It had been two hours since Bruce and Katherine returned with the clues.
The Intelligence Unit was still working overtime, searching through data, having only burgers and cola for lunch to get by.
At one-thirty in the afternoon, a breakthrough finally emerged.
Erin pulled up the surveillance footage from around Noel’s shop and found that the van with the church logo had appeared frequently over the past few months.
The same vehicle also showed up in surveillance footage near Dean’s villa, just six hours before Dean went crazy.
“The vehicle belongs to the ‘New Life Revival Church,’ located at 140 59th Street,” Sheldon reported on his investigation.
“It’s registered under the name of Pastor Mike Yark.
Mike Yark, 45, African American, no criminal record, but there are a few minor disputes in the police files, mainly neighbor complaints about noise from church activities.”
“A pastor working as a hitman?” Antonio expressed skepticism.
“It could be a cover,” Ruzek joked.
As a rookie, he rarely spoke.
“A church is the perfect base.
People won’t suspect it, the comings and goings won’t attract attention, and it has a moral halo.”
Finally, Hank made a decision: “We’re going to visit Pastor Yark.
Antonio, go apply for a search warrant.
Prepare to search the church as well.”
…
At 2:10 PM, the Intelligence Unit was fully armed and arrived at the New Life Revival Church.
The church was an inconspicuous brick building with old, damaged stained-glass windows.
Antonio knocked on the side door.
A tall, burly African American man opened it, wearing a pastor’s robe and holding a Bible.
It was Mike Yark.
“Police?” Yark looked amiable, his brow furrowing imperceptibly.
“How can I help you?”
“Pastor Mike,” Hank said, showing the search warrant without ceremony.
“We need to ask about your vehicle and your whereabouts yesterday.”
“My vehicle?” Yark’s expression was natural.
“I was preparing for the Sunday sermon yesterday, and the vehicle has been parked behind the church the whole time.”
“Can we take a look at your vehicle?” Bruce suddenly interjected.
Yark hesitated for a second, then nodded: “Of course.”
The blue van was parked in the church’s backyard.
Bruce and the others circled the vehicle to inspect it and found fresh mud stains on the front right mudguard, which clearly contradicted Pastor Mike’s claim that the vehicle had been parked in the backyard the whole time.
More obviously, there were traces of fresh cleaning on the floor of the trunk, but Katherine still found a scrap of paper in a crevice that was the same as the special paper found in Noel’s shop.
They exchanged glances; it was basically certain that this Mike was the Mike they were looking for.
It was time to make an arrest.
“Pastor Mike,” Bruce suddenly turned to Mike, his hand already on his glock.
“Did you go to the ‘Cowboys Heart’ clothing store on 64th Street yesterday?”
Pastor Mike’s smile vanished.
“I don’t understand what you’re talking about.”
Katherine suddenly pointed to the cuffs of Mike’s robe.
“What’s that?
Bloodstains?”
Pastor Mike’s face changed drastically.
Without looking down, he violently ripped open his pastor’s robe, revealing a holster and a glock underneath.
“Back off!” Hank shouted when he saw this.
“Mike, stop your resistance!”
But Pastor Mike had already raised his gun, ignoring Hank’s words entirely.
Bruce’s reaction was faster.
With the support of [Gun Duel] and [American Iaijutsu], he had already moved to the side and fired his gun.
He wasn’t aiming for a lethal spot, but at Pastor Mike’s gun-wielding arm; they needed a live captive.
The bullet hit Pastor Mike’s wrist, and the gun fell to the ground.
But the pastor didn’t surrender; instead, he lunged at Bruce like a wounded beast, pulling a dagger from his waist with his other hand.
Well, Mike had picked the wrong target again.
The two wrestled together.
Although Pastor Mike had astonishing strength, Bruce’s [Dragon Subduing and Tiger Taming] grappling technique was superior.
With a series of bone-cracking sounds, Pastor Mike screamed and fell to his knees, dropping the dagger.
Antonio quickly stepped forward to handcuff him.
Hank picked up Yark’s glock and checked the magazine.
“Take him away!”
Just like that, the group marched Pastor Mike away in a grand procession.
…
In the interrogation room.
Faced with the evidence provided by the Intelligence Unit, Mike Yark remained silent.
[Image] Pastor Mike.
“We have surveillance, Mike,” Antonio said, ignoring his attitude and laying out the evidence one by one.
“Your vehicle appeared outside Noel’s shop and near Dean’s house.
Now Noel is dead, and Dean is in a coma in the hospital from an overdose.
Who will be next?
Do you think Green Ward will let you go!?”
The moment Green’s name was mentioned, Mike’s psychological defense showed a crack, but he still didn’t speak.
“We’re looking for the counterfeit ring, Mike.
We’re not targeting you,” Erin said, playing the good cop on the side.
“Dean made the plates, Noel provided the materials, you’re just a muscle!
Green is the boss behind the scenes.
We can make a deal.
You give us information on Green, and we’ll apply for a reduced sentence for you with the prosecutor.”
Hearing this, Pastor Mike was still struggling.
Seeing his expression, Antonio decided to add fuel to the fire.
He took out ten thousand dollars in cash that had been seized from the church, pulled out a few bills in front of Pastor Mike, and burned them to ashes with a lighter.
The flames danced, and Mike’s heart raced along with them.
He opened his mouth and made a hoarse sound: “Counterfeit money?
fuck, that goddamn Green.”
