Chapter 158
Chapter 158
"What is it?"
Jeremy spoke up, his gaze locked onto Jack.
His instincts screamed that this man was dangerous.
Diana, standing nearby, frowned slightly as she watched.
"I'd like to ask you something, Jeremy. Do you know this person?"
Jack pulled out a photograph of the nurse who had attempted to assassinate Robyn at the military hospital.
He slid it gently across the desk toward Jeremy.
Jeremy looked down at the photo, and the moment he registered the face, his pupils contracted sharply, his heart skipping a beat.
The photograph showed a woman in a nurse's uniform, plain-looking and unremarkable.
But he recognized her.
Because this person was the informant he had personally planted in the military hospital.
"I... I don't know her." Jeremy forced himself to stay calm, pushing the photo back, though his voice trembled involuntarily. "I don't know what you're talking about."
The moment Jack produced that photograph, Jeremy had figured out who Jack really was.
But he couldn't admit it!
Jack watched Jeremy's pitiful attempt at composure, a cold smile curling at the corner of his mouth.
"Don't know her?"
Jack leaned forward slightly, bracing his hands on the desk, his penetrating gaze locking onto Jeremy like a hawk.
"Fine. Let me ask you again."
He paused, his voice suddenly dropping to an icy tone filled with undeniable authority:
"Yesterday, at the military hospital, someone tried to assassinate Robyn. And she said 'you' ordered her to do it."
"Jeremy, are you really going to keep playing dumb?"
Jeremy's entire body trembled, beads of cold sweat instantly forming on his forehead.
He never imagined Jack would have traced this back to him.
"I... I really don't know..." Jeremy stammered, his eyes darting around frantically.
"Is that so?"
Jack let out a cold laugh, pulling another document from his pocket and tossing it casually in front of Jeremy.
"This is that nurse's confession. She's told us everything."
"I don't know what you're talking about!"
"This is slander!"
"Guards!"
"Someone, get in here!"
---
The heavy wooden office door was slammed open.
Four fully armed police officers rushed inside.
"Mr. McPherson!"
All four looked toward Jeremy.
"Arrest him!" Jeremy pointed at Jack, his voice hoarse and shrill, his body trembling slightly.
Whether from rage or fear, it was hard to tell.
At his command, the four officers immediately drew their weapons, aiming them at Jack.
Facing four fully armed cops with guns pointed directly at him, Jack didn't even blink.
He remained seated in that wide leather chair, hands folded calmly on his lap, his posture so relaxed it was as if he wasn't staring down gun barrels but watching a clumsy performance.
"Jeremy, are you sure you want to do this?"
"Do you even understand what you're doing?"
By now, Jeremy had figured out Jack's identity.
Cold sweat poured down his forehead like a waterfall, his uniform soaked through and clinging to his back.
Of course he knew what he was doing!
He was ordering his subordinates to aim their weapons at a three-star general who commanded entire armies!
This was treason. Mutiny!
If this got out, even as police chief, he was finished!
"I..." Jeremy's lips quivered as he tried to take back his order, but looking at Jack's utterly calm face, overwhelming fear and desperation consumed what little rationality he had left.
He knew he'd already crossed Jack completely. Even if he got on his knees and begged now, the man would never let him go.
"Take him down! If he resists, shoot to kill!!!" Jeremy suddenly erupted like a madman, roaring hysterically.
The four officers flinched at Jeremy's crazed display, but with the order given, they gritted their teeth and advanced on Jack.
But in that critical moment—
Joseph moved.
No one saw how he did it.
Everyone only caught a blur, followed by a sharp sonic boom as if a gust of wind had suddenly torn through the room.
---
Four heavy, dull thuds of flesh meeting bone rang out in less than a tenth of a second, almost simultaneously.
Without even a scream, the four fully armed officers flew backward as if they'd been hit head-on by a speeding train.
Their weapons flew from their hands, arcing through the air before clattering into the far corner.
All four slammed into the office wall, then crumpled to the floor like sacks of wet cement, clutching their chests and stomachs, curled up in agony, unable even to stand.
From the moment Joseph struck to the complete incapacitation of all four officers—barely two seconds had passed.
The entire sequence was lightning-fast, executed with surgical precision.
The office fell into a deathly silence.
Only the occasional gust of wind outside and the officers' ragged, pained breathing could be heard.
Diana stood off to the side, her pupils contracting as she drew in a sharp breath. Watching Joseph's figure—like some angel of death—her mind reeled with shock.
'Is... is he even human?'
That kind of explosive power and precision could only come from an elite special forces operative forged in mountains of corpses and seas of blood.
And Jack, still seated in that leather chair with his hands folded calmly on his lap, hadn't moved an inch. Not even a wrinkle in his clothes.
He observed the shocking scene before him, a cold smile tugging at his lips as his gaze slowly shifted to the completely shell-shocked Jeremy.
"Jeremy."
"I don't have much time. Come with me."
With that, Joseph immediately stepped forward and twisted Jeremy's hands behind his back.
Jack rose leisurely to his feet.
"Don't move."
Just then, a cool voice rang out.
Jack looked up.
Diana had drawn her gun and was aiming it directly at him.
The black barrel, impossibly deep.
Though Diana's fingers were white from gripping the weapon too tightly, her eyes were resolute, locked firmly on Jack.
"Don't move..."
Diana took a deep breath, forcing herself to stay calm.
She knew exactly what kind of terrifying man she was facing. If she hesitated for even a second, that monster named Joseph would snap her neck before she could pull the trigger.
"I don't know what grudge you have against Jeremy, but even if he broke the law, it's the 'law's' job to punish him. You have no right to take him."
Diana spoke with righteous conviction.
Facing the gun barrel, Jack didn't stop. Instead, he raised an eyebrow slightly.
His deep gaze settled on Diana's cold, striking face, watching her chest rise and fall slightly from tension, a hint of amusement playing at his lips.
"Diana." Jack's voice was low. Not only did he not retreat, but he also took a step forward, straight toward the gun. "Are you sure you want to point that at me?"
Diana's heart skipped a beat, but she bit her lip, keeping the gun steady. "I'll say it one more time. Let him go, or I'll have to shoot."
"Shoot?"
Jack chuckled softly, the sound eerily calm in the silent office.
He stopped less than three feet from Diana, his penetrating eyes locking onto hers as if he could see straight through to her soul.