The sirens made Leon feel annoyed and perplexed. He pulled out a pair of binoculars and looked toward the end of the road.
So many police cars. Leon was shocked.
Because of his guilty conscience, when Leon saw large numbers of police, he naturally felt timid.
They"ve dispatched so many policemen. It must be a big case. Are they encircling gangsters? Or are they trying to annihilate a drug lord? Leon wondered. The wailing of woo-woo-woo was pa.s.sing through the sky.
"Boss, there is a helicopter there," a lackey said as he pointed at the sky.
Leon lifted the binoculars to the black spot in the sky and saw a helicopter. There was a symbol on the helicopter. It was an eagle holding an arrow.
"SWAT! How is it that even the SWAT needs to be involved. Is there a terrorist? G.o.d help us. This cannot be directed at us. We are no match for a SWAT team." Leon suddenly felt nervous. He couldn"t help but start praying to G.o.d.
The SWAT Police Unit was part of the Los Angeles Police Department, and it was a special operations force within the police force. It was similar to the SDU Flying Tigers in Hong Kong. It was designed to deal with hardened criminals.
In terms of public order, the United States was less ideal than Hong Kong. The high crime rate in Los Angeles was as famous as Hollywood. Therefore, the usage of SWAT teams was much higher than the Flying Tigers. Moreover, in recent years, the United States had been plagued by terrorist attacks, so the SWAT teams had more opportunities to be exposed to the public.
Leon was wondering what kind of big case would require the Los Angeles police to dispatch SWAT teams. Beside him, a lackey appeared. "Boss, we just heard gunshots nearby. Maybe these policemen came because of the gunshots."
"Gunshots? Where did they come from?" Leon asked immediately.
"It seems like it came from the back. Oh yeah, the police car that just came over also parked at the back. Maybe someone attacked the police. I think the police officers were headed in the direction of the gunshot," the lackey replied.
"Why didn"t you say so earlier!" Leon looked at the lackey a little angrily, and he continued to say, "Did you go and confirm what actually happened?"
"Boss, you said that as long as something doesn"t involve us, we shouldn"t stick our noses into it. So we stayed here and didn"t go out." The lackey looked as if he had been mistreated.
F*ck! Leon cursed in his head, and then said to his lackeys, "Go quick and see if it was one of our guys who fired the shot! If it was one of our people who brought these policemen here, I am definitely going to kill him!"
...
"Li, listen. There are a lot of sirens," Snow looked excited.
"I hear them. I think the police backup has arrived." Dai Li nodded. The gun in his hand continued to aim at the police car in the distance.
After a while, other police cars appeared in his field of vision. After the police cars stopped, the doors opened. The policemen hid behind the doors and aimed at all four corners. They didn"t know the position of the gunman.
"Let"s remind the police where we are." Dai Li fired several shots at the police car.
There were several additional bullet holes in the police car. The police finally saw where Dai Li was shooting from.
"Over there. There is an air vent on the third floor of that building. The gunman fired his shot there."
"Such a long distance? Everyone be careful. It is a sniper! Only a sniper could shoot from such a long distance."
"Maybe they are professionally trained terrorists, and we don"t know how many people there are. Tell headquarters. We don"t have enough manpower, we need more reinforcements!"
Americans were terrified of terrorist attacks. As a country that allowed guns to be sold in supermarkets, the police had their work cut out for them. If you were unlucky, you would encounter situations where gangsters were more powerful than the police.
...
Leon sat in the room, waiting anxiously. Blecher, who was next to him, felt that the atmosphere was a little off. He understandably kept his mouth shut.
The lackey trotted into the house and said, "Boss, I asked, and it wasn"t one of our people who fired the shot."
"That"s good. It seems like the police are not coming for us." Leon breathed a sigh of relief.
However, another lackey also rushed into the room.
"Boss, they fired again, and it was several shots, all directed at the police," the lackey said.
"Is that gunman stupid? So many policemen came, even the SWAT arrived. Does he not plan to stop? Is he shooting at the entire LAPD at this point?" Leon said mockingly.
The lackey who just entered the door said, "Boss, I just listened carefully. The gunshot seemed to come from the third floor."