Erin and Antonio shrugged and didn’t speak, just pushed the counterfeit money on the table toward Pastor Mike.
Mike raised his handcuffed hands and grabbed the counterfeit money in front of him, his eyes wide with rage.
“He lives in a penthouse in the Lake District, but he usually stays at the printing factory in the West River area.
You guys go catch him quickly.
fuck, I’m going to kill him.”
“Why did Green want you to kill Dean and Noel?” Antonio continued to press.
“Dean had a mental breakdown.
He wanted to turn himself in.
Green definitely couldn’t allow that.” Mike looked up, staring straight into Antonio’s eyes.
“As for Noel, that bitch took Green’s money to buy heroin.
fuck!
fuck!
I thought Noel had taken extra money at the time, but it was counterfeit.
fuck!”
The interrogation was basically over.
Hank immediately turned and walked out of the observation room, deploying enhanced protection for Dean via radio.
The Intelligence Unit gathered in the office to hear Hank’s operational arrangements.
“Gene, you find out how many printing factories there are in the West River area,” Hank stood in front of everyone, masterminding the plan.
“Antonio, you and Old Ai…”
Before he could finish, Old Ai raised his hand to signal.
“Hank, I might not be able to participate in tonight’s operation.”
Hearing this, Hank didn’t show a trace of hesitation or displeasure.
“Alright, Old Ai, you handle your own business first.
Then Antonio, you and Jay take the patrol officers to Green’s apartment in the Lake District.
Stacey, Hayek, Erin, Ruzek, you guys come with me to the factory.”
“Copy that!”
Before long, Sheldon came up with a map.
Fortunately, there was only one printing factory in the West River area.
“Let’s go!” Hank waved his hand, and led the Intelligence Unit out.
At dusk, Belmont Printing Factory.
Bruce, Katherine, Hank, and the others quietly surrounded the factory.
“Target confirmed inside,” Ruzek discovered Green’s figure through a micro-probe.
“Male, white, around sixty years old, matches the description of Green Ward.
He’s packing his luggage.
No one else found on the scene.”
Hank ordered directly: “Move in.”
The five people split into two groups and approached the factory from the front and back.
Bruce and Katherine were responsible for the frontal assault.
Bruce wasn’t holding a handgun this time; instead, he was carrying an M4A1 carbine.
Because of the things he obtained from the [bronze treasure chest for Arresting Michael Gantz] yesterday, in addition to $5,000 in cash, there were 3 skill points and a skill called Fire Support.
At the time, Bruce had upgraded it directly to Level 3.
Fire Support LV3: When using rifle-type weapons, shooting accuracy +30%, magazine reload speed +30%.
Coupled with his already decent rifle shooting skills, Bruce was full of confidence now.
Soon, Bruce and the other one encountered Green.
He didn’t try to run; instead, he raised his gun.
A gunfight erupted instantly.
Green hid behind a reinforced wall in the factory and fired wildly at Bruce and the other.
The UZI bullets hit the concrete floor, splashing sparks and debris.
Bruce seized the opportunity and fired a three-round burst at the same spot, punching through the wall, and then the fourth shot accurately hit Green’s calf.
Green screamed, but he still didn’t give up resistance, continuing to fire until his bullets ran out.
“Cover me!” Bruce shouted, and took advantage of the gap while Green was changing magazines to push forward.
Katherine took over his shooting angle, firing at the corner where Green was hiding, suppressing Green so he wouldn’t dare to poke his head out.
“CPD!
Green, drop your weapon,” in an instant, Bruce had circled behind Green and held his gun against the back of his head.
“Give up resistance, now, immediately!”
At this moment, Katherine also arrived, pointing her gun at Green as well.
“CPD!
Green, drop the gun!”
Surrounded from the front and back, Green gave up resistance, dropped the UZI in his hand, and obediently raised his hands.
“It’s over, Green,” Katherine pressed her knee against his spine and handcuffed him.
“You are now formally under arrest for manufacturing counterfeit money and solicitation of murder.”
Hank and the others also arrived at the scene.
Hank looked at the subdued Green Ward, then at the calm Bruce and Katherine, and felt that his decision to transfer these two to the Intelligence Unit was absolutely correct.
…
On the way back to the police station, Katherine couldn’t stop praising Bruce’s idea of shooting through the wall three times.
“Bruce, your marksmanship is amazing, and your brain is flexible too.
How did you think of that?
OMG, that was so cool.”
Bruce was appropriately modest.
“Hahaha, Katherine, it’s not that exaggerated.
It was just a flash of inspiration, thought of it on the spot.”
Along the way, the two chatted and laughed.
Green in the back of the car looked furious.
I just lost to two rookie cops like this?
Bruce didn’t care about Green’s thoughts.
The system had just prompted [Cracked a large-scale counterfeit manufacturing ring, arrested the ringleader Green Ward, obtained a bronze treasure chest].
I’ll see what I get when I go home tonight, Bruce thought, leaning back on the car seat and closing his eyes to rest.
Katherine’s voice pulled him back to reality: “What are you thinking about?”
“Thinking about a hot shower and hot coffee.” Bruce opened his eyes.
Hearing this, Katherine laughed out loud.
“Me too, but unfortunately, we still have to go back to the police station to write reports.”
When the vehicle drove into the parking lot of the 21st Precinct, there were already people waiting to take over Green Ward.
After handing over the prisoner, Katherine and Bruce dragged their tired bodies upstairs.
Waiting for them was the hot coffee Erin handed over, as well as the forms for the operation report.