Chapter 291: Stop Fighting!
"Click!" The rubber bullets in both riot guns were empty, and Ron was left with no guard or inmate standing.
A passage opened before him, leading directly to the prison's only gate to the outside. Suddenly, the power returned, and the gate slowly lowered. Deckard Shaw, standing beside him, immediately sprinted through it, diving under it.
Hobbs, unwilling to be outdone, abandoned the two prisoners he'd smashed together like ragdolls and charged at Deckard Shaw, throwing a haymaker at the back of his head.
Deckard Shaw, as if possessing eyes in the back of his head, twisted his body in mid-air, deflecting Hobbs's well-placed punch.
Furthermore, Shaw, taking advantage of the opportunity to dodge the blow, flipped over, twisting his waist and hips. The momentum of his turn channeled almost all of his strength into his right foot, launching a vicious kick at Hobbs's kidneys.
But Deckard Shaw forgot one thing: he wasn't just fighting Hobbs one-on-one. Ron was right there, watching him intently.
Seeing Hobbs about to take a hit, Ron, who had already rushed over, immediately stepped between them, hands outstretched, trying to stop the fight, shouting, "Break it up!"
But then he threw a low sweep, hooking Deckard Shaw's supporting foot. Before Shaw's kick could even reach Hobbs, he lost his balance and crashed to the ground.
Seeing Deckard Shaw fall, Hobbs, of course, wouldn't miss such a golden opportunity. He immediately mounted Shaw, forcing him to cover his head as his massive fists rained down. In a flash, just as Hobbs had said, beating Deckard Shaw was like beating a punching bag.
Ron pretended to intervene, while "accidentally" stomping on Deckard Shaw several times, feeling incredibly satisfied.
Unfortunately, good times never last. As the prison gate closed and the exit opened, Mr. Nobody with a black eye and a large group of soldiers surrounded them.
"Six minutes and fifteen seconds, a little faster than I expected. Gentlemen, can you let go of Mr. Shaw? He's the specialist I recruited specifically for you."
Ron smirked and lifted Deckard Shaw up by his collar: "This guy?"
"Ron! Although I can't beat you, if you dare to humiliate me again, I promise you, we're going to throw down!" Deckard Shaw spat out a mouthful of blood: "At least I'm more than enough to handle that big oaf!"
"You? I just beat you like a punching bag, and you were crying like a baby!"
"That's because you had help. If you've got the balls, let's go one-on-one! Don't you remember how I put you in the hospital last time?!"
Hobbs's face immediately turned red when he mentioned hospitalization: "I voluntarily jumped from the fourth floor to save my partner's life. In America, we don't use explosives in street fights, you dirty bastard!"
"America doesn't use explosives in fights? Says who?" Deckard Shaw pointed at Ron. "He doesn't just use explosives in fights; sometimes he uses rocket launchers!"
With that single sentence, Hobbs was instantly speechless.
Seeing the two men arguing and about to fight again, Mr. Nobody's assistant was tempted to intervene, but a glance at the boss's black eye and Ron's amused expression quickly abandoned the idea.
"Alright, Hobbs, since Mr. Nobody says he can be useful, why not let him tag along and see what he's got?" Seeing Hobbs's frustration, Ron offered him a way out.
"Mr. Nobody, since you got us out so quickly, I assume you already have some intel on the Berlin situation, right? Where are we heading this time? Moscow? Or Paris?"
"Come with me. I'll take you to my new facility."
...
Mr. Nobody's new base was nestled in a valley in eastern California. They had flown by helicopter for three hours. As soon as Ron entered the conference room, he was greeted by several familiar faces.
Dom's family, from Letty to the others, were all sitting at the conference room table, handcuffed.
"Nobody, why did you arrest them all? What did they do wrong?"
"How could we have done anything wrong?" Roman, upon seeing Ron enter, immediately stood up as if finding his backbone. "To me, this is government overreach, and they've got serious racial profiling issues. Look, none of us are white!"
"You said I should arrest them," the assistant said innocently.
"I told you to invite them over, not to cuff them. You're making me look bad here." Mr. Nobody snapped his fingers: "Let them go."
"No need." Letty put her hands, which had been under the table, on the table. Her hands were now free: "Nobody, is this how you treat old friends?"
Mr. Nobody decisively threw his subordinate under the bus: "Of course not, I just asked my team to invite you over. It was his misunderstanding."
Roman stood up: "I don't care about any misunderstanding. I've been here for almost four hours and I'm starving. Whatever you're planning, I'm out."
"I suggest you reconsider that." Ron stepped to the side and stood in front of Roman.
"What? Are you working with them? Did you tell him to arrest us?"
"Of course not. I just found out that because of the heist you guys pulled in Berlin, you've made it onto Interpol's Most Wanted Top Ten."
"Trust me, this has a bigger impact than making the Billboard Hot 100. As long as you show up anywhere with security cameras, within an hour, a SWAT team will come knocking and take you back to where we just came from."
"Top ten? That doesn't sound too bad~" Roman said with a smug smile on his face.
"Don't get too excited, Roman. You're not in the top ten—you're number eleven, just missed the cut. Better luck next time~" Ron patted him on the shoulder encouragingly.
"You got arrested too, Ron?" Tej asked, somewhat surprised.
"Not really. I just went in to spring these two guys." Ron gestured to Hobbs and Deckard Shaw standing behind him.
Everyone immediately tensed up after Shaw's appearance, the atmosphere becoming hostile.
