The death of their colleague filled Nick and his team with rage, driving them to get back to the prison as quickly as possible. They raced out of City Hall, speeding toward their destination.
Meanwhile, the assassins Pierre and Juan, driving Clyde's van, arrived at a wooded park after several tense minutes. Using a hose from the van, they siphoned gasoline from its tank, dousing the vehicle and Clyde's lifeless body. After setting it ablaze, they drove away in their own car.
"Should we make the call?" Juan asked, holding the phone while Pierre focused on driving.
"Of course. If he clung to that phone until his last breath, the number must be important to him."
"But what if it's not his accomplice's number?" Juan hesitated.
Pierre considered briefly. "It doesn't matter. It's night, we're in the forest, and avoiding detection shouldn't be difficult. Don't forget why we're doing this—it's about billions of dollars. Anyone with knowledge is a target."
"Understood." Juan nodded, dialing the number and waiting as the phone rang with a steady "beep, beep."
The moment the call connected, Nick, already tense, nearly jumped out of his skin. His eyes locked on the phone attached to the bomb, where a 30-second countdown had appeared on the screen.
Frozen for two seconds in terror, Nick snapped out of it, shouting, "Damn it! Damn it! It's armed—the bomb is armed!"
With a screech of brakes, Sean pulled the car to an abrupt halt and shouted, "Out of the car! We're in the countryside—RUN!"
Without hesitation, Nick and Wilson leapt from the vehicle, following Sean as they sprinted into the darkness.
In less than thirty seconds, they had managed to run over a hundred meters when a deafening explosion tore through the night. A massive fireball shot skyward, and an intense heat wave swept outward, scorching everything in its path.
Though the trio was burned by the wave, the distance they'd managed to put between themselves and the blast saved their lives.
Back in the forest, Juan, who had been listening to the phone, was momentarily deafened by the explosion. His ears rang, rendering him unable to hear anything else for a time.
"Damn it! We need to get out of the USA immediately—that was definitely a massive explosion," he said after recovering. Juan swiftly powered off the phone, removed the SIM card, and snapped it in half before discarding the device into a river they passed.
The two assassins drove their car into a poor neighborhood, abandoned it by a park, and hailed a taxi to the airport.
A few minutes before the bomb detonated, a small device Clyde had hidden in City Hall's utility room went off with a muffled bang. Flames erupted in the pile of rags, and within thirty seconds, thick smoke filled the room.
"Psssssh!" The building's sprinkler system activated, spraying a blue-tinted liquid across every room.
Within seconds, everyone in City Hall—from New York's top officials to regular employees—was drenched in fluorescent blue water.
By morning, New York City would become the talk of the nation.
Watching the scene play out through a virtual monitor, William smirked and muttered, "Clyde Shelton might just go down in history as America's most infamous terrorist."
Chuckling at the spectacle for a moment, William then gave an order to Sunday, his AI assistant. "Begin the operation. With City Hall's crisis dominating the news, no one will pay attention to our actions against the Brotherhood of Assassins."
"Understood, sir," Sunday replied, shifting the virtual display to show the Brotherhood's headquarters: a textile factory.
The 3D map of the factory revealed dozens of red markers representing assassins, surrounded by hundreds of blue markers representing spider robots.
While the rooms of Wesley, Fox, and the Brotherhood leader Sloan remained untouched, every other assassin found themselves under siege by at least ten spider robots.
After several minutes of preparation, Sunday reported, "Sir, the operation is ready. With your command, all 53 assassins will be eliminated."
"Good," William replied with a smile. "Are Cross and White Ghost in position? I don't want any loose ends."
"I've already confirmed with them."
"Then proceed."
At William's signal, the virtual screens displayed dozens of simultaneous scenes: 53 assassins, unsuspecting in their rooms, were ambushed by spider robots descending from ceilings or crawling along walls.
Each assassin was first stunned by four spider robots using electric shocks. As they writhed in agony, other robots moved in, their sharp limbs slicing throats with surgical precision.
In less than thirty seconds, most of the assassins were dead.
For those who managed to avoid the initial ambush, explosive spiders were deployed, detonating in bursts of fire and shrapnel that left no survivors.
The factory echoed with successive explosions, and within moments, all marked targets had been eliminated.
Hearing the commotion, Sloan, Fox, and Wesley emerged from their rooms, weapons drawn. They were greeted by the sight of their fallen comrades' bodies scattered across the factory floor.
"How could this happen? How could this happen?" Sloan stammered, his gun slipping from his trembling hand.
Before he could say more, over two hundred spider robots slowly surrounded the trio.
"Bang! Bang! Bang!" Wesley and Fox immediately opened fire, quickly realizing that the spiders weren't engaging them directly but instead seemed to be baiting them to expend their ammunition.
As soon as Wesley and Fox hesitated, the spiders swarmed. They leapt from the ceiling and scurried up their legs, delivering precise electric shocks that left both on the ground, convulsing.
Once the two were incapacitated, several spiders methodically self-destructed near them, their movements almost theatrical. It became clear to the trio that their attackers wanted them alive.
"Ring, ring, ring."
A sudden phone call broke the silence. Sloan cautiously retrieved his phone, glancing at the spiders surrounding him. Seeing no immediate reaction, he hesitantly answered.
"Put it on speaker, Mr. Sloan," a voice commanded.
Though reluctant, Sloan noticed a cluster of spiders on the nearby table raising their sharp limbs threateningly. He had no choice but to comply, switching to speaker mode and placing the phone on the table.
"Thank you for your cooperation. Now, please discard your weapons."
Dropping their weapons seemed unthinkable, but the trio's resolve crumbled after enduring several more shocks and seeing the swarm of spiders continuing to grow. They reluctantly complied, tossing all their weapons onto the floor.
Wesley, however, tried to conceal a knife. When the robots discovered it during a body search, he was subjected to another round of electric shocks. Sloan and Fox immediately discarded every metallic item on them, fearing similar punishment.
------------------
Enjoying the story? Support the author and get early access to chapters by joining my Patre@n!
Find me at: patre@n*com/Mutter
You can read each novel for $5 or get them all for just $15.
Fairy Tail: Igneel's Eldest Son (Chapter 256)
I Am Thalos, Odin's Older Brother (Chapter 336)
Reborn in America's Anti-Terror Unit (Chapter 542)
Solomon in Marvel (Chapter 924)
Becoming the Wealthiest Tycoon on the Planet (Chapter 1284)
Surgical Fruit in the American Comics Universe (Chapter 1289)
American Detective: From TV Rookie to Seasoned Cop (Chapter 1316)
American TV Writer (Chapter 1402)
I Am Hades, The Supreme GOD of the Underworld! (Chapter 570)
Reborn as Humanity's Emperor Across the Multiverse (Chapter 660)
[+50 Power Stones = +1 Extra Chapter]
[+5 Reviews = +1 Extra Chapter]