not surprising.
Anyone who hadn't seen a silicone disguise before wouldn't believe such technology even existed.
Owen gave her another hint.
"I see that you recognize it. But do you also remember 'Skittles' and 'Ping-Pong'?"
Everyone else was totally lost—but Monica's eyes lit up even more.
She had recognized Owen's voice.
She didn't know how he looked like this, but she was certain it was him.
Still, she didn't know how to respond—so she improvised.
"Yes! I remember… Morris, Coulson, Nicholas… and the IPSC shooting competition…"
Owen was thrilled—she finally understood.
He subtly signaled her with his eyes.
From behind, Russell's voice sounded again:
"Apologies, but I don't understand what you're talking about. How does this relate to the previous incident?"
"Oh, it does…"
Owen turned toward Russell—but in doing so, he deliberately moved even closer to Monica.
"Because… I have a cold."
Russell frowned.
"A cold? And what does that have to—"
BOOM!
BOOM!
Two massive explosions erupted—one underground, one outside.
The ground shook violently.
Outside, sirens blared.
Inside the room, everyone was thrown to the ground.
---
Outside the villa gates…
A pickup truck, covered with a tarp, screeched to a stop.
The tarp was ripped away—revealing a man with an RPG launcher.
He took a second to aim.
Then—FWOOSH!
A rocket screamed toward the villa's front gate.
BOOM!
The explosion ripped the gate apart—flames and debris flying everywhere.
The man loaded a second rocket as militia fighters—fully armed—suddenly emerged from nowhere, opening fire on the villa.
Gunfire erupted.
The cartel guards waiting at the gate were slaughtered instantly.
The few who survived dropped to the ground, playing dead.
The RPG operator fired again—
BOOM!
A section of the perimeter wall collapsed.
Inside the villa, guards scrambled to respond, engaging in a chaotic firefight at the gate.
Gunfire roared.
Bullets flew.
And inside the house, Owen pushed off the ground, preparing to move.
It was time to act.
_________________________________________
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