Fatal Strike: Mercenary Road of Gunfire Ranger
Chapter 140: Dueling Through the Air

Chapter 140: Chapter 140: Dueling Through the Air

The suicide of a United States Soldier at the hospital was a big deal...

Mountain Eagle, accompanying Tessa, ran to the ward where the incident occurred and saw a nurse slumped beside the door, a body lying on the bed with a gaping head wound, and an all too common Glock 17 placed beside the corpse.

The deceased soldier’s calf was wrapped in gauze, his upper body tilted towards the end of the bed, while his rigid legs hung off the bed’s edge.

It looked as if he had been sitting on the bed’s edge when he took the pistol to his own head and fired.

Mountain Eagle watched as Tessa put on gloves to examine the scene, then he pulled Gru aside and whispered, "Seal off all hospital exits; this isn’t suicide, there’s an assassin hiding in the hospital."

Gru, upon hearing this, nodded gravely and began to summon other officers over the radio...

Although he still focused on searching for the assassin, Mountain Eagle had already roughly realized the crux of the problem...

Now, with Yellow Shirts surrounding the hospital, pressure from the United States could not penetrate the hospital.

But the continuous stream of videos leaking out from the hospital were like repeated slaps to the face of the United States, dealing a tremendous blow to the legitimacy of their overseas military operations.

If they waited too long, things would become more and more uncontrollable; the United States needed a pretext to pull their people out, even if it was to extract them for execution, rather than leaving them here to be pestered by journalists reveling in chaos.

The assassin’s actions were somewhat contradictory; he staged a suicide scene, but the very presence of the gun defied logic.

What needed to be done was to lock down the hospital and the information, and then find the assassin as quickly as possible, stalling for as much time as we can.

However, Mountain Eagle felt that given Thailand’s political situation, once another soldier died from an ’accident’ at the hospital, Tessa’s mother wouldn’t be able to hold off for long.

Gru was reliable in his work; the soldiers of the 191 Special Forces had no strong connections with the local police and were all vetted for loyalty; within just a few minutes of the order being given, the floor where the incident occurred and all access points to the hospital were sealed off.

Mountain Eagle entered the sickroom where the incident happened, and just as he was about to remind Tessa, the female officer from the Crime Investigation Bureau stood up with a furrowed brow, her tone somber, "He didn’t commit suicide; someone killed him and then left the gun here..."

Mountain Eagle knew well how to inspire someone like Tessa’s initiative; he feigned curiosity, asking, "How can you tell?"

Tessa, now engrossed in her work, pointed to the dead soldier’s hand and said, "His right hand’s web and nail crevices are very clean, the web of the left hand has a thin gun callus, and there are some residues in the crevice of the nails.

The left hand was his dominant hand!

He only injured his leg; there’s no reason he would commit suicide with his non-dominant hand."

Speaking, Tessa manipulated the pierced head of the corpse with her gloved hand, then measured the height and angle, quickly finding a bullet hole in the lower part of the wall opposite the bed.

Tessa knelt on the ground, pried the bullet embedded in the wall with a multi-functional army knife, and placed it into a sealed plastic bag, then stood up and moved to the position near the head of the bed. Simulating with her left hand as a gun, she said, "People committing suicide usually have a bullet trajectory that is parallel or slightly upward. Someone took the opportunity to shoot him while he was sitting at the side of the bed...

The person’s height should be about the same as mine, no more than 165 centimeters."

Watching Tessa get more and more excited as she spoke, Mountain Eagle timely said, "The culprit used a Glock 17, which is common in Thailand, but you should notify all the police in the hospital to conduct a self-check, first confirming whether their guns are still there."

Tessa, momentarily stunned, nodded vigorously and then picked up the radio to call all the officers in the hospital to self-check and report quickly.

Then Tessa looked at Mountain Eagle with a frowned brow, "This method is very crude, it can’t fool any professional..."

Mountain Eagle, with a somewhat grave expression, said, "Is it possible that the opponent didn’t intend to hide at all?"

Tessa, upon hearing this, frowning, said, "What do you mean? The assassin is deliberately exposing himself..."

Mountain Eagle shook his head, "If I were the assassin and could enter the ward without being detected, there would be many ways I could silently kill this poor fellow.

Gru and his team arrived here right after the gunshot, but didn’t see anyone suspicious, which means the assassin was cautious and professional.

But the assassin chose to shoot, and moreover left the gun...

If the gun belongs to a police officer from the hospital, what you need to consider now is how to deal with external pressure.

Because if this was planned, very soon someone will package this murder as a ’hate crime’, use political pressure to force you to extradite these soldiers, or arrange for personnel to enter the hospital for investigation.

Either way, your media campaign will have to stop."

Tessa is proficient in case investigation but somewhat naive regarding political issues; after listening, she anxiously said, "What should we do? Our ’media interrogation’ work has not even reached one-fifth..."

Mountain Eagle spread his hands, "First, ensure the safety of the remaining soldiers, and you best call your mom for her opinion.

Then we’ll do everything possible to find the assassin..."

He looked at Tessa with a touch of sympathy, "Tessa, you need to be mentally prepared; there might be issues with the police in the hospital.

