Chapter 455: A Glimmer of Hope, Only to Be Shattered

Chapter 455: Chapter 455: A Glimmer of Hope, Only to Be Shattered

One of the team members tying up the culprits sighed, "Having Captain Sawyer’s help this time really made things surprisingly easy."

The few nearby who overheard nodded in agreement.

Considering the number of hostiles on this cruise ship and the bomb in the hull, it would have been questionable if they could have even rescued their five colleagues without Captain Sawyer’s ability.

Getting out of there in one piece while also saving the rest of the hostages would have been another challenge entirely.

But what seemed like an impossible mission was made to look remarkably simple, all thanks to her incredible power.

After she opened a door to kick things off, the remaining guards didn’t stand a chance.

With coordination from the team in the surveillance room, Heath Hale and his men joined forces with colleagues on other decks and had everyone else subdued in less than an hour.

Zoe Sawyer didn’t participate in the subsequent arrests, so many of them involved direct confrontations.

Even with the element of surprise, a few agents were still shot and wounded. Heath Hale and Barry Quinn, who led the charge, were hit in the arm and leg, respectively.

However, compared to the heavy casualties they would have suffered without her foresight, a few minor injuries was the best possible outcome.

Meanwhile, Zoe Sawyer found an empty hallway and tossed out the men in the loud shirts from earlier.

She had brought them through her door to avoid being discovered, but now that everyone on the cruise ship had been captured, there was no reason for them to stick around.

She had to toss them back right away!

As soon as she sent the men through, the two-dozen or so names on the surface of her door flashed a few times before slowly fading away.

Zoe Sawyer, who had been watching the door intently, saw this and finally let out a huge sigh of relief.

’That’s great,’ she thought. ’The death crisis is finally, completely over!’

Not long after Heath Hale’s team had subdued everyone on the ship, military backup arrived. They also captured the group of henchmen waiting for Patrick Miller nearby.

Since their chief had already briefed the reinforcements on the situation, the soldiers didn’t ask any questions after boarding. They simply saluted Heath Hale and his team before taking Patrick Miller and his men into custody.

"Alright, leave the hostage situation to them," the chief’s voice urged through their earpieces. "You all get over here and come back through Sawyer’s door for medical attention, now!"

As for the matter of keeping Zoe Sawyer’s ability a secret?

He didn’t need to stress the point. The military personnel knew what to do.

After completing the handover and ensuring nothing had been missed, Heath Hale and Barry Quinn gathered their people and prepared to leave.

Patrick Miller, who was being escorted past, slowly came to. He saw the deck covered with his bound henchmen, his top lieutenant unconscious in a corner, and the disheveled, equally unconscious father-son trio. A chill shot straight through his heart.

’A bunch of useless trash!’

’They didn’t even notice someone sneaking into their own backyard!’

Patrick Miller strained against his bound hands. No use, he couldn’t break free.

But then, Patrick Miller felt a button inside his cuff. He looked closely. It was the detonator for the bombs!

’Looks like these guys aren’t so tough after all,’ he sneered inwardly. ’How could they miss something so obvious!’

’Fine. If I can’t live, then I’ll just have to take a few more people with me!’

’Even in death, I’ll drag down as many people as I can!’

At this thought, Patrick Miller let out a cold laugh, his gaze sweeping over the busy agents as if they were already dead.

"Since I can’t escape, none of you are getting out of this alive! You can all stay and die with me!" Patrick Miller spat, thinking he sounded coolly ruthless, and slammed his thumb down on the red button.

Having said his piece, Patrick Miller closed his eyes, a look of grim satisfaction on his face as he waited for death.

A minute passed. The expected explosion never came.

Patrick Miller started to grow anxious, but to save face, he forced himself to keep his eyes shut.

’Maybe it’s just delayed,’ he thought. ’Just a little longer... a little longer...’

As he thought this, he began mashing the button faster and harder.

Two minutes passed, then three.

Still nothing.

Patrick Miller’s eyes snapped open in disbelief. Why hadn’t the bombs in the hull detonated?

’Was it a quality issue?’

’Impossible!’

’He’d had them checked before they were delivered. They were real!’

’And after they were installed, he’d sent several teams down to inspect them. Everything was perfect. So why did they fail now?’

’Could it be... that these cops had already found and disarmed them?’

Patrick Miller’s head snapped toward Heath Hale and the others standing nearby. Sure enough, he saw the mockery in their eyes.

"Finally figured it out?" Heath Hale walked over and snatched the detonator from Patrick Miller’s hand. "We disarmed those bombs you planted in the hull ages ago. Why else do you think we’d leave you this little toy?"

He dangled it between two fingers, waggling it at him. His tone and every action oozed provocation.

They weren’t idiots; they wouldn’t have overlooked such a massive security flaw.

The only reason they hadn’t taken it away was that they noticed Patrick Miller was about to wake up. They simply wanted to let him experience a moment of hope before it was brutally crushed.

Just as planned, upon hearing Heath Hale’s words, the last glimmer of hope in Patrick Miller’s eyes died. He lost all will to struggle and allowed himself to be led away.

The military team leader listened to his subordinate’s report, then glanced over the reconnaissance data again, raising an eyebrow in surprise.

’There were no traces of any other vessels in this area, only this cruise ship and the patrol routes of ships belonging to Patrick Miller. So how did this team manage to evade them and get on board?’

’And how did they take down so many hostiles, virtually unscathed, all without being detected?!’

But no matter how curious he was, he remembered the non-disclosure agreement he’d signed before arriving. He snapped the file shut and said to the person before him, "Right, I understand. Get all these people out of here, then help the victims contact their families."

"Yes, sir!"

As for Heath Hale’s team, once they confirmed the military had taken over everything, they all headed for the surveillance room.

Zoe Sawyer was already there, the door open, waiting for them.

"Great work, everyone!" the chief said, clapping Heath Hale and Barry Quinn excitedly on their shoulders. "You cracked a huge case today. Your director and I will handle things with the higher-ups. Rest assured, you’ll get every bit of the credit and every reward you’ve earned!"

He was careful, though, avoiding Heath Hale’s injured arm.

Seeing their exhausted faces, the chief clapped his hands. "Alright, the wounded need to get their injuries treated first. As for the rest of you, I’ll have the cafeteria whip something up. Get something to eat and get some proper rest. Everything else can wait!"

The five main culprits they had captured were all major figures, so there would certainly be a lot of fallout to deal with.

He might even need Zoe Sawyer’s help again.

The chief had already made up his mind. He would file a report with the higher-ups and request to have her temporarily assigned to his unit for cooperation.

’If he could poach her for his own team, that would be even better!’