Regardless of the enemy's plans, the best option now was to remove the target from their pre-arranged ambush location. The Most Wanted Squad had successfully disrupted their plan to cut off their retreat, so they naturally sought to capitalize on this advantage.
Behind the armored vehicle, besides a Dolanger Taurus filled with ESU officers, there was also a Ford Taurus, a patrol car, and a Suburban carrying two visitors from the North and the head of the International Department.
While these escort vehicles weren't fully bulletproof like the two vehicles used by the Most Wanted Squad, they all had reinforced doors, making them impenetrable even to the 7.62mm AK-class rounds.
The Dolanger Taurus, which had been following the armored vehicle, immediately overtook it in the right lane upon noticing the situation. Now, the two Taurus vehicles were side by side, with two teams of 12 ESU officers inside, using the doors and the vehicles to the sides to exchange fire with the gunman ahead.
The officer in the Ford Taurus behind was more resourceful. Taking advantage of a gap in a curbside parking spot, he swerved and darted onto the sidewalk, turning the entire police car sideways for cover and, in the process, shielding several panicked bystanders.
By comparison, the agent driving the Suburban was clearly a rookie. Jubal signaled the ESU armored vehicle to retreat. Just as the vehicle reversed and squeezed past a Civic in the oncoming lane, it was blocked by a Suburban, also attempting a U-turn across the lane.
"This idiot!" Aubrey, the closest, shrugged, preparing to move forward, ignoring the stray bullets from the front. Suddenly, a flash of fire erupted from a third-floor window of an apartment building on the right side of the street, only fifty or sixty meters away.
"RPG! Take cover!" Clay, who had just finished checking the truck's cargo box and had just jumped out, saw the scene and shouted for everyone to be alert.
In a split second, the rocket, while slower than a bullet, reached the target in a fraction of a second. The left side of the armored vehicle was struck and burst into flames.
The front engine and armor plate partially blocked the blast, but not completely.
The ESU driver of the armored vehicle died silently in his seat, half his body mangled by the scorching metal jet.
The ESU officers, who had been stationed in front of the armored vehicle, using two Dolanger Tahoes to engage the opposing gunmen while protecting the surrounding civilians, were also thrown to the ground by the blast.
As if by calculation, the militants, wielding submachine guns, assault rifles, and even light machine guns, emerged from the smoke at just that moment.
The ESU officers, who ducked or lay low to avoid the blast, were instantly crushed. The rookie agent driving the Suburban was even more flustered as the armored vehicle ahead of them exploded.
In the panic, there was a clang as the front of the Suburban slammed into a roadside fire hydrant, sending a column of water soaring into the air. Before the rookie agent could even attempt to steer, a bullet whizzed through the roof at a treacherous angle and lodged itself in his head.
The occupants could no longer sit still. As the door opened, Jon Michaels, the new head of the International Department, scrambled toward Jack and his companions, shouting for help.
"Sniper!" Aubrey, who had nearly reached the Suburban, had ducked behind a car on the side of the road after Clay's "RPG" warning. Looking up, he saw the agent in the car being shot dead and shouted a warning.
Another bullet pierced the Suburban. The two North Korean visitors, however, were more experienced. After exiting the car, they didn't run, but instead leaned against the front and rear tires.
There was not even much panic on Lin Zheling's face. Instead, he shouted at Jack in Korean, "Give me a gun."
Jack pretended not to understand and ignored him.
This was New York City. Being killed outright was preferable to the news reports of Chinese soldiers indiscriminately shooting through the streets of Manhattan.
Jack turned to Clay and pointed upward toward the apartment door behind him. "Go upstairs and find a window to take out the sniper!"
The bullet that killed his own agent had come from across the street, clearly not a stray bullet. Aubrey's judgment was sound; the problem was not knowing where the attacker was hiding.
The armored vehicle was also in an unusual state. The NYPD's "Bearcat" armored vehicle was equipped with a remote weapon station and a roof hatch. Inside, at least four ESU officers were escorting prisoners.
At least three or four minutes had passed since the attack. The wanted criminal team in the rear had cleared out the attackers, preparing to cut off their retreat, but there was still no movement from inside the armored vehicle.
If the initial chaos had led to concerns about accidental injuries, the armored vehicle was now crippled and parked sideways in the middle of the road. The remote weapon station remained motionless, and no one had emerged from the roof to offer cover fire through the armored hatch.
Unsure of what was happening inside the vehicle, Jack and his companions couldn't afford to worry about the vehicle's condition. The immediate priority was to eliminate the deadly sniper.
Anyone who has played hardcore war games knows how difficult it is to find a dedicated, hidden shooter in a hail of bullets.
Even if the enemy doesn't relocate, the naked eye can't discern bullet trajectories beyond tracer rounds, let alone pinpoint their exact location with just one or two shots.
In one of Jack's previous life's assassinations of a prominent figure, a gunman fired eight shots at a distance of approximately 200 meters before being killed by Secret Service agents.
This was despite the presence of a sniper on guard, and the shooter, unobstructed by cover, was firing openly from a rooftop.
There might be some ulterior motives at the scene, but it also clearly illustrates the complexity and difficulty of counter-sniper operations in an urban combat environment without the use of heavy weapons.
Aside from Aubrey, who had a good view of the situation across the street to his left, everyone else, including Jack, was forced to hide behind vehicles or other obstacles to avoid stray bullets from the front.
Besides the shady shooter, Old Six, another major threat was the man indiscriminately firing a light machine gun in the street.
Jack's last close encounter with a MK46 light machine gun was during the church battle in Mexico, when Sonny single-handedly blocked the church's main entrance with just a single MK46.
Until he had emptied his 600 rounds of 5.56x45 NATO ammunition, the desperate Mexican drug cartel operatives had no chance of breaking through the church's main entrance.
Now the roles had reversed, and he was the one being held down at a distance of a hundred meters. The feeling was incredibly frustrating.
(End of Chapter)