Chapter 3: No Way Out

  "Hmm." Peng Sixhe responded absent-mindedly, but such comforting words were of no help to him. Who didn't know that peripheral control was supposed to allow the main assault team to focus their energy? But in reality, it wasn't as important as all that - at the scene of the task, there would be dozens of police officers from different departments surrounding the area, making it impossible to break through unless you were Rambo.

  The SWAT team was talking when the intercom came from the front: "SWAT team, SWAT team, where have you arrived?"

  Cheng Te Li got into the driver's cab, picked up the intercom: "We're on our way, expected to enter the highway in half an hour, what's the situation ahead?"

  "The suspect has escaped into the Dongjiang Service Area, we have already controlled the scene, please arrive at the scene as soon as possible."

  "Special police team, Dongjiang Service Area, please wait..." Cheng Te Li opened the map and took a look. The Dongjiang Service Area was not far from himself: "The special police team will arrive at the scene within an hour, please ensure your own safety."

  "Understood on site, situation is under control, please arrive as soon as possible."

  Narcotics police and armed police had the suspect cornered in a convenience store at a gas station, with no way to escape, but the suspect took several employees hostage at gunpoint.

  Dongjiang Service Area is a small service area, with a convenience store built right next to the gas pumps. The entrance of the store is only about 5 meters away from the nearest gas pump. When the suspect escaped into the store earlier, he forgot to take the girl with him. At this moment, the girl pushed open the car door, got out of the SUV and stood there looking around blankly at the dozen or so cars and the uncles in military uniforms who seemed like a formidable enemy. The tearful girl didn't understand what was happening, and she whispered: "Dad...Mom..."

  "Child... child, come quickly, come quickly... it's dangerous over there..." Old Wei sees the little girl and anxiously shouts to him.

  But the little girl didn't know what to do, and after taking a few steps forward, she looked up at her uncles with a timid expression and stopped again.

  "Hey, kid, don't be afraid, I'm Police Uncle, come here quickly, don't be afraid, I'll take you to find your mom......" The suspect seemed to realize he had lost an important hostage and was waving his gun, forcing a male staff member out the door: "Go get him for me!"

  It didn't feel good to be pointed at by guns. The male staff trembled and pushed open the door, seeing dozens of guns outside pointing at him in an instant. He shouted with a sobbing voice: "Don't... don't... I... I... I..."

  "Cut the crap and bring her in!" The suspect was furious and grabbed a can of soda from his hand and smashed it on his back.

  "Little girl... hey... little girl... come here... you come over..." The male staff member, with guns pointing at him from both front and back, tremblingly said to the little girl.

  "Child, don't go... whatever you do, don't go..." Old Wei was anxious. If the male staff member took her away, the hijackers would have another hostage, making things even more difficult to deal with.

  "Get in quickly... get in! You're not allowed out!" The armed police lieutenant shouted at the male staff through a loudspeaker.

  "Go out and bring him back..." The male employee turned his head to look, the hijacker glared at him viciously, the black muzzle of the gun pointing at himself, unable to advance or retreat: "They... they have guns..."

  "It's not like I'm a kitchen knife in the old man's hand!" The bandit took another step forward, and with the gun barrel almost touching his body, the male employee didn't dare to talk back, and he trembled as he stepped out of the door.

  "Go back! You are not allowed out!" The armed police lieutenant shouted through the loudspeaker.

  "You... you say it's easy..."

  The little girl was sandwiched between the two, looking at the employee in confusion and then looking at Old Wei in confusion.

  The small convenience store was made of glass and steel, the robbers inside had a clear view of the outside situation. If they were forced to rescue, it could trigger emotional fluctuations among the robbers, which might harm the hostages. However, once the little girl was taken in, the consequences would be unpredictable.

  The male staff member walked towards the little girl with trembling legs, and Lao Wei felt that he couldn't wait any longer. He rushed out from behind the car, thinking of taking advantage of the moment when the man blocked the gun to grab the little girl away.

  The little girl stared blankly as Old Wei rushed towards her, the hijacker also saw this and waved his gun loudly shouting: "Faster! Faster!"

  Lao Wei's actions made everyone on the scene hold their breath, but no one could provide him with support. Lao Wei rushed over, picked up the little girl, rolled around on the ground, got up and ran to the side, away from the pistol's range.

  Perhaps it was Lao Wei's actions that gave the male employee a model to imitate. He turned his head and took a glance at the hijacker, then suddenly pulled out his leg and ran. The hijacker had just aimed at Lao Wei, but when he saw the male employee running in another direction, he turned his gun around and fired a shot. The bullet whizzed past the male employee's ear, causing him to instinctively shrink his head and wish for two more legs. Before the hijacker could fire a second shot, he fled out of range at incredible speed, collapsing onto the ground. Two SWAT officers rushed over to drag him to safety.

  Lao Wei carried the child back to a safe location, and everyone's hanging hearts were put at ease. Next was to trap the hijackers in the convenience store until the special police arrived to handle it.

  Armed police and anti-drug police formed an arc-shaped cordon around the convenience store fifty meters away, relying on vehicles. Although all gun barrels were pointing at the convenience store, the gas pump blocked the line of fire, and no one dared to open fire.

