US police: outlaws

Chapter 51: Citywide Chase

Flames shot into the sky, accompanied by a wisp of green smoke, and even heavy rain could not extinguish them quickly.

Lee Ethan retrieved the rocket launcher and immediately headed to a parking lot. If he hadn't known that Clermont had deployed most of its night shift police force to a charity gala, he wouldn't have stormed the research institute.

Even so, the police might be arriving soon. As a policeman, he knew that once blocked, there was no escape. This time, there were no sewers to hide in, and even if he wanted to, he would be swept away and drowned by the current.

Lee Ethan took out the keys he got from Dick Hughes and started the car the other party hadn't driven away last night—a Tesla pickup truck whose exterior and doors could withstand 9mm handgun bullets.

Li Yisen floored the gas pedal and drove the car toward the gate, crushing stones and other debris without a care, even if it damaged the undercarriage.

Two remaining security guards happened to witness this scene and picked up shotguns to fire at the pickup truck.

"Bang bang bang"

The car window was smashed, and Li Yisen bent over, one hand on the steering wheel and the other holding an MP5 submachine gun to fight back.

The car quickly sped out of the research institute without incident. Before Li Yisen could find a place to park and leave, a bright light shone through the rain onto the car.

A bright light came from above, and an unidentifiable helicopter appeared.

"So fast?"

Lee Ethan was shocked. The helicopter arrived in such a short time; it was way behind schedule.

The unexpected incident did make Li Yisen anxious, but he could only continue driving, rushing towards the nearby mountains in an attempt to shake off the other party.

This is an MH-60T "Jayhawk," a medium-sized helicopter with white, orange, and gray markings. It is typically used for search and rescue and was retired from the Coast Guard and transferred to the Los Angeles County Fire Department.

The plane had just completed a rescue operation for tourists in distress in the mountains today, and upon receiving the notification, it encountered Li Yisen.

The driver is contacting the police.

"The target is moving into the mountains; M56 will continue to track it."

.....

The charity gala was held at Clermont's most luxurious hotel, and the mayor, along with six city councilors and the de facto administrator, the city manager, were all in attendance.

Those who can participate today are all wealthy and influential, not only local tycoons and dignitaries, but also people from other cities, and even downtown Los Angeles, who have come specifically to participate.

Mayor Brody Price was chatting and laughing with several businessmen. He was in the later stages of his term and was determined to win re-election. Tonight's party was an opportunity to garner votes.

A businessman suddenly asked.

"Isn't Director Oscar coming?"

"How could he not come? He donated tens of millions and is the star of the party."

Brody agreed with the other party that Oscar was the main character. Although he didn't know what role the Chichao Medical Research Institute played in the pandemic, he knew that the two parties were connected. So, after communicating, the other party was willing to spend tens of millions to act as a good guy and get tax exemption, and he also got the reputation he needed.

Improving the city's sanitation will definitely boost your score significantly.

In Brody's view, the truth is not very important to urban development; it's good to play dumb sometimes, since it only means a few civilians will die anyway.

Brody suddenly turned his head to look out the window at the torrential rain. He seemed to hear a sound, but then again, he didn't.

A few minutes later, the mayor's assistant hurriedly came over and whispered in the mayor's ear.

"Mayor, this is terrible! The Jichao Medical Research Institute has been attacked. I heard there's only one perpetrator, and they used rocket launchers and heavy machine guns. Director Oscar is in grave danger."

"What?"

The wine glass was accidentally dropped and shattered on the ground, drawing everyone's attention.

"Mayor, what's wrong?"

"It's nothing, I'm just feeling a little unwell, excuse me."

Brody Price hurriedly left the banquet hall. Today's events had ruined all his plans. He might not get the money and it might even damage his reputation, since it happened during his term.

"Damn it, notify the police department to mobilize all resources and catch the criminal."

"Yes."

After his assistant left, Brody clenched his fists and stared intently at the heavy rain outside.

"Oscar, could the pandemic really be related to you?"

Soon, the people at the banquet learned about the attack, after all, they were all prominent figures in the city.

.

The sirens of police cars filled the northern part of the city as they drove towards the mountains, with two police helicopters ahead of them.

The San Antonio mountain was shrouded in dark clouds, and the streetlights of the pickup trucks weaved through the dim mountain roads. The powerful headlights of the helicopters followed closely behind. Seeing this, Lee Ethan wanted to take out his rocket launcher and fire a shot, but unfortunately, he had used up all his rockets and only had four launchers left.

"It's like a persistent ghost."

As we entered the mountainside and reached an altitude of 1000 meters, the rain gradually turned into snow, and snowflakes whitened the mountainside and roads.

Most of Los Angeles County is below 100 meters above sea level, with even Clermont, the city closest to the mountains, at only 200 meters above sea level, creating a very large difference compared to the 3300-meter elevation of Mount San Antonio.

Every time there is heavy rain in Los Angeles County from autumn to spring, it inevitably snows on San Antonio Mountain. There are more than 70 snowy days a year, and the temperature can reach as low as -30 degrees Celsius. Los Angeles is at a similar latitude to Hangzhou and Shanghai in the East. This is the result of the combination of topographical uplift causing cooling and temperature differences due to altitude.

The snowstorm was a much bigger obstacle than the rain, forcing the helicopter to fly even lower, which infuriated Lee Ethan.

You dare to stop at a height of 30 meters? Who do you think you are?

The pickup truck stopped, and Lee Ethan aimed his M2 heavy machine gun at the helicopter and fired.

"Bang bang bang bang bang"

"Rise faster, faster!"

The rescue helicopter had no weapons to fight back. After being riddled with bullet holes, it quickly ascended and stopped at an altitude of about 200 meters.

Lee Ethan snorted. If he didn't want to destroy the fire department's helicopter, he was 3% confident he could shoot it down.

Soon, Li Yisen's expression changed drastically. Not only were there a large number of police cars going up the mountain, but a police helicopter had also arrived.

The UH-60 (Black Hawk) is a modified version of the SWAT team's dedicated police helicopter. If I remember correctly, it is equipped with an M2 heavy machine gun and a sniper rifle.

There were two crew members and five combat personnel on the Black Hawk, and the leader was an old acquaintance, Captain Dennis, who had invited Lee Ethan before.

"The target is highly threatening, armed with rocket launchers and heavy machine guns; direct attack is permitted."

As Lee Ethan had predicted, a door to the helicopter was opened, and an M2 heavy machine gun was aimed at him.

"Damn it, I hate the M2 heavy machine gun."

Lee Ethan immediately got into the car and stepped on the gas, and the sound of a heavy machine gun immediately came through.

"Da da da da da"

The bullet was buried deep in the ground, and Lee Ethan was also startled. It was a different experience to shoot someone with an M2 than to be shot by someone with an M2.

He hurriedly turned off all the car lights, and he could only proceed in the dark. Fortunately, he had served as a mountain patrolman for a week and was familiar with the surrounding environment.

"Target has its headlights off, cannot be aimed at temporarily."

"Come closer."

Inside the car, Li Yisen deliberately chose a straight section of road to jump out. The accelerator, pressed down by a heavy object, kept the car moving forward, and its direction gradually veered off course.

But before the car could plunge off the cliff, the approaching helicopters spotted it and immediately shredded it to smithereens with heavy machine gun fire.