Chapter 198: Mr. and Mrs. Smith
"Bang!" The gunshot sounded like a rock hitting the car because of the distance.
If Arthur hadn't warned them in advance, the soldiers wouldn't have noticed this sound, which was sharper than stones hitting metal. Ron reacted quickly, pulled the witness out of the vehicle, and took cover behind it.
At the same time, he shouted: "Contact! Spread out! Watch for snipers!"
The soldiers obediently dispersed, covering each other, and moved toward the source of the gunfire.
"Damn it! I should have brought Hank and taken that bastard out with one shot." Ron cursed with his back against the vehicle, but Arthur remained calm.
"Don't be so tense, Boss. Those shots weren't aimed at us. The first assassin to arrive probably spotted another operative trying to muscle in on the job and engaged them."
Arthur, who had been on edge, relaxed completely. "No one knows this business better than me. If they miss their window, they abort. Since he's already engaged the other assassin, it means our earlier precautions forced him to abandon the hit."
As Arthur predicted, everything unfolded exactly as he said. As soon as he finished speaking, a small structure on a distant hill was struck by a rocket and exploded. Not far away, a motorcycle trailing a long dust cloud gradually disappeared into the desert, just like the dune buggy heading in the opposite direction.
Arthur's reputation as a tactical prophet was undeniable today.
The squad leader stood up from behind cover and said, "Pursue them! We need to capture them..."
"Pursue?" Ron angrily kicked him back down. "Mission! Mission! Don't forget your mission, soldier! Your job is to escort the witness to the CIA!"
"Huh?" The soldier was confused by the kick. "We're still continuing this mission? They were clearly setting up an ambush."
Ron looked at the settling dust clouds and said, "But the ambushers are gone. We just need to keep moving. There are probably explosives ahead. Call it in and get a helicopter. I'm sure no one will bother us anymore."
If it weren't for Arthur's vigilance, Ron would have nearly died in that ambush. Well, he probably wouldn't have died. For safety reasons, he was riding in the second vehicle, while the witness was in the third.
The original plan was that if there was trouble, he could quickly support the other vehicles. In case of mines, the lead vehicle would trigger them first, so his survival odds were pretty good.
But Ron wasn't the type to let this slide.
"Use your underworld contacts and investigate, investigate thoroughly!" Ron boarded the helicopter, seething with anger: "I want to find the assassination company that hit us! And then audit them into the ground!"
"No problem, Boss." Arthur nodded in agreement.
The IRS's most feared weapon was once again sharpening its blade, ready for action.
But unfortunately, before Ron could deploy, when he returned to the apartment, Sheldon had already left.
"Ron, Leonard, something terrible has happened—Sheldon ran away." Howard and Rajesh came running over in a panic.
"Oh my God, can't I catch a break for once?" Leonard, who had been kissing Penny at the door a minute ago, complained. Ron had been inspired by their passion and was about to go find one of his own lady friends when they collided with him.
"How do you know he ran away?"
"He's not answering his phone and submitted his resignation to the university. He also texted me saying 'I'm leaving.' If that doesn't count as running away, then I really don't know what does."
"Well, I got the text too. It does look like he ran away," Ron pulled out his phone and checked, then shrugged: "Leonard, are you sure you don't want to do something about this?"
Ron's words also drew Penny's attention to Leonard: "Of course I have to do something. Listen, Howard, you check the comic book store, Rajesh, you try the Thai restaurant, and Penny and I will wait for him to come back home."
Ring ring ring~
"It's Mom," Ron's phone rang: "Hi, Mom, what's going on?"
"Did you know your brother resigned from the university? He just came home and scared your father and me half to death. What happened?"
"Maybe there was some problem with his research." Ron handed the phone to Leonard.
"Hello, Mrs. Cooper, I think it's our fault. You're right, someone should talk to him... Don't worry, I'll handle it... Okay, okay."
Leonard took a deep breath: "New plan, Howard, you and Rajesh will fly to Texas together, and Penny and I..."
Ron said nothing, just looked at him with a knowing smile, but Leonard felt inexplicable pressure and immediately changed course: "I'm going to Texas with you guys. Ron, do you want to come with us?"
"That's right," Ron patted Leonard's shoulder approvingly: "I still have some work to finish, so I won't go back with you. Remember to give my regards to my mother."
"You're Sheldon's best friend. I believe you can persuade him to come back. I promise Penny will still be here when you return."
Penny nodded cooperatively: "I promise to wait for you to come back, so go help Sheldon with confidence."
"Really?" Leonard looked at Penny cautiously.
"Of course, we've been waiting for months, so a few more days won't hurt." Penny kissed him again. Leonard responded eagerly, clinging to her like a man overboard.
Ron grabbed him by the collar and lifted him up. "Go on, get moving!"
"Okay." Leonard left with his two friends, still reluctant. Shortly after they departed, Ron received a message from Arthur and left the apartment as well.
"Boss, I think I've found something interesting." Everyone had gathered at the Special Operations base. Arthur projected his computer screen and said, "Can you believe it? The assassins are a married couple."
"Okay, so why did they suddenly start shooting at each other? Don't tell me they were in the middle of an assassination mission and got into a fight about household chores, or one of them was cheating and got caught?"
"Damn it, I've never heard of anything like that!" Ron grumbled, slumping into his chair.
"The truth is even more ridiculous than you might think." Andy served coffee. "The Smiths work for competing assassination agencies, but happened to be assigned the same target. They've been living together for five or six years, but neither had any idea that the other was also a killer."
(End of this chapter)
If you enjoyed this chapter, leave a Review!
P*atreon/Soulforger (80+ advanced chapters)
Buy me coffee - ko-fi*com/soulforger01