As he spoke, Luke quickly searched the bodies of the criminals. He found three M1911 magazines and two for a UMP.
He also took a holster and tactical vest off one of the criminals, and strapped the magazines he had just looted to the vest.
Everything took him less than a minute.
Everybody was dumbfounded as they watched the young officer, who seemed too familiar with this looting business.
Luke nodded at them. “You’ll evacuate when the police helicopter gets here. Tell them to come back again ASAP. I’ll bring the rest of the hostages to the roof. Do you understand?”
All the hostages nodded.
Luke suddenly beamed. “Oh, I almost forgot. Merry Christmas.”
The hostages were lost for words. Do we look merry at all?
Luke, in the meantime, entered the elevator and went down to the 30th floor.
But the electricity went out in the whole building at that moment.
Luke was surprised. This was downtown Los Angeles. How could there be a blackout?
He was now stuck between the 31st and 30th floors.
Speechless, Luke broke through the ceiling of the elevator and climbed out.
Swiftly opening the elevator doors for the 31st floor, Luke crawled out.
It was a pity that his plan to distract the enemy with the elevator couldn’t work now.
It was some distance between the elevator and the hall. The hostages would be safe if the battle was restricted to this area.
Taking the stairs wasn’t the best option, but it was the only choice Luke had now.
The emergency lights were now on, but they were much dimmer than regular lights.
Luke heard Detective John start mocking again in his earpiece. “Hans, your men are too weak. Two more have died. You better hurry up!”
A moment later, Hans replied coldly, “Oh, is that so? Are you so cocky because you think I don’t know who you are? Hehe, Detective John McClane, this isn’t New York.”
Luke was rather shocked. How did Hans discover John’s identity? John had clearly only shown up for the party tonight.
John fell silent, apparently at a loss.
“Huh, let me guess. You’re biting me like a crazy dog because there’s someone you care about here, right?” Hans said unhurriedly and gracefully, as if he were a theater actor reciting his lines.
Luke frowned, and there wasn’t a sound from John.
If Hans found out about John’s wife, John would be in serious trouble!
Muttering to himself, Luke reached the 30th floor emergency exit. Verifying that nobody was hiding nearby, he quickly stepped out onto the floor.
It was much dimmer outside.
Illuminated by the few emergency lights, everybody looked like ghosts, and the panic on their faces made it look like the set of a horror movie.
Hans continued speaking in Luke’s earpiece. “Hehe, excuse me, Detective John, but come, Ms. Holly Gennero, say hi to Detective John.”
Detective John was doomed! Luke sighed and hid himself in the dark as he locked onto the criminals among the hostages with Sharp Nose.
Well, the criminals weren’t exactly among the hostages, but surrounding them.
However… there were only seven men?
Plus the three who had escorted the hostages to the roof earlier, that was only ten men who had been left here. What was going on?
Luke frowned, but remained relaxed. Since there were only seven people, he could give it a shot now.
Once he rescued the hostages, there would be nothing else to worry about, and he could clean up all the other criminals.
Observing the positions of the seven men, Luke took out an iron ball and threw it.
Bang!
One of the emergency lights broke, startling the criminal who was right next to it.
Another man nearby cursed. “Damn it. It’s even darker now.”
The criminals didn’t really care. According to the plan, they would be withdrawing soon. They didn’t need much light.
Soon after the man made the remark, pain exploded in the back of his head and he passed out.
Five seconds later, Luke knocked out the second criminal not far away from the emergency light.
Five to go!
Luke quickly assessed the situation, and rejected the idea of shooting immediately.
To ensure the hostages’ safety, he couldn’t give the criminals a chance to open fire.
Luke wasn’t a bad shooter, but he still needed time to adjust to the dark environment.
Also, his left hand had become far less agile and precise since his last injury. It had never fully recovered.
Five targets were too many. Luke wasn’t confident.
He had to try his luck now! Bending low, Luke quickly snuck up on the nearest criminal.
Before he attacked, the criminal had already exclaimed, “Where are Bill and George?”
Without any hesitation, Luke knocked the man hard on the back of the head, before drawing out his guns under the criminal’s arms.
Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!
Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!
The other four criminals collapsed without a sound.
Everybody screamed. Luke shot at the ceiling and revealed himself as he stepped out of the dark. He kicked the head of the criminal next to his feet.
“LAPD! Listen to me! Take the stairs to the roof. A helicopter will pick you up. Women and children first. Don’t talk in case the criminals hear you. Got it? Let’s go!” Luke wandered around the hall and picked up the criminals’ firearms as he spoke.
The hostages were somewhat stunned. Luke frowned. “What are you waiting for? I can’t protect so many people if the criminals come back later.”
The hostages finally came back to themselves and started moving.
Thanks to the ten or so guns that Luke was carrying, nobody dared assault him. The women left first, followed by the men. After all, there weren’t any children here.
Soon, they got to the roof. A helicopter soon landed.
Seeing Luke armed to the teeth behind the hostages, someone on the helicopter opened fire immediately.
Luke had been observing the helicopter, and his heart jumped when he saw the man’s movements. He leapt back into the stairwell without thinking as bullets brushed past his hair.
Luke cursed out loud in his heart. Who was this idiot?
The hostages exclaimed in shock. Luke was too angry to greet the idiots on the helicopter. He dropped the guns he had picked up and ran to the elevators.
He opened the doors of the second elevator. The elevator in this shaft was still at the bottom of the building.
Wrapping his hands in his jacket, Luke grabbed a cable and rappelled down.