"You mean our third floor?" Leon looked at the first lackey with a puzzled look and asked, "Didn"t you say that it wasn"t one of our people who fired the shot?"
"Our people really didn"t shoot at the police." The lackey stopped there, and suddenly remembered something. "Boss, would the hostage have been the one who fired the shot? That coach caught some of our men. He should have one rifle and one pistol on him."
"Impossible, that room has no windows. How could he shoot at a policeman from there?" Leon shook his head.
"But I think the room has an exhaust vent. It was designed to eliminate harmful gas. But if it really were the hostage who fired the shot, why would he attack the police?" the lackey asked casually.
At that second, Leon"s facial expression suddenly changed. He realized Dai Li"s plan.
"If they really fired at the police, it was to lure the police over. Not good! The police are coming soon. Tell our men to pack our things, we have to leave!" Leon made a decision.
"What about the hostages? They are still locked there," the lackey asked.
"Nonsense, in this situation, not being caught by the police is the most important thing!"
...
On the helicopter, an observer was staring at the main entrance of the building with binoculars.
Leon and his men ran out quickly and then went to the car in front of the door.
"Vulture one reporting, vulture one reporting. The suspects have come out of the building. They got into the car and are getting ready to leave. They are carrying something suspicious that looks like a rifle. Repeat. The suspects came out of the building. They got into the car and are getting ready to leave. We can see that they are carrying something suspicious that looks like a rifle. Over."
"This is vulture one reporting, vulture one reporting. They have started the car. They are leaving. Repeat. They are leaving. Over."
On the ground, the sheriff who commanded the operation picked up the intercom. "Attention all squads. Attention all squads. The suspects are getting ready to escape, but we are not ruling out the possible presence of terrorists in the building. The first squad and second squad are to intercept them immediately. The sniper is in place, the a.s.sault team is preparing to attack the building, and the helicopter is ready to provide fire support."
...
On the third floor of the abandoned laboratory, Dai Li anxiously waited for the police rescue.
Outside, a barrage of gunfire suddenly sounded. It was like a fierce exchange of gunshots between two groups of people.
"Hear that? They are fighting outside! The police and the kidnappers are fighting." Snow couldn"t help but walk over to the door and put his ear on the steel door, trying to listen.
Dai Li nodded with no expression on his face.
"Hey, Li, we are going to be saved soon. You should be happy," Snow said.
"I was just thinking about where I should go to hire a good lawyer," Dai Li said. He pointed to the rifle. "Deliberately wounding a person and a.s.saulting the police. If I am really convicted, I expect I will go to prison for many years."
"You only did those things to save yourself. Your original intention was not to hurt others. If you really need to go to court, I will testify for you. And I also know several famous lawyers. I will introduce them to you." Snow smiled, and he went on to say, "Relax. Government prosecutors are not able to put up a fight against well-known lawyers."
...
The gunshots outside went on and on, but it wasn"t as intense as it had been. It sounded like the gunfight was coming to an end.
"The police should have won, right? I wonder if they caught that Blecher." Dai Li slammed his fists with anger. "Now I really want to beat him up!"
"Even if they caught him, I am afraid it will be difficult to accuse him of kidnap and murder," Snow said in resignation.
"Why? Although he did not do it with his own hands, he was the mastermind behind the scene. We can prove it," Dai Li said.
"We are the victims. Our evidence is not as valid as a third party," Snow replied.
"What about the kidnappers? I don"t believe that not one of the kidnappers survived. As long as some kidnappers are alive, they are witnesses. They should be effective third-party evidence, right?" Dai Li retorted.
"Those kidnappers are desperate, they would do anything for money. Blecher can just give them a sum of money, and they won"t testify against him. And Blecher will hire the most famous lawyers for his court case. I"m guessing the end result will be Blecher making up several similar reasons claiming that he was coerced, or admitting to several less important charges, and then escape the felony of kidnapping or murder. In order to maintain his conviction rate, the prosecutor will also accept such a result. Another way of putting it would be that in order to maintain the conviction rate, the prosecutor will be happy to make such a deal with Blecher."
