The Mayor’s son was held captive in an abandoned slaughterhouse by a deranged killer.
I had my sniper rifle set up, aiming squarely at the madman.
But just as my finger hovered over the trigger, my husband, Commander David Thorne, suddenly cut the comms.
Hold your fire! Wait for Dr. Hayes to arrive for psychological negotiations!
In my past life, it happened just like this.
The criminal psychology expert rushed in and spouted forty minutes of utterly useless psycho-babble at the killer.
It only enraged the madman, who promptly severed one of the hostage’s ears.
I couldn’t take it anymore. I shot the killer dead, and Dr. Hayes threw up and passed out on the spot.
From then on, she was publicly shamed as an “incompetent expert,” her reputation in tatters, her spirit crushed.
And my husband? He had me transferred to an organ trafficking unit as an undercover agent.
On the night of the operation, he deliberately called my secure line.
“Aren’t you always so capable, Valerie? Well, let’s see how you like being vivisected!”
In my final moments, I saw him appear, arm wrapped around Dr. Hayes, his face a mask of fake grief.
Reborn back to this exact moment, the killer’s blade was still pressed against the hostage’s throat.
I slowly lowered my sniper rifle, a cold smirk playing on my lips.
This time, let’s see how you play this out.
1
Dr. Hayes’ voice, soft and soothing, came through our radios, reaching every ear.
It was gentle, like she was trying to calm a petulant child, not a mentally unstable kidnapper holding a blade to a man’s throat.
“I understand you’re in pain right now… I understand your anger. We’ve heard your demands…”
“But harming others won’t truly solve your problems. We can find a better way, together…”
“Damn it!”
Through my earpiece, Captain Miller, positioned on the flank, couldn’t help but snarl, his voice laced with fuming rage.
“What the hell is she blabbering about? Can’t she see that bastard’s knife is practically slicing him already?!”
“Command, target’s emotional state is clearly deteriorating! Negotiations ineffective! Requesting authorization to fire!”
Another urgent voice cut in; it was Agent Davies, our spotter.
A second of silence hung in the channel, then my husband, Commander David Thorne – our current lead – spoke, his voice unnervingly calm.
“Maintain patience. Dr. Hayes is establishing trust! No one moves without my direct order!”
“Trust, my ass! If we wait any longer, the hostage will be ice-cold!”
The team member kept his voice low, but the fury was unmistakable.
Dr. Hayes’ voice resumed, still unhurried and deliberate.
“Your current actions… perhaps they are a re-enactment of childhood trauma you experienced? We can talk about it…”
“Son of a bitch!”
Someone in the channel couldn’t hold back a curse.
The kidnapper seemed provoked by her words, roaring, his voice hoarse.
“Shut up! Who the hell are you to lecture me? Keep blabbing and I’ll kill him right now!”
The killer’s blade pressed another fraction of an inch into the Mayor’s son’s trembling throat.
A thin line of blood snaked down.
The young man let out a suppressed whimper, his pupils dilated with extreme terror.
Mayor Thompson’s hoarse roar practically tore through the comms.
Chaos erupted around him, filled with shouts of restraint.
“David Thorne! If my son loses even a single hair, you can kiss that uniform goodbye! Shoot! Save him!”
After a brief, tense silence, David’s voice finally returned.
“Valerie, report target’s real-time status.”
Everyone’s earpiece went quiet for a moment.
Usually, in times like these, I’d give the most calm and professional assessment.
It would be the basis for his decision, taking the main responsibility off his shoulders.
But now…
Through my high-powered scope, I watched the trembling young man.
And I watched the madman, visibly growing more agitated with every word Dr. Hayes spoke.
I replied, my voice steady, devoid of any ripple of emotion.
“My expertise is marksmanship. I don’t analyze madmen.”
“That’s a call you’ll have to make yourself, Commander.”
The channel went dead silent.
I could picture David’s expression right now.
That usual calm mask suddenly frozen, perhaps a flicker of disbelief in his eyes.
