Chapter: 2671
“Concorde?!”
When Charlie Wade said this, everyone was stunned. How could anyone believe that Concorde, the famous supersonic passenger jet that retired 20 years ago, was still flying today?
A Chinese boy laughed and said, “You really know how to exaggerate. The Concorde has been retired for ages, and no airline in the world operates a supersonic plane anymore. Do you think we’re fools?”
Charlie Wade shook his head and chuckled at himself. “I don’t even know why I’m talking so much to you all.”
Then he turned to He Zhiqiu and said, “We need to act fast. The opposition has announced that if the US embassy doesn’t meet their demands, they will start killing hostages. We can’t waste any more time; we need to leave now.”
He Zhiqiu hesitated and asked, “But what about my friends…?”
Charlie raised his hand to stop her. “Your friends? You’ve seen how they are. I’m only taking you with me today. You have 10 seconds to decide if you want to come or stay.”
“Just one person?” an Indian boy scoffed, twisting his hand in the air as if to mock Charlie. “You really think highly of yourself. To be honest, even if you ask me, I won’t go with you!”
Ignoring him, Charlie kept his gaze on He Zhiqiu. “You have five seconds left.”
“I…”
He Zhiqiu was torn. She really wanted to leave with Charlie because he had come to Syria to save her, as her father had asked.
He Zhiqiu didn’t want to abandon her classmates who shared her beliefs. Just then, a boy of Chinese descent spoke up. “Zhiqiu, even if there’s nothing wrong with her identity, you can’t go with him! There are thousands of armed opponents outside. It’s dangerous. If you get shot, it won’t be a joke anymore!”
“Exactly!” a white boy added. “The best thing we can do is wait for our country to rescue us! If you leave with him, you might die, and even if you survive, you’ll regret it!”
At that moment, He Zhiqiu realized she couldn’t change her friends’ minds. She took a deep breath and said, “I don’t want to hurt your confidence, but I really don’t believe the White House will come to save us… so…” She paused for a moment, then declared, “I’ve decided to leave with Mr. Ye! No matter what happens, I won’t regret my choice!”
Charlie Wade nodded and said, “Alright, no more talking. Let’s go now.” He walked over to He Zhiqiu, helped her up, and untied the rope from her hands.
Suddenly, he noticed someone coming down the stairs outside. He whispered in her ear, “Someone’s coming. Sit back down!”
He Zhiqiu quickly sat back on the ground while Charlie Wade stepped back and pressed himself against the wall next to the iron gate.
After a while, he heard voices speaking in Arabic outside. He realized three people were coming down the stairs, and the leader was speaking loudly.
Two of the three people waited by the outer door while the third person, the leader, walked in by himself. As soon as he stepped through the door, Faisal and the others called out cheerfully, “Hello, Commander Hamid!”