Reborn: The Rookie Detective

Suddenly, the sound of an engine rang out in the distance. Walker's Ford Raptor rushed down the other side of the hillside, circled around to the other side of the pickup truck, and drifted, its headlights shining directly at the two people hiding behind the vehicle.

"Texas Rangers, drop your weapons, you're under arrest!"

At Walker's roar, Jack quickly took two steps, went around the front of the truck, and found that the short man and a red-haired woman. She had already dropped her rifle, knelt on the ground, and seemed to be trembling uncontrollably with her head down, seemingly due to tension and fear, and was sobbing.

"Stan Morrison, damn it, is it really you?"

Walker got out of the truck, pointing his gun at the wounded man who was clutching his waist and leaning against the front wheel, his back turned to him. His tone was filled with anger and disbelief.

Seeing that Walker recognized him, the wounded man finally stopped burying his head in the sand, slowly turning his head, his eyes filled with despair.

"Yes, Cordell, it's me, old friend. I never expected to see you here."

This 60-something-year-old man with triangular eyes and brown hair was clearly a big shot. Seeing the situation was settled, Jack walked over to Walker, his gun still pointed at the man and woman on the ground, and started his spectator mode.

"So, now you want to take me to the police station or what?" Stan Morrison seemed indifferent.

Walker took two steps forward, pulled a plastic bucket from the back of the pickup truck, pulled a dagger from his leg, and stabbed it into the tightly wrapped small packets of stuff.

Jack glanced at the leaking grayish-white powder; a pungent odor wafted up — it was definitely cocaine.

"Stan Morrison, head of the Department of Public Safety, is running for politician and district attorney. Drug trafficking? Are you serious? Have you lost your mind?"

Jack raised an eyebrow. If he remembered correctly, the Texas Rangers were under the Department of Public Safety; in other words, this was Walker's superior's superior.

"The day I joined the Rangers, I swore an oath to you!!!" Walker lowered his gun, pacing back and forth in front of Stan, looking somewhat agitated.

"I was just controlled by them, yes, controlled. At first, I just wanted to earn some retirement money and distribute the drugs I got from drug enforcement," Stan argued.

"Then these 'Northern Nation' gangs found out about our operations. They wanted to keep going. Do you know how hard it is to climb out of the abyss? You guys did a fantastic job, you dealt them a heavy blow."

"So you bastard, personally came to transport their goods and protect their transactions?" Walker grabbed his collar and yanked him up from the ground.

"Only we Rangers know this route. You were eating Molly's stewed beef brisket at our house while you extracted the route from me so you could safely smuggle cocaine in from Mexico?"

Before he could finish his question, Jack felt like Walker was about to strangle him, so he quickly interrupted.

"How's Emily?"

Walker's agitated emotions calmed down a bit when his wife was mentioned.

"She's fine. The bullet went right through, but didn't hit any internal organs. Geri has stopped the bleeding."

"But you—" Walker turned his head again, grabbing Stan's collar and forcing him to look at him.

"Stan! Look me in the eyes!"

"Emily and Stella recognized you, didn't they? You've been an old friend of our family for so many years, huh? Thirty? Forty?"

"You watched Stella and Augie being born, you officiated at my and Emily's wedding, you came to our house every month to eat your favorite stewed beef brisket, and played with the kids. And now you've shot at them! How could you do such a thing, you bastard!"

Before he finished speaking, Walker had already put away his gun and punched Stan hard in the face. Stan didn't dare to fight back, leaning awkwardly against the pickup truck, raising one hand to shield himself.

Jack sensed something was wrong. Seeing that the guy was only using his left hand, which was covering his wound, to defend himself, while his right hand remained in his pocket, Jack quickly stepped forward, shoved Walker aside, grabbed Stan's right wrist, and twisted it hard, causing Stan to scream in pain.

He pulled his phone from his pocket; it contained a half-finished text message, ready to be sent to the local emergency center.

Jack tossed his phone to Walker, scoffed, and with a swift movement, shot the red-haired woman who had been feigning fear and crying the entire time, but was actually looking for an opportunity to pull a gun from her boot and launch a sneak attack.

As the body fell, a small revolver, no bigger than a palm, slipped from her hand — the consequence of poor acting.

Just then, Emily's Subaru pulled up nearby. Hannah stopped and turned to the two children, saying, "Take care of your mother, don't get out of the car."

Then she ran to Jack's side, observing the scene before her; clearly, she recognized Stan Morrison.

"They had a box of drugs fall out of their car, and Stella saw it. That bastard shot her right away. Emily was injured protecting Stella."

At that moment, Stella jumped out of her car, rushed to Stan, and kicked him hard in the knee.

"For a second I even wanted to pretend I didn't see anything. You bastard, how dare you shoot me and Mom!"

Hannah grabbed Stella from behind, forcibly pulling the emotionally distraught girl back into the car.

"Hannah, don't go to the hospital. Drive a bit further away and wait for us," Jack ordered, turning back.

Hannah managed a weak OK sign with one hand, shoved the still-struggling Stella into the back seat, closed the door, drove a short distance, then turned off the engine and lights, and waited where she was.

"So you were thinking of striking first, huh? Turning black into white? You really are a politician." Walker threw Stan's phone on the ground and fired a shot directly at it.

"We're dead, dead! You don't even know what you've done. You'll kill everyone. The 'Northern Nation' won't let us go. Even Molly and Bonham won't escape."

Stan, who had been trying to remain calm, had completely broken down. He collapsed to the ground, staring at the red-haired woman's corpse, muttering to himself.

"You don't know who she is. This woman is Carly, the woman of Bill, the boss of 'Northern Nation.' He won't let us go."

Seeing Walker's bewildered expression, Jack squatted down in front of Stan and patted his face with amusement. "You're the one who's dead, not us."

"Just two days ago, I encountered a group of cannibals in Lincoln National Forest, New Mexico. Guess what the FBI did?"

"They sent a team of operators, wiped out the cannibals, and all traces disappeared in the flames. Nobody knows what happened there. Even if someone heard the rumors and went there, they can't find a single piece of charred wood now."

"No, no, no, no, Cordell, you're the best ranger I've ever seen. You can't let him do this. I'm a friend of your family. This guy who came out of nowhere is not trustworthy. Don't listen to him. Arrest me! I'm willing to testify in court. Believe me, I swear!!!"

Stan looked at Jack slowly pointing the gun at him in a panic, shaking his head frantically and turning to Walker, pleading desperately.

"I'm a selfish bastard. I was just blinded by nervousness. Think about how I taught you. We're police officers, we should follow the rules. I beg you."

"You're right, I should follow the rules." Walker said this, but his right hand slowly rested on the holster at his waist.

"But you reminded me. You didn't just teach me. You're the chairman of the Department of Public Safety. How many corrupt cops in the system obey you? How closely are you colluding with 'Northern Nation'? No wonder we've paid so much and still can't eradicate this gang."

"No, please, Cordell, even for the safety of your family, for our friendship of so many years, I was wrong. Let me go to jail. You've always been righteous. Don't let my blood dirty your hands."

As if sensing the approach of death, Stan pleaded desperately, tears streaming down his face.

"For the safety of my family huh, thank you for your final teaching, Stan."

Bang!