NOVEL NEXT Chapter 12: Chapter 12
Sorry for the small break, got dragged for family holidays. As an apology, here's some bonus chapters!
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Chapter 12: Standoff
Tonight is destined to be a sleepless night. Even high above the bustling night market of Piltover, it should be cloaked in the night sky by now. However, at this moment, the Piltover Police Station is brightly lit. Countless police cars have surrounded the station, their searchlights at full blast, and armed officers are on high alert. Yet they have no means to deal with the perpetrator inside.
"What about my daughter now?" a councilor personally came to the front lines to inspect, placing immense pressure on the officers present, especially since the councilor is the mother of a hostage.
"Currently, the situation is unclear."
"What? How are you handling this! It's been hours already!" Caitlyn's mother glared, having completely lost her usual calm and elegance. Setting aside her status as a councilor, she was now just a mother worried about her child.
"We just found out Miss Caitlyn is still in the station, too..." The officers had no words. Although a situation where the chief of police is held hostage by a criminal is serious, it mostly just tarnishes the reputation of Piltover. But during investigations, they discovered Caitlyn is there as well! This isn't just about appearances anymore.
Typically, in a hostage situation like this, there might be ways to consider a forceful rescue. But with Chief Musk not present and no clear leadership, none of the officers dared propose an assault. After all, even if the rescue succeeds, it's not their credit; if there are any casualties, the one proposing the rescue would face the wrath of a grief-stricken mother.
So, negotiation it is. Negotiation experts had long been dispatched, but no matter how skilled they were, they couldn't communicate with a madwoman! No one knows who this "Justin" she keeps mentioning is, and she steadfastly refuses to negotiate by any other terms, almost shooting the negotiation expert in the process.
"I want Justin!"
"Report! The perpetrator has agreed to let us send in a doctor, but only one person can enter." After all, with Jinx's excessive violence earlier, if a hostage dies, it wouldn't be advantageous for her.
"Should we...?"
"You'd better not do anything extra, that person is utterly insane," the negotiation expert poked his head out of a nearby police car, his wig riddled with bullet holes, looking like a piece of fluffy cheese.
"The perpetrator likely has a paranoid personality disorder. If you provoke her, she'll definitely kill in a frenzy," said the negotiation expert with a heavy heart as he removed his wig, revealing a few sparse hairs on his smooth head. Earlier, Jinx had fired at least a dozen shots at his head, and his scalp was still tingling.
"This perpetrator's marksmanship is precise," Caitlyn's mother, now calmed down, began to take charge of the situation with the authority of a councilor, issuing commands: "Send a doctor in, but only to treat wounds. Don't do anything else. Meet all her demands and soothe her emotions."
"Bang!" Another gunshot echoed from inside the station. No one knew what the madwoman was up to, perhaps just idly firing. Jinx had found a swivel chair from somewhere and was spinning around, shooting at prominent objects around her: vases, paintings, banners, photos.
When a bullet pierced the photo on Musk's desk, his face involuntarily twitched, a small change that Jinx noticed. As the swivel chair completed its final spin, Jinx casually picked up the photo: "Oh, what a cute little girl!"
The photo depicted Chief Musk in casual attire, flying a kite with a little girl in a white dress. Both faces bore happy smiles, and sunlight bathed the green grass in a golden hue. The sky was blue, crisply clear; the clouds were white, gently soft. Jinx stared at the photo, momentarily lost in thought. Justin used to fly kites with her too, though theirs was just a plastic bag tied to a string, beneath a thick blanket of dark clouds, with the air reeking of biochemical waste. Still, they had fun. That afternoon, they ran for hours together by the sewage river. Unfortunately, the string broke in the end.
Just like now, the string connecting her and Justin has snapped. Jinx, once a soaring kite, has reverted to an unwanted black garbage bag, blown away, disappearing with the black smoke spiraling from factory chimneys into the dark sky.