Pursuit (Part 1)

The convoy sped toward the Federal Fleet Investigation Bureau building, splitting as they approached. Four vehicles headed straight for the building, while the others dispersed, flying toward nearby structures.

The four vehicles crashed into the building, and eighteen men in black, along with two trench-coated figures, leaped out. At the forefront was the mustached Nett Brad.

With a flick of his hand, a disc flew from his palm, enlarging and hovering in the air as it landed at his feet.

Brad stepped onto it, and the disc carried him smoothly through the building, with the other men in black following suit, swiftly maneuvering through the corridors.

These commuting hover discs were specially designed for large buildings to save time and were common on starships as well.

Several investigators rushed over, shouting, "This is the Federal Fleet Investigation Bureau. Unauthorized entry is prohibited!"

Several of the men in black approached, flashing their credentials. With a smirk, they said, "Secret Police, specialized in accessing unauthorized areas. Don't stand in our way, buddy, you can't handle us."

They pushed forward.

Brad resembled a bowling ball, plowing through all obstacles in his path, charging directly into the lobby where Russell Hill was located.

As he burst into the lobby, everyone stopped to look at Brad.

"Who are you?" Russell Hill asked.

"Someone you shouldn't know," Brad replied, stepping off the hover disc and approaching. "Everyone, stop what you're doing. This ends here."

"You have no authority to command us!" Russell Hill replied loudly.

Bang!

A trench-coated figure lunged forward, grabbing Russell Hill by the neck and pinning him against the wall.

Brad strolled over casually. "Unfortunately, I do have the authority. You fool almost exposed our location to Johnny Reno."

With that, he showed his credentials to Russell Hill.

Johnny Reno? Secret Police?

It shocked Hill.

He looked at Brad, then at the men in black behind him, finally realizing what was happening, groaning, "God, you're the ones who took those people? You're not Johnny Reno's men. Damn it, that bastard deceived me."

"A false message fooled you!" Brad shouted at Russell Hill. "If my people hadn't noticed something amiss, you would've sold us out!"

"Johnny Reno is looking for you?" Russell Hill understood. "You captured his men, he deliberately provoked me, making me think it was him who captured them, using me to find him... He's nearby!"

Russell Hill shouted.

"Understand?" Brad sneered.

A hint of ferocity flashed in his eyes, muttering lowly, "Daring to investigate our location, impressive, Reno. Are you challenging us? I like it because that means you won't escape!!!"

With that, he turned to look outside the building. "This time, I'll definitely catch you!"

...

"Get out of here!"

As the shouting echoed, Stark and Reno rushed outside.

Just as they ran a short distance, they saw two flying cars speeding toward them.

Reno stopped and yelled, "Get down!"

They both hit the ground, and a beam of light swept over their heads.

Once the beam passed, Reno got up and dashed toward another corridor, followed closely by Stark, who rolled like a bear, banging against a door just as another beam of light swept past, narrowly avoiding detection.

Reno shouted into his communicator, "Nora!"

To avoid being tracked, they didn't use personal terminals.

"Nora receiving," came Nora's cold response from the small house thousands of meters from the investigation bureau. She was sitting in front of a light brain, operating it. "Secret Police are here. They're surrounding the area, find a way for us to leave!"

"Nora understands." She continued operating the light brain. "I'm downloading the terrain map of the area. It might take three to five minutes."

"Three to five minutes is too slow." Reno glanced out the window, seeing that every building within a kilometer radius of the investigation bureau was under the Secret Police's control.

"Sorry, it's a public network download, so it's slow."

"Why don't you try downloading directly from the inside? The speed would be much faster." Clarice suddenly spoke up.

Nora glanced back at Clarice. "That would require hacking into their system, and I'm not a hacker. I'm not good at that."

"Leave it to me." Clarice said, waving Nora away and taking her place at the light brain. After donning the light-sensitive gloves, she began operating it swiftly.

As she worked, she explained, "It doesn't require complex skills. All public networks have a common command system. We just need to enter that system, initiate a command, start a temporary search, and we'll get a temporary key. With that key, you can temporarily open its backdoor, like this... It's simple, we're in. Then you'll have temporary access to download all data below level three, including maps... Just press this."

Clarice tapped the screen lightly, and a large amount of data flashed by. A temporary map was downloaded.

Clarice pointed to the building where Reno was located. "Tell me your current location."

"Room 4205." Reno replied.

Clarice quickly instructed, "That's a corridor room, with floor-to-ceiling windows on both sides. You'll be discovered as soon as you enter the corridor."

"That's right, Secret Police have sealed off all open viewpoints. We'll be discovered as soon as we step out." Reno said loudly.

These guys were fast.

"We can't use the main entrance." Clarice quickly accessed the building's 3D holographic map. "Reno, there's a ventilation duct above you. Can you see it?"

Reno glanced up and saw a ventilation duct. "Yes, I see it."

"Go in there, and I'll tell you which way to go. And open access to me, I need to locate your position."

"Understood!" Reno tapped his terminal a few times, and a red dot representing his position appeared on Clarice's screen.