Snow sighed and said, "Remember what I just said? The government prosecutors are not able to win against well-known lawyers. The deeper meaning of that is that the law is not able to win against money. I have been an investigative journalist for many years. No one knows this better than me. The laws of the United States will always protect the rich."
"Is there any way for Blecher to get the punishment he deserves? He hired someone to kidnap me and almost killed me." Dai Li pointed to Snow. "He also caught you and tortured you to this state. People like him must be punished."
"Actually, it"s not that there is no way." Snow suddenly laughed. His eyes flashed coldly, and he whispered, "When I get out, it will be time for a counterattack."
"Do you have a way to deal with Blecher?" Dai Li looked at Snow, and he felt that Snow might have been concealing something.
Snow took a deep breath and said, "We have suffered together, you even saved me, so I won"t keep anything from you. Do you still remember what I told you before? I sneaked into Blecher"s company to steal information."
Dai Li nodded. "Blecher caught you because of that."
"In truth, my real purpose was not to steal Blecher"s information, but to insert a computer virus." Snow calmed down and went on, "I have a hacker friend who can invade Blecher"s company"s database, remotely stealing the information stored there. The only problem is the firewall. Blecher had a special information security company to create a firewall system, and my hacker friend had no way to bypa.s.s the firewall."
"So I sneaked into Blecher"s company and released a computer virus in the computer database. This computer virus can temporarily block the firewall. It only needs to block the firewall for five minutes, and my hacker friend will be able to steal all the information in Blecher"s database. Then I just turn off the virus, release program, and everything will return to normal. Unless a professional inspection is conducted, Blecher definitely won"t know that the data in his computer has been stolen by me."
"Were you successful?" Dai Li asked immediately.
Snow nodded. "Yes, I succeeded. I released the virus and interfered with the firewall. My friend succeeded in invading the database and getting the information. But when I was about to flee, they caught me. But when they tortured me, I didn"t disclose this. I just said that I was going to steal their information, but I didn"t tell them that I already had."
"What are you going to do?" Dai Li then asked.
"I have already said that I want to mount a counterattack." Snow"s eyes revealed a bulldog-like persistence. "I have been investigating the stimulants issue for some time, and I have a lot of information in my hands, and the information in Blecher"s database is the last piece of the puzzle. Li, after you get out, you must remember to read the news. I want to blow this wide open!"
...
"To the people inside, listen up! We are the Los Angeles police. Put down your weapons immediately, and come out with your hands up!" The voice of the police finally sounded outside the steel door.
"Officer, don"t shoot, we are hostages! We were kidnapped!" Dai Li shouted loudly while running towards the door.
"Hostages?"
The police officer in charge gave the SWAT officers around him a look that signaled that they were preparing to rescue the hostages.
The police then asked, "How many people are there inside? How many hostages? How many hostiles?"
"There are five people, two hostages and three criminals. I am one of the hostages. We have subdued the kidnappers," Dai Li continued.
The police officer in charge was a little surprised. He had thought that he would need to stage a huge spectacle to save the hostages, but he did not expect that the criminals would be subdued by the hostages.
"You guys open the door now, raise your hands high up in the air, and slowly walk out," the police officer said.
Dai Li and Snow opened the door as the police ordered, and went out with their hands raised.
"Gentlemen, please place your hands in our field of vision." The policeman made a gesture and several police officers immediately rushed up. Some of them rushed directly into the abandoned laboratory, and some began to search Dai Li and Snow.
The police did not find any weapons on the two of them. They then looked at the miserable state that Snow was in after being tortured, and basically confirmed that he and Dai Li were hostages.
"Gentlemen, you are saved, and the ambulance is at the building"s entrance. I will arrange to send you guys to the hospital right away," the head police officer said.
...
Snow was taken into the ambulance. In actuality, his injuries were not light, and he was in a state of excessive blood loss. If it weren"t for the morphine, he would never have been able to last until then.
Dai Li"s situation was much better. He only had some bruises on his body.
"Li, see you at the hospital!" Snow gave Dai Li a strained smile.
"Edward, you have to get better soon. I am waiting to see the news." Dai Li thrust his hands out and raise a thumbs up to Snow. "Don"t forget our counterattack!"