Chapter 156: Violent District
Soon, the police officer posing as a criminal not only opened the car door but also swiftly dumped the two prison guards out, leading his supposed guide, Leito, to the 13th District—a place feared by all New Yorkers.
But before he could get too carried away, Leito swiftly handcuffed him to the steering wheel, mercilessly exposed his identity, and pointed his concealed weapon at his head.
"You're a cop, but you're just a bit of a wise guy," the officer shouted at Leito as he drove. "Let me go!"
"Didn't you want me to bring you here?" Leito remained unmoved. "Now that you're here, you can look up your police manual and find a procedure for what to do in this situation."
"Leito, I'm really not a cop! Let me go! You're the one who got me out of prison. You can't do this to me," the officer shouted, struggling twice without success.
But his supposed escape was merely a performance for Leito's benefit. While Leito observed the situation outside, he had already slipped a wire into the keyhole of the handcuffs and secretly unlocked them.
"I don't give a damn what a cop does!" Leito yelled at the officer. He had no love for them; they were the reason he was locked up.
He and his sister had taken the biggest drug dealer in District 13 to the police station, only to be thrown in jail while his sister was taken from the station by the drug boss! Could anything be more screwed up than this?!
Unable to bear it any longer, he could only vent his anger on the chief of District 13.
The undercover officer tried to push harder: "Wait, aren't you going to save your sister?"
"I'll save my sister myself," Leito said without turning back.
Leito was about to leave when the officer unlocked the handcuffs, slammed them back, and pinned him to the railing: "I don't understand how you knew I was a cop."
"The way you move, your training, and the fact that you're clean—I'd know if you were a gangster." Leito had no choice but to answer.
"What are you talking about?"
"Hatred."
The cop helplessly threw up his hands. "Sorry, I haven't learned that yet. All I've learned is liberty and justice for all!"
"Ha! You can ask the people in this neighborhood—who cares about that?" Leito leaned nonchalantly against the railing.
"Do you know why I'm here? There's a massive bomb in this godforsaken place. It's a nuclear device the military recently lost. It's been activated. If I can't deactivate it within two hours, this whole damn place will be blown to smithereens! Now you know what you have to do, right?"
...
Elsewhere, with Matilda's help, Ron also infiltrated Block 13 and reached the building across from Taha, the drug dealer most likely to have gotten the big package.
It had to be said that this place was truly eye-opening. For the first time, he realized there could actually be a place surrounded by high walls not far from the city center—the embodiment of urban decay, isolated from the world.
"I've got to ask, is there no law enforcement in this place? Where are the cops? What the hell are they for?" These politicians were actually capable of such schemes. It completely changed Ron's worldview.
"Cops? Did you know that the last police precinct here was shut down six months ago?" Matilda showed a sarcastic smile: "I sometimes think it was a mistake to be born here. I even asked Leon—is life only this tough in childhood, or has it always been like this?"
"I bet his answer was that life has always been like this." Ron showed a smile: "That guy was always terrible at cheering up women."
Matilda retorted: "Better than being smooth-talking."
Ron didn't continue dwelling on this topic. He was already using binoculars to observe the situation across the way: "The old guy who looks like a hairless ape is the infamous Taha? He doesn't seem like much. He looks no different from my old high school principal who was incontinent and stuck in a wheelchair."
"But I guess he can probably use the bathroom by himself. Oh my God, what am I seeing? Who's the woman chained up like a dog at his feet?"
Matilda took the binoculars and frowned slightly: "That looks like Lola, Leito's sister. He's pretty well-known in this area."
"Are you sure they're not accomplices of the Taha crew?" After receiving Matilda's confirmation, Ron rubbed his hair in annoyance. "Damn it! One RPG could have done the trick, but now it looks like we need a plan."
"Are you insane? An RPG? Don't you know there's a massive device in there that could level the entire city?!" Matilda was horrified.
"Relax, unless the detonator itself is triggered, even if you set off a regular bomb next to it, it probably won't go off with it. That's basic knowledge."
"Okay, but before you do anything, we have to get her out first." Matilda's sympathy was touched.
Ron's lips curled into a strange smile. No wonder he'd felt a strange sense of familiarity since arriving in New York. When he saw Matilda, he'd been thinking of the plot of Léon: The Professional, but it suddenly clicked.
This story, this plot—isn't it about violent districts?
For instance, where did the nuclear weapons subplot in Léon: The Professional come from?
If Ron remembered correctly, the nuclear bomb was a complete government conspiracy, destined from the outset to be lost, seized by a group of self-righteous drug dealers in the 13th district, and detonated. The plan was to completely eradicate this urban cancer so close to downtown. It was a truly ruthless scheme, but it was unfortunate that the unsuspecting Orlov got caught up in it, dragging Ron into it.
With that analysis, the bomb wasn't actually dangerous, as long as the cop didn't go crazy and actually enter the "disarm" code.
Ron had a vivid memory of the movie; it was arguably the first true parkour film. In his previous life, Ron had practiced parkour for two months after watching it, only stopping when he nearly broke his leg.
Wait! Ron suddenly realized something.
If everything unfolded as planned, Ron's trip would have been essentially pointless. He could have simply checked into a nice Manhattan hotel and enjoyed his vacation. The protagonist would have taken care of everything.
But if he got involved and offered some help to that parkour-skilled guy, perhaps even helping him rescue his sister, would Ron—now that he had won Leito's favor—be able to unlock his parkour abilities?
This was a skill he had been obsessed with since his previous life!
