Finally, guided by the cemetery caretaker, Bruce found the grave of Hank’s late wife.
A photo was attached to the tombstone, showing a white woman with a bright smile, Lena Voight.
What was moving was the column for the dates of birth and death; it turned out that Hank’s wife had passed away ten years ago.
In other words, Lena passed away when Justin was in his teens.
This must be the reason why Justin had a withdrawn personality and couldn’t get along with his father.
Bruce looked around, but he didn’t find Justin at the scene, only a bouquet of fresh flowers and a blood-stained whiskey bottle left behind.
It seemed that Justin had indeed been here, and the wet alcohol stains on the ground suggested that he might have left only a short while ago.
Where could he have gone?
Bruce recalled all the information he had seen in Justin’s room.
Where was the “old place” mentioned in the chat logs?
Was it Warehouse 12 in the Port District?
Bruce had seen a photo of Justin and Joe together in Justin’s room, and the background of the photo was Warehouse 12.
In the photo, Justin, Joe, and a group of strangers were squatting in front of several muscle cars, posing in funny ways.
Never mind, let’s go check it out first.
With that, Bruce got into his mercedes-amg gt and drove away.
…
Bruce arrived at Warehouse 12 in the Port District.
It had long been abandoned, overgrown with weeds, and the corners of the warehouse were filled with drug paraphernalia.
One would probably get sick just by stepping on it.
Bruce drew his gun and checked the perimeter of the warehouse; he didn’t want to get caught off guard.
Suddenly, on the other side of the river, Bruce spotted a traffic camera with an angle that could capture the entrance of the warehouse.
He contacted Sheldon, asking for help on a personal basis, without revealing the details of the case.
“Sheldon, I need you to help me check a traffic camera located at the intersection of Harrison Street and Rockway Street in the Cicero District, for the footage from 9 PM to 11 PM last night.”
“Bruce?
Is this an official case?
I need authorization…
Hank doesn’t allow me to take side jobs.”
“It’s a personal favor involving Hank’s family,” Bruce said bluntly.
“No matter what you find, except for me and Hank, don’t keep it—even for yourself—and delete the record immediately.”
Sheldon on the other end of the line was silent for a moment, then said, “Give me ten minutes.”
The call was then disconnected.
About ten minutes later, the footage was sent over.
Bruce quickly checked it.
The angle was indeed off, but it was enough to see a part of the warehouse entrance.
The video showed that at 10:08 PM, Frank walked into the warehouse alone wearing a coat; then at 10:15 PM, Joe also walked into the warehouse alone.
Immediately after, a flash of light flickered—that was the gunpowder residue from a firearm being discharged.
Bruce’s heart tightened.
Good, the key evidence was in hand; Justin had not been at the primary crime scene.
But the next part of the footage left him speechless.
Justin appeared sneakily in the surveillance video, looking like he was checking on the situation at the warehouse.
Then, about ten minutes later, Justin and Joe were seen stumbling out of the warehouse, frantically carrying Frank’s body, until they disappeared from the video.
Alright, the truth of the case had basically surfaced.
It was likely that Joe claimed he wanted to borrow a car from Justin, but in reality, he wanted to use Justin’s car to flee after committing the murder.
But because Justin was worried about Joe, he accidentally stumbled into the crime scene.
Therefore, to drag Justin into it, Joe used Justin’s car to move Frank’s body from the warehouse to Lincoln Park.
Just like that, Justin went from an innocent bystander to an accomplice who helped transport the body.
Bruce was truly speechless.
This brat—if only he had contacted Hank directly, there wouldn’t have been all these subsequent troubles.
Having figured everything out, Bruce immediately called Hank: “Hank, I’ve cleared it up.
Justin is innocent.
He just stumbled into the shooting scene without knowing what happened and then confusedly helped move the body…
I’ve collected all the evidence.”
“Damn it, fuck.” After hearing Bruce’s report, Hank cursed out loud.
