Chapter 161: Confrontation and Awakening

Chapter 161: Chapter 161: Confrontation and Awakening

Heath Hale’s eyes narrowed. ’Setting something up? Looking for secrets?’

"Who knows? I have no idea why Big Sis insisted we come over." Another male voice spoke, tinged with confusion. "Was there something wrong with the interrogation report from the sanatorium? Big Sis looked terrible after she read it."

Sometimes, she’d even give this really creepy laugh.

The man didn’t say that last part out loud, though.

The female voice from before, exasperated, slapped her companion on the back of the head. "What are you talking about?! If Big Sis heard you, you’d be dead meat!

Hurry up and get this thing installed, aimed right at that bomb. Even if we don’t find any secrets, maybe Big Sis will be happy watching the video of this cop getting blown up and she’ll cut us some slack!"

’Let’s not end up on the verge of being abandoned like Six.’

Thinking about Six’s recent, extremely difficult situation, the woman swallowed hard.

’If someone as capable as Six ended up like this, what chance do small fry like us have?’

’One mistake, and you’re just thrown away!’

Heath Hale made a few hand signals to Barry Quinn and Monkey. After confirming they understood him, he looked over at Zoe Sawyer.

He made three signals to her: move, behind, quickly.

’Move the door quickly behind those two so Heath Hale can grab them!’

Her previous rigorous training paid off. Zoe Sawyer understood Heath Hale’s meaning in an instant and nodded frantically to show she got it.

Time was short. Heath Hale quickly let go of the hand covering Zoe Sawyer’s mouth, grabbed the doorknob, and moved the door behind the two people who had just been talking with all the speed he could muster.

At that moment, the two were facing the wall, fiddling with the devices in their hands.

"So we just mount this? Where’s the switch?" the man asked, looking at the device in his hand with confusion. There wasn’t any switch on it!

’How are we supposed to use it then?’

’Don’t tell me it’s on the whole time?’

"It’s remote-controlled. Once we’ve installed it, we call the assistant next to Big Sis, and he’ll turn it on." The woman found the right spot. Just as she was about to have her partner stick the device to the wall, she suddenly noticed their shadows had changed direction.

’Someone’s here!’

The thought flashed through the woman’s mind, and she instinctively drew her pistol.

Before she could even aim, Barry Quinn and Monkey lunged at her from the left and right, pinning her down. A swift chop to the neck knocked her unconscious.

But her finger still pulled the trigger, and a bullet shot into the floor.

The muffled gunshot echoed throughout the entire basement level.

Evan Keller, who had just finished a sweep with his team and confirmed there were no civilians left, stopped dead in the stairwell between the first floor and the basement level.

’Was that... a gunshot?’

’There are people in the basement! And they’re armed!’

At this thought, Evan Keller couldn’t help but quicken his pace, simultaneously signaling for the team members behind him to tread lightly.

’When you don’t know who you’re up against, it’s always best to be cautious.’

The moment they had the two subdued, Barry Quinn and Monkey took their phones, some suspicious equipment, and the surveillance monitor they were holding, and tossed everything into an iron box Zoe Sawyer had ready.

This iron box was custom-made, built from military-grade materials the director had specially requested from his superiors.

It was made for exactly this type of situation.

They then dragged the two unconscious individuals into an office, with Monkey personally standing guard. If they showed any sign of waking up, he was to give them another chop.

These two weren’t going to be waking up until today’s business was settled.

Zoe Sawyer remained by the door, ready to provide support, while Heath Hale and Barry Quinn carried their tools over to the bomb.

Heath Hale breathed a sigh of relief once he saw the actual device.

’Good. It’s a model I’ve seen before. I know how to deal with it, but it’ll take some time.’

There was no time to waste. With that settled, Heath Hale began to work on the bomb.

Normally, this should be handled by a more specialized professional wearing a bomb suit.

But the situation was urgent, and desperate times called for desperate measures.

They didn’t have time to wait for a specialist to arrive, so they decided to handle it themselves.

Barry Quinn stood guard on one side with his gun raised, while Zoe Sawyer moved the door behind Heath Hale.

If anything went wrong, she could pull the two of them back at a moment’s notice, minimizing casualties as much as possible.

Meanwhile, Evan Keller was cautiously approaching the basement level, his pistol raised.

"Sounds like someone’s coming," Barry Quinn said, his ears catching some very faint footsteps. He aimed his gun toward the corridor.

If it was an enemy, he would fire immediately.

Zoe Sawyer’s expression was tense as well, ready for anything.

Evan Keller had also reached the area, his expression grim.

He didn’t know what the situation was on the other side, nor how many people there were.

Rushing out recklessly could easily lead to casualties.

But a standoff wasn’t a solution, either.

Just as Evan Keller was wrestling with what to do, Zoe Sawyer sharply spotted a reflection on a piece of steel not far away.

Evan Keller’s face was a bit blurry, but after spending so much time with him recently, Zoe Sawyer was very familiar with his build and posture.

The blurry figures behind him also looked like Evan Keller’s team members.

Realizing it was Evan Keller, Zoe Sawyer called out, breaking the standoff. "Don’t worry! It’s Evan Keller!

Evan, it’s us! Don’t worry, come on over!"

Upon hearing Zoe Sawyer’s voice, Evan Keller and Barry Quinn simultaneously lowered their pistols.

"Zoe? Weren’t you at the station? What are you doing here?" Evan Keller asked as he strode over.

His team members followed, a hint of relief on their faces.

’It’s not the enemy. Thank God.’

"Rather than waiting for news at the station, I figured I’d come help. And look, we’ve already got something to show for it," Zoe Sawyer said, stepping aside to reveal Monkey and the two unconscious individuals she’d been blocking from Evan Keller’s view.

Then, as if a thought struck her, Zoe Sawyer asked in surprise, "You guys got here so fast. Don’t tell me you were already on the basement level?"

"Yeah, we were on the stairs heading down when we heard a gunshot. We thought it was the bad guys, so we rushed over," Evan Keller said, rubbing his nose in embarrassment.

’So there were enemies, they’d just already been taken care of by our own people.’

After speaking, Evan Keller turned his gaze to Heath Hale, who was in the middle of defusing the bomb. He had already carefully removed the bomb’s outer casing, revealing a complex web of wires inside.

The moment they saw what was inside, everyone instinctively held their breath, watching Heath Hale’s every move without daring to stir.

Zoe Sawyer glanced at Evan Keller and his team members, then back at the two people who were still unconscious.

A sudden flash of insight struck her.

’So that’s what the door’s warning was about?’