indianbanksassociation Chapter 672 Ensuring Absolute Safety!
Chapter 672 Ensuring Absolute Safety!
With Old Black leading the way, everyone nodded, their eyes gradually hardening. A young woman, carrying a child, stepped out from the crowd and bowed to Lynn: "Please, you must save us. We don't want to be controlled by Karen anymore."
Lynn reached out to help her up, his voice gentle: "Don't worry, we'll definitely do it. Now, everyone pack your things, take the necessary supplies, and we'll find a safer place to develop a detailed raid plan."
The group immediately sprang into action. Some quickly packed their belongings, while others began inspecting their weapons—mostly homemade spears and iron bars, along with a few old pistols seized from the Karen patrol. Amu and several other young men approached Cole, eager to learn about the tactical training.
Lynn walked aside and discussed with Cole and Jason: "Captain Cole, your team members are skilled in mutant energy perception. When we raid the core base, you can sense the patrol team's location in advance and give us a warning. Old Black and his team are familiar with the mine's terrain and will be responsible for guiding us to avoid Karen's outpost, while also guarding the ordinary experimental personnel inside the base."
“No problem.” Cole nodded. “My team can be divided into two groups, one responsible for sensing and early warning, and the other responsible for frontal assault, to coordinate with your operation. In addition, our energy suppressors can temporarily suppress the mutants’ abilities, which can be used to control Karen’s core subordinates and reduce casualties.”
Jason added, "We have a general idea of the defenses of the Cullen core stronghold. There are three entrances. The main entrance and the side entrance are heavily guarded by mutants. Only the back entrance is relatively weak, but it is blocked by a deep trench and barbed wire. Old Black and his men are familiar with the path from the mine to the core stronghold. We can have them lead us through the back entrance and launch a surprise attack."
Lynn glanced at everyone and said in a deep voice, "Then it's settled. We'll rest here tonight and set off early tomorrow morning for the core stronghold in the northern valley. Until then, everyone must strictly abide by tactical discipline, and no one is allowed to act without authorization or reveal their whereabouts."
"Understood!" the crowd responded in unison, their voices not loud, but filled with an unprecedented firmness.
The next day.
“Lynn, things are going too smoothly. Do you think it might be a trap?” Jason’s voice came through the communicator.
“Whether it’s bait or not, we’ll know when we get there,” Lynn said into his headset, turning his gaze away. “Jason, you take two team members and go verify the location of that coordinate immediately. Be careful to stay hidden and avoid being spotted by Karen’s spies. Also, observe the surrounding environment of the outpost and draw a simple defense map. Miller, let’s go back to the temporary outpost and interrogate Verus to see if we can get any more useful information out of him.”
“Understood, Captain!” Jason and Miller responded simultaneously.
The vehicle quickly arrived at the temporary base. The secluded apartment was still quiet, except that two more team members were on guard at the door. Upon seeing Lynn and the others return, they immediately stepped forward and saluted. "Captain, everything is normal. No suspicious persons have been found."
Lynn nodded and said to his team members, "Take Varus to the interrogation room and keep a close watch on him. Don't let anyone get close."
"Yes, sir!" Two officers stepped forward, grabbed Verus, and headed towards the interrogation room deep inside the apartment. Verus struggled and shouted, "Lynn, you'll regret this! Lord Karen will avenge me!"
Lynn ignored his shouts, walked into the living room, picked up the kettle on the table, poured a glass of water, and handed it to Rodriguez: "Officer Rodriguez, thank you for your hard work. You should rest for a bit. Once we get news from Jason, we'll formulate a raid plan."
Rodriguez took the water glass, took a sip, and looked tired. "Detective Lynn, to be honest, I'm very nervous right now. The Karen organization is too powerful, and this raid is too risky. Moreover, our police force is limited, and we can only send a maximum of fifteen people to provide support."
“I know your concerns,” Lynn said calmly, sitting on the sofa. “But we have no way out. As long as the Karen organization is not destroyed, Honduras will never have peace. More people will be turned into mutants, and more families will be destroyed. Don’t worry, the embassy’s support will arrive soon, and together with our team, we will be able to deal with the mutants in the stronghold.”
