Ultimate Firepower
Chapter 239 - 226 We Have Connections Upstairs

Chapter 239: Chapter 226 We Have Connections Upstairs

With the arrival of three police officers, the situation immediately started to improve.

Police officers must know some basic first aid; they have to be trained. They might not be as skilled as a real doctor, but they would certainly know more about how to stop bleeding than the average person.

"Loosen his belt, or his leg will start to die; loosen it every ten minutes."

An older cop took over to care for Feng Biao.

Aliza went to tend to Lin Xianghua.

And George was responsible for making the call.

"We’ve been attacked, we’ve encountered a large-scale terrorist attack, there are casualties, hurry up and save us!"

George spoke with exceedingly dramatic flair, as if he were on a battlefield, screaming for support with all his might. He yelled loudly, but the content of what he said was neither accurate nor exaggerated.

Attacked, who were the attackers? A large-scale attack, how large is large? There are casualties, but how many are wounded and who are they?

George mentioned none of these details; he was making an emergency call, the kind that would be automatically recorded once the emergency center picked up.

"What? What are you saying?"

George was waiting for just this moment. With a tone full of courage yet brimming with helplessness and as if it were his last breath, like he was making his final testament, he said, "My name is George Wals. My colleague Aliza Fons and I noticed suspicious targets on our way home from work. We followed them to the Senat Forest Police Station. Just as we arrived at the police station, we were attacked by terrorists using rifles, machine guns, hand grenades, and rocket launchers. We have suffered heavy casualties but have withstood the terrorist’s onslaught."

The person answering the call was stunned.

Machine guns, rocket launchers, why not just say World War Three had started?

George continued, "We’re seriously injured now, please send support quickly, we especially need ambulances, hurry up, hurry!"

"Are you serious?"

The policewoman on the line couldn’t help but ask because this kind of case wasn’t just a simple matter; it was something the whole country needed to respond to.

If they chose to believe George, escalating the case would mean eventually the president themselves would have to direct operations, and the Ministry of Internal Affairs would have to stand aside.

"Of course, I’m serious! Our radio is destroyed, the enemy is coming again, I can’t talk anymore, please hurry!"

George hung up the phone decisively because any further questions would have required him to give more details. Although providing more details wouldn’t matter much, if the details didn’t match up later when audited, problems could arise.

Being vague allowed for flexibility in future actions—that was the smart way to handle it.

For instance, by not disclosing who was at the Senat Forest Police Station, it meant all officers could rush back to work overtime. Not specifying how many people were injured and who they were meant that a few additional casualties could still be accounted for.

The most important thing was that the recognition for this feat could be big or small, but it was controllable.

For example, by not stating how many had been killed, future superiors claiming credit could be awarded with those numbers if they desired.

The credit was already there for the taking; it was just a matter of who claimed it, but regardless of who did, George and Aliza, who had held out against the first wave of attack, as well as the Senat Forest Police Station, would not miss out on their due recognition.

It left room for advancement or withdrawal, without letting others take away all the credit, nor did it invite trouble for being overly greedy. Although George had been just an ordinary cop all his life, his rich experience was invaluable. Had the young Aliza made the call, there could have been uncontrollable gaps left.

George hung up the phone and turned to Gao Yi, "What I just said was..."

George knew Gao Yi didn’t understand French, so he recounted to Gao Yi exactly what he had said.

Now Gao Yi was not a hijacker; he was a concerned citizen. It didn’t matter whether George liked it or not; he had to portray it that way.

The terrorist attack was real, but what was even more real was that this concerned citizen had turned dozens of terrorists into corpses!

With bodies laid out everywhere, George was all too clear on who to fear.

Gao Yi nodded repeatedly, thinking to himself that George was indeed a clever man.

With such insight, how had he remained just an ordinary cop even as retirement approached?

"You spoke well. So, when can we expect backup to arrive?"

"If it’s quick, two hours."

Gao Yi was taken aback, then exclaimed, "Wait, two hours? Not twenty minutes?"

"Twenty minutes? Uh... that’s impossible. There’s no police force in the world that can respond that fast."

Seeing Gao Yi’s still flabbergasted expression, George could only patiently explain, "I reported to the Paris emergency center. After they receive the call, they first need to verify its credibility, which takes time. The fastest it could be is half an hour because this police station is so remote."

"How do they verify? Send someone to check the scene?"

"No, that would be even slower. They need to contact the station in charge, notify the Paris Police Department supervisor in charge of the emergency center. If the supervisor believes it’s real, only then can they proceed to the next step."

"What the hell! You mean to say the verification is just seeing if the person in charge believes it or not?"

"Yes?"

"And that needs half an hour?"

"It’s because it’s already off-duty hours," George said.

Gao Yi couldn’t help but say, "So you just don’t care about anything once off duty?"