“Valerie! Watch your tone! This is an active mission!”
His voice was laced with a reprimand, an attempt to regain control of the situation.
I responded immediately, my tone respectful, but my words hard as iron.
“Yes, Commander. My finger will not touch the trigger until you give the order.”
“After all, I wouldn’t want to be responsible for disrupting Dr. Hayes’ crucial trust-building.”
2
Last life, my shot was clean, a headshot.
The hostage was saved, Mayor Thompson was eternally grateful, and I became a hero.
That life-saving act brought me a promotion and commendations, but it also became the catalyst that pushed me into hell.
David couldn’t tolerate a wife who wasn’t perfectly controlled, who might even surpass him.
Especially since I’d ruined the reputation of his beloved Dr. Hayes, driving her to a breakdown.
So, he threw me into the dirtiest, most dangerous organ trafficking ring as an undercover agent.
And then, at the critical moment of the bust, he deliberately made sure I was exposed.
I still remember that last look he gave me – smug and insidious.
A scream dragged me back to reality.
It was Dr. Hayes. Her face was a mask of panic.
“You… don’t get agitated! I’m just trying to help you! You’re making it very hard to communicate…”
“Help me?”
The kidnapper let out a grating, cackling laugh, then slashed viciously!
“Aaah!”
A shrill, distorted scream echoed through the air.
The next second, a blood-soaked finger, severed and grotesque, rolled onto the ground.
Mayor Thompson’s son’s left pinky finger had been cut off. He rolled his eyes, on the verge of passing out.
“Lunatic, you psycho! How could you do that?!”
Dr. Hayes’ scream rang out simultaneously, tearful and filled with incredulous condemnation.
She’d completely lost her professional composure.
“I was trying to help you! Why didn’t you listen?”
Her shrieking was undoubtedly pouring fuel on the fire.
The kidnapper’s facial muscles twisted frantically, as if her accusation had completely enraged him. The blood-stained blade lifted again.
This time, it was aimed at the hostage’s eyes.
“Help me? You send some bitch here to piss me off, are you messing with me?! I’ll gouge out his eyes right now, I swear to God!”
Everyone’s blood seemed to freeze in that instant.
However, the expected decisive order from Commander David Thorne for an assault or a shot never came.
“Cassandra, fall back! Watch your safety!”
His priority was that useless woman.
Mayor Thompson’s furious roar almost shattered my eardrums.
“David Thorne! My son’s hand! Do you see it?! Shoot! Kill that madman now! Or I’ll have your badge and your hide!”
David’s breathing grew heavy in my earpiece.
“Cassandra, immediately retreat to a safe distance!”
He prioritized her safety again, then, as if forced, gritted his teeth and squeezed out the command.
“Sniper team, prepare to…”
“David!”
Dr. Hayes’ tearful voice was full of grievance and resentment, and a certainty that bordered on delusional.
“They just don’t understand, this is typical trauma response!”
“Violence only escalates tragedy! What we need is empathy, to build a bridge of trust!”
“Enraging him now will only make him more extreme!”
She seemed to have completely forgotten who had just enraged him, leading to the finger being severed.
“They’re all so mean to me… Even you don’t trust my professional judgment anymore?”
She even had the nerve to whine to David.
Just then, Agent Davies’ urgent voice cut in.
“Commander Thorne…”
“Recon just reported that the kidnapper’s feet and the surrounding area… might be rigged with explosives!”
3
“Bombs?!”
A collective gasp echoed through the channel, and David’s breath hitched.
Agent Davies’ voice was urgent and clear.
“Wires extend from his feet, covering an unknown area! Direct assault carries extreme risk!”
The situation instantly escalated.
It had just been a hostage crisis; now it was a powder keg that could blow everyone to pieces.
“Damn it…”
A team member cursed under his breath, his voice filled with a sense of helplessness.
Dr. Hayes seemed terrified by the news, her sobbing abruptly cut short.
Only faint, startled sniffles remained.
But the next second, her voice suddenly regained that irritatingly professional tone.