Reno leaped up, grabbing onto the ventilation duct and climbing up, followed by Stark.

"Nora, I need you to watch outside and let me know the positions of those Secret Police. I need to know what you see, so I can help Reno find a way out. Sync what you see with me."

--

"Leave here!"

With the shout, Stark and Reno rushed outside together.

As they ran out, not far away, they saw two flying cars speeding towards them.

Reno stopped and yelled, "Get down!"

They both got down, and a beam of light swept over their heads.

When the beam passed, Reno got up and rushed towards another hallway room, followed by Stark, who rolled like a bear cub, barely making it into the room before the second beam scanned over, slamming into the door.

Reno shouted into his communicator, "Nora!"

To avoid being tracked, they didn't use personal terminals.

"Nora here," came Nora's cold response over the communicator.

"The secret police are here, they're surrounding the area. Find us a way out!" Reno commanded.

"Understood," Nora replied. From a small cabin several kilometers from the investigation building, Nora sat in front of a light-brain, operating. "I'm downloading the terrain map of the area. It might take three to five minutes."

"Three to five minutes, that's too slow." Peeking out of the window, Reno saw that the secret police had control over almost all the buildings within a kilometer radius of the investigation building.

"I can't help it; this download is from the public network, so it's slow."

"Why don't you try to download directly from the inside? The speed would be much faster there," Clarice suddenly suggested.

Nora turned to look at Clarice. "That would require hacking into their system. I'm not a hacker; I'm not good at that."

"Leave it to me," Clarice said. She waved Nora away and sat down in front of the light-brain. After putting on the light-sensitive gloves, she began operating swiftly.

She explained while working, "It doesn't require very complex skills. All public networks have a common command system. We just need to enter that system, then activate the command and initiate a temporary search. That will give us a temporary key. With that key, you can temporarily open its back door, like this, you see... It's simple; we're in. Then you'll have temporary access to download all data below level three, including maps... Press this."

Clarice tapped lightly on the light-brain screen. As a large amount of data flashed by, a temporary map was downloaded.

Clarice pointed to the building where Reno was. "Tell me your current location."

"Room 4205," Reno replied.

Clarice quickly instructed, "That's a corridor room with windows on both sides. You'll be spotted as soon as you enter the corridor."

"Exactly, the secret police have sealed off all the open areas. Once we go out, they'll find us," Reno said loudly.

These guys are really fast.

"We can't go through the main entrance," Clarice quickly manipulated the three-dimensional image of the building. "Reno, there's a ventilation duct above your head, can you see it?"

Reno looked up and saw a ventilation duct. "Yes, I see it."

"Go in from there, I'll tell you how to go. Also, grant me access; I need to locate your position."

"Understood!" Reno tapped his terminal a few times, and a red dot representing his location appeared on Clarice's screen.

Reno leaped up, grabbing onto the ventilation duct and climbing up, followed by Stark.

"Nora, I need you to watch outside for me. I need to know where those secret police are so I can help Reno find a way out. Keep me updated on what you see," Clarice ordered.

"Understood!" Nora picked up her sniper rifle, put on her communicator, and walked outside, wearing a light-sensitive search device over her right eye. Although she and Clarice weren't exactly on good terms, at this moment, both knew it was best not to bicker.

On the roof, Nora aimed into the distance. Looking through her observation lens, she said, "They're setting up a blockade. The north side of the building has been completely sealed off, and they're still filling the east and west sides."

"I see," Clarice replied. Her hands moved swiftly, pinpointing all the secret police in Nora's field of vision. At that moment, Reno arrived at a junction.

"Turn right!" she shouted.

Reno quickly changed direction.

He crawled swiftly through the passage, constantly adjusting his orientation according to Clarice's instructions.

Meanwhile, more and more secret police were arriving, their shadows filling the sky. Flying cars almost completely blocked the airspace. All pedestrians and vehicles passing by were being checked, and more secret police were closing in on various buildings.

"You'd better hurry!" Nora shouted. "They're getting more numerous, and they're about to complete the full lockdown."

"I want to, but we're in these damn ducts," Stark grumbled. "And we're crawling. Miss Austin, you'd better find us a way out quickly."

"We're almost there." Clarice shouted, "Climb forward ten meters, and you'll see a vent below."

Reno accelerated his crawl and finally reached the vent. Glancing at it, he cursed, "Damn, it's welded shut."

"The map didn't mention this," Clarice said, also getting anxious.

"Let me do it." Stark squeezed through from behind, his hand touching the wire mesh of the ventilation duct. Flames erupted as the wire mesh caught fire. Under the burning flames, the wire mesh turned red quickly.

Stark punched the wire mesh, and it fell from the duct opening.

He leaped down from the duct and said to those above, "Be careful, it's hot on the sides."

Reno shook his head and with a slap of his hand, the duct walls flipped outward, the heated edges twisting to the other side. Reno slid out of the duct opening.

He flipped and landed steadily.

"Now where?" Reno asked.

"Out the door, straight ahead."

"Got it!" Reno kicked open the door and rushed forward.