The first assassin crumpled to the ground, a bullet tearing through his head before he could even make a move. The sound of his body hitting the floor was drowned out by the sharp zzzzzt of taser shots. The other two assailants, caught off guard, had no time to react as they dropped to the floor with identical thuds. The electricity disoriented them, and they twitched involuntarily before going still.
Captain Holt and Janice stood behind the fallen figures. Both of them went to the precinct and examined the case files before coming here to talk to Emma. But they weren't expecting any company.
Holt instantly put his taser back and took out his handgun, pointing it at the open door. He just saw someone pop one of the assassins' heads. "NYPD, come out slowly with your hands raised. Don't try anything funny."
The porch lights switched on.
Then, Ray walked out.
Captain Holt's eyes widened in surprise. The last they had heard, Ray was supposed to be in a hospital bed, fighting for his life after being critically wounded. It didn't make sense for him to be here, let alone walking out like he hadn't just been through hell.
"This is impossible?" He mumbled.
"Is it?" Ray's lips curled into a smirk, as though he could read Holt's thoughts. "I heal faster than most people." His eyes fell on Janice. "Hey, mom. Sorry for making you all worried."
"Well, good luck explaining this to Rosa," Janice said with a sigh, shaking her head.
"So, what's going on here?" Holt asked.
"Here's the full story," Ray began.
...
The paramedics who arrived at the scene where Ray got shot... Well, it wasn't your typical response team. They were his team. Trained professionals, all of them. They operated and stabilized him in the back of the ambulance. And since Ray got his unusual healing ability and his prior experience of getting shot while in war and other covert operations, he managed to stay conscious.
As soon as Ray was able to sit up, they slipped him into a fresh set of clothes, and one of his team members put on a mask, looking exactly like Ray, playing the part of the critically injured officer. To anyone else, it would have seemed like a routine case of police getting caught in the line of duty. The ruse was perfect.
Ray wasn't done though. His primary concern was Emma. So, he snuck out of the ambulance while his mask-wearing double stayed behind and went to the hospital to keep up the illusion. One of his agents, a woman trained in covert operations, met him on the outskirts of the scene. She managed to get Emma out of her apartment, and then they together escorted Emma to Ray's apartment while leaving a few cops around as a decoy to make it look like Emma was still in the apartment.
But instead of her, Ray was waiting for the assassins or the stalker to enter.
...
Ray finished his explanation, leaving Holt and Janice to piece together the puzzle. Holt, now even more bewildered, listened as Ray finished his story.
Holt couldn't help but let out a soft exhale, still processing everything Ray had just said. "So, all this... this whole operation... was planned while you were... what, bleeding out in the street?"
Ray gave a nonchalant shrug. "Yup. Besides, my people know how to stop that kind of thing quickly. All you have to do is... Go for the unexpected and lay a nice and enticing trap." He tapped his temple with one finger. "Works every time. Oh, by the way... All this you see... It's a political mess."
"I had a hunch," Holt replied. "Emma's been targeted by political parties."
"Here's the thing," Ray began, pacing slowly. "After Emma was appointed as the UN Women Goodwill Ambassador, things got real messy, real fast. She was doing her job, supporting women around the world, shining a spotlight on issues that needed it. But then she started digging, digging too deep."
Janice frowned. "Digging into what?"
Ray continued. "She found out some higher-ups were siphoning money out of the UN Women's trust funds. She filed an official complaint, started blowing the whistle, and—well, that made a lot of people nervous. Those people don't like being exposed, especially when there's so much at stake. And when she refused to take the bribes they offered, that sealed her fate."
Captain Holt nodded, finally catching on. "So they tried to silence her. Eliminate the problem."
"Exactly," Ray said, his voice hardening. "They didn't care how it went down. Whether it was quiet or loud. They just needed her gone. She could ruin their entire operation, and they couldn't let that happen."
Janice clenched her jaw, looking more tired than angry. "I knew something was off, but... I didn't think it was this bad. How far does this go, Ray?"
