Jack enjoys dealing with intelligent people, and right now, both Sheriff Roenicke and gangster Boss Bishop are such intelligent individuals.
In detective fiction, there's a term called the "island model," also known as "Snowstorm Mountain," which describes a group of people gathered in a relatively isolated environment, cut off from the outside world.
No one is able to escape this environment for a while, and at the same time, something unfortunate happens among the trapped people, such as murder, leading to mutual suspicion.
This model is a classic. Because of the limited conditions and lack of external interference within a closed environment, fear spreads within, leading to mutual suspicion and easily creating dramatic conflicts.
This model has been adopted by many novels and films, giving rise to numerous derivative genres.
For example, "The House of Flying Daggers," which tells the story of an FBI agent trapped in a murder mystery on an isolated island, is a representative work and a unique psychological suspense film.
However, Jack prefers another film with a touch of black humor, "The Mist," in which people of different identities are trapped in a supermarket, gradually dividing into factions and becoming sharply opposed.
This situation is somewhat similar to the current situation at Precinct 13. Chief Ronik is struggling to rally everyone to overcome the crisis amidst threats from corrupt police.
Bishop, despite his own ulterior motives, is clearly a man of tact and a discerning eye for the situation as a gang leader.
Preserving his life is more important than his freedom. After all, he's not guaranteed to die in prison, but the threat of those corrupt police officers outside, ready to kill everyone in the area to silence him, is imminent.
The inherent antagonism between the two sides, born of their respective positions, has fostered cooperation and even established a modicum of trust under these external threats. For veteran officer Jasper to intervene at this moment seems rather foolish.
This isn't about justice. In Jack's view, aside from a bit of seniority, the main issue is that Ronik, the acting chief, is too inactive and lacks authority.
If Jack had been alone, he might have simply donned his corrupt police gear and slipped out, leaving the signal blackout zone and calling for reinforcements, and the situation would have been resolved.
But John, the good guy, was there. Even if Jack offered to take him along to change his clothes and leave, his personality wouldn't have allowed it.
Rather than having Jack lead him through a head-on confrontation with a dozen or so corrupt cops outside, it was safer to just stay inside.
So he had John hand over his extra guns and equipment to Ronik for distribution. This was a clear sign of solidarity, helping the sheriff suppress internal dissent while also serving as a subtle warning to the prisoners to behave themselves.
Meanwhile, the corrupt cops outside were struggling. Despite the frantic battle at the main gate, they couldn't get through. Teams trying to break in from other directions vanished silently one by one.
Watching the officers inside the station, who had initially been forced to hide inside due to lack of weapons and wait for an opportunity to strike back, now were able to engage them from the second floor with captured guns and ammunition. The fate of those who hadn't moved was unpredictable.
Over a dozen police officers participated in the attack. At the height of the fighting, at least five or six assault rifles simultaneously fired towards the main entrance and lobby, aiming to attract maximum attention from the station.
However, the multi-pronged assault failed. Despite the use of explosives and stun grenades, only one shieldman escaped from the seven who had broken into the station, suffering severe burns.
This reduced the number of police officers surrounding Station 13 to fewer than 20. Not only had they lost their numerical advantage, but their superiority in firearms and equipment had also been eroded by the previous wave.
The police were caught in a dilemma. If they failed to silence Bishop, over 20 officers in their department would be imprisoned.
But if they continued their reckless assault, how many more lives would they have to sacrifice?
Spending the rest of their lives in prison or dying immediately? That was the question worth pondering.
"They are neither attacking nor retreating. What are they planning to do?" Alice carefully hid behind the window and looked outside. She found that only a GMC was leaving, which seemed to be sending away the only injured person.
The two DPD-painted police cars blocking the intersection showed no sign of leaving.
"Wait for reinforcements, of course." Jack bandaged Alex's feet, put on her shoes, and then found the coat she'd arrived in and put it on her.
Meanwhile, veteran officer Jasper, with a look of displeasure on his face, had already retrieved various tools from the storage room. Together with Ronik, they stripped wood from several desks and chairs and nailed them to the shattered windows.
The sniper in ambush across the street fired a few shots in an attempt to disrupt the flow, but to no avail, and Jack made no attempt to retaliate.
Although the blizzard outside was still raging, with his rifle in hand, Jack had a 60-70% chance of instantly dispatching the sniper across the street.
However, now wasn't the best time to act. The sniper wasn't aware of their ability to counterattack, and had no intention of relocating for the time being.
The exposed sniper posed little threat to the others. The police station had many windows, so even if they were out of range of the gunfire, they still had ample visibility to observe the situation outside.
But if the enemy sniper were replaced and moved after the kill, another round of testing would be inevitable, potentially resulting in casualties on their side. "I heard you've been shot at least five times, with bullets still lodged in your body.
Is
that true? Bishop, there's a rumor you once pulled a man's spine out."
As Jack and Ronik entered the holding area, the drug addict assigned to patch the hole was nagging Bishop about the gangster's "heroic past."
"Shut up! That's his Adam's apple. If you keep talking nonsense, I don't mind letting you experience that feeling too." Bishop, who had initially been reluctant to answer, glanced awkwardly at Jack as he approached, then turned and growled at him.
It was a strange feeling, like being in a regular high school and watching a parent boast to a top-scoring student in the national college entrance exam that their child had made the top ten in the grade.
Jack could only pretend he hadn't heard anything. He tossed a spare magazine to the addict and warned, "If you keep wasting ammunition, I don't mind wasting one more bullet on you."
The addict scrambled to catch the magazine, his mouth twitching with fear, and quickly hid behind Bishop.
"It's too quiet right now. Something's not right. I think we need to discuss this," Bishop said to the two men, hammering down the last nail and prying the board to make sure it was secure.
Ronik glanced at the somewhat nervous addict and gave Bishop a look. The three of them went to the back storage room.
Bishop got straight to the point, "Marcus Duval won't let us wait until dawn."
Ronik glanced at Jack, then at Bishop. "We have guns and men now. Just hold our respective areas. They can't get in. I don't understand what you're worried about."
"Let me put it this way. If you were outside, would you let the people inside wait until dawn?" Bishop also looked at Jack.
Jack threw his hands at the two men. "You have a point, but I'm not Marcus Duval. I don't know how many cards he has. Do you know?"
Bishop scratched his head in frustration. "I don't know, but I don't want to stay here and die."
Ronick, now somewhat aware of the situation, warned, "If you try to take advantage of this situation to escape, I must warn you that I won't let you succeed. When this is over, your destination will be prison."
(End of Chapter)