Chapter 849: Good for the Detectives, Bad for Dustin
After Luke and Selina left the hall, their colleagues immediately stared at the smiling John.
“Tell us, John. Who are they?” asked a young female cop with blonde hair.
John took out a wrinkled pack of cigarettes from his equally wrinkled Hawaiian shirt, shook one out, and took a drag on it. “Just a minute, it seems I had a bet with all of you? I bet that the person who would be coming absolutely isn’t some gold second generation heir. It seems I won.”
Everybody exchanged looks. Finally, the middle-aged man gritted his teeth and threw ten bucks at John. “If you can’t explain yourself, don’t even think about taking the money.”
The other detectives took out their wallets and threw ten or twenty dollar bills at John. “Hurry up and tell us, or lunch is on you.”
John grabbed the notes and stuffed them in his pocket. He puffed on his cigarette, then coughed. “I’m thirsty after all that running.”
The blonde police officer left. “Fine, I’ll get you some water. When I come back, you better tell us. If you don’t tell us the inside information, you’ll have to pay for the water.”
John casually put his legs on the desk. “Then get me a Corona. Mineral water won’t quench my thirst.”
The blond officer gave him the finger without looking back as she left.
A few minutes later, John took a swig of his cold Corona and smiled at his colleagues. “Do you remember when I became a detective again?”
Everybody was stumped. Why had the topic suddenly switched to John?
The middle-aged man frowned. “Cut the crap and be serious.”
John took another sip of beer before he said, “I’m serious. Before Christmas last year, I was demoted to detective, and I was suspended, so I went home to L.A.. Any of you remember what happened in L.A. on Christmas Eve?”
Everybody’s minds instantly whirled.
They were all detectives here; so was John, and so were the two young newcomers, so what happened could only have been a major case.
Only a major case in Los Angeles would reach the ears of NYPD.
“The vault robbery at Nakatomi Plaza?” The blond officer who was frequently in charge of gathering intelligence was the first to give the correct answer.
John nodded with a smile. “And?”
The middle-aged man with a mustache reacted quickly. “You were involved?”
John nodded.
The man asked a second question. “Was Luke involved?”
John nodded again.
Everybody’s faces changed.
It was the man with the mustache who said, “According to the internal report on the Nakatomi Plaza robbery, a detective from New York and a detective from Los Angeles worked together to kill more than fifty terrorists and solve that huge case. Don’t tell me that was you and Luke?”
John gave him a thumbs-up and took another sip of beer.
Everybody sucked in their breaths.
The case had been analyzed by the entire police department.
New York was even more populated than Los Angeles, and had more vaults than Los Angeles.
NYPD HQ often dealt with major cases, and they had studied this case many times.
But back then, nobody could figure out how the two unnamed detectives had worked together to kill more than fifty professional robbers and keep the hostages safe.
In that situation, all the conditions were working against the two detectives, yet in the end, it was the detectives who killed all the robbers.
Looking at their expressions, John finally said, “We’re all old colleagues here. I’ve told you, but remember to keep it a secret.”
Everybody nodded silently.
Being a detective was dangerous to begin with, and there had been countless cases of people taking revenge after a case.
The more ruthless a detective was, the more likely they became a revenge target.
John and Luke were prime candidates. Naturally, their identities had to be kept a secret.
So, when John returned last time and everybody had been analyzing the case, nobody mentioned the fact that he was a live witness.
Firstly, he had to lay low at the time, and secondly, he had to consider his own safety.
Seeing everybody nod, John finished his beer and stood up. “Look on the bright side. I’m going to take a shower. Nobody has cleaned the sewers in decades, they really stink.”
One of the detectives couldn’t help but ask, “What bright side?”
“Another colleague who can kick ass has joined the police force. Don’t you think that’s a good thing?” John left without looking back.
Everybody exchanged looks – what he said was right.
Why was John so damn awesome? It was precisely because he could fight and dared to risk his life, which was why he got the risky cases.
Once he made a move, everybody else would follow, and the danger would be much less.
If it wasn’t for John, at least two or three of them would’ve already medically retired, or outright gotten memorial services.
Thinking that, everybody relaxed.
A reliable teammate was worth far more celebration than some second generation heir.
A lousy teammate could get them killed if they were unlucky.
Only the middle-aged man still had a dark look, as if he was thinking of something unpleasant.
“I’m going to take a shower. I feel like I just crawled out of a pit of sh*t.”
“Shut up, it was John who crawled out of the pit. You just stood at the opening and smelled the old swamp gas.”
“You have the nerve; weren’t you hiding further away than me?”
Amidst the noise, they left the hall.
In his office, Dustin looked away and sighed helplessly.
Actually, he didn’t want Luke to get any recognition, since it would be much more dangerous for him.
However, McClane happened to work for the Detective Bureau.
Dustin could only remind Luke to be careful. He lowered his head and got back to work.
After Luke and Selina left the police station, Selina sighed and said, “The explosions are a lot more complicated than I thought. Who knew it would have to do with internal police matters.”
Luke said casually, “If it wasn’t for the fact that we worked for Dustin in L.A., this is actually very common.”
Only then did Selina appreciate that solitary middle-aged man. “Thank you, boss, for not being such a schemer.”
Luke chuckled.
He had reservations about that.
Dustin had a bottom line, but he wasn’t inflexible.
Of course he was making money on the side, but it would be aboveboard and via legitimate means.
The country had laws for lobbying; as long as people knew how to manipulate them, the money they made would be legal.