"It goes high enough. We're talking corrupt officials, people with connections that span across multiple governments, international NGOs, corporate backers, private sectors. It's like an ugly spider web with her right in the middle. The moment she started getting close to the truth, they made sure the noose tightened."
Captain Holt stood there looking calm as usual. "And the stalker?" he asked.
Ray replied. "That's a different issue altogether. The stalker was never part of the political mess and given this mess, it'd be hard to track him down."
"Alright, I'll handle the politics part," Janice said with a slight nod. "You take care of the stalker."
Just then...
Captain Holt's phone buzzed in his pocket, pulling him out of the moment. He glanced at the screen, seeing Amy's name. He swiped to answer it.
"Detective," Holt's voice was calm but laced with curiosity. "What's the situation at the junkyard?"
Amy's voice came through, tight with urgency. "Captain, we've cleared the site. The remaining shooters have been neutralized, but we managed to capture one alive. He's in custody now, and we're currently running background checks. We found weapons stashed all over the yard, and it looks like they were heavily armed. The shooters were clearly well-prepared for something major. We're sending in the forensics team now to go over the scene and get anything we can on the people who hired them."
"Good work, Santiago," Holt said. "Make sure he gets properly interrogated. This could be the breakthrough we need to figure out who's pulling the strings."
"I'll handle it," Amy assured him, then added, "Also, Jake got shot in his arm and backside."
From the background, Jake's cries came... "C'mon, Amy. I'm in pain here. Stop telling everyone that I got shot in the ass."
After hanging up, Holt turned to Janice and Ray.
"Looks like the remaining shooters have been taken care of. Amy's team captured one alive," Holt informed them. "They're working on finding out who hired them."
Ray nodded, a faint smirk tugging at the corner of his lips. "That's a good start. But those people won't stop until their target is down. You've got to move fast if you want to protect her. I'll take care of the stalker later. Right now, I'm heading back to the hospital."
Janice raised an eyebrow. "You're going back to pretending to be in critical condition?"
"Duh! I ain't retarded. Rosa will kill me if she finds out that I faked it," Ray stated the obvious.
"You are going to lie to her?" Holt asked, raising an eyebrow. "In a healthy relationship..."
Ray raised his hand to stop him. "I know that lying in a good relationship is bad. I'll tell her after she calms down and probably after checking to make sure she isn't carrying any sharp objects or an axe."
Janice shook her head, her gaze shifting to Holt. "I'll appoint some of our best agents to guard Emma. She's already a target, and if she keeps digging, it'll only get worse. The situation's too hot to ignore. I'll keep a close eye on her." She then looked at Ray. "Alright. Get to the hospital, Ray. We'll take care of things here."
...
[Hospital]
The sterile smell of the hospital lingered in the air as Ray lay still, fake bandages and IV tubes attached to his arms, the faint beeping of heart monitors providing a rhythm to the scene. His team member, dressed in a surgeon's garb, stepped back and gave him a quick nod. Ray couldn't help but feel a rush of adrenaline. He had to admit, he was getting pretty good at this whole "pretending to be critically injured" thing.
As the real surgeon emerged from the operating theater, Rosa to painkillers and was already walking around while grunting, her worry palpable, eyes scanning every inch of the hallway until she spotted the doctor.
She quickly walked to him.
"How is he?" Rosa asked.
The surgeon, a middle-aged man, looked at her, his expression neutral but reassuring. "There's no need to panic. The worst has passed. Officer White's condition is stable. We've stopped the internal bleeding, and he should be up by morning. A lot of trauma, but he's strong."
Rosa's breath hitched. "So... he's really going to be okay?"
"Yes, I believe so. He's one tough man," the surgeon added with a reassuring smile. "Just a matter of time now."
Gina walked to her and gave her a little back pat.
Terry sighed in relief.
"Can I see him?" Rosa asked.
"Of course."
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AN: Ok. I ain't good at writing political mess lol. I should have gone with something lighter. Learned from my mistake, never going to write a political case next time.😅 Oh, and I'll be back on 1. Need a proper break to clear my mind lol. Too hard to keep up with 3 ongoing ffs.
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[24 advance chs] [No double billing.]
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