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"Is this a rookie?" The Irish gang leader was surprised to see a lone officer stepping out of a police car. Only a rookie would charge into Hell's Kitchen like this.
"NYPD, drop your weapons!" Link shouted once more.
"Take him down!" The gang members weren't concerned about the police. Though they knew dealing with law enforcement could be troublesome, it wasn't something they couldn't handle.
"Bang, bang…" Several gang members instantly shifted their aim towards Link and began firing.
Link calmly ducked behind the car door. Police cars had bulletproof steel plating on the front doors for protection.
"Calling headquarters, I'm under fire. The suspects are shooting at me. Requesting backup," Link reported without a hint of panic. If the others were hoping to sit back and watch, that wasn't happening. Now that the gang had fired at him, they'd essentially declared war on the police. Backup might not come immediately, but it would have serious consequences if they didn't respond. Cops look out for their own.
With his report made, Link activated his X-ray vision and looked through the car door. After firing a few shots in his direction, the gang members had turned their attention back to the ongoing fight.
"Careless," Link muttered. He stood up, both hands steady on his gun, and fired. "Bang, bang…"
Each shot was precise, and his gun didn't move an inch from the recoil. Bullet after bullet flew towards its target.
"Thud, thud..." Headshots landed, and brains and blood splattered.
In seconds, over half of the Irish gang was down, and their firepower sharply diminished.
The remaining gang members turned to see their fallen comrades, their leader among them.
"Damn it!" The gang leader cursed, realizing the dire situation. "Retreat!"
But before they could move, "Bang!" Link fired again, killing the leader on the spot.
"NYPD, drop your weapons!" Link shouted one last warning.
He had to follow protocol, after all. There's always a procedure to maintain.
Terrified, some of the remaining gang members threw down their weapons and raised their hands. Who could stand against a man with perfect aim, delivering headshots with every pull of the trigger?
Once someone surrendered, the rest followed suit. Being arrested was a familiar routine for these criminals, but nobody wanted to end up with a bullet in the head.
As they stood up, however, they forgot about the Russians inside the restaurant. Seeing the gang members who had attacked them raising their hands, the Russians, already in a killing frenzy, didn't care to ask questions.
"Bang, bang, bang… Rat-tat-tat!" Guns blazed, and the remaining Irish gang members were mowed down in a barrage of bullets.
The Russians emptied their magazines without even glancing at Link's direction, preparing to finish off any survivors.
"NYPD, drop your weapons!" Link shouted again, drawing their attention.
The Russians turned to face him, guns pointed directly at Link. Without hesitation, he opened fire again.
"Bang, bang…" This time, Link paced his shots, killing only two of the Russians to give the others time to react.
Instinctively, a few of them fired at him, but none of the bullets came close, with most hitting the police car instead.
Link then resumed firing, eliminating every last one of the remaining gang members. Silence followed, broken only by the distant wail of sirens.
Link knew there were few survivors—just a handful of critically injured men groaning in pain. He called in the situation to headquarters, stating that the area was now secure and that medics were needed immediately. Only then did he holster his gun and begin walking through the scene.
Soon, other patrol units arrived, cursing Link under their breath. This rookie didn't understand how things worked in Hell's Kitchen. He had disrupted the delicate balance.
But then again, this was someone who had just been assigned here and worked alone. No one had taught him the unofficial rules of survival in this district, where being a cop wasn't worth risking your life, especially with such low pay.
As they arrived, they saw the aftermath: the rookie was searching the crime scene, and it seemed like the firefight had ended.
"Hey, rookie!" one of the officers called out.
Link turned, giving them a smile. "You guys made it just in time. I was just wondering how to clean up this mess."
He removed his service belt, putting his gun back in its holster. "I shot a lot of people here. Who's in charge now?"
The officers stared at him, dumbfounded. As they hurriedly examined the scene, they found a field of corpses. Only a few critically wounded men were still breathing, and even they seemed close to death.
...
Link was brought back to the precinct, where everyone looked at him in shock. Over forty gang members from two different groups had been involved, and only three were still alive—though even their survival was uncertain.
Link calmly recounted the events, explaining how he responded to the call and how the situation unfolded, killing over twenty men in the process. It was beyond terrifying.
...
Internal Affairs had arrived, as had representatives from the police union and union lawyers. The union and lawyers were there to support Link, but he still had to face questioning from Internal Affairs. He didn't have the right to remain silent. If he chose silence, it would mean losing his job.
"Officer Link, can you describe the situation in detail?" one of the Internal Affairs investigators asked.
Link began his recount, from receiving the dispatch call to responding and taking control of the situation.
"At first, I had control over the shooters outside the restaurant, but then the people inside suddenly rushed out and opened fire on them," Link concluded. "I had no choice but to warn them, but there were eight of them, all armed and aiming at me."
"I had no choice but to neutralize the threat."
The investigator asked, "Why did you aim for their heads?"
Link responded calmly, "As per protocol, an officer's priority is to protect themselves. When facing a life-threatening situation, officers are authorized to use deadly force. With over forty armed suspects at the scene, I had to act swiftly. My first shots were intended to intimidate and reduce the threat."
"My second round of shots was purely for self-defense."
"The Glock 19 uses 9mm rounds, which are relatively low-power. Aiming for the larger torso might not have been effective enough to eliminate the threat."
Internal Affairs asked another question: "You're confident in your marksmanship?"
"Yes, I'm very confident in my skills," Link said, brimming with confidence. "Given the situation, I didn't have the luxury of overthinking. I had one chance to get it right."
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