Although they hadn't explicitly said it would cancel out his crimes, their attitude was enough to make the young thug relax a bit.
Before he was taken away, he made sure to lead Sean Hughes to the room he'd seen the group of people going in and out of earlier.
Even though he was just a low-level goon, he could tell from the group's nervous glances that there was something unusual about that room.
'There has to be something in there that could ruin them completely!'
'Otherwise, there's no way they'd be this tense!'
Sean Hughes led his team members to the locations the thug pointed out and found more items.
Without a doubt, the biggest shock came when they saw what was inside the freezer.
Even Sean Hughes, who had seen his fair share of crime scenes, was so startled by the contents that he took a step back.
Clutching his chest, Sean Hughes took a dozen seconds to compose himself before wiping his face and finally pulling out his phone.
He called for reinforcements, explaining the situation and stressing that the suspects were armed.
"I understand. Hold your position. I'm sending units over now. If it comes down to it, your safety is the priority. I'm authorizing the use of lethal force," an authoritative male voice said from the other end of the line.
Although the conditions for using that "last resort" were extremely strict, the safety of his people was more important.
He'd rather fill out mountains of paperwork than deliver an urn to one of their families.
After hanging up, the Chief quickly dispatched two other teams that had just returned from a mission.
Standing by the window, he watched as the cars departed one after another.
'Once this case is resolved, it'll be time to meet with Sawyer.'
'Someone with skills like that is a perfect fit for the police force!'
Outside the police station, as one car after another sped away, the owner of an inconspicuous breakfast stall on the opposite corner quietly wiped down his tables.
Once everything was clean, he stepped back behind his cart, pulled out a phone, and expertly dialed an unknown number.
After a brief conversation, he hung up, satisfied, and went back to his work.
On the other end of the line, in a hotel room, a man in a black bathrobe sat with his legs crossed, his arms draped over the back of the sofa. "The 'event' is about to start again," he said, his tone casual. "Have you reached Old Cat and his crew?"
The man opposite him lowered his head deferentially, handing over a file. "Old Man Dex, we called three times, but Old Cat's line is dead. They must have been exposed; they're not picking up.
"However, all the important data is here. No backups were left behind, so no matter how much those cops search, they won't find a thing."
Old Man Dex flipped through a few pages, saw what he was looking for, and nodded in satisfaction.
He casually tossed the file onto the coffee table, picked up a nearby glass of red wine, and swirled it. "Old Cat has been with me for a long time. I can't just let the cops catch him and make him talk. So, how about this: go give him a clean death. Consider it my gift to him."
Once Old Cat was eliminated, the truth of the matter would be buried forever.
The man across from him, who had been keeping his head down, looked up in disbelief. 'Did I hear that right?!'
'Shouldn't we be trying to rescue him in a situation like this?'
"What? You have a problem with that?" Old Man Dex glanced at the man. His voice was flat, but it carried an unmistakable chill.
"N-no!" The man shook his head, denying it emphatically.
Once outside, he looked down at the money in his hand, his earlier thoughts confirmed once more.
Meanwhile, after making sure they hadn't missed anything, Sean Hughes led his team back to Evan Keller's position.
The two groups were still locked in a standoff, as if in an endurance contest to see who would last longer.
But Evan Keller and his men trained daily, and their physical conditioning was far superior to the criminals'.
Among the surrounded criminals, some were already starting to tremble, their gun hands shaking uncontrollably.
If not for the desperate thought of avoiding capture, they probably would have thrown down their weapons long ago.
Evan Keller knew this was an opportunity. The advantage was on their side.
If they just held out, they could potentially minimize casualties.
When Evan Keller saw Sean Hughes and his team return, he knew the search for evidence was more or less complete.
The man in the center of the encirclement gritted his teeth. He wasn't an idiot; he could clearly see that he didn't have the upper hand.
'If this stalemate drags on any longer, I'm definitely going to be caught!'
"Move back! If anyone tries to stop us, open fire!"
Gritting his teeth, the man decided to bet it all.
He couldn't just sit here and wait to be captured. If he made a move, he might still have a chance to escape.
They had guns, too. And to minimize casualties, these cops in front of him wouldn't shoot unless they absolutely had to.
This was the perfect chance to make a break for it!
And act, he did.
As soon as he gave the order, his men formed a circle around him and began moving backward slowly and deliberately.
And just as he'd expected, Evan Keller and his officers only shadowed their movements; they didn't open fire.
'Once we get out onto the main street,' he thought, 'there will be more pedestrians around. That will restrain the cops even more, and my chance of escape will be even better!'
As for Evan Keller, his actions were dictated by the information he'd just received from Sean Hughes.
The Chief was sending reinforcements, and they were determined to apprehend all the suspects today.
With coordinated positions and a central command, they could definitely bag the whole lot!
Just as Old Cat was inching his way toward the door, the cleaner sent by Old Man Dex got into position.
BANG!
Just as Old Cat was about to step through the doorway, a bullet shot out from a high-rise across the street, striking him squarely between the eyes.
A hole suddenly blossomed on his forehead. Old Cat didn't even have time to understand what was happening before he was killed instantly by a former "colleague."
The henchmen who had been protectively surrounding him were completely dumbfounded. 'This puts us in a really awkward spot!'
'Should we keep up the standoff with the cops? We'll probably be the next ones to get hauled off and locked up.'
"What the hell?! Didn't the Chief say he wanted him alive?!" Evan Keller stared at Old Cat's body on the ground, his eyes wide open, his voice laced with disbelief.
'This isn't right!'
Sean Hughes immediately pulled out his phone and quickly dialed the Chief.
When he learned the reinforcements hadn't arrived yet, he realized the shot must have come from one of the criminals' own associates!
'It was to silence him!'
After hearing Sean Hughes's explanation, without a word from Evan Keller, the leader of Team Three took his men and sprinted in the direction the shot had come from.
Sean Hughes looked down at Old Cat, lying on the ground with his eyes wide open in death, and asked in a low voice,
"What now?"