Chapter 123: Beloved Comrades Part 1
3 pm in the afternoon.
The sun is shining warmly on the road. There aren"t a lot of cars at this time and there are very few pedestrians as well.
Traffic police officer, Xiao Feng, is strolling on the sidewalk just beside the road as he keeps an eye on the nearby traffic condition.
Several cars stop at a red light. Xiao Feng walks along the cars unhurriedly and glances at their license plates out of habit. All of a sudden, he spots one of the car"s license plate is: ka7x.x.xx52. Wait! How come it seems so familiar? Where has he seen this before?
He quivers and his heart starts racing.
Isn"t this the license plate of a big serial killer that was just announced to the stations yesterday?!
Even Xiao Feng"s fingers are trembling as he immediately pulls out his walkie-talkie from his waist. He raises his head nervously in an attempt to a.s.sess the people in the vehicle. But the car windows are all tinted; he can"t see the person"s face clearly and can only make out that he"s the only one in the car.
"h.e.l.lo! I"m Xiao Feng!" he says in a low voice, "I"ve spotted a suspicious vehicle with the license plate……" he repeats it again.
"Roger!" his superior"s voice is especially serious, "Note where the car is heading and don"t act rash. We will report to the provincial criminal investigation team right away!"
Xiao Feng shuts off the walkie-talkie and tries hard to pretend that nothing is happening as he stares at the car. He thinks to himself that since he"s more than ten meters away from the car, the driver of the vehicle won"t be able to notice him. But who knew that the moment the lights turned green, the car accelerates and speeds away! The screeching of the tires hurts his ears, shocking other drivers to turn and look.
Xiao Feng knows that this must be bad, so he subconsciously chases after it. But the car is going too fast; it makes a turn and disappears. But the moment just before the turn, Xiao Feng catches its window rolled down and a pale hand dressed in an elegant suit reaches out to give him the middle finger.
"s.h.i.t!" Xiao Feng"s face turns pale from anger. He grabs his walkie-talkie, "He ran off! He"s heading towards Zhongshan road. I repeat, he"s heading towards Zhongshan road!"
_____
Exactly 4 pm. The sun is shining brightly as usual.
Inside the presidential suite at the Hilton hotel, its thick curtains are closed, blocking all light from penetrating through.
The crystal chandelier is shining brilliantly and the painting on the wall is strange yet exaggerating. Placed on top of the palace style low legged coffee table are a big basket of tropical fruits and a bottle of opened red wine.
A picks up his goblet and takes a big sip. He grabs a piece of mango, puts it in his mouth and asks the person who is standing by the window, "how come L still isn"t here? Wasn"t he the one who insisted on meeting at this flashy place?"
R opens a gap between the curtains and looks down at the busy traffic, a rather calm and peaceful scene. L has still not arrived.
"Let"s go," he turns around, stuffs both hands into his pockets and walks toward the door.
"We"re not waiting for him?" A throws away the mango core and stands up. He grabs a piece of durian and stuffs it into his mouth.
"Let"s not wait anymore. L is never later, yet he"s already 2 minutes late today. He must have run into some trouble with the police."
A puts on a baseball cap while eating durian and then walks to behind him and nods, "That"s true. L is crazy. He could be mad for a couple of weeks just for being one second late." He smiles suddenly, "Who told him to be such a narcissist and insisted on dancing? He"s been found so soon. My big sister sure is amazing."
R lowers his head slightly and avoids the surveillance camera in the hallway. His tall and lean figure is like a tree standing straight. His lips are curved into a smile, "She is quite a tough opponent."
"Should we go help L?" A asks.
R says indifferently, "It"s not like he"s a kid. Doesn"t he know how to escape by himself? Furthermore, don"t forget that no matter what happens, and no matter who dies, we must not affect our plan to come."
"Mm."
They stop talking and leave the hotel quickly. Once they get to the underground parking, they leave driving their own cars.
_____
At the same time.
On the busiest road of the city, a thrilling chase is taking place.
Su Mian grasps the handle tightly; she"s gotten a bit more used to Han Chen"s way of driving now. His eyes are focused on what"s in front of him. His sleeves are rolled up to his elbows. He accelerates, brakes, switches gears, makes sharp turns……he steers quickly. His movements have a sense of elegance and ruthlessness to them.
Ahead of them, that black car is being forced into a narrow road by a couple of police cars led by Han Chen.
If they weren"t in a busy section of the city, the police would have been able to catch him long ago. But because supermarkets, housing, and schools are around them, they"re afraid of him harming innocent people if they pressure him too hard. Therefore, they can only slowly move closer not losing sight of him, and force him to move to a safer area and then catch him!
But L"s driving and superb. His car drifts and ditches two police cars behind him. Only Han Chen has been able to keep up with his pace; Han Chen speeds even quicker and closes on him about ten or so meters apart.
The traffic lights are nothing more than decorations; their cars speed through them as others watch them. Su Mian is also very nervous. Her eyes are wide like an owl as she keeps herself on full alert of their surroundings.
"There"s a car on the left!"
"Right, right!"
"Chase him, chase him! s.h.i.t, he"s so fast!"
Han Chen was fully concentrated until he hears her murmurs. He smiles.
"Just relax," he says calmly, "Your husband here has never admitted a defeat when it comes to driving."
Su Mian smiles as well.
