An SUV with three red "GMC" letters on its hood slowly approached. Everyone looked at each other, their eyes fixed on Bishop.
The large, dark man, even kneeling, towered over the others. He spat viciously at Jasper, the veteran officer standing behind Ronnick, the only person not restrained.
"Jasper? You son of a bitch! You're a traitor! You betrayed us!" Alice, the hottie, immediately realized and unleashed a barrage of curses.
Feeling the veteran officer's hand on his shoulder, Ronnick looked back at him in disbelief, his expression gradually shifting from shock to a half-smile.
"You're sending all of us to the Grim Reaper's scythe, Jasper."
"Fuck you! Ronnick!" Jasper also spat on the ground, landing right in front of Bishop.
"By God, I told you, 'Hand over this bastard, and no one will get hurt.' I'm retired, and I'm not going to die for this piece of shit.
And the facts just proved it, haven't they? This is all your fault, Sheriff!"
He smashed the butt of his rifle into Bishop's forehead, and blood immediately gushed out.
"Enough! He's at least more human than you are," Alex's angry cry for help fell on deaf ears.
Ronnick gave a wry smile, a smile filled with mockery, or perhaps a mixture of mockery and self-mockery. "This is truly my fault, Jasper. I thought you were at least a cop."
The GMC door opened, and Duval stepped out with the composure of a victor. He approached Jasper and gave him a slight nod as a greeting.
"Get in the car, Jasper. You don't have to watch what's going on."
He stepped in front of Ronnick, his eyes scanning the crowd before a frown formed. He called out to Jasper, who had already turned.
"You mentioned a very powerful FBI agent on the radio. Which one of them was it?"
"He didn't follow us into the sewers. That hero-like guy stayed behind to set the fire and cover our retreat. He's probably burned to death by now," Jasper said nonchalantly.
Duval's frown deepened, and he even lowered his head in thought. Suddenly, a possibility occurred to him, and a look of horror crossed his face. He turned and drew his pistol, taking a defensive stance.
"Everyone, pull down your masks, quick!"
The corrupted cops standing behind the police station looked at each other in confusion. Some clever ones had already thought of a possibility and, as they pulled down their masks, pointed their guns at those who were still hesitating.
Duval narrowed his eyes, his sharp gaze scanning the corrupted cops' faces one by one, and he breathed a sigh of relief. There were thirteen of them present, including him, and no one was unfamiliar.
Just as he was about to order his men to take action, John took advantage of the brief confusion and slowly stood up from the ground.
He had been a bit nervous just now, but now, when Duval had the black cops pull down their masks, he was even calmer.
"What, you know where your companions are? Tell me, and maybe I can spare your life."
Duval clearly didn't understand the saying that villains die because they talk too much, or perhaps he simply didn't consider himself a villain, instead spouting nonsense that no one would believe.
"Before yesterday, no one here should have known me, so let me introduce myself briefly." John smiled playfully.
If Jack were there, he would definitely be very familiar with this smile, because it wasn't just John who had it. Back in New York, there was a great writer named Rick Cassel who had the same playful expression.
"My name is John Nolan, an LAPD officer, a poor bastard sent here because I offended the union president."
Listening to John's endless nonsense, Duval interrupted him in confusion, "Officer Nolan, can I take it that you're trying to stall for time?"
"Of course not, I'm getting to the point." John blinked innocently, "Okay, let's cut to the chase. I have a secret to tell you all."
Seeing Duval impatiently pulling the pistol slide and pointing the gun at him, John quickly raised his hands, "Okay, the secret is that I actually have superpowers."
An eerie silence fell for a moment .
After a moment, Duval looked around expressionlessly, then impatiently raised his pistol again, this time aiming directly at John's head, about to pull the trigger.
The police officers at the scene turned away with a look of sympathy, unwilling to witness the ensuing tragedy.
"No, no, no, believe me, I'm telling the truth." John lowered his hands slightly from his head and made a "8" gesture, pretending they were two pistols.
"I really do have superpowers. Just look at me if you don't believe me."
He gestured to Jasper, who was about to turn around again. "Hey, old man! BIU!"
"Whoosh!"
Although the blizzard had just passed and the wind was still strong, a faint but clear sound of something piercing the air reached everyone present.
A small red hole suddenly appeared on Jasper's forehead. A look of mockery at John's clownish behavior still lingered on his wrinkled face. With a thud, he fell to the ground in the snow.
Everyone froze in place. Bishop, who had been stealthily pulling a stun grenade from his coat pocket while John distracted everyone, paused.
For a moment, he even felt the risk was unnecessary.
John raised his chin triumphantly, and as the horrified police watched, he opened fire, his hands lashing out at them, his voice uttering the onomatopoeia "BIU, BIU, BIU." The
whistling sound of bullets piercing the air echoed in succession, and the police surrounding the station fell to the ground one after another.
"Sniper! Take cover!"
Duval, who had just realized what was happening, let out a shrill wail. The still-dazed police officers looked around in confusion, while others sought the nearest cover.
But in just a few breaths, Duval despairingly saw at least three or four men lying in a pool of blood.
"Kill them, kill them all."
Duval's hoarse command was answered not by the police's gunfire, but by a stun grenade with the pull ring removed.
"Shut your eyes!"
Bishop threw the stun grenade Jack had given him and, eyes closed, dove directly at the firearms dumped in the snow.
John turned and rushed behind him toward Alice and Alex. Neither of them wore bulletproof vests, but they instinctively shielded themselves around the injured state trooper, Jeffrey.
Behind him, an enraged Duval, recklessly pulling the trigger, pulled the trigger.
"Bang!"
"Bang!"
The gunshot and the stun grenade's explosion echoed almost simultaneously. Duval screamed, clutching his eyes and falling to his knees in agony.
"Get in the car! Get in the car!" Ronnick, having already received Bishop's hint and closing his eyes in time, rolled over, picked up his AR-15 from the ground, and unleashed a burst
of bullets at the nearest police officer. Detonated in the open, the stun grenade essentially served only as a flashbang, but that was enough to blind the unsuspecting, most of whom were the corrupt police officers surrounding the station.
(End of Chapter)