Chapter 620: Unauthorized Action

"No. President Blackwood said it’s too dangerous." The man called King was their superior.

"But we can’t just let this Jason Summers guy get away, can we? If we catch him, we’ll all be credited for it. There will be a huge bonus, and I’ll finally have enough money for my daughter’s surgery."

The speaker’s face was etched with anxiety. He was desperate for the merit, desperate to cure his daughter’s illness.

King hesitated for a moment before replying, "No. The higher-ups ordered us to follow President Blackwood’s command on this mission."

"President Blackwood won’t even know. With the wind and waves this fierce, I’ll just go up and scout around. If I can catch Jason Summers, it’ll be a first-class merit."

The others chimed in. "I don’t think there will be any problems either. It’s completely quiet out there. Why don’t you just let him go?"

"Yeah, King. We are police officers who serve the people. We shouldn’t fear danger. I volunteer to go too!"

King finally relented. "Alright, alright. Old Man Lee, you sneak over and take a look. You’re a strong swimmer, so dive in and approach them quietly."

"No problem!"

Old Man Lee was the one who had volunteered to scout. He was a good guy who usually handled his tasks perfectly, so there shouldn’t be any issues this time either. His colleagues usually passed any opportunities for merit to him anyway. After all, his family was struggling financially, and they wanted to help him out however they could.

As he left, the men behind him reminded him to be careful.

To their surprise, a good while passed without any news.

"Who knows what’s going on with Old Man Lee. Why can’t we contact him?"

"Yeah, this is too worrying. Should we send someone else to check?"

"No, it’s too dangerous," King said. "We don’t know what’s happening on Old Man Lee’s end. We can’t send anyone else over."

"But you all know the Lee family’s situation. His daughter is severely ill at such a young age, and his wife is unemployed. If anything happens to Old Man Lee, their entire world will collapse."

The others fell silent. Then, someone spoke up. "We can’t just sit here and do nothing, right? I volunteer to go check on him! I’ll go too!"

And so, after two or three more men went out without any news or anyone returning, panic finally set in. No one else dared to go. They immediately contacted Quentin Blackwood.

"What? Didn’t President Blackwood tell you to just keep an eye on them and not act rashly?"

This time, even Zane Linton was angry. How could they act on their own in such an important matter? What were they supposed to do now?

"President Blackwood, we know we acted impulsively, but now we’ve lost contact with our brothers. We really don’t know what to do. Old Man Lee’s family has it too rough. He only went over without hesitation because he wanted to catch Jason Summers. He has a severely ill daughter and elderly parents at home who are in poor health. If something happens to him, his family definitely won’t be able to bear it."

Quentin’s brows knitted tightly together. "Fall back first."

"But what about Old Man Lee and the others—"

"Fall back!" Quentin commanded sternly.

This proved that Jason Summers was indeed on that ship. Perhaps Jason would use those men as bargaining chips to threaten them into letting him go. These were human lives. Once Jason used them as leverage, Quentin couldn’t possibly ignore the situation.

King and his men hurriedly returned to base, but three or four of their brothers were still missing.

Just then, a communication came through on Quentin’s end. It was a video call from Jason Summers. The call connected, and Jason’s figure appeared on the screen. Behind him was a brilliantly illuminated, luxurious cruise ship. It seemed Jason had truly boarded it.

"Quentin Blackwood. It’s been a long time. No, wait, it hasn’t been that long. We saw each other over the past couple of days. You guys have really made my life miserable recently."

Jason seemed to have washed up and changed into clean clothes. He had regained his former confidence.

"I thought I wouldn’t be able to leave, but now it seems the heavens are looking out for me. Look, they even arranged for you to send some police officers my way. These cops are quite nice; they look pretty young. Do you want to see them?"

With that, Jason turned his camera toward the police officers who had gone to scout.

"MMPH, MMPH..." They were all tied up, and someone standing next to them was pointing a gun at their heads.

"Quentin, let’s make a deal. Let me go, and I’ll release them. Otherwise, we can all die together."

Zane was beside himself with anxiety. This was such a great opportunity—perhaps their last opportunity. Were they going to just watch helplessly as Jason escaped?

"President Blackwood, no—"

"Fine. How do you want to negotiate? How do you want me to let you go?" Quentin’s expression remained as unreadable as ever. Whether facing Jason’s threats or anything else, no one could decipher what was going through his mind.

Zane felt it was a shame. How was Jason so lucky?

"It’s simple. Have your men withdraw. I’ll leave by helicopter. When the time comes, the people on the cruise ship will naturally be let go."

"I need to think about it," Quentin said.

"Alright, I’ll give you time to consider. How long do you need?" Thinking he had Quentin by the throat, Jason smiled gleefully.

"Half an hour."

"No problem," Jason agreed.

After hanging up, Quentin forwarded the recording to the police station. They confirmed the identities immediately.

"That’s right, that’s Old Man Lee, along with Zack and Jim."

"That damn Jason Summers! If he kills our brothers, we’ll definitely drag him down to hell with them!"

"But what do we do now? None of them have it easy. Old Man Lee is his family’s breadwinner. Jim just graduated from college not long ago, and he’s his parents’ only son."

It could be said that every one of them was a pillar of their family. If even the slightest mishap occurred, it would cause a lifetime of suffering for their loved ones.

Quentin stared at the cruise ship’s position displayed on the satellite map. "Are there any small yachts left?" he asked Zane.

"Yes."

"Arrange several empty ones to confuse Jason’s line of sight. Also, get some sailors to find a way over through the water and evade detection. I’ll circle around from the back, sneak onto the cruise ship, and subdue Jason."

Though he said "subdue," Quentin really wanted to finish him off. Jason was already a wanted criminal, and now he was kidnapping police officers. Even if Quentin killed him, it would be a justifiable hostage rescue. Moreover, Quentin was indeed the one who had brought these police officers out here.

"No, President Blackwood, it’s too dangerous. Let me go instead," Zane said.

"It’s exactly because it’s dangerous that I can’t let you go. Zane, you have a family too."

"But President Blackwood—"

"No buts. This is an order. If Jason calls, find a way to stall him. I will keep in contact with you; we’ll leave our line open. Once the backup arrives, have them prioritize rescuing the hostages." Quentin had made up his mind.

To Quentin, everyone’s life was equally important. Especially now that he had his own family and a baby, he truly understood what each person meant to their family.