Bruce also heard the urgent sound of sirens from the receiver; it seemed Hank and his team weren’t idle either.
Then, Hank’s hoarse and urgent voice came through the receiver: “Bruce, Justin just contacted me too, saying Joe wanted him to go to a warehouse to ‘talk’ tonight.
I think it’s a trap.”
“Where?” A warehouse?
It couldn’t be that coincidental, could it?
“Port District, Warehouse 12. This story is hosted at g.com.
8 PM.”
Upon hearing this, Bruce looked at his watch; it was already 7:32 PM.
“Hank, I’m already here.
This is the primary scene where Frank was shot.
If Joe wants to silence witnesses or frame Justin, I will stop him.” Bruce spoke rapidly.
He could already hear the roar of car engines; it seemed the main players had arrived.
“Bruce, be careful.
Joe won’t be acting alone; Alessio might have arranged for people to protect him in secret.” Thank God, calling Bruce in for overtime today was the right decision, Hank thought to himself.
“I know.
Alright, Hank, they’re here.” Bruce lowered his voice, hung up the phone, and turned it off.
…
7:45 PM, Chicago Port District.
Warehouse 12 sat like a rusted steel beast, crouching by the dark pier.
Bruce drew his personal handgun, a silver Beretta M92F.
As for his service weapon, it had already been turned in yesterday.
At this moment, the side door of the warehouse was left ajar.
Bruce activated his “Hearing Positioning” skill to its full extent and determined there were five people inside.
He quietly pushed the door open and slipped inside.
The interior of the warehouse was empty.
Dim light spilled down from above.
Justin was kneeling on the ground with his hands tied behind his back, blood streaming from his forehead.
Joe stood in front of him, holding a gun.
The other three men stood around them; they were all Alessio’s henchmen.
“So you just tell the police that you drove the car, that you planned it, and that you killed Frank.” Catalano lifted Justin’s chin with the gun barrel.
“If you don’t say it, I’ll kill you for it.
Anyway, you have your dad to help you get off the hook, what are you afraid of!”
“I didn’t kill anyone!” Justin shouted, his voice hoarse.
“I just borrowed the car!
I didn’t know you were going to kill him!”
“Who will the judge believe?
The car is covered in your fingerprints, and Frank’s blood is in the trunk, right?” Catalano laughed.
“Oh, right, there are also the photos of you buying drugs from Frank, and the photo of you threatening Frank with a gun—I’ll submit all of those.
So, Justin, just plead guilty.
Your dad can fix everything anyway.”
Bruce ignored their conversation; he was assessing the situation.
One against four, with Justin as a hostage—he needed better odds.
He picked up a piece of metal and threw it outside the door.
The clanging sound echoed through the empty warehouse.
“What was that sound?” One of the henchmen turned around alertly.
Joe frowned, looking vigilantly toward the source of the sound, and ordered two of his henchmen: “Go check it out.”
The two henchmen walked in the direction of the sound.
Bruce took the opportunity to move, circling to a different angle.
After the two henchmen disappeared around the corner, he delivered a hand-strike to each of them, knocking them both unconscious.
Good, now there were only Joe, two henchmen, and Justin left.
The advantage was with him; the time had come.
Immediately, Bruce stepped out of the shadows, raising his gun in a defensive stance: “CPD!
Joe Catalano, the game is over!
Drop the gun now!”
Everyone turned toward him.
Joe’s gun muzzle shifted from Justin to Bruce.
“A cop?
Coming alone?
Truly brave, or truly stupid.”
“I have evidence that you threatened Justin, evidence that you planned the murder of Frank, and evidence of Alessio’s involvement,” Bruce said calmly.
“Surrender, and you’ll live to see a courtroom.
Upon hearing this, Joe threw his head back and laughed, displaying a trace of madness.
“Do you think I’m afraid of death?”
As he said this, he abruptly turned the muzzle back toward Justin, making a move to fire.
Joe’s two henchmen also pointed their handguns at Bruce.
