Ember Vance crouched in the corner of the wall, also quickly thinking of a strategy. To be honest, it was her first time experiencing a hostage situation with criminals. Although she was afraid, what she thought about more was how to rescue the hostages.
The criminals were cunning and intelligent. They didn’t demand a lot of money, only four million, but their goal wasn’t the money. They were stalling for time, waiting for nightfall to make their escape.
Ember was anxious, but she didn’t have a good solution to the difficult situation at hand.
Time ticked away, minute by minute. During this time, the criminals made contact with the police officers in charge by phone, and the police were gathering the cash.
The man in the white shirt did not release the child because the child was the best hostage. Read complete version only at N()velFire.net
Meanwhile, Yusuf Zuck, who had sneaked in earlier, was squatting in a corner under the stairs on the second floor. After his three minutes of being "Invisible" passed, he did not continue to use his ability, and was also waiting for the right moment.
He had already checked the second floor and confirmed there were four criminals, but to subdue or kill all four criminals before they detonated an explosive was too difficult; he couldn’t do it, so he could only wait for a chance.
Two hours later, at half-past four in the afternoon, the police informed the criminals that the four million in cash was ready, but they had to release the hostages before the exchange could be made.
After receiving the police’s announcement, the man in the white shirt leaned alone at the window and pondered for a few minutes. Then, he walked up to Ember with a gun in hand and smiled, "Miss, what is your esteemed surname?"
"My surname is Vance," Ember replied coolly.
"Oh, so you’re also a Vance. Well, Officer Vance, I think you came here on a mission. How about this, you go and get the money for us, what do you say?"
"Of course, you can choose not to. But if you don’t, I will kill a hostage, starting with that child."
"You must have seen that we four are all ruthless criminals. To tell you the truth, we all have blood on our hands and have trafficked drugs many times, so if we get caught, we face execution by shooting. And for that reason, we are capable of anything."
"I haven’t lived enough, and all the living people haven’t lived enough, so I’m asking you to go get the money and bring it in. This is also a life-and-death test for you as a public guardian."
"Your police force should know I’m stalling for time, and you should have guessed it by now. So, I think within these two hours, they would have contacted my family or friends to come to the scene to persuade me or something; psychological tactics are much more effective than a frontal assault, not to mention that an assault involves casualties and great risk."
"So, when you go down, help me get a car, preferably an off-road vehicle filled with gas and without any faults. I don’t want it to break down halfway through."
"Please, don’t harm the child or any other hostages," Ember pleaded.
"It depends on your choice. Starting from now, you have a three-minute deadline to get the money and bring word!" the man in the white shirt glanced at his watch and said.
Ember immediately stood up, and Luciano, with a wide grin, also pushed Ember downstairs.
After he saw Ember go downstairs, the man in the white shirt sat down beside Old Vance with the wounded gun and sighed, "Old Vance, we might not make it out alive this time."
"I know," Old Vance nodded and said.
"But I still want to try," the man in the white shirt took a deep breath and said, "I have an enemy left to kill, I can’t afford to die."
"Is there any way we can escape?" Old Vance asked, smoking a cigarette and leaning relaxedly against the wall.
"The police won’t compromise easily, and our cards are just a few hostages," Yusuf Zuck whispered. "I think after dark, as long as we have the hostages with us in the car, the odds of escaping successfully increase. I just checked the map on my phone, and we’re very close to Niantan Park. Just beyond the park is the Sixth Ring Road, so if we can make it to the forest park or to the Sixth Ring, we should be okay."
"We’ll follow your lead." Old Lu nodded in agreement.
"We might have to kill a hostage to shock the police. When I kill, I hope you and Old Tan don’t go soft," the man in the white shirt murmured.
"Ah!" Old Lu sighed. "We’ve come to this point, what’s there to be soft-hearted about?"
"Alright, let’s wait for that woman to come back," the man in the white shirt nodded.
Soon enough, Ember Vance did come back. It was unclear what she had said at the temporary command center, but within three minutes, she had returned without a second thought, carrying a large travel bag.
After they went back upstairs, Tiger systematically checked the travel bag for any issues, and Ember Vance was searched again by the man in the white shirt who this time was extremely thorough, even checking the soles of Ember’s shoes. He feared she might have a listening device on her.
"How are preparations for the car going?" Once the search was complete, the man in the white shirt personally placed the shoes at Ember Vance’s feet, indicating for her to put them on. He was even willing to assist Ember with her shoes.
Ember Vance said emotionlessly, "This has to be requested; it’s not up to one person to decide."
"We can wait," the man in the white shirt said with a smile, "but there’s a two-hour deadline. If the car doesn’t arrive, I’ll start by killing one from that sweet couple over there."
"Ah..." The pair of lovers huddled in the corner turned deathly pale in an instant.
Ember Vance took a deep breath. "As long as you don’t harm the hostages, everything is negotiable," she said angrily.
"Tie her up," the man in the white shirt nodded at Tiger to bind Ember Vance again. Meanwhile, he continued his conversation with the police and made another small request—a crutch.
Time slowly ticked away as the man in the white shirt negotiated with the police. After two more hours, the police relented, the cars were in place, and the sky was growing dark.
Yet the man in the white shirt was in no rush. As he parried with the police negotiators, he signalled for all the hostages to be tied together with a rope. He then ordered Old Tan and Old Lu to mingle in the middle of the hostages, before taking down two large curtains and draping everything and everyone--the hostages as well as Old Tan and Old Lu--underneath them.
"Tiger leads at the front, I’ll be at the back. Tiger, you should be ready to detonate the explosives at any moment. Old Tan, if you see that either Tiger or I have been taken out by a sniper, just detonate the explosives. Hmm, let’s wait ten more minutes before going downstairs," he instructed.
"Brothers, everything hinges on this moment," the man in the white shirt declared. Then, he snapped a photo beneath the curtains of the hostages and sent it to the police to remind them not to shoot or the people inside would detonate the explosives.
When ten minutes were up, Tiger took the lead, one hand holding a gun and the other clutching the detonator, and began descending the stairs, as the tent-like curtain slowly inched its way down.
The man in the white shirt didn’t go underneath but walked outside with a smile, seemingly unafraid that the police could recognize him, swaggering about.
As the tent-like curtain reached the staircase, Yusuf Zuck, who had been crouched at the top of the stairs all afternoon, finally became "Invisible" and strutted around the circumference of the tent. Taking advantage of a gap as people moved up and down the stairs, he swiftly darted inside with a whoosh.
PS: This is the seventh update in tribute to the Alliance Hierarch Luciano. Five more Chapters coming at eight o’clock. Thanks to all students who rewarded us and for the monthly tickets. Let’s keep it up for two hundred votes, oh two hundred votes!