"Bang!"
A loud sound could be heard as Mr. Valen shot, putting a bullet through Dog Head's brain, his form slumping down.
"SHIT!"
A collective curse rang out from three groups, one was from the sixth apostle stationed at the checkpoint, he had heard the chaos through the comms.
The fourth and fifth apostles at the manager's side also heard the shot through the comms.
The same was true for the first and second apostles in the control room.
The last person who heard the shot, not just through the comms but in person, was the Third apostle who was in charge of guarding their rear.
Rushing into the vault, he saw that Dog Head was down, a bullet through his head, and then he saw Mr. Valen pointing a pistol at him before firing a shot.
"Bang!"
Mr. Valen missed as the Third apostle who had not fully entered the room to begin with took cover at the side of the room.
"Valen shot Dog Head," he yelled into the comms, alerting all units.
"Fuck me!"
"Kill that nigga!"
"Wait, we're coming!"
Collective shouts of both shock and anger come through the other end of the comms, but the third apostle was not listening to any of it; rather, he propped his rifle and went in again, letting out a flurry of shots.
"Gratat-tat!"
Multiple resounding shots were fired, but none hit their target as Mr. Valen immediately dove for cover behind a large freezer.
As soon as he felt a gap, he raised his pistol and began firing but the third apostle retook cover.
"I'm gonna fucking kill you Valen," The third apostle yelled heavily before going in to shoot again repeating the whole charade.
Mr. Valen took cover, his breathing steady, and answered flatly, "You underestimate me."
«The light coming from above exposes his shadow, it's clearly on the floor. His head is around 1.6 meters high and he is standing to the left of the door.»
«I'm 3 meters back. My .380's bullet goes around 290 meters a second. But if it ricochets off the metal door first, it'll slow down, maybe down to 170.»
«E = ½mv²... 8 grams... 115 joules, it's not lethal enough but if it's a temple shot? He might drop.»
«Most importantly, the angle's everything. If I hit the edge of the vault door just right, the bullet might bounce and curve into him. Of course, I'm just keeping you up to speed. Hope you love physics as much as I do.»
"Bang!"
Mr. Valen stood up and took the big shop, his eyes focused as he fired not at his enemy but the metal vault door.
"Clang!"
A sharp sound could be heard in that same split second, a shrill metallic screech that would cause one to frown.
But that screech was followed by a satisfying thud as the third apostle collapsed.
Mr. Valen wasted no time as he knew the other apostles were rushing to this exact location, he could not take the normal exit.
He was on the second floor.
Quickly, he packed up the ten-liter vile and put it in the empty duffel bag, groaning as his vision blurred.
Fighting off drowsiness, Mr. Valen broke into a full sprint out of the vault, turning right down a hallway.
"Bang!"
Just when he turned a sharp corner, a succession of shots were fired, barely missing him. One of the apostles had caught sight of him, but he didn't care.
Rather, he broke through a fire exit, but instead of climbing down the stairs, he leaped from it, a height of about ten feet.
"Bang!"
"Argh," Mr. Valen spat a chunk of blood, stirring up the wounds he had previously sustained, as he collided violently with the roof of a small truck.
Quickly getting off the roof, he ran towards the taxi he had left in the parking lot, shots flaring off behind him as the apostle shot and missed.
Upon reaching the taxi, Mr. Valen practically dove in with his duffle bag quickly starting the car.
At this point, the fact that he was still conscious was a medical marvel in itself, and to thank for that was Mr. Valen's mysterious ability and, of course, sheer will.
Just when he was about to start the car, he noticed a few things. During the time he shot Dog Head, the apostle stationed at the checkpoint had run into the building to look for him.
Now that they knew where he was, they rushed out of the building toward his taxi—but upon noticing something, they immediately retreated inside.
What had they noticed?
Well, the first thing the apostles had noticed was two police cars blocking the entrance of the GPV, and by the sounds of the sirens in the distance, more were coming.
The second thing he noticed was the news choppers above him, which spoke of a few things; the police movement in the city was so large that it attracted the attention of news organizations in the city.
«I honestly did not expect such an audience.»
The police department of any district was hard to shake off, even for him, as they were like hornets; the fates of the men inside were sealed, but he would not be like them.
Towards the entrance, four police men stood behind their cars, guns pointed out, but they made no attempt to communicate, rather, they waited for backup, their gaze focused.
Looking at the badge of one of the officers, one would note that he was called Renner, a man with a buzz cut, jaw like a brick, and eyes that didn't blink.
Slowly, he turned his eyes, to another officer who was lanky and pale, with his fingers trembling as he pointed his weapon at the building.
With a grunt in his voice, Officer Renner said, "Relax, Malek, you're making your nerves painfully obvious." he laughed.
Officer Malek did not speak; rather, he remained silent, his quietness serving as an opportunity for the others to join in.
"Don't lose it, look at the choppers above, we're on the news," the third officer, Mr. Vasquez, who had a sarcastic expression on his face, chimed in.
"Look something's happening," the fourth officer suddenly intoned, his beard hiding his frown.
Simultaneously, above, in one of the choppers, a lady with short black hair could be seen seated, peering into the situation down below.
She wore a jacket with the initials, TGH+2, the name of a popular new channel in the Eagle Alliance.
Besides her was a cameraman wearing a face cape, professionally, he pointed his equipment downward at the scene before.
"Right now, we're above the GPV that's got everyone in District Forty-Two talking," she spoke into the microphone, turning to the cameraman while asking, "Did you get the shot of those armed men?"
"Sure did, Mary," the cameraman responded blankly, eliciting a nod from Mary.
"Our associates are in contact with District Forty-Two's police department, but there's still no official explanation for what's happening. Fortunately, we at TGH+2 will keep you informed. Wait—don't cut! Something's happening—"
Down below, Mr. Valen was contemplating and quickly made a decision; he could not stop now, not at this moment.
'If I move now, all attention will be on me... Ohh well.' Mr. Valen thought with a frown, and immediately started the engine.
"Vroom!" The taxi car growled as Mr. Valen drove for the checkpoint, and of course the sudden movement of a car attracted both the attention of the four cops at the entrance and that of the news crew.
In a few seconds, he had almost reached the entrance, the yells of the police officers telling him to stop falling on deaf ears.
And upon seeing that the maniac driving did not have the intention to slow down, they dove out of the way, and in that moment.
"Bang!" A loud bang could be heard as Mr. Valen slammed the taxi into the two police cars, a grunt escaping him.
"My god, follow it," the journalist above exclaimed as she watched the yellow, slightly wrecked taxi speed onto the open road.
"Bang!"
"Bang!"
"Bang!"
Meanwhile, the police officers who had moved out of the way quickly regained their composure, with three of them opening fire on the moving vehicle and one of them Officer Malek moving to his car radio to alert the other approaching officers:
"District Forty-Two dispatch, this is Unit Bravo-Four, shots fired at GPV building, multiple armed suspects reported."
"One suspect, male, black hoodie, fleeing the scene in a yellow taxi, vehicle has rammed police blockade, officers nearly hit."
"Suspect may be armed and extremely dangerous. We have active gunfire. Repeat: Code 10-34 in progress, possible 245G. Requesting all available units for intercept and pursuit. Air support is already on site. Over."