Chapter 22: Chapter 20: Bronson Building (Part 2)
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Chapter 20: Bronson Building (Part 2)
Angela checked inside the room, while Jack pressed his ear against the door, hearing several people speaking loudly.
"Vance said we can't leave any witnesses. You guys watch the entrance, and two others stay in the basement. The rest, come with me upstairs."
Angela returned and whispered, "No one inside the room. There are iron bars on the windows, and no landline phone. We're trapped here."
Jack stepped away from the door. "I overheard them mention Vance Marcus being inside the building. There are many gunmen; we've stirred up a hornet's nest."
"Now we need to find a way to restore communication, call for backup from headquarters. Looks like we stumbled into their lair. No wonder they have bulletproof vests and signal jammers," Angela said anxiously. The gaps between gunshots upstairs were getting longer, a bad sign.
Jack's mind raced. "They said to leave guards in the basement. Do you think the signal jammer is there?"
Angela's eyes lit up, nodding in agreement. "Even if it's not there, the electrical room should be downstairs. If we cut off the power to the whole building, the signal jammer will fail."
"So, we need to find a way down to the basement," Jack said, noticing the kitchen at one end of the room. He went in and lightly tapped the wall with the gun handle, making a hollow sound.
"Seems like drinking with John was useful. He loves talking about his past work, and I remember him mentioning that buildings like this usually have several ventilation shafts connecting top to bottom."
"Next time, remember to take me along," Angela patted his shoulder, signaling him to step aside. Then she swung a sledgehammer against the wall.
Two gunshots rang out as they reached the basement. They shot and killed two guards from behind, and Angela kicked the signal jammer, smashing it to pieces, then used the walkie-talkie to call for help.
"This is 7-A-14 police car. Bronson Building urgently needs police support. Over ten gunmen, situation critical."
Jack also called two other teams on the walkie-talkie. The situation on the 2nd and 3rd floors was dire. Officer Bishop got shot and fell, and Hannah dragged her into a resident's home while three thugs tried to break in.
Tim and Lucy were trapped in Cecilia Oliver's house. The pregnant woman's water broke, and Lucy was helping with the delivery. Tim confronted Vance Marcus and a few henchmen on the other side of the door.
"They can't wait for reinforcements. Now it's up to us two," Angela's fiery temperament flared up, glaring at Jack as if to say, "If you don't come, I'll go alone."
Jack handed her his Glock and spare magazine. "I remember you showing off your dual gun shooting skills. I'll deal with the ones in bulletproof vests; the rest is up to you." He then took out his Python revolver.
On the 2nd floor, Hannah leaned against the entrance wall, aiming her gun at the heavily damaged door. Through the corridor behind it, she heard three thugs using vulgar language, occasionally firing bullets, penetrating the wooden door or plaster walls, causing white dust to explode on the concrete walls around her.
"Hey, girl, surrender already. I've never had a pretty lady cop before. Don't worry, we won't hurt you."
Ignoring the taunts outside, Hannah silently counted her ammunition while occasionally firing shots to thwart their attempts to break the door.
"Hey, Hannah, catch!" Bishop, lying at the bedroom entrance, threw her spare magazine to her through the living room. Her lower abdomen was a mess; she took a shotgun blast head-on, and the bulletproof vest only stopped some pellets.
The room's owners were an elderly white couple, trying their best to help Bishop by using gauze and towels to stop the bleeding, but it wasn't very effective. She was already losing too much blood.
"Remember to save one bullet for me. These bastards are capable of anything," Bishop said before falling into unconsciousness.
Just as Hannah was at an emotional breaking point, Jack's voice came through the walkie-talkie again: "Hannah, we're coming up. Try to distract them, and Angela and I will handle them from behind."
The joy of being saved from a hopeless situation surged through her. Nothing was more inspiring than having his/her prince charming arriving like a god at the moment of crisis.
Hannah took a few deep breaths to clear her frozen mind and started waiting silently. In the next moment the thugs fired their guns again, she suddenly screamed and kicked down a wooden vase stand behind her, causing the vase to shatter with a crisp sound on the floor.
The three thugs at the door looked at each other, then leered with sly smiles. One of them, wearing a bulletproof vest, cautiously moved to the door, preparing to break in. Suddenly, a loud shout came from behind, "LAPD, hands up!"
Before the three men could react, the one about to break the door was shot in the back of his head by Jack's Python revolver, nearly half of his head shattered like an overripe watermelon. The other two were quickly turned into sieves by Angela's dual-wielded Glocks.
Without hesitation, Jack shot the fallen thugs again to make sure they were dead, regardless of whether they wore bulletproof vests or not. Then he shouted into the room, "Hannah, the entrance is clear. We're coming in."
Seeing him appear, Hannah, who had been tense all this time, slid down the wall and sat on the floor, surprising Jack. He hurriedly rushed over and embraced her while activating his healing skill.
"I'm fine. I was just too nervous earlier. Quickly check on Talia; she got shot in the abdomen." Hannah waved her hand to assure Jack she was okay.
Jack let out a sigh of relief, then turned to enter the bedroom. The wife of the elderly couple, who had been trying to help Bishop stop the bleeding, looked at him tearfully and said, "Please help this child. I can barely feel her pulse."
Though not very familiar with Bishop, Jack couldn't stand by and watch a colleague bleed to death. He took out his medical kit, which included a vial of naloxone for emergency treatment of shock and overdose patients.
Of course, the most important thing was his healing skill. He repaired the major blood vessels grazed by the steel pellets, roughly stopping the bleeding. Jack breathed a sigh of relief; healing the injuries all at once only resulted in a brief dizziness, and a good night's sleep would fix that. Keeping the person alive while not raising suspicion later by the doctors was the trickiest part.
As Bishop slowly regained consciousness, urgent police sirens and gunshots from downstairs echoed. The reinforcements from the police station had finally arrived.
At this moment, Angela, guarding the door with her gun, couldn't hold back her anxiety and leaned in, asking, "Jack, how's Talia? Tim's asking for help, and Vance Marcus' child is born. He came for the baby."
"Okay, Bishop is temporarily safe, just lost some blood," Jack whispered to the caring elderly couple, "Thank you both for your help. Please take care of her. My colleagues will be here soon."
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