The family of four fought extremely conservatively due to the close quarters.
Though the bandits temporarily suppressed them through sheer ferocity, their wounds continued to multiply.
Body armor only protected against handgun rounds. At such close range, the defensive effectiveness was minimal, especially against submachine guns.
The battle lasted less than five seconds, but it sobered up the two surviving bandits considerably. They no longer treated the family of four as ordinary civilians. Rolling and crawling, they sought cover.
Bella's group quickly scavenged the bandits' corpses.
The bodies had body armor and plenty of magazines—things they desperately needed. They had to strip them!
The bandits were furious. When had they ever seen hostages kill their captors? They were extremely fierce with excellent marksmanship, unleashing waves of bullets toward the family of four's position.
The family of four showed no weakness, firing back!
Gunfire echoed without pause. The remaining tourists huddled like quails, covering their ears and screaming.
The intense firefight left the exhibition hall's elegant columns pockmarked with craters, debris flying everywhere. The exquisite paintings were all reduced to waste paper. The expensive carpet was littered with shell casings.
Even the Washington full-length portrait that had irritated Bella earlier didn't escape—now tattered and torn beyond recognition.
"Fire together! Suppress them!" Samantha usually appeared gentle—that was for the persona. In reality, she had quite a temper.
She grabbed the UMP45 from the initial unlucky gunman and fired repeatedly at the attackers inside.
Charlie's handgun was somewhat lacking, but it could still provide suppression.
Bella and Natasha weren't idle either. The two quickly looted corpses—stripping off body armor, removing magazines, knives, radios, everything. Starting with nothing, they'd grabbed all the equipment they could carry.
Bella now had a concealed carry permit, though only valid in California. With the scene in total chaos, she couldn't worry about that. Grabbing an M4A1, while Natasha found a handgun on another bandit's corpse, they joined their parents in rapidly firing at the two remaining bandits.
Four against two, especially when all four had excellent marksmanship, the two bandits immediately couldn't hold out. Equal equipment, equal tactical skills—the side with greater numbers would definitely defeat the side with fewer.
"Let's go!" Bella heard footsteps nearby and called for the family to run.
They withdrew decisively. Ten seconds later, bandit reinforcements arrived.
The reinforcements stared at the carnage, completely dumbfounded.
What the hell? The two surviving bandits were injured, both seriously.
One had taken three shots, with one grazing his cheek and tearing off a large patch of skin, exposing his bloody gums—a horrifying sight. The other had a leg wound and could no longer stand.
"Can someone tell me what the hell happened?!" A curly-haired man stormed over. He'd served in Delta Force and was now the bandits' leader.
He was furious seeing the exhibition hall's condition. A group of hand-picked elites, prepared and heavily armed, facing several unarmed civilians—yet they'd been beaten with two dead and two wounded? It was unbelievable.
Never mind two dead—even their equipment was stripped! This was absolutely outrageous!
The two survivors were equally confused. Who could have guessed a few tourists would be this fierce? If all American civilians were this brave in battle, what did they need soldiers for?
They were too embarrassed to admit the enemy consisted of one man and three women, with two girls still quite young. If they said that out loud, they'd be humiliated!
"Your incompetence shames me! Leave two more men to guard the hostages. Everyone else—find them! Find those rats and kill them!" the curly-haired man snarled.
Meanwhile, Bella's family was in a storage room a hundred meters away from the bandits, organizing their weapons and equipment.
Despite Bella and Natasha's strong protests, both sets of body armor went to Mom and Dad. According to them, Mom and Dad needed to fight—they were just kids...
The M4A1 Bella had used earlier went to Charlie. Body armor plus rifle provided better offensive power. She took a handgun to make do.
"Uh, actually I'm a Capitol police officer. The rifle would be better..." Duke, who'd escaped with the family of four, spoke up. This man with military bearing also went by the nickname "Duke."
His contribution had been crucial. Without him jumping out to grab a weapon, the family of four's sudden attack would have been too abrupt, and the Mind Blast's actual effect would have been hard to explain. Now the situation was just right.
Duke really wanted a rifle. If not that, the UMP45 would work—he felt he should be better with guns.
"Sorry, sir, but my wife and I are both LAPD detectives. We know how to use firearms," Charlie said politely enough.
Samantha wasn't as kind. A nice vacation turned into this mess—she was uncomfortable.
While checking the submachine gun in her hands, she said curtly, "We've both served in the military too."
Bella and Natasha simultaneously displayed kind yet polite smiles.
Duke could only nod in agreement.
He sighed inwardly. Look at them—this family's combat power is seriously high!
The young tour guide Donnie shared similar thoughts. This guy was pretty clever and lucky, managing to escape with the family of four. Now he wore an ingratiating smile, hoping the family would take him along when they ran.
"Mr. Duke, I need to protect my wife and daughters, so I'm very sorry..." Charlie refused to help Duke find his daughter. His reasoning was unquestionable—his whole family was here. How could he risk saving someone else?
Though he suspected this family of four didn't really need protection, Duke understood. If his daughter was with him, he'd make the same choice. Who wanted to play hide-and-seek with a bunch of bandits?
"Everyone stay close to me!" Charlie took the lead, pushing open the door and running toward the White House's west side. According to the young guide, there was a small door there. If the bandits weren't prepared, they could escape through it.
Whether they then mobilized Delta Force to suppress the bandits or sent in Raptors to bomb the White House had nothing to do with their family.
Even Duke decided to follow them. More people, stronger firepower. At minimum, he needed to see where the exit was. If he encountered his daughter on the way, they'd run together. If not, knowing the exit location would give him peace of mind.
But as they passed through a corridor, they ran head-on into another group.
Four Secret Service agents surrounded President Sawyer, staring in shock at this sudden group of people emerging before them.