Chapter 43 Encirclement and Counter-encirclement
A massive lightning bolt streaked across the sky. For a moment, the road was as bright as day, then it quickly plunged back into darkness as dense raindrops pounded against the car.
"That's just the warm-up." Marcus whistled and pulled out a Bluetooth speaker, slapping it on the car roof. He taunted arrogantly toward the back: "Hey, turtles, step on the gas! How do you expect to catch me crawling like that? Roger's in this car, come and get him!"
Roger's eyes widened: "Has Marcus lost his mind?"
"He's just got a lively personality." I pulled out a custom metal case from under the seat. Inside were 32 palm-sized bottles with slightly soft, cool-to-the-touch special material shells, all filled with explosives and hallucinogenic smoke.
I tossed two bottles out the window. The closest pursuing car slammed on its brakes, but it was too late—with a loud bang, thick gray smoke, and a strange smell blocked the road. The scene behind the smoke was unclear, but from the series of crashes, you could tell some people were having a really bad day.
Marcus whistled twice more, even more cheerfully.
We drove into the city and turned into a parking garage. Moments later, a car identical to ours drove out of the garage.
Roger looked in surprise at Marcus, who casually peeled the Bluetooth speaker off the roof, then at the identical car driving away with the same speaker, shouting provocations while drawing the enemy away.
"You guys planned this all along?"
"There are only so many routes from the airport to Platinum Haven Hotel. It's easy to guess their ambush and action routes." I tapped my head with my finger. "This is the digital age. It's not just about firepower—strategy wins. Get out."
The parking garage had several cars we'd prepared in advance. Marcus and I had to split up here.
Marcus touched my head: "Stay safe."
"You too." I hugged Marcus hard and watched him leave.
If our plan went smoothly, Marcus would soon flank the pursuers from behind and take out the main force attacking us tonight.
I switched to a sports car with Roger in the passenger seat. He rudely grabbed a pair of sunglasses from the case on my dashboard and put them on.
"Why are you wearing sunglasses in the middle of the night?" I asked. Doyle had said Roger was rebellious—clearly true!
"Sports cars should come with sunglasses for atmosphere!" Roger pulled the sunglasses down a bit. "Are you even a young person? You don't get this."
"All I know is you'd be better off wearing reading glasses!" I laughed and shook my head, driving to a park by the sea.
In the parking lot, I got a call from Brian. Gunshots rang out on his end—he sounded busy, too. We exchanged a few words and confirmed we were both safe.
I'd just put down my phone when Gale video-called me.
I saw him sitting in the hotel's chairman's office with a glass of whiskey beside him and James standing respectfully behind him.
The dim lighting deepened Gale's facial features. For a moment, I thought I was seeing my father, much younger.
"Bella?"
I snapped back and smiled: "I'm fine, Gale, don't worry. Was the hotel attacked?"
"The hotel's been on lockdown since the day before yesterday. We caught some rats, nothing major." Gale said casually.
Then I got a call from Karen.
Jonathan hadn't returned to Starstream City with us—he'd gone straight back to Dawnharbor with the diamond crown. I asked Karen: "Did Jonathan make it home safely?"
"He's fine, thank you, dear!" Karen's tone was light: "Tonight's situation is almost exactly as you predicted. Pay special attention to The Black Talons from the Chaotic Zone. Do you know their leader, Jerald McClellan?"
Me: "I do. He doesn't get along well with Lucas."
"That explains it." Karen said, "He's been very aggressive in stirring up other gangs to come after you. Before tonight's operation, he claimed he'd capture you and torture you badly to humiliate Lucas."
I narrowed my eyes slightly. "Got it."
"By the way, Lucas didn't go back to the villa. His whereabouts went dark ten minutes ago." I heard Karen typing on a keyboard. She complained: "It's this damn storm—the satellite image quality has dropped a lot."
Just then, Roger suddenly said, "Someone's coming!"
Several bright headlights appeared in the distance. I looked at the tablet on the dashboard—the map showed several green dots entering the park.
I ordered Adrian and Cole: "Move out, go to CineCruise Drive-In."
Roger asked, confused: "Aren't they your people?"
"The decoys we sent out don't know my location. Their mission is to lead enemies as far from me as possible. If they're approaching me, they've probably been captured by the enemy." I said decisively.
CineCruise Drive-In had no audience tonight, but someone had set up all the rain canopies. Hiding under the umbrellas, even the sound of rain grew quieter.
Roger was a bit frustrated: "Marcus is out there killing it, and you're just hiding."
I didn't bother with his small talk. The green dots spread out after entering the park, seemingly searching for me, gradually approaching CineCruise Drive-In.
"Not going to keep running?" Roger asked. "We're done for—CineCruise Drive-In only has one exit. We're about to be surrounded!"
"Yeah, about to be surrounded." I nodded dismissively.
Roger: "Why aren't you worried at all?"
A car burst through the rain and was the first to enter CineCruise Drive-In. I saw the people inside looking excited, but seeing we were outnumbered, they decided to retreat and regroup.
The car reversed a few yards before Adrian shot out its tires. The skidding car knocked over a large umbrella and nearly flipped.
Cole dragged three injured men from the car, handcuffed their hands behind their backs, and hauled them in front of my sports car, making them kneel facing the entrance with their backs to me.
When Jerald came in, this was the "welcome gift" he saw.
"Good evening." I turned on the Bluetooth speaker and raised the volume. "Jerald, if you retreat now, I can return these three hostages to you."
Jerald was under thirty, somewhat thin, with a bald spot at his hairline. He spat and shouted at me hoarsely: "Retreat? I've already lost dozens of men tonight. I'm about to catch you—why would I retreat!"
"No deal then? Alright." I waved at Cole. Cole turned and pulled a shotgun from the car, aiming it at the leftmost hostage's head.
"Don't—don't kill me."
"We're just following Jerald's orders!"
"Help! Jerald, retreat, save us!"
Cole expressionlessly pulled the trigger.
The scattered pellets pierced through all three men's heads. They fell neatly to one side.
My sports car's headlights were bright enough for Jerald to clearly see the blood and brain matter pumping out, and for me to see Jerald's terrified and furious expression.
He roared: "When I catch you, I'll line you up in a row too and shoot you all!"
Thirteen or fourteen fully armed people poured out of their cars—far more than my side. Adrian and Cole stood on either side of my sports car.
"Get out!" Jerald shouted viciously at me. "You're surrounded!"
"You're the one who's surrounded!" Lucas's voice cut through the night like white lightning, illuminating the sky.
Seven cars thundered in, spreading out in formation around Jerald's men.
Alfred got out and opened a large black umbrella, then opened the back door.
Lucas's expensive leather shoes stepped onto the ground, flowing with rainwater and blood. His left hand was in his pocket, his right hand held a cigarette.
He casually exhaled a shapeless smoke ring, his gaze sweeping past Jerald, through the swaying rain and bright lights, settling firmly on me.