“Africa?”
Kendra sneered coldly, “You were probably raising pigs in Africa, weren’t you?”
Darnell’s eyes lit up, “Kendra, you’re amazing! How did you know I raised pigs?”
“Do you know that I can have forty wives? Do you want me to save a spot for you?”
Darnell looked expectant. “You’re so beautiful, and it wouldn’t be bad to be my wife.”
Kendra ignored Darnell’s joking and instead focused her sharp gaze on the pig-masked robber, muttering to herself, “The explosion at Skyline Bank, the burning of three tons of accounting books, the killing of dozens of overseas witnesses-rumor has it Mathias Webley did it all. Zane paid him two billion dollars.”
“But why would he come to Whiteville and end up ambushed like this?”
Darnell had been unconcerned until he heard Kendra’s muttering. His lip twitched slightly. Were these people connected to Zane?
It seemed Zane had been lucky-destroying evidence and silencing witnesses-all successfully executed. But why had these six people appeared in Whiteville and been discovered?
Darnell’s eyes showed new interest as he wondered if capturing them might earn him a billion-dollar reward.
While Darnell’s thoughts raced, the robbers had already cleared the jewelry store. The front and back iron doors were locked. The second-floor doors and windows were jammed and electrified by two of the robbers, preventing police infiltration. The pig-masked robber had taken control of the situation.
Mathias Webley was satisfied with everyone’s performance. His gaze swept around before pointing his gun at six female sales associates and barking, “You six, get out here.”
He stared at the smartly dressed women. “Hurry up.”
Mathias Webley showed not only powerful control of the situation but also incredible psychological fortitude. His arm had bullet grazes and glass shards embedded in it, with bright red blood flowing down, yet he paid no attention to it as if the pain meant nothing to him.
The police sirens outside had no effect on the group either.
The six saleswomen looked around, seeing everyone desperately trying to shrink back, wishing they could become ants and disappear into cracks in the floor. Finally, with pained expressions, they stood up, trembling as they pleaded, “Please spare our lives. We beg you, don’t… don’t kill us.”
They thought the pig-masked robber wanted to kill them, like in the movies where hostages are killed to intimidate the police.
“Kill you?”
The pig-masked robber laughed coldly, raising his homemade gun. “Not yet, but if you don’t obey, I might change my mind.”
“Stop wasting time. Get over there and kneel by the door. Don’t try to run and don’t try anything clever. Just remember there are six guns pointed at your backs. Move it.”
Hearing this, the six women secretly breathed sighs of relief. They were being used as human shields to prevent the police from attacking recklessly.
They knew, however, that even if the robbers wouldn’t kill them for now, hostages still faced poor odds of survival. With that thought in mind, they hesitated, moving very slowly.
Seeing their sluggishness, a rabbit-masked robber stepped forward, kicked two of them to the ground, and chambered a round with a click, shouting, “Do you want me to shoot?”
At these words, the six scrambled to the door, kneeling at two-meter intervals, obediently placing their hands behind their heads.
When they appeared, the police immediately stopped advancing. The rabbit-masked robber shouted outside, “Everyone, back off.”
“Anyone who approaches, I’ll kill all six of them.”
He fired a shot into the floor, making the six women scream in terror.
“Back off!”
The police had no choice but to retreat.
The pig-masked robber nodded with satisfaction, calling to another robber in a monkey mask, “Watch them. If they try to run, blow their heads off.”
Then he shouted at Darnell and the others, “Everyone else, squat in the corner! Quick! Whoever’s slowest goes to the door.”
He pulled the gun bolt, making it rattle. Dozens of people immediately rolled to the corner and squatted down, some pushing to the outside, afraid of being sent to kneel at the door as human shields.
Kendra gritted her teeth, but in the end, she followed the crowd to the corner.
However, she quickly realized something was wrong-Darnell hadn’t followed. He was still lying in his original spot.
What was this idiot doing?
As concern flashed across Kendra’s pretty face, the bull-masked robber had already spotted the disobedient Darnell. He walked over with his gun and bellowed, “What are you doing here? Get over there! Do you want to die?”
The five robbers and the hostages turned to look, surprised that someone wasn’t following orders.
Darnell raised his hands, exclaiming excitedly, “Brother, brothers, I’m one of you!”
