Fatal Strike: Mercenary Road of Gunfire Ranger 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 trendous blow to the legitimacy of their overseas military operations.

If they waited too long, things would beco 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 sowhat 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 ti 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 Cri Investigation Bureau stood up with a furrowed brow, her tone somber, "He didn’t commit suicide; soone killed him and then left the gun here..."

Mountain Eagle knew well how to inspire soone 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 so 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 asured 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. Soone took the opportunity to shoot him while he was sitting at the side of the bed...

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

Watching Tessa get more and more excited as she spoke, Mountain Eagle tily 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, montarily 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 thod is very crude, it can’t fool any professional..."

Mountain Eagle, with a sowhat 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 an? 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 ans 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 soone will package this murder as a ’hate cri’, use political pressure to force you to extradite these soldiers, or arrange for personnel to enter the hospital for investigation.

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

Tessa is proficient in case investigation but sowhat naive regarding political issues; after listening, she anxiously said, "What should we do? Our ’dia 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 ntally prepared; there might be issues with the police in the hospital.

Without help from soone 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 departnts’ 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 Arican soldiers. If we make them believe that the Assassin is coming to silence them, then so 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 so 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 Arican 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 so preliminary asures before we act, to buy us so ti and excuses for delays.

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

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

Mountain Eagle didn’t have ti to explain in detail to Tessa; he called over two Bodyguards, Suka and Jelate, at the door of the ward, and said, "I need soone 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 Arican 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 dia 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 Arican soldier a little surprise. After that, Jelate will co 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 sothing more..."

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

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

Saying this, the middle-aged man opened the van door and stepped out, saying as he left, "Don’t disappoint , 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!"