With the battle over, the wounded were taken away by ambulances.
Suddenly, Owen thought of Monica's striking figure. If he was being targeted, then she and her two teammates were also on the bounty list. He decided to call her to warn her. She was supposed to be safe at the base, but when the call went through, no one picked up.
The phone rang for a long time. Just as Owen was about to hang up, someone finally answered.
"Who is this?"
Owen glanced at the screen—he had dialed Monica's number correctly. But the voice on the other end was male, and oddly familiar.
"This is Monica's phone. Who are you? I'm Owen, Monica's friend."
"Owen? Steve Owen?"
"Yeah. And you are?"
"This is Max Payne."
"Detective Payne?" Owen was puzzled. What was he doing with Monica's phone? They knew each other, but as far as Owen knew, they weren't close.
"Why do you have Monica's phone?"
Instead of answering directly, Max Payne said, "It's not something I can explain over the phone. You should come here."
A bad feeling crept up Owen's spine. He quickly checked in with Tony, then drove at full speed to the address Payne provided.
Owen pushed his car to the limit. As he neared the location, he saw police tape cordoning off the area and several patrol cars parked nearby.
He pulled over, approached the barrier, and flashed his CTU credentials. The officers let him through.
The house was an ordinary two-story suburban home, a typical middle-class residence. As soon as Owen stepped inside, he noticed a framed family photo—Monica, smiling brightly, standing with an older couple, most likely her parents.
It was rare to see her smiling like that. The usually cool and collected Monica had a softer side after all.
Forensic officers were working in the living room. Owen heard voices coming from a nearby room—one of them sounded like Ash. He walked over and, sure enough, found both Ash and Heat inside, along with Max Payne.
"Oh, Owen, you're here…"
Owen nodded and greeted Ash and Heat before getting straight to the point. "Monica's in trouble?"
"Yes…"
The scene spoke for itself. Even without being told, his instincts as a former cop kicked in. He immediately noticed bullet holes and shattered objects around the room.
Max Payne led them through the house, pointing at the broken door lock. "She must have just arrived home when the intruders broke in. They caught her off guard and attacked immediately."
The overturned furniture and the general mess suggested a struggle. Monica had been forced into a fight right after stepping inside.
Max then pointed at several spent shell casings on the floor, marked with evidence tags. "She must have broken free and engaged in a gunfight here. The forensic team hasn't confirmed it yet, but the bullets match her sidearm. She fired back."
Payne continued, mimicking a shooting stance as he reconstructed the event. "It was over quickly. She fired twelve shots, emptying her magazine. That suggests there were multiple attackers—she was trying to force them back. But there's no blood anywhere, which means she either missed or they were wearing body armor. The fight then moved to that room over there."
He pointed at more bullet holes in the walls and additional casings leading into another room.
Monica had tried to barricade herself inside and likely attempted to call for help. But it was too late. The intruders had used a flashbang, then forced their way in. That's where it ended.
Max gestured toward the damaged door—it had been nearly torn off its hinges. A hole in the window indicated where the flashbang had been thrown.
Owen silently examined the entire scene again. Payne's reconstruction was spot on. The evidence lined up exactly with his analysis.
Monica had been forced into that room. Ideally, she should have gone upstairs and defended the narrow staircase. The gunfire would have drawn attention, and the police would have been called. She just needed to hold out until help arrived.
But judging by the bullet spread, there were attackers at the stairs too. She had no choice but to retreat into the room.
The enemy, wary of her gun, had used a flashbang. But she was already out of ammo—evident from her sidearm on the floor, with the slide locked back.
Her phone lay nearby, marked with an evidence tag.
Owen walked through the room again and spotted something on the floor—a pack of chewing gum. Monica's favorite. She always carried it with her.
Clutching it in his hand, Owen could almost see the entire sequence of events—Monica stepping inside, getting ambushed, fighting back, and ultimately being overpowered and taken.
A familiar rage started bubbling inside him. He clenched his jaw, forcing himself to stay calm. What would Bryan do in this situation?
"Any other casualties? What about Monica's parents?" Owen asked, recalling the family photo.
"They passed away. Monica lived here alone."
Ash, who knew Monica best, answered.
"Why did she come home?"
Owen frowned. That was the part that didn't make sense. He had specifically warned them last time.
"She just wanted to grab some clothes. Her house is very close to the training base—just one street away from the central police station. We thought…"
Ash looked guilty. They had let their guard down. Days of relative calm had made them complacent.
Blaming anyone now was pointless. Owen contacted Chloe, but the news was bad—
All nearby security cameras had been disabled. The enemy had planned this in advance.
There were two options:
Track down the kidnappers and rescue Monica. Cut the problem at its source.
This whole mess started because of the Montel family. And right now, there was a high-ranking Montel in Los Angeles—Alex Montel.
If the first option was impossible, they had no choice but to take the second.
Whoever kidnapped Monica was connected to the Montel bounty. If it was just a hit, they would have simply killed her. There was no need for a flashbang or an abduction.
Killing someone and smuggling a live captive out of L.A. were two entirely different things in terms of difficulty.
That meant one thing—
Go to the prison.
Owen and Ash reached the same conclusion at the same time. Without hesitation, the three of them jumped into their cars and sped toward the prison.
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