"Gordon, how's the situation?" Harvey Dent asked through the intercom, his car trailing the police convoy.
"There's a listening device in the car. If we proceed with the rescue, the criminal will detonate the bomb. The bomb is now a timed one, we only have one hundred minutes left."
"Is there no other way?" Harvey asked urgently. "Could we place rollers under the wheels so the car keeps moving, allowing them to get out safely without reducing speed?"
That was a good idea, but Gordon replied, "I'm afraid the assassin might have also installed a GPS tracker. If the car stops, he'll detonate it. Also, the tow truck isn't wide enough. We don't have a solution right now."
In the broadcast car, Iseline watched the fuel gauge, which was approaching the red zone. It was the first time she had felt death so close. Looking at Liu A'dou, his young profile like a sculpture, Iseline thought to herself that he was the bravest man she knew. Even though she was six years older than him, she had always relied on him as her pillar of strength.
Perhaps it was because Iseline had lacked a father figure growing up, so she found what she needed in the mature Liu A'dou.
"A'dou, are we going to die?" Iseline thought it was her luck to be with Liu A'dou when they died, but she didn't want to die. She wanted to get to know him better and be with him.
Liu A'dou's eyes were firm. He wasn't about to give up. He suddenly made a 'quiet' gesture to Iseline, then took out his phone, driving with one hand and typing with the other. At the same time, he spoke, "We won't be in danger. It's just running out of fuel, right? You call Commissioner Gordon and tell him to refuel us."
Normally, refueling required stopping the car and turning off the engine, but today, they were going to try high-speed refueling.
However, the message Liu A'dou sent read: "Contact Gordon via text and let him rescue you while refueling."
Iseline shook her head repeatedly. She couldn't leave without Liu A'dou. She couldn't leave her lover in the car with the bomb.
Liu A'dou typed another message: "I have a way out. Don't worry." He then said aloud, "Hurry up and call. We can't give up until the very end."
Iseline typed: "I can't leave. If I go, the assassin will detonate the bomb."
Liu A'dou replied: "It's okay, when you call me later, I'll put the phone on speaker, and you'll speak on the phone. The assassin won't know you've left." He continued typing: "Trust me, I'm not joking with my life. I really do have a way out."
"But…" Iseline started to speak.
Liu A'dou interrupted her immediately. "I know high-speed refueling is dangerous, but I don't want to die before my time because we ran out of fuel. Quickly call Commissioner Gordon and have him refuel our car." His fingers didn't stop typing as he wrote: "Iseline, I love you, trust me."
Iseline bit her lip, and in the end, she called Commissioner Gordon.
Meanwhile, Liu A'dou quickly composed his plan into a text message and sent it to Commissioner Gordon, hoping the plan would go smoothly.
Gordon acted quickly. The refueling truck and the previous convertible both pulled up. He agreed to Liu A'dou's rescue plan. It was risky, but it was better than doing nothing. Now, they could only pray that the assassin had only placed a listening device in the car.
But when Gordon looked over, he was surprised to see that none other than the district attorney, Harvey Dent, was in the convertible, personally participating in the rescue.
"Dent, what are you doing?" The district attorney should be in court, debating and sending criminals to prison, not personally going into danger on the front lines.
"Of course, I'm rescuing them, Gordon." Harvey Dent's voice came through the intercom, full of energy, as if he wasn't even worried about facing danger himself.
"Come back! The rescue operation is the responsibility of the police!" It was rare to have an honest district attorney, and Gordon didn't want anything to happen to him. "Do you know how important you are to Gotham City?"
"I know Gotham City still has plenty of criminals that need to be sent to prison, but I need Liu and Iseline's help. They're exceptional journalists. I'm going to get them out, don't worry, Gordon."
Harvey Dent understood the danger, but he also knew that he couldn't let them down. If he didn't save them, ordinary people would never again step up to fight evil in Gotham. He couldn't allow the righteous to suffer retaliation. Harvey had to show Gotham that heroes have their helpers. So, at this moment, he stood up and showed everyone that they shouldn't fear the mob.
"Courage will be Gotham's best remedy," Harvey Dent said, as he arrived at the scene.
The refueling and the rescue continued simultaneously.
"Go!" Liu A'dou quickly typed a message on his phone.
Iseline had already seen Harvey waving at them. To prevent their voices from being overheard, the rescue needed to be done quietly.
Liu A'dou was deeply moved seeing Harvey. Indeed, now he was the daylight knight.
Stay steady, stay steady, keep the car steady, Liu A'dou thought, glancing sideways to see Iseline slowly moving out of the car.
On the ring road, the speed was seventy miles per hour. Three cars were driving in parallel. On the helicopter, Howard was eager to broadcast this thrilling moment live, but he knew that doing so would alert the assassin to their rescue efforts, so he held back.
The refueler truck driver leaned out, aiming the fuel nozzle at the gas tank. This wasn't an easy task. Although from a distance, the cars seemed stationary, the vibrations from the vehicles made it hard to maintain a rhythm. The tense environment also made it harder for people to relax their bodies, making high-speed refueling much more difficult.
Jumping from one car to another was far easier than refueling. The key was courage. As long as you had the courage, you could bridge that short distance. Harvey Dent, standing on the backseat of the convertible, reached out his hand. He would pull Iseline over, stretching out his arms in the air. He first grabbed Iseline's hand.
The car continued moving forward, and Iseline was positioned between the two cars. The road behind her was moving backward. If she fell, it would be a deadly drop. The wind blew her hair around as she felt fear. But with half the journey already behind them, there was no turning back. Her other hand gripped the car door tightly, her palms sweating, her legs trembling.
"Don't be afraid. The fuel's been added. Don't be afraid. Be brave. We won't die!" Liu A'dou's voice encouraged Iseline, helping her find the courage she needed.
Yes, it would be fine. Iseline closed her eyes and extended her other hand. Her feet left the ground as Harvey Dent pulled her all the way across. Harvey, acting as a cushion, fell back into the convertible, with Iseline landing on top of him.
At the same time, the refueling was complete.
Liu A'dou steered the car, moving it out of the way. He picked up the phone left by the assassin and dialed back, "Why are you doing this to us?" he mimicked Iseline's voice perfectly, full of anguish and despair.
He had told Iseline they would turn the phone to speaker mode to deceive the assassin. That, however, was impractical. The phone signal would interfere with the listening device, and the distorted voice wouldn't fool the assassin. Liu A'dou had only said that to get Iseline out of the car. His real plan was to use his voice to confuse the assassin, then drive the car to a safe location, where he could exit the vehicle himself.