Turning Point

As the gun was pointed at her, Leila Fox experienced a wave of unprecedented horror. Thoughts of death, of hell, and of a void with no end crept into her mind, but she could only shriek "No", unable to do anything else.

Bang, bang, bang… Miss Fox heard a rapid and intense stream of gunfire. Shocked, she fell on the floor, holding her head in her hands as she let out a long scream. After a long moment, she eventually realized that she was unharmed. 

Leila raised her head slightly. Locke and his merry gang of kidnappers were all crumpled on the floor. Several special agents clad in black barged into the room from the windows. They were members of the Emergency Service Unit of New York. They had fatally dispatched all the kidnappers within seconds.

The gang leader Locke was crumpled over a pool of blood. He tried to raise his trademark big head and say something, but an agent walked up to him, coolly fired two bullets, and that was the end of him.

"Cleansing of Area A complete. Area is safe."

"Cleansing of Area B complete. Area is safe."

"Exchange of gunfire in progress in Area C. Reinforcements needed."

The group of special agents reported their statuses through their walkie-talkies. Several of them rushed to assist their colleagues, leaving two men to take care of Leila Fox.

It was only then that Miss Fox finally breathed out a heavy sigh of relief. She gingerly got to her feet with the help of an ESU agent. She thanked them profusely, over and over, and conveyed to them her need to meet the media immediately. The rights to the Fox Conglomerate had been handed out, and she needed to take it back right now.

The two agents who stayed behind told her, "Miss Fox, you will have to wait a little while more. The Commissioner is arriving soon. He wants to see you."

"The Commissioner? The Commissioner of the NYPD?" Leila Fox asked skeptically. "Shouldn't you be bringing me to see a doctor first? I'm safe for now. Shouldn't you let me show my face in public first? What right do you have to confine me here? I want to see my lawyer!"

No matter how much Leila protested, the two NYPD agents, their faces obscured by helmets and goggles, refused to budge and let her leave. She felt an eerie sense of foreboding. 

After about five minutes, the largely-built Commissioner Bratton appeared in front of Leila Fox. The stern-faced and solemn Commissioner waved his hand, and the two agents retreated a few steps.

"Leila, I'm very glad to see that you are out of danger." Commissioner Bratton opened the conversation somewhat stiffly.

Leila Fox's face remained stony. "There's no need for your insincere words. Uncle Bratton, you're a good friend of my father's. If you truly care for me, you'd let me leave this place this instant."

Commissioner Bratton pursed his lips. He then spoke in an apologetic tone, "Leila, you're not wrong. I was a close friend of your father's. But your father is already dead, and I have a good relationship with your uncle too.

"Your uncle told me that he will support me to become mayor of New York if I do him a favor. I can't deny I was tempted. And that's why I took the risk to deploy my men here. I have to dispose of Locke and his gang so that nothing that happened here will make it outside. And you will have to die here too.

"The public will only have to lament the death of a corporate genius. After a short time, everyone will forget about you and move on."

The commissioner shrugged, trying to convey his remorse. The little flicker of joy in Leila's heart was snuffed out. She gritted her teeth and cursed, her face contorted with anger. "You bastard! You only became the Commissioner because of my father's support. And now you want to get rid of me?"

"I already apologized." The Commissioner shook his head, as if trying to shake away the regret in his heart. "We are talking about politics. Cold and merciless, same as everything your father told you. Okay, I only came to greet you one last time before your death. Goodbye!"

As Commissioner Bratton prepared to order his men to finish the job, Leila Fox suddenly spoke, her voice icy, "You should look behind you. There's a witness. He'll be a dangerous factor if you're taken to court."

"Hahaha… Leila, nice of you to joke around even during this situation. You've been like this ever since you were little, with your little tactics and whatnot. That's why people called you Miss Fox. But what is it that you want me to turn around and look at? Do you really think that will help you escape? If I really did… turn… back…"

Commissioner Bratton was certain that Leila Fox would not be able to escape. He turned around nonchalantly, and then he froze, because there actually was someone behind him, and that person was holding a gun.

Noting Commissioner Bratton's unusual demeanor, the two agents beside him turned immediately and redirected their guns. The time it took them to turn around was far longer than the time it took to pull a trigger, and the agents were only four to five meters away from the newcomer. An aggressive stream of gunfire was released, and both of them were dead.

Crack. Zhou Qingfeng removed the empty magazine and equipped his last full mag. He took a few slow steps forward. He observed the corpses on the floor—those belonging to the kidnappers and police agents—then turned his gaze to the Commissioner and the socialite Leila Fox, both of whom were rooted to the spot in shock. Zhou Qingfeng gave a low whistle. "If those two idiots didn't react so passionately, I wouldn't have fired.

"I just wanted to take a short break, read a book or something, but then I suddenly heard a ton of gunshots. I feared that the kidnappers had hatched up some new nefarious plot, so I went out to check on it. But then… I was only passing by. Looks like the situation's under control now."

While Commissioner Bratton was still struggling to form his words, Leila Fox screamed loudly, "Officer Hugo, save me! I'm the legitimate head of the Fox Conglomerate. I can give you anything you need. If you help me leave this place and let me show myself in front of the media, I'll give you everything you want."

Having escaped from the brink of death for the second time in a short period, Leila Fox had already lost most of her characteristic composure. She made desperate promises, screaming at the top of her voice, pleading for Zhou Qingfeng's assistance. 

In the midst of Leila's anxious calls for help, Commissioner Bratton spoke up, sounding much calmer. "Young man, let us have a good chat. This woman no longer has control over the Fox Conglomerate. Her promises are empty.

"On the other hand, I can help you. I am the Commissioner of the NYPD. All I have to do is sign and issue an order, and I can scrap the death sentence you were given after killing the black man. As for your snatching the guns and uniforms of the two policemen, they will become trivial. You can go on with your peaceful life, and I assure you that no one will bother you.

"If you choose to stand against me… That is not a clever move. Don't think that you have everything under control. You may have a gun, but you're nothing to me.

"I am the Commissioner of the NYPD. I can grasp your fate in my hands if I wish. When I tell you to lower your head, to step back, you had better do that. Kill me, and you'll be a wanted man throughout the States, even the whole world. There will be no escape for you.

"Now, I order you to put your gun down!"