Chapter 74: Casualty Statistics
William glanced at the consulate staff and their lawyers. Seeing them nod in agreement, he said, "Alright, wait here. I'll go get it from my room."
Without waiting for the police to respond, William walked into his room and locked the door. He retrieved the AWP and M4A1 from his storage space and carefully wiped his fingerprints off both weapons with a towel. Then, he opened the door and handed them to Deltoro.
Deltoro had expected William to wipe the fingerprints off the weapons before handing them over. He figured the situation was already beyond their control anyway.
William Devinshire had killed all the armed bandits in broad daylight—thugs who had stormed the hotel and even confronted the police on the street with their AKs.
The bandits were dead, and that was that. Fortunately, no police officers or citizens had been injured, so the police wouldn't be held responsible. Deltoro didn't want any more trouble, especially not trouble he would bring upon himself.
Deltoro looked at the AWP and M4A1 on the table and said with a sigh, "Alright, Mr. Devinshire, you're free to go, but you cannot leave Montenegro just yet. You must wait for official notification before your departure is permitted."
"Okay, thank you, Officer Deltoro. I appreciate your help. Goodbye," William said with a smile, shaking Deltoro's hand. He then followed the consulate staff to a waiting car that would take him to the consulate building.
The drive to the consulate took just over ten minutes. When William got out of the car, he was met by the consul. The consul handed him some documents, exchanged a few brief pleasantries, and then left on other business. All William wanted to do was sleep.
A staff member led him to a guest room, which was much like the one at the hotel. After thanking the staffer, William took off his clothes, lay down on the bed with his phone, and closed his eyes to rest, though not to sleep. He was waiting for Bond's call, wondering if he had managed to rescue Linda Vaner.
After about ten minutes, his phone rang. It was Bond. "Hey, William, where are you? What happened at the hotel? Are you safe?"
William was touched by the anxious tone in Bond's voice.
"I'm fine. I'm at the consulate, it's safe here," William replied. "Bond, did you manage to rescue Linda Vaner?"
"Good to hear. Yes, I rescued her. We can't come to the consulate right now, though. I still need to apprehend Le Chiffre, and I don't have much time."
"You don't have to look for Le Chiffre," William said. "He's dead."
"Dead? How did he die? What the hell?" Bond sounded shocked. "How could Le Chiffre be dead? What does this mean for our mission?" His tone was frantic; Le Chiffre's death at this juncture was a major complication.
"Relax, I'll handle it. I'll explain to the Security Council that I killed Le Chiffre. We can talk about the details tomorrow. I'm going to sleep now." With that, William hung up the phone and went to bed.
William might have been going to sleep, but the night was destined to be anything but calm for many others. A large group of people were pulled from their beds and would be busy all night.
Robert David, the portly police chief, was constantly wiping his brow with a handkerchief. Too many people had died tonight. Having taken over the position just the day before yesterday, he was already regretting it.
Luckily, there weren't many people on the street when the incident occurred. The hotel staff had run for cover as soon as the shooting started. The hotel's security team had also acted quickly, evacuating guests from the lobby at the first sound of gunfire.
Because of this, the gangsters hadn't managed to get far into the hotel, and none of the security staff had been killed. It was a good thing all the attackers were dead. If any had been captured alive, it would have been an even bigger headache for Chief Robert David.
If one were alive, would he, the newly-appointed police chief, be expected to track down the mastermind behind them? How was he supposed to find the source of a whole crew of bandits armed with AKs?
As for any trouble with the foreign consulate, that was their own business. As long as it didn't fall on him... He could just say they received an alarm call and rushed to the hotel within ten minutes. Robert David nodded to himself, firming up his story.
But when he thought about facing the media tomorrow, Chief Robert David's headache intensified. This was going to be a real mess.
After three hours of chaotic work, Robert David received a report from Officer Deltoro.
Deltoro reported to the chief, "The death toll is confirmed at 43. Eighteen of them were killed by headshots: six on the side of the hotel, five in the lobby, and seven in the second-floor restaurant. The five bandits who engaged us on the east street were all shot in the chest. Three more were found on the street opposite the hotel."
"Another 11 were killed by an M4A1 on the street in front of the hotel. Five more at the hotel entrance died from gunshot wounds to the chest. One of them looks like he might have been a leader, but we're not sure if he was thrown from the rooftop or if he jumped and committed suicide. Chief, we have a big problem. I don't know if anyone recorded any of this. If a video gets out, our trouble will be even bigger."
Robert David looked at the nervous Deltoro and asked, "And it's confirmed they were all killed by one person?"
Deltoro nodded grimly. "Yes, sir. The ballistics are consistent with the weapons we recovered. The hotel security guards only used M1911s, and no one else at the scene used a weapon."
After hearing this, Robert David cursed, "Damn it all. That bloody Englishman comes into our jurisdiction, causes all this trouble, and we're the ones left to clean it up. William Devinshire…"
Hearing his chief's tone, Deltoro worried he was considering arresting William and stepped forward to dissuade him. "Sir, it would be best to let this go. Do we really want to try and arrest a guy like that?"
"If he decided to fight back, all of us put together wouldn't be able to stop him. Sir, I don't want to die. When I think of all those people he killed with headshots, it sends a shiver down my spine. Please, don't do anything foolish."
"Shut your mouth, Deltoro! I'm not an idiot, you don't need to remind me," Robert David roared.
He had no intention of escalating the situation, but he couldn't appear timid in front of his men. Otherwise, how would he command their respect, having only taken office two days ago?
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