American variety show: Sniper Elite

Chapter 60 Evacuation
There wasn't time to fire a second shot, but the deterrent effect of the first shot bought Beta precious time. He decisively abandoned his sniper rifle, rolled behind cover, and drew his pistol from his waist.

Almost simultaneously, a hail of bullets rained down, shattering the spot where he had just stood into countless fragments. Beta slowly rose, leaning against the pillar, holding his breath as he carefully discerned the locations of the remaining three security guards.

After witnessing their companion being shot dead, the three security guards quickly dispersed and took cover, each using cover to hold their guns and tightly blocking all exits on this floor.

One of them quickly lowered his voice and reported: "Emergency! A gunman has appeared on the first floor of the company building, using a large-caliber sniper rifle! We have secured the scene and request immediate backup!"

The air froze, and the two sides faced off in a brief, deathly silence, neither daring to make a move.

Beta knew that time was of the essence.

He quickly pulled out the magazine to check; only three bullets remained. The previous firefights, whether with accurate hits or shots that missed their targets, had already used up most of his ammunition.

He decisively removed the silencer from his pistol and tossed it to the left from behind the pillar. The metal silencer bounced crisply on the broken glass with a "clang," then bounced twice more on the floor before rolling several meters away.

The sudden noise immediately attracted the attention of the three security guards. They almost simultaneously turned their guns and looked warily toward the source of the sound.

In that split second, Beta gained a precious opportunity to act. He rolled to the side, steadied himself, and instantly took up his gun.

"Pfft, pfft, pfft!" Three bursts of fire accurately hit the security guard who was still on the phone. This guy had made a big mistake; during the standoff, he not only revealed his position but also kept talking, naturally becoming the primary target.

He discarded his empty CZ75, lunged at the fallen security guard, grabbed the dropped pistol, and lay down on his side behind the body to minimize his exposure. Almost simultaneously, the second security guard reacted, and the two engaged in a shootout within five meters of each other.

"Bang!" The security guard's first shot hit his companion's body, and the second bullet whizzed past Beta's ear. He could even feel the hot air from the bullet.

Beta's retaliation was even more lethal. The first shot slammed into the guard's bulletproof vest, the impact sending him staggering backward; the second shot ripped half of his face open, blood splattering in a blinding arc through the air as the guard fell backward.

Beta sprang up, pressed himself against the back of the pillar, grabbed the gun barrel protruding from the side of the pillar with his left hand, and suddenly bent it upwards.

"Ah!" The third security guard screamed as his fingers were forced to loosen their grip in excruciating pain, and Beta snatched the pistol away.

Beta pressed the muzzle of his gun against the other man's chest and pulled the trigger without hesitation.

However, the moment the bullet hit the bulletproof vest, the huge reaction force caused the gun to shake violently. The slide did not recoil completely, and the spent cartridge case got stuck in the ejection port with a "click," and the entire gun was instantly jammed.

The security guard seized the opportunity, delivering a vicious elbow strike straight for Beta's face. Beta swiftly dodged, his left arm like an iron gate blocking the guard's elbow joint, and shoved him to the side. At the same time, he gripped his jammed pistol in his right hand, pressing the barrel hard against the security guard's throat.

“Ugh—” The security guard clutched his throat in pain and staggered back.

Beta decisively threw away the malfunctioning gun in his right hand and switched the pistol he had taken from his left hand to his right.

Without the slightest hesitation, he raised his arm and pulled the trigger. The recoil traveled up his forearm, and "bang!" The bullet pierced the security guard's forehead precisely, ending the close-quarters combat. Suddenly, a burst of gunfire erupted from the direction of the security door, bullets pounding against the pillars and ground around Beta, sending countless fragments of stone flying.

He quickly lowered his body, using the pillar as cover, and slid into the blind spot of the arriving security personnel. He leaned out and fired three precise shots, and two security personnel who had just rushed out of the security door fell to the ground.

Betali landed, ejected the magazine to check the remaining ammunition, and casually picked up an incendiary bomb that had rolled onto the ground.

He held his gun at attention with one hand, pulled the pin, and precisely threw the incendiary bomb into the security door. "Boom—" The exploding flames blocked the passage, and the scorching heat forced the security reinforcements who were coming to provide backup to retreat.

Beta was puzzled as to why AAA Company still had so many security personnel at this time.

He quickly found his dropped CZ75 pistol and tucked it back into his waistband. He knelt down on one knee, picked up the pistol that the security guard had dropped, checked the magazine level, and then took a spare magazine from the fallen security guard's waistband and put it in his own pocket.

After completing the resupply, Beta immediately conducted a full-body check: first, he checked for any injuries, then he checked the integrity of his facial camouflage, and finally he quickly inspected the glue coating on his hands for any damage.

The entire self-check process took only three seconds, and Beta completed a comprehensive assessment of its condition.

After confirming that everything was correct, Beta gripped his pistol and vanished into the shadows of the corridor in a flash.
-

On the airport runway, the sirens of ambulances and police cars rose and fell, their piercing wails cutting through the night sky. Red and blue police lights flashed in the night wind, illuminating the entire tarmac in an intermittent manner.

Michael was quickly lifted onto a stretcher and taken to an ambulance by paramedics. He was very lucky; although the bullet pierced his side, it fortunately avoided his internal organs, causing only a severe open wound and massive blood loss, leaving him unconscious.

However, Tivedi, the Indian businessman being protected by AAA Security, was not so lucky. The same bullet, after penetrating Michael, went straight through his neck, severing his carotid artery.

Blood gushed out, staining the entire carriage red. The Indian businessman, who was supposed to embark on a procurement negotiation trip for Dassault Systèmes, collapsed in the back seat of the extended armored limousine the moment he set foot on French soil.

Inside the car, the blood of this wealthy, high-caste Brahmin man almost soaked through the leather seats, its dark red color starkly contrasting against the bulletproof glass. With his aorta ruptured, this AAA company VIP client died within minutes, his life ending in a foreign land.

French security personnel arrived at the scene.

The Indian businessman's purpose for his trip to France was extremely sensitive; his aim was to negotiate a military procurement contract with Dassault Systèmes.

Both France and India originally hoped to handle the transaction discreetly, which is why they specifically hired the private security company AAA to handle security at Tiwadi, in order to avoid attracting too much attention.

But now, this incident has escalated into a major diplomatic crisis.

Even if that damned Indian had died on the plane, France could at least have claimed it had nothing to do with them. But he was killed after setting foot on French soil in a French-provided armored vehicle, which directly pins the responsibility on the French government, leaving them no room to shirk responsibility.

(End of this chapter)