"Ron, we'll never team up with that psycho," Letty was the first to object. She glared at Deckard Shaw. "Don't think I've forgotten what you did!"
"I won't work with him either," Brian added.
"Don't worry, he's not here to hurt this family, but to join... Ugh!" Ron was so flustered that he almost slipped up. "I mean, he's just working with us temporarily to find someone and deal with this mess. After that, we'll go our separate ways. He's got experience in tracking people, doesn't he?
Besides, he's got his own beef with our opponent this time. His brother Owen did all those terrible things because of our enemy's manipulation."
Ron rested his hands on the table and looked at Letty. "If you really want Dom back soon, having him around will make it happen faster. Of course, if you strongly object, I won't force it. Worst case, I'll just send him back to federal prison."
Letty was stunned, her fingers twisted together nervously. Ron could see she was conflicted, but after a moment, Letty finally agreed. "Fine, as long as it brings Dom back, I'm willing to work with him."
"Alright, then everyone please take your seats. We're starting now," Ron waved to Mr. Nobody who had been standing nearby watching the drama. "I don't like being watched when I'm running operations. If you're free, why don't you grab us some coffee.
Bring some donuts while you're at it. Most of us haven't eaten yet. Also, please check on that delivery I ordered. It's been an hour—where's my lunch?"
Mr. Nobody felt his blood pressure spike several degrees: "I've told you before, and I'll tell you again, this is a classified facility! No delivery service can reach here. I've sent my people to pick up food for you. Please be patient!"
Ron looked stunned. Just when Mr. Nobody breathed a sigh of relief, thinking Ron had finally stopped being difficult, Ron spoke again: "Okay, forget the donuts. Please send some BBQ to tide me over. I smelled someone grilling when we landed~"
SLAM!
Mr. Nobody stormed out of the room, slamming the door. Ron flashed a peace sign behind him, and everyone burst into laughter at his gesture, finally releasing the tension they'd been carrying.
That's called team morale.
Ron waited until everyone had finished laughing, clapped his hands, and refocused everyone's attention. "Guys, dinner probably won't be here for a while. How about we get some work done first?"
"You mentioned this guy has history with our opponent too. Does that mean you already know who we're up against?" Brian asked, pointing to Deckard Shaw.
"Great question!" Ron gave him a thumbs-up in appreciation. He used the remote to turn on the conference room screen, which displayed a picture of a stunning woman. "Yes, our opponent this time is this person—Cipher. Honestly, this is the first time I've heard this name, and I didn't expect it to give me such a migraine."
"Wait!" Ramsey interrupted Ron. "I heard Cipher is an organization."
"Who knows? The intel Mr. Nobody gathered tells me Cipher is this woman, but I'm open to the possibility that it could also be an organization name. But one thing's certain: either way, this woman is definitely connected to the name Cipher. They're a powerful hacker collective capable of operating from the shadows through the world's digital networks."
Ron had already exchanged intel with Mr. Nobody on the helicopter.
"Does that mean she can see the adult content I downloaded yesterday? That was premium stuff I worked hard to find, and she can just take it? That's totally unfair!" Roman said indignantly.
"Roman, trust me, a woman with that kind of power wouldn't be interested in whatever's on your hard drive. If she wanted, she could have any man in the world. That's what I can't figure out: why would such a gorgeous woman become a terrorist..."
"But what good does it do us to know about her?" Ron was interrupted again, this time by Letty.
"Of course it matters," Ron pointed at Tej. "All those untraceable communications you found on Dom's phone were from this woman."
Ron pressed a button, and the screen switched to a photo of Dom, captured by a traffic camera, with the woman. Dom was handing the EMP device he'd stolen from Hobbs to her.
"Guys, I don't think Dom has turned traitor. He's simply being forced to obey this woman for some compelling reason. So, I think our entry point should be making contact with Dom first. What do you think?"
"I agree, but where do we find Dom? Just cruise around the streets?" Tej said helplessly, spreading his hands.
"That God's Eye system you helped Mr. Nobody recover isn't just for show. It's in the next room. I need you and Ramsey to use it right now to locate Dom."
"What about the rest of us?" Letty asked quickly.
Ron looked up at the food cart outside and nodded. "Of course, we eat first. Once they find Dom, we'll go grab him and beat some sense into him!"
At the mention of a beating, Deckard Shaw shuddered. He hadn't been worked over this badly in years. The last time was back in Afghanistan, and it was... by Ron!
Deckard Shaw glared at Ron resentfully, but Ron seemed oblivious and continued to devour his BBQ. Shaw could only imagine the beef in his hand was carved from Ron's hide, and then, channeling his anger into appetite, he began to eat.
Ron wasn't idle either. After quickly finishing his meal, Ron left the meeting room and called his IRS Special Operations Team. Andy answered the call.
Andy didn't forget to crack a joke: "Boss, you've been MIA for two days. If it weren't for my paycheck still coming through, I would've filed a missing person report."
Ron's tone became serious for once: "I've got some other business to handle, and I probably won't be back for a couple days. Listen, Andy, I need your help with something. I hope you and the old crew can help me with some personal matters."
Andy didn't hesitate: "Shoot, Boss."
"Get Hannibal to work as a temp cook for two days at a little diner called Williamsburg Cafe downtown. If the owner won't hire him, find a way to get their current cook slightly injured. The two waitresses there are good friends of mine.
Also, arrange for Joe and Marvin to work as janitors at Caltech. There's a scientist there named Sheldon who's like a brother to me..."
(End of this chapter)
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