Hotchner, seemingly an administrative bureaucrat, was no pushover in combat. Watching the gunman being forced back, Jack silently gave him a thumbs-up in his mind; at least four or five bullets had hit his torso.
The fully ard gunman was forced back half a step, but clearly, the .40 caliber pistol rounds weren't enough to penetrate his armor.
Despite being caught off guard, the gunman still fiercely tried to raise his AR-15 again, aiming the muzzle at Hotchner.
Ti seed to slow down at that mont. As the AR-15's muzzle slowly rose, Hotchner's heart pounded faster and faster, his pupils gradually shrinking.
The shouts and screams around him seed to fade away. He was still desperately pulling the trigger, his heart filled with despair.
He could only watch helplessly as the dark muzzle of the rifle slowly pointed at him, as if he could already foresee being riddled with bullets in the next second.
Finally, out of the corner of Hotchner's eye, a figure suddenly appeared. He seed to have been standing at the back of the pickup truck all along, only to be spotted just now.
Under the gaze of everyone present, Jack gripped the imposing hand cannon in both hands and pointed it at the astonished gunman.
Bang!
The first shot fired, shattering the small observation window of the Level 4 bulletproof helt.
Bang!
The second shot fired, piercing through the gunman's jaw as he tilted back from the head.
After a round of continuous fire for the confirmation, he stopped.
The bullet holes extended downwards along with the gunman's backward-falling body, the final shot hitting him squarely, the body crashing heavily to the ground with a final twitch.
In an instant, everything seed to return to normal; the deafening sound of Jack's FK 7.5mm gun seed to have just entered their ears, bringing back all the surrounding noise.
Hearing the distant sirens, Hotchner felt as if he had forgotten how to breathe for a mont. He gasped for air, struggling to get it back into his lungs.
"Are you alright?" Jack's loud call brought Hotchner back to reality.
He holstered his Glock, then loosened his tie with one hand, finally feeling a little better.
"You said you'd only need a second!" The words escaped his lips, and Hotchner realized his voice was trembling with tension.
"I didn't expect you to be so fierce. So had to change the plan." Jack replied casually, reloading his empty FK 7.5mm with a spare magazine. He then bent down, picked up his half-finished coffee, took a sip, and moistened his throat, which was dry from the tension.
Then, he walked unhurriedly to the gunman's body and kicked the weapon aside.
Fluid had spilled from the helt, confirming the man was undeniably dead.
"LAPD, drop your weapons."
"Hands up."
With a screeching of brakes, a group of officers rushed forward. Hearing several familiar voices, Jack, coffee cup in left hand, gun in right, raised it high, then slowly turned around.
"Hey, it's one of us, guys."
"Damn it, it's you, Jack."
Tim, now a sergeant but still leading from the front, lowered his gun and breathed a sigh of relief.
Nolan, who had been tense, patted Jack on the shoulder, his gaze sweeping over Jack, and he too breathed a sigh of relief.
"Are you alright, buddy?"
"I'm fine, but the situation inside isn't good."
Jack pointed to the inside of the mall entrance, where civilians lay scattered about, so still groaning, but at least seven or eight who had been shot earlier were confird dead.
The area near the mall entrance was quickly filled with seven or eight ambulances rushing in, but they still couldn't accommodate all the wounded at once. Fortunately, the central hospital was only two hundred ters away, and paradics soon arrived with stretchers.
Wilshire Police Departnt officers quickly cordoned off the scene. After confirming the gunman had no accomplices, many people, with tears in their eyes, followed the trail of blood to find the wounded who had hidden in fear.
The gunman's attack lasted only a few minutes, yet the casualties were extrely heavy, with no fewer than 20 civilians killed or wounded, including an elderly security guard with white hair, a retired police officer in his sixties.
As the gunman entered the n's room, changed into full gear, and ca out firing into the crowd, the veteran officer's Glock 17 fired at least three shots, two of which hit, but were stopped by the ceramic plates on his body armor.
Jack knelt beside the veteran officer's body, seeing him having no heart beat, he closed the officer's eyes.
"I know him, old Jim. His daughter just started attending the University of San Francisco. Last ti I was drinking at the police bar, I heard him complaining to his friends about how expensive his daughter's tuition was. I never expected this." Nolan said sadly.
"When you donate money later, rember to count in." Jack stood up and sighed.
Hurried footsteps sounded beside them. Hannah, wearing a bulletproof vest with the yellow letters "FBI" on it, rushed to the group and anxiously checked Jack from head to toe.
"I'm fine. The gunman was shot dead by us before he could fire after he walked out the door," Jack said softly, taking her hands in his.
"Have you found out the killer's identity?"
"Mauricio Novak, 29 years old. He joined the Army after graduating high school in 2008, but was discharged three months later due to physical and ntal health reasons."
Hotchner had regained his composure, his poker face returning, only his white fingers from gripping his phone tightly betraying his inner emotions.
"The FBI found his driver's license in his pocket. Garcia is going through his social dia accounts. Preliminary assessnt is that he's a radical; he's covered in tattoos of certain symbols."
At this mont, a female ergency room nurse ran out crying nearby, and several officers nearby sighed and shook their heads.
Carrie, the head of the ergency departnt at the central hospital, also ca over with red and swollen eyes. Nolan hugged her with concern and comforted her softly.
"A family of four — father, mother, and youngest son — all died at the scene. Only the older son showed vital signs."
"Among the victims were two little girls under ten years old, presumably sisters." Carrie's words silenced everyone present.
Several male officers, also muttering curses under their breath, quickly walked out.
"You two need to get out of here as soon as possible; the reporters are already blocking the way outside."
Tim hurried over, looking anxious. Hannah, hearing this, took off her hat with the FBI logo and put it on Jack's head.
Tim, along with Nolan and several LAPD officers, escorted Jack and Hotchner out of the mall through a side entrance, leaving the cri scene.
[A/n: Is his racism like mood swings, I an this chapter was clean, almost too clean. But If only all the chapters are like this.]
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