Joe Ga frustratedly squeezed in front of the car, pulling Antar from the edge into a safer position, then leaned his shoulder against the hood to quickly peek out...Joe Ga could never have imagined that those gunmen would be so brazen as to dare engage in a gunfight with Leather Head on a congested highway in broad daylight, and what's more, bizarrely gaining the upper hand.
Those guys were better equipped than Leather Head, with 14 men split into two teams, all donning tactical vests and black masks; ten of them armed with AR-15 rifles, and the remaining four surprisingly wielding the well-known small-caliber machine gun, Minimi.
In terms of equipment and their fearless stance, they looked even more like special forces than Leather Head did.
The gunmen split into two teams, swiftly advancing through the traffic jam on the highway.
Although Minimi was a small-caliber machine gun, it was quite intimidating in such close combat.
With a chainsaw-like burst of gunfire, car windows kept shattering, and screams could be heard non-stop.
Leather Head, only armed with MP5s, had two men down as soon as they made contact with the enemy. Joe Ga, huddled between two cars, could hear Leather Head's calls for backup while they were also telling people trying to flee from the cars not to move.
Unfortunately, their actions failed to curb the survival instincts of the innocent civilians. As soon as a middle-aged man opened a car door and darted forward, more people began to flee desperately. Searᴄh the Nôvel(F)ire.ηet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.
The gunmen intentionally ceased fire when people got out of their cars. This was exactly what the gunmen wanted!
Because the gunmen didn't dare to run toward the open spaces on either side of the highway, as there were gunners in the helicopters above, as soon as they lost the cover of the crowd, they would attract the machine gun fire.
Now, they were trying to incite a riot among the crowd, not only to disrupt Leather Head's formation but also to blend into the mass of people rushing towards the police blockade. If they could break through, they could then take advantage of the chaos to steal cars and escape the area.
The helicopters hovered above, but they hesitated to open fire as several gunmen took hostages and made them walk with them.
After forcing everyone out of the vehicles, those gunmen began targeted firing as people frantically ran forward, intimidating some civilians trying to run to the sides to lie flat on the ground and crawl everywhere, creating a safe corridor to avoid helicopter attacks.
A few unlucky individuals were struck in the back and fell into pools of blood.
From this moment, the nature of the entire battle fundamentally changed, escalating from a regular gunfight into a terrorist attack.
Officers manning the blockade several hundred meters away didn't dare to approach; the small arms of the Italian police were no match for the gunmen's firepower.
Meanwhile, the elite team of Catania SWAT, who were the most skilled, had been blocked behind and were now marching toward the location.
As the gunmen pressed forward, the isolated Leather Heads began to retreat step by step.
One of the taller Leather Head members tried to establish a line of defense with his comrades to stop the crazed attackers, only to be pinned down by four machine guns and then killed by a grenade thrown by the gunmen behind them.
In less than a minute, six Leather Heads were taken down, two injured, two deceased, leaving only two dragging their wounded comrades, rapidly seeking cover while returning fire with their MP5s.
Special forces are not invincible; they die when shot, and faced with the enemy's absolute firepower advantage in such circumstances, they could only rely on their well-honed training to ensure their survival as much as possible.
To be able to fight back at all was already the mark of the elite of the elite!
Joe Ga had been through several battles, but those were under the condition of having a tactical advantage; this was his first experience of bullets flying randomly in traffic.
The tension that had been vigorously suppressed began to bubble uncontrollably, causing his body to tense up naturally.
When a mother holding her child fell in front of him, Joe Ga's hand shot to his pistol.
"Boss~"
Just as Nis likewise gripped his pistol, prepared to act in sync with whatever Joe Ga did, a Leather Head dragged his wounded comrade to a stop beside Karman.
Hearing a child's wailing behind him, Leather Head glanced back, realizing he had no retreat left, so he laid down his comrade who was still vainly trying to shoot behind him, crouched beside him, and used their bodies as a shield for that child, launching a desperate counterattack.
At that moment, Joe Ga heard the child's cries too; he had thought the child was already dead.
Seeing the little girl, who was probably just over two years old, lying on top of her mother and wailing, Joe Ga couldn't hold back any longer. He yelled out to Karman in the back, "Dragon Gecko, grab the gun."
As he spoke, Joe Ga leaned out halfway, grabbed the little girl's arm forcefully, and pulled her into the crevice where he took cover.
Karman, who could no longer contain himself, yanked the wounded Leather Head into his own crevice to keep him from interfering, and with a surprised look from Leather Head, Karman pulled out two guitar-shaped cases and an elongated backpack from the trunk, and slid to the front of the car.
The old man, after handing off the weapons, pulled out a folding-stock AKM and a tactical vest from the edge of the back of the car.
Kicking aside the MP5 in the hands of the vigilant Leather Head, Karman crouched down, pressing his left knee on the wounded Leather Head's neck and with both hands swept out the AKM for a burst of gunfire.
The Leather Head, who had just thought of sacrificing himself heroically, froze at seeing Karman attacking the gunmen; then he scrambled into the crevice where Joe Ga and the others were hiding.
Before Joe Ga could scold, he witnessed a horrifying scene...
In the distant traffic, a gunman took advantage of the helicopter being distracted by the front, pulled out a 'Stinger' missile from the car, locked on quickly, and a missile accurately hit the tail of the low-flying helicopter searching for an opportunity to shoot.
Helplessly watching the out-of-control helicopter crash heavily onto the empty space at the side, emitting a grating tearing sound like a crushed tin can.
As the aircraft deformed, its tail broke off, and the propeller, smashing into the ground and breaking apart, flew onto the highway with a horrifying scream, narrowly missing the car behind Karman, startling the old man into jumping up.
These gunmen were mercenaries hired by the second son of the Mori Family; their goal was to kidnap old Mori under the protection of the Catania SWAT, so they came extremely well-prepared.
They not only had Stinger Missiles, but they also had 'Javelin' missiles for taking out armored vehicles.
These mercenaries weren't 14, but 16 in total. Two men had been hiding in a car waiting for their comrades to strike, only emerging with heavy weaponry after the helicopter was fully distracted.
Seeing the man carrying 'Javelin' aim it in Karman's direction, Joe Ga shoved the obstructive Leather Head aside, hugged the hood of the business car, and turned to start shooting.
"Pop, pop, pop, pop, pop..."
The first bullet hit the leg of the man carrying the Javelin, causing him to fall in pain, the already triggered 'Javelin' spun out of control, the missile ignited upon impact with the ground, scuttling about ten meters across the surface before hitting a car and exploding.
The explosion's shrapnel caused the immediate death of one gunman, while two others sustained serious injuries.
The massive explosion disoriented the surrounding gunmen, who were incapacitated in an instant, and as deaths followed one after another, they quickly realized they had encountered a tough fight...