“See… see? I told you not to provoke him!”
“He lacks security, he’s extremely afraid, that’s why he’s resorting to these extreme measures for protection!”
“We must first understand his inner world, establish trust and security…”
“Trust your mother!”
A suppressed, furious roar suddenly erupted in the channel.
It was Captain Miller, positioned closest to the front.
“I wanted to put a bullet in that bastard’s head earlier! And now? We’re all in a goddamn bomb crater because of this ‘psychology expert’!”
“Shut up!”
David barked, but his voice clearly carried a faint, almost imperceptible hint of panic.
He took a deep breath.
“Cassandra, continue trying to communicate, keep him calm!”
“Bomb disposal team! Assess the situation! Assault team, fall back, find cover!”
His orders were chaotic, both asking Dr. Hayes to engage and ordering his team to retreat.
Clearly, this sudden development had thrown him off balance.
Dr. Hayes, receiving her instructions, seemed infused with a supreme mission, and her voice rose a few more decibels.
“You don’t really want this, do you? We can help you…”
“Just release the hostage…”
The kidnapper’s facial muscles twitched, his eyes wildly scanning his surroundings.
His knife pressed harder against the hostage’s throat, and beads of blood began to seep out.
The kidnapper’s crazed laughter abruptly stopped, replaced by the furious roar of someone thoroughly humiliated.
“Understand me? Help me? You’re full of shit!”
He spat, his emotions running wild.
“You all act so righteous! Is there anything else in your brains besides trying to kill me?”
“You send some bitch to lecture me! Do you really think I’m an idiot?”
Dr. Hayes’ face paled from his yelling, and she instinctively took half a step back.
But then, as if to prove something, she forced herself forward again, her voice sharp.
“How can you talk like that! I’m trying to save you! Your antisocial personality…”
“Go to hell with your antisocial personality!”
The kidnapper suddenly kicked a rusted metal架 near him, creating a deafening clang.
“Get lost! Or I’ll slit his throat right now!”
4
He pressed down with his wrist, and the hostage let out a choked whimper.
“Aaah!”
Dr. Hayes shrieked, terrified by the direct death threat, completely losing her composure.
She suddenly turned towards the comms, her voice high-pitched and sharp, completely devoid of any supposed professionalism.
“David! Did you hear that?! He cursed at me! He actually cursed at me like that! I was trying to help him!”
“He’s utterly hopeless, a barbaric and vulgar psycho!”
“You have to arrest him! Show him who’s boss!”
The channel went utterly silent.
Only her aggrieved, angry sobs and the kidnapper’s heavy breathing intertwined.
David’s voice immediately rang out, filled with blatant favoritism and urgency.
“Cassandra, evacuate immediately! Assault Team One, cover Dr. Hayes’ retreat!”
His orders were clear and decisive, a stark contrast to his hesitation during the hostage crisis.
Several assault team members quickly moved into position, forming a shield.
They escorted Dr. Hayes rapidly back behind cover.
The kidnapper watched the scene, letting out a series of mocking cackles.
“Hahahaha… The little princess is upset, her bodyguards are rushing to her aid!”
“Damn it! I despise you self-righteous phonies the most!”
His gaze returned to the almost-paralyzed hostage, the madness in his eyes growing even more intense.
“Show’s over, little lord. Looks like your life isn’t as important as a pretty expert’s whine.”
He licked his dry lips, the blood-stained blade slowly moving down from the Mayor’s son’s neck towards his chest.
Mayor Thompson’s roar in the comms channel had turned into a primal scream.
David Thorne’s voice was taut as a wire, desperately trying to suppress the chaos.
“Bomb Disposal Team! Report! How much longer??”
“Complex wiring, too wide a coverage area. At least ten minutes to locate the core detonator!”
“Ten minutes!”
David’s voice almost broke.
Dr. Hayes was practically dragged back behind the temporary command cover by the assault team members.
Her hair was disheveled, tear tracks still on her face, her eyes filled with humiliation and resentment.
