Chapter 1158 - 508: Arrest
The tourists and the patrol officer all had their backs to Luke, making it hard to see their faces; however, the patrol officer's shoes caught Luke's attention.
A pair of brown thick-soled leather shoes, just like the ones worn by the suspect Tapani Reagan.
"Jackson, I think I may have found Tapani Reagan. He must have already planted a bomb in the city hall. You handle evacuating the crowd, and I'll go catch him."
"Captain, do you want me to go with you?"
"Do as I say, and also report to headquarters; the suspect, Tapani Reagan, is likely wearing a police uniform." The police's goal is not only to capture Tapani Reagan, but preferably also to prevent the bomb from exploding.
But given the current situation, capturing Tapani Reagan and learning the whereabouts of the bomb from him won't be easy. The most prudent approach is to evacuate the crowd first to minimize casualties.
Luke drew his handgun and also veered into the side entrance of the city hall. The patrol officer moved quickly, Luke only caught a glimpse of his back before he entered the path on the right.
Luke felt that he was indeed suspicious and quickly pursued, but just as he reached the entrance to the passage.
"Thud..." Something landed at his feet.
Upon looking down, he saw it was a grenade.
Luke didn't have time to think; instinctively, he dove to the ground.
With a "boom," the grenade exploded directly.
The blast made Luke's ears ring loudly.
A voice sounded in his mind.
[Bullet-Proof Card activated and used.]
As expected of a retired soldier, the guy was even more alert than Luke had anticipated.
The Bullet-Proof Card lasts for three minutes during which Luke won't suffer substantial damage.
Luke got to his feet and pursued once again.
Through the smoke and dust, Luke once again saw the officer wearing brown thick-soled leather shoes.
"Lapd."
"Bang bang..."
Almost simultaneously, they both fired shots at each other.
Luke felt a bullet graze past his cheek.
In the face-to-face shootout, Luke finally saw the other person's face clearly; it was indeed Tapani Reagan.
Tapani Reagan was shot in the shoulder, seemingly not expecting Luke to be so fierce. He dared not engage directly and fired while fleeing.
He took refuge behind a tent on the lawn.
Beside the tent, a homeless man hiding there looked nervously at Tapani Reagan and asked, "Why is that person attacking you?"
Tapani Reagan paused for a moment, looked down at his police uniform, and said, "He is a wanted terrorist."
The homeless man inhaled deeply, "Need help?"
Tapani Reagan could feel Luke approaching, and he was already hurt, possibly no match for Luke, especially with a large number of officers soon to arrive for support.
Tapani Reagan handed a spare gun to the homeless man, "If he comes over, we'll both die, and you'll be silenced too. I'll count to three, and we both shoot at him simultaneously.
If I die, you run immediately."
"I'm... not a coward." The homeless man took a deep breath, feeling oddly touched by the concern, gripping the gun in his hand firmly.
"Three, two, one, shoot!"
Following the agreement, the homeless man stood up and fired at Luke.
"Bang bang..."
Seeing this, Luke was somewhat taken aback, firing three shots at the homeless man's wrist, enhanced by the Accuracy Card.
One bullet missed, but the other two hit the homeless man's arm.
With an "Ah," the gun dropped from the homeless man's hand, and he screamed in pain.
Luke pointed to the police badge on his chest, "Bastard, look closely, I'm the police."
Luke wasn't sure if the other person was genuinely a homeless man or Tapani Reagan's accomplice, so he didn't immediately aim to kill.
The homeless man then realized, turned to look for the man in the patrol uniform, and found that at the count of one, the person hadn't fired but turned to flee—this bastard had used him as a pawn and tricked him.
"Fuck, I @#￥%..."
Tapani Reagan had already run quite a distance, making it difficult to hit him at that range, which was why Tapani Reagan dared to expose his back to Luke; he bet Luke couldn't hit him.
At this point, other patrol officers also heard the shots and came over, subduing the homeless man.
Luke didn't pursue but instead raised his gun to fire, despite the difficulty of hitting accurately at that distance, but with the Accuracy Card's aid, there was still a chance of hitting.
"Bang bang..." Luke fired continuously.
He emptied the entire magazine.
A bullet hit Tapani Reagan's calf, causing him to fall directly to the ground.
However, Tapani Reagan was tougher than expected; he got up, gritting through the pain, limping forward.
Under these circumstances, he couldn't run far, and took an Asian female tourist hiding in the corner hostage.
The Asian female tourist had never witnessed such a scene before and was already scared out of her wits, muttering, "Yamaete, yamaete..."
The mumbling annoyed Tapani Reagan, who snapped, "Shut up, or I'll shoot."
Luke also caught up, "Tapani Reagan, you can't escape, surrender!"
Tapani Reagan held the Asian female tourist with a gun to her head and addressed Luke, "Buddy, you're a good shot; pity we met a bit late, otherwise I'd surely have a proper showdown with you."
Luke replied, "Didn't we just have a showdown?"
"No, I specialize in rifles, and this is your turf, which isn't fair."
"When is there fairness on the battlefield? You've been a soldier for so many years and haven't understood this?"
Tapani Reagan gave a wry smile, "You're right, I lost. This is the real battlefield, never able to choose the environment and opponent."
Luke said, "Let her go, you're not going to get away."
"I never thought of escaping; I'm just unwilling to end up like this. My best years have been spent fighting for the nation, but what have I gained? Injuries, betrayal from my wife, indifference from the government—I have nothing left now."
"As long as you cooperate with the police and expose the accomplices behind, I can help you become a state's witness."
"I don't need that, I don't want to be interrogated like a criminal, nor can anyone judge me."
At this point, more officers surrounded him, having been informed earlier by Jackson that the suspect might be impersonating a police officer.
Tapani Reagan glanced at the many officers, "You know, you shouldn't be arresting me; without me, that guy will lose control, and you'll unleash a real demon."
Luke asked, "What do you mean by that?"
Tapani Reagan didn't answer. His gun fell from his hand as he collapsed weakly to the ground.
The Asian female tourist took a glance and hurriedly ran away in fear.
Several patrol officers rushed over, kicking away the gun from his hand.
One of the officers, an African-American, crouched down to check his breath, "Sir, he's already dead."
Luke walked over too; though he had shot Tapani Reagan, neither gunshot was fatal, meaning Tapani Reagan likely poisoned himself.
At this point, Tapani Reagan's body changed, frothing at the mouth, veins on his neck protruding, skin reddening, "Everyone, step back immediately, Luke felt something was wrong with Tapani Reagan's condition."
"Boom!"
A loud bang erupted on the fourth floor of city hall, smoke and debris flying everywhere.
Luke grabbed a walkie-talkie and said, "Jackson, have you arranged for the evacuation?"
"Yes, sir. We've already triggered the alarm; most personnel have been evacuated."
Luke let out a sigh of relief, knowing that with the evacuation arranged, the police had fulfilled their mission; if a few stubborn individuals refused to leave and got injured by the blast, it wasn't the police's concern.
"Woo woo..."
The gunfire and explosions at city hall drew attention from all sides, with police cars, ambulances, and news vans all heading to city hall.
Today, Los Angeles was destined to dominate the headlines of global news sites.