Just then, Jason's voice came through the headset, tinged with excitement: "Captain, we've verified it, the coordinates are real! Karen's core stronghold is indeed in the mountains outside Tegucigalpa, an abandoned manor surrounded by dense forests, with only a hidden path leading to the manor gate. We surveyed the manor's perimeter and found that the walls were very high, covered with barbed wire, and there were quite a few mutants patrolling. There are two guard posts at the gate, each guarded by two mutants; it certainly looks heavily fortified."
"Great!" Lynn's eyes lit up. "Have you found the location of the automatic alarm device?"
“I’ve found it,” Jason said in a lower voice. “There’s an infrared sensor every fifty meters around the perimeter of the wall, hidden in the grass, making it hard to spot. Also, there’s a machine gun emplacement on each side of the manor gate, with heavy machine guns inside. That should be the emplacement that the mutant mentioned would activate when the automatic alarm system is triggered.”
“Okay, you continue to stay hidden where you are, observe the movements of the manor, and record the shift change times of the patrolling mutants. Report immediately if anything unusual happens,” Lynn said. “We’ll formulate a raid plan now, and set off as soon as the embassy’s support arrives.”
After hanging up the headset, Lynn took out paper and pen, laid them on the table, and began to draw a simple map of the stronghold: "Officer Rodriguez, the fifteen officers you sent to provide support should be divided into two groups. One group is responsible for sealing off the back and side gates of the manor to prevent Karen and the mutants from escaping; the other group is responsible for assisting us in breaking through the walls and clearing out the patrolling mutants on the perimeter."
“No problem,” Rodriguez nodded. “I’ll contact them right now and have them ready to be on standby.”
“Miller, you lead three team members to dismantle the infrared sensors around the wall. Be quick and don’t trigger the alarm,” Lynn continued. “Jason, lead a team to break through the east wall of the manor. There are the fewest mutant patrols there. Once you’ve broken through, immediately take control of the machine gun positions on both sides of the gate to prevent the heavy machine guns from being activated if the alarm is triggered. I’ll lead the rest of the team to break through the main gate, head straight for the main building of the manor, capture Karen, and gather evidence of his research on mutant drugs.”
“Understood, Captain!” Miller responded immediately. Just then, a commotion arose from the direction of the interrogation room. Lynn frowned, got up, and walked towards the interrogation room. As soon as he reached the door, he saw two team members holding down the struggling Verus. Verus's face was contorted with rage as he shouted, “Let me go! I want to see Lynn! I have something to say to him!”
"What's all the noise about?" Lynn pushed open the door, her tone icy.
Upon seeing Lynn, Verus immediately stopped struggling, a strange glint in his eyes: "Lynn, I can tell you all the details of the defenses at Karen's base, and even the location of Karen's laboratory where they are researching new drugs, but you have to agree to one condition."
Lynn raised an eyebrow, walked up to him, and looked down at him: "What are the conditions?"
“Let me go,” Verus said. “If you let me go, I’ll tell you everything, including Karen’s weaknesses and the enormous wealth he’s hidden. That wealth is enough for you to live comfortably for the rest of your life, much better than being a federal agent.”
Rodriguez, who was following behind Lynn, immediately said upon hearing this, "Detective Lynn, we can't trust him! He's definitely trying to take this opportunity to escape; we can't be fooled by him!"
Verus sneered, "I'm completely under your control now. Even if I wanted to lie to you, I wouldn't have the chance. Lynn, think about it. Karen's stronghold is so heavily defended. Even if you manage to break in, you'll pay a heavy price, and some of you might even be killed. But if I tell you all the details, you can easily capture Karen and get a huge fortune. Why not?"
Lynn stared into Verus's eyes, remaining silent for a moment. He knew Verus's words were unreliable, but he had to admit that the information Verus possessed was crucial to their raid on the stronghold. If they could extract all the details of the defenses from Verus, they could reduce casualties among their team and increase the success rate of the raid.
“I can agree to your request,” Lynn said slowly, “but I have one condition. You must first tell me all the details of the defenses and the location of the laboratory. Once we successfully capture Karen and destroy the stronghold, I will let you go. But if you dare to lie to me, I will make you wish you were dead.”
