Chapter 761: Chapter 763: Riot Outcome, Sniper Assassin
Western New York’s well-known prison.
When Luo An and Mona reached the area, the perimeter was already surrounded by a large circle of camera crews and journalists, with local police blocking the roads to keep them at a distance, firmly barricading the path forward.
Not only were these media workers broadcasting live reports of the distant prison from the ground, but several helicopters were also thunderously circling overhead, recording the situation of the prison from above.
"FBI."
Facing the local police who obstructed their way, Mona rolled down the car window and took out her golden FBI badge to show, the obstructing police officer nodded and turned around to wave the two into the scene.
The scene, actually, was still some distance away from the prison. Local police had simply constructed some tents on a vacant lot around the prison’s outer perimeter to serve as a temporary command center.
Moreover, the majority of the police at the scene did not enter the prison with guns to suppress the riot violently; that was not within their scope of work. Instead, the prison guards, special police systems, and even the military were responsible for that task.
Luo An and Mona did not enter the most central temporary tent, but walked together to a tent at the very edge, where Reesi was.
"How is it?"
The three met, Luo An greeted succinctly and went straight to the point, asking:
"What’s the situation?"
"The riot isn’t too severe; it’s still under control."
Reesi grinned, stretched out her hand to point at a group of people under the central temporary tent, and said:
"The riot started not long ago; the local police issued an emergency notice in the residential areas surrounding the prison and declared martial law around the prison.
prison guards were quickly dispatched here, followed by a joint raid with the SWAT team into the interior of the prison.
Twenty minutes have passed since their raid, and the gunfire has significantly decreased, evidently, suppression was successful."
"OK."
Looking at the immensely high walls of the distant prison, Luo An slightly nodded.
This mission wasn’t suitable for many to be privy to, so Luo An had no plans to interact too much with those officials with command authority under the most central temporary tent; simply obtaining the final results was sufficient.
Time slowly moved forward, and another four hours passed; at 7:30 in the evening, the prison system’s staff finally finalized the list of victims from this prison riot.
Among them, 270 inmates were injured, 68 severely injured inmates were sent to the hospital for emergency treatment, and 14 inmates died on the spot.
On the prison guard side, 31 prison guards were severely injured, nine died on the spot, and the rest of the prison guards had various degrees of minor injuries.
As for the destroyed windows, beds, and furniture, they hadn’t tallied up yet; essentially, there were hardly any intact facilities left.
After receiving the list and seeing the names of the deceased inmates and prison guards, Mona’s brow instantly furrowed, and Reesi’s expression also turned somber; after a few seconds of silence, she lowered her voice and said:
"Luo An, Prison Guard Danny died in this riot.
Besides him, there are a few other inmates and prison guards whom Danny had mentioned, suspected of having had contact with Owen and Davis before Blue-eyed Roy was killed; they are all dead too."
"Damn it."
Mona cursed softly, then looked sternly at Luo An, and said emphatically:
"Luo An, this prison riot was a premeditated act of silencing!"
Taking the list and looking at it, Luo An’s expression remained calm; he had already suspected this possibility.
Using a prison riot to kill and silence people isn’t an uncommon method, nor is it something just anyone could easily employ.
Luo An stayed silent for a few seconds, his eyes slightly squinted as he was about to speak, when suddenly his phone in his pocket rang.
"It’s me, Luo An."
"I’m Winslow!"
Winslow on the other end of the call didn’t beat around the bush, his tone urgent as he spoke:
"Luo An! Someone just tried to assassinate Prison Guard Danny’s mother! Chenier and I successfully stopped them, but the guy got away!"
Luo An’s mind raced as he quickly commanded:
"Reesi, you stay here, try to figure out the cause of the prison riot and who started it.
Winslow, have Chenier stay and guard Danny’s mother, you take off immediately and track down that assassin! Remember to call for police support along the way!
Mona and I are heading there now, we’ll be there soon!"
"Understood!"
"No problem!"
Reesi immediately nodded in agreement, taking the orders, while Winslow, on the other end of the phone, also readily agreed and hung up. Luo An immediately rushed with Mona towards the car.
In the federal social setting, which is more straightforward than in the East, Danny, being a local born and bred in this region, had his position in the prison secured through his relatives and acquaintances.
Thus, Danny’s home was not far from the prison; it was less than a thirty-minute drive. Mona, though not as recklessly fast as Luo An, also reached the designated spot quickly mentioned by Winslow.
"The suspect fled eastward."
The trio met successfully, Winslow, pointing at a nearby forest with a grim expression, said:
"The assassin used a sniper rifle to target Danny’s mother. Fortunately, Chenier noticed something wrong in time and dived to save the old lady.
The sniper failed in his first attempt and quickly retreated, setting some ambushes along the way, which delayed me quite a bit, allowing him to gain ground."
"Good thing you weren’t hurt."
Luo An patted Winslow’s shoulder, offering brief consolation, then looked at Mona. Mona nodded, pulled out a communicator from her pocket and said coldly:
"The target is fleeing rapidly eastward in our area, he is well-armed, proceed with caution, begin the operation!"
"Understood!"
As the voices in the communicator responded with a few firm shouts, faced with Winslow’s puzzled look, Luo An smiled and said:
"I called in the SWAT team for support."
With each agent having their own assignments during the special investigation and the adversary being skillful, coupled with Luo An’s injury, he couldn’t let Winslow go after the suspect alone.
With these considerations in mind, Luo An had contacted the SWAT team for assistance while they were driving to the area.
"OK."
Hearing Luo An was well-prepared, the tension on Winslow’s face slowly eased, and he took a deep breath before asking:
"What do we do next?"
"Simple, we block the roads."
Luo An smiled, it wasn’t his style to just wait around; he dug out a map of the area from the car, studied it briefly, and pointed toward the southwest direction on the map, saying solemnly:
"This is the best escape route, we’ll take a stroll there, see if we can catch the sniper."
"Can do."
Winslow looked at the map, grinned, and Luo An turned to pat Mona on the shoulder, saying:
"Go help Chenier, and also check around at Danny’s home and talk to Danny’s mother to see if there any useful clues."
"Okay."
Winslow, as the second-strongest agent in the investigation team next to Luo An, nodded in agreement to the orders, tossed the car keys to him, and started walking towards a nearby community.
Luo An, leaning on a crutch, again sat in the passenger seat of the car, Winslow got into the driver’s seat, started the car, quickly figured out the direction, and floored the accelerator.
Meanwhile, in a distant thicket, a white man was running at high speed with a displeased face, meanwhile talking on the phone:
"Mission failed, I am retreating."