George continued, "What’s there to care about after hours? The person in charge reports to the head of the main office, the head reports to the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the Ministry, after receiving the message, should send someone over to verify the situation on site. By that time, it would almost be two hours, then the Ministry reports to the president, the president decides whether to declare martial law, whether to mobilize the army, whether to use the Constitutional Guards Special Service Team, and so on. By the time all these procedures are completed, about four or five hours will have passed."

Gao Yi exhaled, saying, "You French really are the epitome of romance."

"What do you mean?"

Romantic means romantic, which is a play on both ’romantic’ and ’inefficiently slow.’

Gao Yi shook his head and said, "It seems like no one is continuing to attack. We need to treat the injured as soon as possible; otherwise, we should just leave on our own. You guys can stay and clean up slowly; we will leave first."

George hesitated for a moment, then nodded, "Okay, you can leave in the police car; it might be a bit faster. The highway to Paris city center is still congested right now. You can go to Dordogne City. For these external injuries, time is of the essence; the hospital in Dordogne can handle it."

That made sense. Gao Yi didn’t need to take the injured to Paris; the nearest hospital would do. People’s lives came first; everything else could wait.

Gao Yi said to George, "When your reinforcement arrives and you have them catch us at the hospital, make sure to play down our danger level a bit, okay?"

It was impossible for George to fully side with Gao Yi; to think such a thing would be pure insanity.

George certainly had to reveal them, but whether it would be the police or the French Constitutional Guards Special Service Team catching them at the hospital would make a significant difference.

Playing down their level of danger would prevent an immediate aggressive response upon arrival. That would be the right approach.

George hesitated briefly, then spoke in a low voice, "Of course, you are helpful citizens."

Gao Yi continued, "What’s your salary?"

"Me? My net salary is two thousand six hundred Euros a month because I get the highest police officer salary; Aliza’s salary is two thousand two hundred Euros after taxes."

"Your salaries are not high, so here’s what we’ll do."

Gao Yi pondered for a moment, then said, "You three have been a great help to me. Once we’re safe, I’ll give each of you a thank you fee of one hundred thousand Euros—no, let’s call it a sponsorship fee—or maybe to your police station? I don’t know, what do you think is appropriate?"

First, state your own needs without mentioning any reward. Only after the other party has to agree to your requests, you mention the reward.

It then appears to be purely out of gratitude, not a transaction.

This tactic might not work on someone as shrewd as George, but on the flip side, the almost-retiring George might just want that.

George immediately acted very surprised.

Gao Yi carefully judged and felt George was truly surprised, not pretending.

One hundred thousand Euros was a significant sum in any European country.

George swallowed and said, "I have an idea, hear me out. What if we discovered that you six looked a bit suspicious, decided to arrest you, and then were chased by an armed group, forcing us to flee to the Senat Forest Police Station? What do you think of that? It’s not purely as helpful citizens, but... it seems more realistic."

"That could work, but I have a big brother who can make me a truly helpful citizen. Both the president and the Ministry of Internal Affairs would certainly agree."

The surprise on George’s face was now fully evident.

Gao Yi nodded and said with a smile, "We have connections, big shots."

Taking a deep breath, George then suddenly said, "In that case, I suggest you don’t leave the police station yet. You should wait here a bit longer..."

"Hm?"

Gao Yi was anxious to leave, but George had just encouraged him to leave and was now starting to hinder him.

Addressing Gao Yi’s confusion, George swallowed and spoke in a low voice, "Those people before, did they come in a helicopter?"

"Yes."

"I don’t know who you are, nor do I know who they are, but I think if they could send one group by helicopter, they could send a second. With several wounded who can’t move among you, if you run into terrorists again, that’s it... you understand what I mean."

Gao Yi looked at Feng Biao and Lin Xianghua, resignedly saying, "I know, but my brother can’t wait."

George whispered, "I have a solution. This is a small town, and the town has a doctor. Though it’s just a small clinic, it can definitely handle this kind of external injury and perform first aid."

After saying this, George decisively added, "I’m very familiar with this place. I’ll leave the station now, go to the town doctor’s house, and bring him here for first aid. Then, when we leave, we’ll take the seriously injured to his house. This will require someone to use a little force with the doctor, you understand, right?"

Gao Yi fell into thought, then said in a low voice, "This is the fastest way; use a bit of force, I’ll coerce him with a gun."

George continued in a low voice, "Right, I think we’re in a valuable window of time right now. Whether you want to save someone or leave, you better make a decision quickly."

Feng Biao couldn’t be dragged on for too long; he should have been taken straight to the hospital, but there seemed to be a better option now.

Without hesitation, Gao Yi said, "We stay. Lead the way, let’s find the doctor now."

George immediately turned, shouting to his colleagues, "I’m taking people to the town to find Dr. Strong. You guys stay and help, mates."

Both cops looked at George, who shrugged and spread his hands, saying, "Trust me, I’m about to retire, you know what I mean."