A hint of excitement flashed in Verus's eyes, and he immediately said, "Alright! It's a deal! I'll tell you now. Karen's manor's main building has three floors. The first floor is the guard room and armory, the second floor is the mutants' dormitory, and the third floor is Karen's office and laboratory. The laboratory is at the very back of the third floor, guarded by two fire mutants. There's also a combination lock on the door, and the combination is 170925."
He paused, then continued, “Around the manor’s walls, besides the infrared sensors, there are also underground traps, mainly concentrated on the west wall. Under the grass there, there are many spike traps; if you step on one, your foot will be pierced. The patrolling mutants change shifts every half hour, with a five-minute gap between each shift. This is your best opportunity to break through the wall.”
"Also, Karen's two bodyguards, the one who controls fire, has a weak point in his throat. His throat is unprotected; if you hit there, you can subdue him. The one who controls metal, has a weak point in his eyes. His eyes are very sensitive and afraid of bright light. If you shine a bright light into his eyes, he will be temporarily blinded and unable to fight." Verus spoke more and more in detail, without the slightest hesitation in his eyes, clearly eager to exchange for his freedom.
Lynn took out a pen and paper and quickly jotted down every detail he had mentioned, asking as he did so, "Where is Karen now? Are there any other guards in his office?"
“Karen should be in the lab right now,” Verus said. “He’s been working on a new mutant drug and rarely comes out. There are three regular guards in his office, all of them Karen’s confidants. They’re quite agile, but they’re not mutants, so they’re easy to deal with. Also, there’s a group of ordinary people being held captive in the manor’s basement. They’re all subjects for Karen’s experiments. You can rescue them while you’re at it.”
“Where is the basement located?” Rodriguez asked.
“There’s a hidden entrance under the stairs on the first floor of the main building. It requires a password to open, and the password is the same as the one in the lab: 170925,” Verus said. “That’s all I know. If you let me go, I promise I’m not lying to you.”
Lynn put away his pen and paper, looking at him coldly: "I will verify what you said. If even one word is false, I will kill you immediately. Miller, take him back to his cell and keep him under strict guard. He is not allowed to contact anyone."
“Understood, Captain!” Miller stepped forward, supporting Varus as they headed towards the cell. As they walked, Varus shouted, “Lynn, you have to keep your word! You have to let me go!”
Lynn didn't respond, but turned to Rodriguez and said, "Officer Rodriguez, contact your officers immediately and have them familiarize themselves with the details of the outpost's defenses, especially the locations of the underground traps and combination locks. I'll contact Jason now and have him confirm the shift change time and trap locations that Verus mentioned. Once we confirm that everything is correct, we'll set off immediately once the embassy's support arrives."
“Okay!” Rodriguez nodded, immediately took out his phone, and began contacting the police officers.
Lynn walked into the living room, pressed the headset, and contacted Jason: "Jason, Verus has given some details about the base's defenses. Verify them immediately, especially the underground traps in the west wall, the shift change times for the patrolling mutants, and the codes for the lab and the basement. See if what he said is true."
"Understood, Captain!" Jason's voice came through. "I'll arrange for my team to verify right away, and I'll get back to you soon."
After hanging up the headset, Lynn leaned back on the sofa, closed his eyes, and kept replaying the details of the defenses Varus had described in his mind. Combining these with Jason's previous observations, he refined the raid plan in his mind. Sunlight streamed through the window, falling on his face, but it offered no warmth. He knew that this raid was still fraught with danger. Even if what Varus said was true, Karen might still have a backup plan. They had to be fully prepared to ensure success.
About half an hour later, Jason's voice came through the earpiece, sounding somewhat certain: "Captain, what Verus said is true! We've verified it. There are indeed spiked traps under the bushes on the west wall. The patrolling mutants change shifts every half hour, with a five-minute interval between shifts. We've also confirmed the password for the lab and basement is 170925 through covert observation. Furthermore, we discovered a path leading to the woods from the back gate of the manor, guarded by only one mutant—a weak point in our efforts to intercept any escapees." (End of Chapter)