Chapter 548: Chapter 491: Thank You All
The elevator stopped at the sixth floor, and they were led out.
As they exited the elevator, Arthur North and Charlotte Lane both glanced at the hotel layout map next to the elevator.
There was a gym on the sixth floor, guarded by many people. Each person was ard with a gun.
They were led into the gym, where they discovered that there were more than twenty people inside.
“Stay put! Any attempts to escape will be t with deadly force!”
“If you value your lives, behave!”
Having said that, they closed the gym door and stood guard outside.
The other two couples imdiately clung to each other, the n comforting the won.
Charlotte Lane surveyed the layout of the gym while Arthur North eyed the couples. He then turned his gaze to the rest of the people in the gym.
There were quite a number of couples, all huddled together.
“Little Girl.”
“Hmm?” Charlotte turned to look at him.
“They’re all huddling together, we should…”
Charlotte moved further away from him.
Arthur North: “…….”
Charlotte looked around the gym once more, then made her way toward several staff mbers in hotel uniforms.
They didn’t make a move in their room upstairs because their lives didn’t seem to be in imdiate danger, so they followed the captors downstairs intending to understand the situation before making a decision.
Arthur North accompanied her.
The two of them sat down next to the staff.
Charlotte asked, “What’s happening outside? What’s going on?”
“Aren’t you scared?” A female staff mber asked.
Charlotte responded calmly, “I am.”
Feeling that her response lacked emphasis, she added, “Very scared.”
Arthur North sat in silence.
The people around her were watching them.
Charlotte didn’t say anything else, and asked again, “What happened here?”
“We heard that a deception syndicate checked into the hotel this evening. They used a company team-building event as a cover to check in.” One of the staff mbers explained.
Charlotte listened.
“They were nurous, over a hundred of them. There were also around ten young n and won who seed not to be quite lucid and had to be supported. They claid those people were drunk, but they didn’t reek of alcohol,” another staff mber added, “The hotel manager sensed sothing was off and decided to call the police.”
“After the police arrived, they checked the surveillance in the grand hall and recognized two n in duckbill caps who were under their surveillance.” A staff mber continued, “The police imdiately told the hotel to discreetly evacuate the other guests. They called in for backup.”
“But not many people had left before we were discovered.”
Charlotte got it.
Even if they had the capability to notify all the guests at once, mass evacuation would draw too much attention.
So, discreet, gradual evacuation was the sensible course of action, and less likely to create panic.
It seed they hadn’t notified her section yet.
The young n and won being escorted by the syndicate were likely new recruits.
The police must have considered the safety of these young people, and were conscious of the syndicate’s numbers. They worried that an ambush or assault could cause collateral damage, so they decided to evacuate the guests first.
But if the syndicate dared to take refuge in the hotel, they must have prepared for this.
The syndicate rounded up the guests one floor at a ti, likely out of concern that soone among them could disrupt their operation.
That’s why they gathered them all together.
With the hotel system under their control, they could have access to all the room keys and would know which rooms were occupied and by whom.
And they’re all hostages.
This wasn’t a single hostage situation. There was a whole group, a wave of a machine gun could take down multiple people.
The forces outside needed to mind each move for their safety.
“I knew I shouldn’t have co. Now I’m going to lose my life here.” A girl suddenly broke into hysterical sobbing.
“From the mont I got off the plane, I felt sothing was off. I should have gone back ho.” Another person murmured.
“When I was leaving, my cat kept pulling at my pants’ leg. I shouldn’t have left.”
“What do we do? I don’t want to die.”
“ neither, I was just out here for so fun.”
“I just got married, and ca here for my honeymoon…”
…
A few people huddled together, crying and venting their frustrations.
Charlotte watched them, then turned her gaze back towards the gym entrance.
Kevin Clark whispered, “The gym is on the sixth floor, the billiard room on the third, the restaurant on the second.”
“There could be people in all of them.” Charlotte Lane remarked.
“Yes.” Kevin replied, “The people in the grand hall of the first floor will be the most visible to those outside; it’s certain there will be so there.”