As his words fell, the atmosphere instantly became tense. Everyone stared at Darnell in shock, completely confused by what he meant.
The bull-masked robber looked bewildered. “What do you mean, ‘one of us’? What the hell are you talking about?”
Darnell looked slightly embarrassed. “Actually… I’m here to rob the place too…”
Kendra fell to the ground. What on earth was this moron doing?
The bull-masked robber asked incredulously, “You’re here to rob?”
Darnell stood up from the ground, still holding his hands open as he smiled, “Yes, I had my eye on the twelve zodiac figures in this store. I wanted to steal them for a life of luxury.”
“But before I could make my move, you all burst in. We’re comrades. We’re on the same side. Just give me a chance to get rich too.”
“Twelve zodiac figures?”
The pig-masked robber narrowed his eyes at these words. “They sound valuable.”
“They are! Each one is worth 2. 5 million, and twelve of them make thirty million total. And the vault doesn’t have just one set-there are ten sets worth three hundred million dollars altogether.”
Darnell immediately added, “Just think about it-three hundred million dollars. Isn’t that impressive? The six of you are grabbing bags of jewelry, but do they add up to three hundred million? I bet not.”
“The sales lady was just about to take me to the vault when you all showed up, disrupting my plan.”
“But it’s fine. We’re on the same side. A little delay doesn’t matter.”
The sales associate turned pale, gasping. She had thought Darnell was a big customer, never suspecting he was a robber too. Thankfully, the six golden monkeys hadn’t been brought out, or she would have died today.
She glanced at Kendra, certain she must be a female robber. She memorized her face and decided to report later.
“Three hundred million…”
The five robbers were silent for a moment, exchanging glances, all tempted.
Three hundred million would be worth much more than the jewelry in their bags.
They had no idea that Darnell was setting them up, assuming the zodiac figures were as portable as diamonds. If one man could steal and carry them away, five men certainly wouldn’t doubt they could escape with them.
Kendra frowned, watching Darnell as she was lost in thought. She couldn’t understand his intentions.
Mathias Webley, however, maintained his rationality, snorting noncommittally, “You’re a robber too? What were you planning to rob with?”
His eyes showed a trace of contempt. “Your silver tongue?”
“Haha, the boss really is the boss-you see things differently.”
Darnell laughed heartily, then spread his hands in response. “I was indeed bluffing, but that’s not important. What matters is that the ten sets of twelve zodiac figures really are worth three hundred million.”
“Although you gentlemen didn’t come for money today, since you’re already here, taking more wouldn’t hurt. Whether you steal or not, it’s still a capital offense.”
“Why not seize the opportunity to get three hundred million dollars?”
Darnell looked embarrassed as he continued, “If you don’t want to take them, you could leave them for me.”
Mathias tilted his head slightly. “Who’s the manager?”
A short, fat middle-aged man stood up, drenched in sweat as he raised his hand. “I am.”
Mathias spoke flatly, “Are there really ten sets of twelve zodiac figures in the vault? Are they really worth three hundred million?”
The manager hesitated for a moment before responding reluctantly, “Yes, but they’re not worth three hundred million-more like two hundred fifty million.”
As he spoke, he looked confused. Were the robbers really after the zodiac figures? How would they escape with them? They were too heavy. Even a truck couldn’t move them.
But he didn’t dare say this out loud. At this point, the less said, the better.
“Bam!”
Just then, another gunshot sounded outside. Police sirens blared and then fell silent, clearly indicating more police officers were pouring in, surrounding the entire jewelry store.
At this moment, Mathias glanced at the crowd crouching with their heads covered and coldly warned them while holding his homemade gun, “You’d better not have any stupid ideas.”
“I have eyes, but my gun doesn’t.”
He clearly didn’t consider these people a threat. After sweeping his gaze over Darnell, he turned and called out loudly, “Monkey, how’s it outside?”
The monkey-masked robber had been standing near the curtains, not only monitoring the six saleswomen but also keeping an eye on police movements outside. He held his gun aimed at the six staff members while glancing outside.
“Boss, there are more and more police. They’ve blockaded all four sides heavily. There’s no way out.”
He accidentally let something slip. “That bastard Steve clearly wants us dead.”