  The hijackers, foiled in their first attempt, devised another plan and forced a female employee to pour gasoline from an oil can.

  Old Wei anxiously watched but was helpless, no one dared to fire a shot to stop them. They poured bucket after bucket of gasoline, blocking the entrance of the convenience store. The robbers drove away the remaining two female employees and piled up several buckets of gasoline at the cash register. Hiding behind the counter, they ignored Old Wei's shouts and only demanded to speak with higher-level leaders.

  Just as the two sides were at a standoff, a black SWAT transport vehicle with flashing lights drove into the service area. Cheng Te Li jumped out of the car: "Who is in charge here?"

  The Wujing lieutenant and Old Wei rushed over: "You've finally arrived."

  "What's going on now?" Cheng Te Li saw this formation and was somewhat beyond his own imagination.

  "The hijacker has entered the convenience store, where there are still two hostages, both women. The convenience store is a metal frame structure with a glass steel exterior. The hijacker can see our every move. Earlier, the hijacker forced the hostages to pour gasoline and block the entrance. Now they are hiding behind the cash register, which is also filled with gasoline..."

  "How many bullets does the hijacker have left?" asked Cheng Te-li.

  "Usually, we only load 5 bullets in the .64 handgun. We fired one shot at the parking lot robbery, and another when the man escaped just now, so there are 3 shots left." Old Wei remembered the details very clearly.

  "I think the guns are no big deal, it's mainly those petrol..." interjected a Wujing lieutenant.

  "All around is empty space. The bandits inside can see our every move through the glass, which is also a problem." Old Wei added.

  Cheng Te Li looked at the glass house and said, "Has the negotiation expert arrived?"

  "Already on the way."

  "From now on, we'll take over and handle it here. Thanks for your hard work!" Cheng Te-li said after basically understanding the situation.

  Cheng Te-li returned to the transport vehicle and recounted the situation on site. Commander Gao's mouth opened into an "O" shape: "What? Gas... gasoline..."

  Cheng Te glared at him without saying a word. Qin Xiaoyu, sitting across from him, silently handed over a baton and shield...

  "What a joke, Qin Xiaoyu, you go ahead...". Qin Xiaoyu's cold humor made Commander Gao's face somewhat unaffordable.

  "Just now who said, give me a shield, I'll dance in with a baton and beat him to death..." Qin Xiaoyu mimicked Commander Gao's words with a drawling tone, not missing a single word.

  "That... that is without gasoline situation... gasoline... gasoline..." High Commander was so rebuked by Qin Xiaoyu, somewhat incoherent.

  So much piled up gasoline, once ignited and exploded, not only would it cause great harm to personnel, but also the nearby gas pump, if affected, might make the entire oil depot turn to ashes. Cheng Te-li thought for a moment, then called for fire brigade and armed police support as a precaution.

  The hijackers saw the arrival of a black SWAT transport vehicle and became even more frenzied, using their gun butts to beat the hostages.

  Qin Xiaoyu took a look at the terrain, and the convenience store was only about 40 square meters in size. The interior was very simple, with a cash register set up in one corner near the door. There were only three rows of shelves in the store, but the problem was that the store was made of metal racks and tempered glass, so no matter which angle you approached from, you would be clearly visible to the robbers behind the glass.

  "What kind of idiot designed this house..." Captain Gao said helplessly as he looked at the glass hut.

  "Beautiful... just like a crystal palace." Qin Xiaoyu also felt somewhat helpless.

  If it were normal times, the SWAT team would have rushed in with a bulletproof shield and quickly subdued the robbers. But now that the place is filled with gasoline, the situation is completely different. The attacking side must be careful to avoid the gasoline, which makes the shooting angle extremely small, while the robbers do not have such concerns. Once they see the SWAT team rushing in, it's very likely that they will open fire on the oil drums in a desperate bid to escape.

  "Sniper, can you find an angle?" Cheng Te Li asked the sniper.

  The sniper shook his head and said, "I'm going to find a better angle." He brought the spotter with him and circled around quietly before returning to say, "When bullets hit glass, they will ricochet. The angle of incidence must be less than 80°, best if it's at a vertical angle. However, from his current position, there is a pillar that blocks most of his body, making it impossible to guarantee a hit."

  The hijackers were very clever to use oil barrels to block most of the angles, and the sniper could only try from the side, but the smooth surface of the bulletproof glass was prone to ricochets.

  "What if it's tempered glass that's been smashed?" asked Cheng Te Li again.

  "If it's a shot through the glass, there's only one angle that works. There's a 10-centimeter gap between the oil drum and the frame, and at the same time as you take out the target, you have to make sure his head is in that gap. I still think I can hit it." The sniper said.

  The sniper reminded Cheng Te-li that the hijacker could see the outside situation clearly, but he himself could only see a part of it. The two hostages were blocked by oil drums and cash registers, and now nothing was clear. The hijacker hid behind the gasoline drum pile to observe the outside situation through the gap, which was very unfavorable for the attack.

  The SWAT team is discussing an assault plan, and the negotiation expert has also arrived at the scene. For now, let's temporarily hand it over to the negotiation expert, hoping he can persuade him to surrender.