“He dared… he dared to do that to me!”
Her voice trembled as she grabbed David’s arm.
“David! I can’t just let this go! He has to pay!”
David’s brow furrowed. He watched the bomb disposal team’s progress while trying to calm her.
“Cassandra, calm down first. It’s very dangerous here…”
“No!”
Dr. Hayes suddenly yanked her arm away, a flicker of madness in her eyes.
“I want to take care of him myself!”
5
She suddenly pointed at me, where I lay ambushed not far away.
“Valerie! Give me your sniper rifle!”
Every team member’s breath hitched in the channel.
David Thorne also froze.
“Cassandra, stop it, this isn’t a joke!”
“I’m not joking!”
Dr. Hayes straightened her back, trying to appear professional and calm, but she couldn’t hide the tremor and excitement in her voice.
“Criminal psychology also includes behavioral prediction!”
“I’ve studied his micro-expressions and body language. I know what his next move will be! I’m confident I can hit him!”
She looked at David, her tone wheedling.
“David, tell her to assist me!”
“Isn’t Valerie the best sniper? Have her help me calculate wind speed and distance.”
“Working together, we can hit him before he harms the hostage!”
“Nonsense!”
Captain Miller couldn’t help but growl into the comms.
David, however, was silent.
He looked at Dr. Hayes’ stubborn, tear-stained face, his eyes filled with a blind indulgence and trust.
He was actually considering it.
In his mind, perhaps this was the only chance to salvage Dr. Hayes’ dignity and confidence?
Or perhaps he simply couldn’t refuse any of her requests?
“Valerie.”
David’s voice came through the channel, carrying an undeniable command.
“You will assist Dr. Hayes in the shot. She will judge the timing, and you will provide data support.”
“Ensure a one-shot kill, and rescue the hostage.”
The sheer absurdity almost made me laugh out loud.
Me, the police department’s three-time consecutive sniping champion, to assist a psychologist who probably couldn’t even hold a rifle steady?
Last life, he led me to a gruesome death. This life, he still wanted to drag everyone down with him to salvage Dr. Hayes’ ego.
“Commander, I refuse.”
My voice was cold as ice.
David’s voice suddenly rose, laced with anger.
“Valerie! That’s an order!”
My words were steady, each one clear.
“Dr. Hayes does not possess the qualifications of a sniper. Her emotional state is highly unstable. Allowing her to lead the shot is tantamount to murder.”
“Valerie! You!”
David was furious.
Dr. Hayes’ sharp voice cut in, tearful and accusatory.
“David! Look at her! She’s just jealous of me!”
“She’s afraid that if I succeed, it’ll make her look incompetent! She doesn’t even want to save Mayor Thompson’s son!”
“I don’t have time to listen to your arguments.”
I cut her off coldly, my scope never leaving the target.
“Commander, if you insist on Dr. Hayes taking the shot, please explain the situation to all personnel involved and to Mayor Thompson himself.”
“State that Dr. Hayes is solely responsible for this shot, and all consequences will be jointly borne by you and her.”
My words were like a bucket of ice water, instantly extinguishing David’s impulse.
Jointly bear the consequences.
Would he dare? He wouldn’t.
He knew better than anyone that Dr. Hayes couldn’t do it.
He just wanted her to try. If she succeeded, it would be his credit. If she failed… he’d probably still pin it on me.
Sure enough, David’s end of the channel fell into a terrifying silence.
Dr. Hayes continued to whine relentlessly.
“David! You promised me! Let her help me! I can do it…”
“Enough!”
David finally roared, his voice filled with irritation and internal struggle.
Just then, Agent Davies’ urgent voice sounded again.
“Commander Thorne! The kidnapper has the detonator out! He’s counting down! Ten! Nine! Eight!”
The bomb disposal team’s startled cry came simultaneously.
“No! Not enough time!”
“Seven! Six! Five!…”
Everyone’s heart was in their throat.
“Four! Three!…”
In that split second.
“Bang!”
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