Without help from someone on the inside, the assassin could not have silently infiltrated the ward to kill.

And this might not even be the worst-case scenario..."

Upon hearing this, Tessa frowned and said, "Could the situation get any worse?"

Mountain Eagle pulled Tessa over to the window of the hospital ward, lifted a corner of the curtain, and pointed to the Yellow Shirts surrounding the hospital entrance below, saying, "If I were the puppet master, I’d have the Assassin kill one or two of the interrogated United States Soldiers, then walk out and surrender openly, suggesting to the police that they have an insider...

I would package the Assassin as a ’radical Avenger’ and label the police involved as populist-leaning problematic officers, thereby putting more pressure on the Thai Police...

Under such circumstances, the Thai Police Team itself might face investigation."

Upon hearing this, Tessa excitedly asked, "What do we do?"

Mountain Eagle spoke gravely, "Lock down the hospital, no one, including the police, may enter or exit, and we refuse other departments’ personnel from entering the hospital.

We need to find and eliminate the Assassin before our opponents make their move, which would give us room to maneuver."

While speaking, Mountain Eagle looked at Tessa’s tense face, and he said with a smile, "Don’t be too nervous; actually, we are not without opportunities to counterattack...

The Assassin is targeting those American soldiers. If we make them believe that the Assassin is coming to silence them, then some of them might choose to seek help from the police out of fear..."

Tessa’s eyes lit up and she said, "We should lock down all the wards and cut off the soldiers’ channels of communication with the outside world, using the Assassin to create pressure for them."

Mountain Eagle nodded slightly and said, "If necessary, we can employ some tactics to make them feel that their lives are not secure..."

Speaking of which, Mountain Eagle looked at Tessa’s suddenly enlightened face and laughed, "Find an interrogated American soldier, and let’s go have a chat with him..."

Tessa frowned and asked, "What are you planning to do? Those soldiers can’t die in the hospital."

Mountain Eagle smiled as he walked out, saying, "Before acting, we must be prepared. Since our opponent isn’t just a simple Assassin, it’s best if we also prepare some preliminary measures before we act, to buy us some time and excuses for delays.

This is called ’Skill Pre-shake’ in games..."

Tessa caught up with Mountain Eagle and asked, "What exactly are you going to do?"

Mountain Eagle didn’t have time to explain in detail to Tessa; he called over two Bodyguards, Suka and Jelate, at the door of the ward, and said, "I need someone to take a bullet, which of you is the better actor?"

Suka and Jelate were subordinates of Gru, and they had known Mountain Eagle since his first day as a cop...

After going through a series of battles, they had high trust in each other.

After hearing what Mountain Eagle said, Suka and Jelate looked at each other, and then Jelac expressed his concern, "Really take a bullet?"

Mountain Eagle shook his head and replied, "As long as those American soldiers believe it’s real..."

Speaking, Mountain Eagle pulled Tessa, who was about to speak, and said, "You are responsible for finding the Assassin in the hospital, and also contact the media outside...

Make sure to reveal the information that an Assassin attempted to assassinate a United States Soldier, and that Jelate risked his life to protect the soldiers, as soon as possible."

Tessa frowned and nodded, responding, "Are you planning to impersonate the Assassin?"

Mountain Eagle grinned and nodded, "I need to change clothes, then give an American soldier a little surprise. After that, Jelate will come rushing in to protect the hostages, I’ll fire a shot at him, and then run away."

Mountain Eagle looked at Tessa’s worried face, smiling, "Don’t worry, I will act with a radio. If I encounter any police or Task Force 191 intercepting, I will inform you to divert them.

If I’m lucky, perhaps I might find the Assassin before you!"

...

While Mountain Eagle was guiding Tessa to act according to his plan, a middle-aged Caucasian man boarded a van two blocks from the hospital...

After getting in the van, the middle-aged man adjusted his tie and lifted his arm to blow his sweaty armpit with air from the AC vent, then passed a leather bag to a smoking old Thai man...

"Here is forty thousand dollars..."

The old man flicked his cigarette butt out through the crack in the car window, then opened the leather bag to count the money...

"Don’t worry, my man is already inside. He has killed that guy according to your requests, and now he’s looking for the chance to kill another, and then he will walk out and surrender."

The old man, flashing his yellow teeth, said, "Are you sure you don’t want a few more dead?

Since that guy is going to be taken down in the end, might as well let him do something more..."

The middle-aged man decisively shook his head and replied, "Do as we requested; just kill another idiot who confesses, and then apply some pressure on those media reporters. That’s enough.

Remember, as soon as the footage of his surrender is captured, find a way to silence him immediately."

Saying this, the middle-aged man opened the van door and stepped out, saying as he left, "Don’t disappoint me, or you won’t be able to bear the consequences..."

After watching the middle-aged man leave, Old Man Yellow Teeth directed the driver to go and pulled out his phone to make a call...

"Tom, four thousand dollars wired, kill another and scare those reporters a bit, then head out to surrender. Our people will rendezvous with you on the way to the police station...

Do it nicely, and with these four thousand dollars, your debt will be cleared!"