Ron's eyes gleamed as an idea formed. His expression changed, and he said firmly, "Of course, we have to rescue her!"
Matilda was a little surprised. She had originally thought Ron would use the mission as an excuse to refuse her request. She had even prepared to act alone to rescue Lola.
"Really? What's your plan?"
"Look," Ron pointed down. Downstairs, a thug with "K2" shaved into his head was leading two muscular men out of the building next door. "If I'm not mistaken, one of those two is the Leito you mentioned."
"Yes, the one with the hair," Matilda nodded worriedly.
"If he's as capable as you say, I don't think those ordinary drug dealers can hold him. I can just infiltrate from the roof of that building over there and rescue the girl."
Ron pointed to a taller, unfinished building on the other side. The distance from that building to the building occupied by the drug dealers was nearly sixty feet—far beyond the limit of human leaping ability. Not just humans! No animal could jump that far.
"Are you kidding me?!" Matilda said angrily, "How is that possible from over there? Nobody can jump that far! If you don't want to save people, I can go by myself!"
"Give me ten minutes, or you can go grab me a coffee. When you get back, I promise to show you how I got there." Ron didn't intend to argue with her. He just pointed to the sneakers on his feet and said, "Nike—Just Do It!"
"You're full of it!" Matilda snorted heavily, turned around and left to buy Ron coffee. She wanted to see how Ron was going to back up his boast.
After Matilda left, Ron immediately climbed up to the unfinished building, opened his case, took out the drone, tied one end of the rope under the drone, and flew it over remotely, securing a bowline knot to the railing on the roof of the opposite building.
Then, with a tug on the rope, it was completely secure. He was now three stories higher than the roof of the drug dealer's building. Ron fastened the other end of the rope to a load-bearing beam, picked up a piece of discarded rebar, bent it into a U-shape, and hung it on the rope.
A simple zipline was quickly completed, and Matilda had just returned after all this.
"Oh my God, how did you do all that?"
Ron pointed at the drone on the opposite building. "If you had a gadget like that, I'm sure you could do it too."
"But how are you going to get back?"
Ron picked up another rope and tied one end around his waist. "Go down six floors. I'll lower it to you. Just help me tie the other end securely, and I'll quickly slide the girl down the rope to you."
Matilda nodded.
Lola was on the top floor with the drug dealer leader, Taha. Ron could easily slide down the zipline he'd constructed and rescue the girl.
Then, using the rope around his waist, he'd tie it to the other side, connecting it to the one controlled by Matilda, and a return route would be completed instantly.
Ron estimated that if there weren't too many guards on the opposite rooftop, the entire rescue operation wouldn't take even five minutes.
"Now, let me see what weapons you've prepared for me. Orlov must have told you, right? I need a lightweight firearm with a high rate of fire."
Matilda nodded and handed him her case. "Because you arrived so quickly, I only had time to find this."
Ron opened the case. A sleek black firearm lay quietly inside. It was the famous MP5 submachine gun, along with five fully loaded magazines.
"Using a German gun to cause trouble on American soil? I like that." Ron pulled the charging handle, checked that it was operational, and slung it over his body. He then secured the five magazines and three grenades on his person.
"Well, let's get started."
Matilda scurried down the building. Ron felt the rope around his waist tug twice, then he leaped, grasping the U-shaped steel bar. Gravity pulled him forward, sending him hurtling toward the opposite building.
As he drew closer, Ron saw that besides the hairless old man, there were four other thugs guarding the room, each armed with an assault rifle.
They were all distracted, staring at Lola, who lay like a pitiful dog on the ground. Occasionally, they'd scratch themselves when the boss wasn't looking. But the scratching went on too long, and once they stopped, no one noticed Ron approaching.
A sneer crossed Ron's lips. "Go to hell, you bastards!"
He pulled the trigger and fired into the room.
The rattle of gunfire erupted, instantly cutting down two guards.
"We're under attack!" a guard yelled, preparing to return fire, but before he could even spot Ron's position, Ron fired a burst of rounds, taking him out. The moment he opened his mouth to shout, Taha, who had seemed to be dozing in his chair, rolled under the table.
Now that's what you call professionalism! No wonder he's the boss!
Seeing his zipline running out, Ron let go, using his forward momentum to crash through the window, rolling to his feet.
The last remaining guard in the room just reacted, panicking as he raised his weapon. Before he could fire, he was dropped by a burst from Ron's gunfire.
With a crisp "click," the MP5 ran empty. Ron had just pulled the magazine out when Taha, who had been hiding under the table, suddenly popped up with a pistol.
"Watch out!" Before Lola could finish her warning, Ron whipped the empty magazine, hitting Taha right in the eye. The pain was so intense that he could only fire blindly with his eyes closed.
"Bang, bang!" He fired two shots in succession, both missing completely. When he was about to fire the third shot, he suddenly felt pain in his leg. Lola had bitten his calf without him realizing it.
"Get off me, bitch!" Taha turned the gun around and was about to blow Lola's head off, but a cold gun barrel was already pressed against his temple.
Ron's cold voice rang out in his ear: "Drop it, scumbag!"
"Don't be hasty, my friend. I have a lot of money. No matter what part of the world you're from, I believe I can make it worth your while, as long as you spare my life."
"A lot of money? How much money?"
Taha showed a relieved expression. Talking about money meant there was still hope: "I have almost..."
"Bang!" Before he could finish speaking, Ron had already pulled the trigger: "No matter how much money—sorry, I'm not interested."
(End of chapter)
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