Chapter 524 - 524: Checkmate?

The Dark Lord and his guards ran to the back part of the facility. There was a vast open space there where the helicopter could land. In five minutes, their ride would arrive. His guards just needed to buy time for the Dark Lord.

The sound of the gunshots could be heard nearby. There was still an on-going shootout between the Dark Knight members and the Skull Gang members.

Brother Yu and Brother Yan were able to catch up with the Dark Lord and his guards. Erick also followed them. They used the big trees to take cover. The guards were securing the Dark Lord's safety.

He was also firing at Brother Yu and Brother Yan. Soon, Erick joined them together with the other three Skull Gang members. Twelve elite bodyguards were guarding the Dark Lord. It appeared to be thirteen vs six.

"Senator Mondragon, surrender yourself! We already surrounded this area. The operation team of National Security are also here to catch you," Erick yelled at the Dark Lord, in between the crossfire.

The Dark Lord, who's also known as Senator Mondragon, clenched his teeth. Now the government mobilized its special forces.

Escaping now became more difficult. Though his back-ups were on their way, he was not sure how long they could hold Erick's team.

The majority of his elite men were stationed in the main headquarters, not here. They didn't expect that Erick would be able to outsmart him. His team that he brought were also experts.

The Dark Lord wondered what happened to Snake. They talked on the phone. He sounded normal. He didn't warn him. This only meant Snake also betrayed him.

Snake was the most loyal member he had. He couldn't believe that he would betray him. 

'Why did Snake betray me?' This was the biggest question running in his mind right now.

"Chief Detective Lee! You were supposed to be dead by now. How come you are here?!" The Dark Lord shouted, asking Erick. He was very curious about what happened to Snake.

"That's not important. I'm asking you one last time, surrender yourself now, Senator Mondragon! There's no point in fighting back. People already knew the truth… about this facility. Just accept your punishment. We didn't want more people to die here." Erick tried his best to convince the Dark Lord to surrender.

The Dark Lord frowned, his face contorted. He knew that he could guarantee a hundred percent success in escaping. 

He turned to the Leader of his guards who was standing next to him. Both of them were leaning on the big tree, taking cover against the bullet coming from Erick's team. The exchange of shots was still on-going.

"Any update from our back-ups? They should be here by now." The Dark Lord asked his guard.

The Head guard contacted the other team through their communication device. After a few seconds, he glanced back at the Dark Lord while wearing an anxious expression.

From that expression alone, the Dark Lord could tell that he had a piece of bad news for him.

"What? What happened?" He asked him with his stern cold voice. His face darkened.

"Sorry our Lord… They couldn't come. The roads going here were blocked. They had an encounter with the police and military on the way here. They had to pull back. They were outnumbered." 

The Dark Lord didn't know what to feel after hearing that. Who would have thought that day like this would come? He was cornered by Erick's team easily.

He cursed inwardly while balling his fingers into fists. His nail almost cut his skin. He was freaking mad. He could not accept this turn of events.

The Dark Lord peered at his surroundings only to find out that his other guards were already lying on the ground. Most of them were injured, others were already dead.

The Dark Lord was distracted when suddenly Brother Yu and Brother Yan appeared in front of them. His guards were taken down already. The ones left standing were the Dark Lord and his head guard.

"Checkmate, Dark Lord!" Brother Yu said with a smug smile on his face.

"If you surrendered early then your guards should have not died in vain," Brother Yan also commented, mocking the Dark Lord.

Erick, together with the Skull Gang members, joined them. Brother Yu and Brother Yan disarmed the Dark Lord and the remaining guard.

Erick and the Dark Lord stared at each other's eyes before Erick recited the Miranda Warning while putting handcuffs on the Dark Lord's hand.

Mission Accomplished. They succeeded in apprehending the Dark Lord. Soon, Erick relayed the message to everyone.

Bryan informed him that they already arrived. The National Security Team also came with them. The Skull Gang members headed by Spike and Sherlock already left the facility together with Mr. Carter.

"Chief Lee, we will leave them to you. We have something more to do. Master Phantom needed our help." Brother Yan said to Erick meaningfully.

"Thank you, brothers," Erick mumbled, feeling grateful to them.

Brother Yu extended his right hand to Erick and said, "It's our honor to work with you, Chief Lee. Master wants me to relay this message to you. Please… take good care of our sister, Elle."

Erick was confused why Brother Yu was telling him this. "Why are you both so serious?"

Brother Yan and Brother Yu exchanged glances with each other before giving Erick a meaningful smile. They didn't answer him.

"Chief Lee… we are really glad to meet someone like you. We will now leave our sister Elle in your care. Please protect her just like how our Master protected her before." Brother Yu added.

Erick wanted to ask them what they were planning to do next but Brother Yu and Brother Yan didn't wait for him to speak up as they left in a hurry.

Erick just watched their back until they vanished from his sight. It did not take long when Bryan, June, Carl, and members of the National Security Team reached Erick's spot.

They escorted the Dark Lord and his guard. They had to be interrogated after this.

"Erick, what's wrong?" Bryan asked him as he noticed his troubled expression.

"Where's Mr. Carter?" Erick asked him.

"They already left." Bryan promptly responded.

Erick was not at ease. He felt like there's something more that was about to happen.

"Bryan, go ahead first. I will just check something. I'm gonna contact my father-in-law," Erick said with urgency in his voice.

Bryan just nodded at him. Erick immediately said goodbye to them to find Phantom.