dognovel Chapter 30 Officer Rabbit Bravely Ventures into the Dark Alley
Chapter 30 Officer Rabbit Bravely Ventures into the Dark Alley
Crawford acted swiftly, and Florence authorities immediately issued an arrest warrant, which was urgently played on a loop in every place with electronic screens.
An unprecedented panic descended upon this art capital. People were talking about it and seeing threats everywhere. Most tourists and locals chose to stay indoors.
Telephone company A monitors all calls in real time and uses big data to capture keywords such as "Lec" (a derogatory term for a person), "cannibal" (a derogatory term for a person who is ...
Police, in conjunction with the FBI (actually just Titus and Starling, as the FBI had very few agents in Florence), conducted a citywide search.
In the evening, Stella was assigned by Titus to be in charge of the search in the old town.
The Old Town is a complex and chaotic place, the most likely hiding place among the five districts of Florence. She knew that Titus wanted her, the only "one of his own," to go to the place where Hannibal was most likely to appear.
Titus told her that Hannibal Lecter's residence was inside the museum, but there was nothing substantial to be found; they could only rely on a thorough search.
The lockdown wasn't fully implemented yet, so he had to monitor all train stations, airports, bus stops, and highway entrances to prevent him from sneaking out unnoticed.
She walked down the old street with a gun at her side, her ears perked up, like a vigilant rabbit police officer.
Suddenly, she heard hurried footsteps, which disappeared in an instant!
Right behind me at five o'clock, I heard the sound of cloth shoes swiftly stepping on the stone path!
She turned around immediately, only to catch a fleeting glimpse of a shadow.
"Hey! FBI, stop right there!" Starling shouted, drawing her gun.
She rushed over, but there was no one there; it was a dimly lit alley.
What does this suspicious person want...?
After hesitating for a moment, Starling decided that it was not worth making a fuss over a suspicious figure, because if all they caught was a gypsy girl who had stolen something, they would definitely be laughed at by everyone in the company!
In addition, she has her own ideas.
She knew that most people had reservations about her being promoted to a permanent position. She didn't want to go through those prejudices again, like being locked in a prison van for four or five minutes. She wanted to prove herself.
She stopped dialing Titus's number; there was no need to call for the slightest anomaly. She needed to find concrete clues first.
This was a minor incident; if it were Titus, he would have caught up immediately.
Besides, it's not too late to make a call after we find out something, is it?
With that thought in mind, she pressed the walkie-talkie, reported that she had spotted a suspicious person and their location, and then chased after them into the depths of the alley.
Have you ever walked through a dark alley late at night, where the moonlight falls coldly and eerily?
The dim streetlight at the alley entrance flickered, then suddenly snapped with a "zzzt" as the aging circuit burned out. In the chilling silence, only the slow, heart-wrenching dripping of water from a rooftop could be heard.
At least that's what Starling thought; the sound of the water dripping resonated in her heart, again and again.
She saw the muddy imprints of cloth shoes on the stone pavement.
Mud imprints... Why is he/she running, and where did he/she come from?
Where in Florence can you step into mud, and did the suspect do it intentionally?
Filled with questions, Starling followed the trail until she reached a building.
The footsteps disappeared here.
A damn two-story building, its doors and windows tightly shut but somewhat dilapidated, its escalating staircase and moss-covered stone walls bearing the indelible marks of time.
It is like a wild beast crouching in the night.
They were already quite deep in the alley, and Starling noticed that there seemed to be no one living in the area.
Dead potted plants, dusty old cars, overgrown weeds, and large patches of spider webs that you might stumble upon unexpectedly...
Starling realized things might not be as simple as she thought, so she quickly dialed Titus's number for backup.
"...Beep beep beep".
After waiting for about half a minute, the phone went unanswered.
Starling was not the kind of person who hesitated. She pressed the intercom, reported her location again, and walked towards the building.
She pressed one hand on the holster of her sidearm and the other lightly pressed the door, and unexpectedly the door was pushed open!
Starling drew her gun with lightning speed!
The famous line that countless generals had uttered flashed through her mind: Damn it, we've fallen for their trap!
However, as the door slowly opened, a thick smell of dust wafted out.
The room was completely dark, and there was nothing else there...
Starling was filled with doubt, and her vigilance grew increasingly heightened.
She turned on the flashlight attached to the barrel of her sidearm, the light piercing the darkness like a sharp sword.
She swallowed hard and slowly stepped into this dark, unknown territory.
Starling was on edge, her mind replaying all the techniques the instructor had taught her: kicking down doors, preventing someone from grabbing her gun, checking blind spots before entering...
The lights inside the house wouldn't turn on, so she guessed someone had pulled the power switch, but she didn't know where it was.
The immense psychological pressure tormented her; her hair clung to her face as she searched room by room.
The suspect may have already fled...
"It's also possible that the suspect is watching her," Starling thought. "Damn it, I have to get night vision goggles when I get back!"
Suddenly, she saw familiar muddy footprints on the ground, leading to a closed room.
Is this the place?
Without further hesitation, she kicked open the door and gripped the gun tightly.
She thought that if someone suddenly jumped out, she definitely wouldn't be able to control herself and pull the trigger!
However, to everyone's surprise, the house was empty...
She realized something was wrong, and without the slightest hesitation, she turned around and fired!
"Bang, bang, bang!"
Three shots in an instant!
She shot and hit someone who was about to attack her with a dagger!
The flashlight shone over and revealed a middle-aged man who had been shot twice in the abdomen and once in the chest. The bullet hadn't hit his heart, but he certainly wouldn't survive without immediate medical attention.
The man stared wide-eyed at Starling.
Starling angrily said:
"Who are you!"
"Who sent you? Tell me, do you still have time to be rescued!"
Suddenly, Starling heard a loud bang as the door slammed shut, and she looked over in alarm.
Then came a "click" sound as the power switch was flipped.
The room was brightly lit, and Starling's beautiful face was deathly pale.
……
Two and a half hours had passed since Starling informed Crawford to come forward and blockade Florence.
Crawford himself was busy reporting to headquarters, notifying FBI overseas offices, contacting local police departments, and going through procedures, so he was still on his way.
Titus sat in the makeshift command center set up by the police station, coldly staring at the surveillance cameras at all the entrances and exits.
Dozens of walkie-talkies stood behind them, constantly broadcasting the results of patrols in each area:
"No abnormalities found in the Holy Cross District across the Arno River, current time 8:45 a.m."
"No abnormalities found in D Market, outer area. Current time: 8:45 AM."
"No abnormalities found near Church X in the San Giovanni district. Current time: 8:45 AM."
……
It is now 8:45 p.m., and Titus is requesting a search report every 15 minutes.
"Old Town... Suspicious person spotted at the intersection of D Street and C Alley, current time 8:20..."
8:20?!
Titus immediately looked at the walkie-talkie.
"Report... This is FBI Agent Starling from the Old Town. Current time: 8:21 AM. Preparing to approach a suspicious person."
"Starling is close to the suspect. This is 45 S Lane, C Section, Old Town. The current time is 8:34. Prepare to sneak in first."
"...Zzz (electric sound), requesting backup..."