But Bruce was faster.
Under the enhancement of “Gun Duel,” it felt as if time had slowed down.
Bruce saw Catalano’s finger pulling the trigger, saw Justin’s terrified eyes, and saw the other two henchmen aiming their guns at him.
Bruce aimed directly and fired.
“Bang, bang, bang…” It wasn’t one shot, but three, almost simultaneously.
The first bullet struck Joe’s wrist, and the handgun flew out of his hand.
The second and third bullets struck the shoulders of the two henchmen respectively, causing them to stumble backward, unable to fight any longer.
Joe crouched on the ground, screaming in pain, but used his other hand to draw a backup gun from his waist.
Bruce did not hesitate and fired again; this time, he aimed for the head.
The gunshot was deafening in the warehouse.
Joe’s body fell backward, and a perfect bullet hole appeared on his forehead, exactly the same as Frank Fittoli’s.
“Criminal Joe Catalano eliminated, obtained one black iron treasure chest.” The system’s notification sound came right on cue.
The other two henchmen reacted, and seeing Joe on the ground, they immediately raised their hands: “We surrender!
We surrender!”
Bruce kept his gun raised and walked forward slowly, tying the two henchmen up with their hands behind their backs.
Only then did he walk over to untie Justin.
“You…
you killed him.” Justin stared at Joe’s corpse and said, trembling.
“He was about to kill you.” Bruce checked his injuries, feeling quite speechless inside.
“Can you walk?”
Justin nodded and stood up with Bruce’s support.
At this moment, the sound of sirens—many sirens—came from outside the warehouse.
“Bang…” The warehouse door was kicked open, and Hank rushed in, followed by the fully armed Intelligence Unit and SWAT, but Katherine was not to be seen.
“Bruce!
Justin!” Seeing his son was still alive, Hank clearly breathed a sigh of relief, but his expression was complex when he saw Joe’s corpse.
Investigator Gladysal had also arrived.
She stepped forward, her expression cold and stern: “Officer Stacy, I need you to explain what happened here.”
Bruce pointed to the two henchmen kneeling on the ground.
“I had nothing to do today and came here to fish, and then I saw these people kidnapping Sheriff Hank’s son, so I immediately notified the Sheriff and went forward to check the situation.
When I arrived, the criminal I shot was holding a gun to the Sheriff’s son, threatening him to take the fall.
The Sheriff’s son refused, and the criminal intended to shoot him directly.
I had no choice but to eliminate him.”
“They can testify to that.” After saying this, Bruce pointed to the four henchmen present.
Gladysal signaled for the others to step back, but her eyes remained fixed on Bruce.
“Internal Affairs will still investigate your actions, Stacey.
Breaking in single-handedly, resulting in the death of a suspect…”
“It resulted in the death of a suspect who was attempting to murder a witness, ma’am.” Bruce corrected her unhurriedly.
“And I notified the Sheriff of my location; there is a record of it.”
“Yes, Officer Stacey encountered this emergency while on leave,” Hank said after sending Justin to the ambulance and returning to the scene to back Bruce up.
“All subsequent actions were carried out after my authorization.”
“Hmph.” Seeing Hank say this, Gladysal let out a cold snort, left a harsh remark, and walked away.
“I hope you’re this lucky every time, Hank.
And you too, Officer Stacey.”
After Gladysal left, Bruce finally handed the evidence regarding Justin to Hank.
“Here is the footage from the scene, as well as some photos and recordings…”
“Thank you, Bruce, really.” The tough-guy Sheriff Hank displayed a rare moment of genuine emotion.
“I can’t imagine a life without Justin.
Thank you for your efforts today.”
“Sheriff, I don’t know what you’re talking about.
I was just fishing…”
The two looked at each other and smiled, not continuing the previous topic, but simply shaking hands firmly.
It might not seem tempting right nobut who knows what the future holds?
“And If you’re enjoying it, drop a Power Stone for me!”