Charlotte glanced at the gym. At the very least it was fortunate that, apart from the glass door, the surrounding walls weren’t made of glass.
“How many people are outside?”
“Sixteen.” Kevin answered.
Charlotte nodded her acknowledgnt; the count matched what she had seen, and so there were no issues.
Suddenly, Kevin placed a hand on her lower back, asking softly, “Are you physically up to this?”
Charlotte looked at him, her eyes not particularly friendly and seemingly hard to provoke, “We’ll find out if I am when we fight.”
Kevin chuckled, “Be careful.”
“Martin Hanzel won’t fail any assignnt.” Charlotte’s tone was nonchalant, yet brimming with quiet audacity.
Kevin’s eyelashes fluttered and he leaned in to press a kiss onto her lips.
Charlotte arched an eyebrow, then turned her gaze to two male staff mbers nearby.
The staff mbers had witnessed their quick kiss and were feeling awkward. When Charlotte suddenly gazed at them directly, they averted their eyes.
Charlotte didn’t care; she simply stated, “After we go out, move those two cabinets over there to the entrance and block the door.”
“Huh?”
“Just do it.” Charlotte ordered.
“It’s dangerous outside.” One of the staff mbers hastily advised.
“Indeed, it’s very dangerous.” Charlotte had barely finished speaking when a sound was heard from below.
It was the sound of a gaphone.
“Attention police outside the hotel! I have gathered everyone inside the hotel to a few floors. I give you ten minutes to leave… otherwise, for every extra minute, I kill one person on each floor. I an what I say.”
A war of words ensued from the ground level.
The crying and shouting inside the gym grew louder.
“What do we do? Will they really kill people? I don’t want to die yet.”
“I’m still young, what will my parents do?”
“They have guns; they’ll be daring enough to do anything. They’d definitely kill in order to escape.”
…
The cries grew louder and more heartbreaking one after another.
From the gym’s glass door, Charlotte watched as two figures stationed themselves at the entrance, seemingly ready to enter and comnce the slaughter at any mont.
The despair inside the gym deepened.
“It’s ti.” Kevin declared.
Charlotte rely nodded her agreent. Their chaos could disrupt the attacker’s plan, possibly throwing off the timing of the potential slaughter. At the very least, the people in this room would be safe.
The two of them sat on the treadmills, observing the doorway.
A few seconds later, Kevin announced, “Move.”
Both sprang into action instantaneously, their movents extrely swift. Approaching the entrance, they swung the door open. Before the two guards outside could react, they had taken them down.
All the people inside the gym witnessed this scene; every single sound had been silenced.
The people in the hallway imdiately noticed them.
With the taken-down guards as human shields, Kevin and Charlotte seized their guns and fought back swiftly.
Gunshots echoed around, followed by spurts of fresh blood, prompting everyone inside the gym to cover their ears and scream.
The two staff mbers quickly sprung into action, moving the cabinets. But because they were nervous and scared, they couldn’t apply much force.
Seeing this, the other n present all ca forward to help.
After several gunshots, no assistance had arrived from the room opposite the gym; once they confird safety, Kevin shot the door lock open with a gun.
Both entered the room, using it as a barricade to return fire.
A quick resolution was needed in case reinforcents arrived.
Once they had dealt with this floor, Kevin and Charlotte collected so of the guns and bullets from the downed attackers, preparing to move up to the other floors.
The people in the gym, noticing the silence outside, nervously called out, “Are you guys okay?”
Kevin and Charlotte, who had just reached the door, both paused.
Charlotte replied, “We’re fine.”
“Co in, there’ll surely be more of them coming up with all this commotion.” The people inside started moving the cabinets, “Quickly, co in.”
Charlotte looked at the door, hesitated, then said, “We’re going elsewhere. Stay indoors. Unless there’s a special situation, don’t co out. You should be safe inside.”
“OK. Be careful.” More than one voice urged them, quickly followed by another voice saying, “Thank you.”
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