Reborn: The Rookie Detective

Jack was somewhat amused by Hannah's actions, reaching out to tuck a strand of hair from her lips to behind her ear and nodded.

"Seriously, I'm quite curious how Tim plans to handle this." As he spoke, he activated his body camera.

Two police cars shut off their engines and stopped at a corner about 200 meters away from the cabin to avoid being spotted.

The four officers who got out were all armed with long guns and crouched in the woods about 50 meters southeast of the cabin. This time, the shotgun was in Hannah's hands; she would be responsible for breaking down the door.

Just as Tim was about to give the order to advance, the cabin door suddenly opened, and a burly white man, shirtless, with tattooed arms, carrying an axe in his right hand and adjusting his belt with his left, staggered out.

As the door opened, the faint sounds of a girl crying and pleading could be heard inside. Tim pulled out a small pair of binoculars.

"Confirmed suspect Angus Lucius. He has a Remington shotgun with a sawed-off barrel tucked into his back and a pistol on his hip."

Lucius, carrying an axe, turned to the back of the house and disappeared from the four officers' sight. A moment later, the sound of chopping wood came from behind the house.

Tim lowered the volume on his walkie-talkie and reported to command center: "We've located suspect Angus Lucius in Kenneth Hahn State Park. Location marked. Request immediate backup. The suspect is armed with multiple weapons and is extremely dangerous! There are hostages inside; we may need an ambulance."

He then turned and whispered, "The suspect and hostage are separated. Now is a good opportunity. Jack and I will go around to the back of the house to deal with the suspect. Nolan and Hannah, go inside and control the hostages, ensuring their safety."

The other three nodded and followed Tim, crouching low as they crept towards the cabin.

The four reached the cabin door. Tim waved for Nolan and Hannah to go inside, then, pressing himself against the wooden wall, he shouldered his M16 and prepared to go to the back of the house.

Jack, following behind, held his breath. His mental strength, which had recently increased slightly after breaking through 20, made his heightened senses alert to something amiss. The sound of chopping wood coming from behind the house suddenly stopped.

Jack's heart skipped a beat, and before he could warn Tim, an axe struck the barrel of Tim's M16 rifle, which Tim had just extended around the corner.

Tim reacted quickly, lunging forward almost as soon as the rifle slipped from his hand, engaging Lucius in a grappling match.

Jack, standing at the corner, was about to step forward and raise his gun to threaten Lucius into surrendering when Lucius, realizing there was more than one person, released the axe Tim was holding onto, kicked Tim towards Jack, and then turned and ran.

As he ran, he drew his Remington shotgun from his back and fired wildly at the two men. After running out of ammunition, he threw the gun away and disappeared into the dense forest.

On the other side, Jack reacted with lightning speed. The instant Tim was kicked away and blocked his line of fire, Jack raised his gun and grabbed Tim's tactical vest with his left hand.

At the same time, out of the corner of his eye, he saw the suspect Lucius pull out his Remington. He twisted his waist, turned 180 degrees, grabbed Tim's left hand, and shoved him behind the corner of the cabin.

Simultaneously, he himself slipped around the corner, pinning Tim between his body and the cabin wall in a comically awkward position. Almost instantly, shotgun pellets flew against the corner of the cabin wall, splinters of wood flying everywhere.

"You can let go of me now." Tim, nearly having his ribs broken by Jack's brute force pressed against the cabin wall, let out a painful groan, turned around, and met Jack's eyes.

The two simultaneously realized their current posture, resembling a wall slam, was quite indecent. They paused for a moment, then said in unison, "Don't tell anyone about this."

Hannah happened to peek out from a window on the side of the cabin and, seeing this, couldn't help but burst out laughing.

"Need any help?"

"No need. The two of us will track the suspect. You protect the hostage and wait for reinforcements."

Tim said curtly, reaching for his pistol. Whether intentionally or unintentionally, his elbow grazed Jack's chest with tremendous force, knocking off Jack's body camera.

Jack was stunned for a moment, but didn't foolishly pick it up. His eyes looked at Tim's chest and found that, whether from the previous scuffle or some other reason, his body camera had also fallen off.

Truly cunning. He'd learned something.

Following Tim into the dense forest, Jack regretted bringing the M16. Although he estimated that even carrying Hannah, he wouldn't be able to shake him off within a kilometer or two, carrying a rifle in the woods was too cumbersome. Jack simply switched off the safety, slung the M16 across his back, drew his Glock, and observed the trampled branches and leaves on the ground while keeping an eye on the surrounding rustling grass.

The two chased for less than 10 minutes when Tim suddenly stopped, raising his pistol and shouting, "Hands up, Lucius, you have nowhere to run!"

Jack emerged from behind him, using a large tree on his right for cover, and aimed at a figure about 10 meters away.

Directly in front was a low cliff, with a stream flowing over it, dripping down to form a small pool.

The suspect, Lucius, stood with his back to the two officers for a moment, then threw his M1911 at his feet, turned around, and knelt on the ground with a strange smile on his face, his hands covering his head.

Tim stopped in his tracks, signaling to Jack to be aware of someone approaching from behind. Jack understood, took a few steps back, and disappeared behind the bushes. In fact, he didn't go far; from behind the bushes where Lucius couldn't see, he kept his gun firmly locked on Lucius, while constantly monitoring the surrounding movements.

Seeing Tim pointing a gun at him with a cold look in his eyes, showing no intention of moving forward, Lucius's smile became somewhat stiff. When he saw Jack retreat and disappear, his expression turned somewhat panicked.

"I've already put down my gun. What do you want?"

Tim's tone was as cold as his eyes, a cruel smile playing on his lips. "Pick up your gun, Private First Class Angus Lucius."

Lucius panicked even more, frantically waving his hands. "No, you can't do this! I've already put down my gun! Arrest me! You're a cop!"

Tim's roar interrupted him. "We were all once proud Marines. Your actions have tarnished our honor. Now I order you, soldier, pick up your weapon."

Lucius's eyes fell on the pistol on the ground, his body trembling uncontrollably. "No, please, I've retired. I have PTSD. No… you can't do this."

Tim remained unmoved; Lucius's cowardice only fueled his anger. "You have two choices now: either pick up that thing and shoot yourself in the head, or I'll shoot you dead."

He spat on the ground.

Lucius was terrified, tears streaming down his face, his hand trembling as he reached out.