They see L make a sharp turn again; he"s actually made a daring move by going into an alleyway. This is a very smart yet very dangerous move. On one hand, the alleyway is narrow, so the police will be more cautious and he will have the opportunity to abandon his car and escape into the residential area. On the other hand, he may run into a dead end easily, which he would then be caught by the police.
Han Chen"s face turns cold. He puts his arm out of the window and clenches his fist to gesture the police cars behind him to follow. But he accelerates even quicker as he rushes toward the main road. Su Mian understands right away——he wants to get to the other side of the alleyway and surround him on both ends.
But when it comes to racing, there will always be a sudden event that happens without warning. Furthermore, they are police officers. Even when it"s Han Chen, who"s not afraid of anything, he will still have worries. Just as he makes a big turn and the opening of the alleyway is in sight, he is met with a red light. And a group of elementary schoolers are crossing the street with the guidance of their teacher.
Han Chen steps on the brakes furiously. His slender fingers tap on the steering wheel impatiently. Su Mian pokes her head out of the window and waves at the teacher, "Make way! Make way and watch for your safety! Big brother policeman and Big sister policeman are in the middle of catching a bad man!"
Based on Su Mian"s experience with training elementary schoolers, this tactic works extremely well. The students" expressions are full of excitement and admiration as they clear the road.
Just at this moment!
The black car speeds out of the alleyway and is dashing ahead. They don"t know what L has done, but n.o.body is following behind him; he has actually ditched the rest of the police cars.
"Sit tight!" Han Chen steps on the gas pedal. Su Mian knows that he"s serious now; he"ll either crash into the car without a second thought or force L into a dead end based on his knowledge of the area.
But who knew? Su Mian didn"t expect it, nor did Han Chen. Something totally unexpected happens.
A man"s hand wearing a white plastic glove reaches out of the window. They can just make out the sleeve of his intricate and expensive suit. He"s actually holding a thick stack of……American bills! The car is just a few tens of meters away. In the next instance, that hand raises and scatters the American bills everywhere on the road like confetti.
It"s almost the afternoon rush hour, so the volume of cars is increasing. There are also housing in the area and many pedestrians. This scene clearly startles a lot of people. Some people pull over their cars immediately and reach out their hands to grab the American bills with excitement. And some people, like the car in front of Han Chen and Su Mian, step on the brake, open their door and pick them up one by one. There are also a lot of seniors on the sidewalks, so things get even more out of control quickly. "Oh! Someone is throwing money!" "American bills! They"re American bills! Grab them, grab them!" Everybody rushes over.
Su Mian feels the urge to swing open the car door to go out and scold them!
They were so close to catching him! But in a blink of an eye, Han Chen"s car has been completely blocked by the commotion on the road; cars and people are everywhere in front of him, making it impossible to move forward. Two police vehicles make it out of the alleyway at this time, but they are also unable to move anymore.
"Move aside! All of you, move aside! Police are on a case!" she shouts, but no one bothers listening. Only the elementary schools at the side of the road take a look at the bills and then Han Chen and Su Mian and don"t dare to move.
The road ahead of the black car is un.o.bstructed. They watch as he accelerates and is about to escape. If they let him off this time, it"ll be extremely hard to find him again amongst the crowd. Su Mian grits her teeth and turns her head to Han Chen, "What do we do now?"
Han Chen"s face is glazed with coldness. He fetches the gun from the side of his waist, pushes open the door and hops off, "You stay here!"
"Be careful!" Su Mian feels her heart in her throat. Just as she pushes open the door to get off as well, she sees Han Chen dashing his way towards the black car like a black cheetah while holding his gun.
Su Mian"s heart skips a beat: he"s going to shoot on the street!
TV series are always over exaggerated; there really aren"t that many criminal investigators who dare to do this. Only Han Chen"s temper and shooting skills make him dare to do it; decisively attacking with his gun.
The black car makes a quick turn and is about to leave their sight. Han Chen has made it to the sidewalk behind the car and there is no one in the way of his range. He stops running suddenly, holds up his gun with both hands, tilts his head, and pulls the trigger. It happens so fast in a blink of an eye. From Su Mian"s angle, she can only see his straight, cold yet handsome figure. His fair white side profile reveals his dark brown and domineering eyes.
"Bang, bang, bang!" three consecutive shots rip the sky loudly and crisply.
The streets turn quiet immediately. Everybody turns to look at each other. Su Mian can feel the blood in her veins rushing.
"Screeeech——" a sharp screech from the tire. The two rear tires of the black car have been punctured and are deflated; the car slides and swivels. Han Chen"s third bullet has actually hit the back of the car window; the gla.s.s is completely shattered. Su Mian can even see clearly the man in the driver"s seat bending forward holding the steering wheel; he"s been shot!
Han Chen lifts his foot and starts chasing. Su Mian follows.
And then.
The members of the seven-member organization are extremely stubborn. Although his body is nearly hanging on the steering wheel and the tires are deflated, he actually steps on the gas pedal, turns the car and enters the road. He makes a turn and leaves their sight.
Han Chen and Su Mian chase after him for twenty or so minutes until they can"t see the car anymore. Su Mian rests her hand on the lamp pole, bends down and pants. Han Chen is also panting slightly. He pulls her into his embrace and lets her lean against him to catch her breath. After a while, he curses in a low voice, "F–k!"