Chapter 430 - Relief (2)

11 May, JL International Mall, City F

Matthew noticed the torn top and quickly whipped around before angrily saying "What the f*ck happened."

"Boss it was just luck that I found Lexi. What drew me here was a few of the thugs over there," with that Ben nodded his head to where the injured and unconscious thugs had been gathered by the soldiers. "They were gathered around, and that raised my suspicions about what was the situation. As I got close, they appeared to want to target rich women who they believed had targeted them."

Ben paused and noticed the look on Matthew's face having looked at the thugs. He was happy that they had been taken down. Calmly, trying not to cause Matthew to overreact, he added "They wanted 'rich b*tches', as they called them, to pay. They figured they had to find several of them, to satisfy themselves s.e.x.u.a.lly. I would have let them off lightly, but they decided not to back off so I had to teach them a lesson…"

A groan, which was the ringleader waking up could be heard, so Ben knowing that the police had not arrived moved over and getting into his face he said "I gave you the opportunity to back off, but you decided that you wanted to play your games, thinking that you are a big man, with the ability to back things up, but actually you are someone who likes to talk the talk but cannot deliver. So, I rescued your unconscious victim and let you off lightly because I want to see you pay."

Ben paused reached and turned the ringleader's head towards Matthew, before saying "And you are just lucky it was me, because as I said I let you off lightly. If it had been my boss over there, none of you would be alive, and no court would convict him because you were threatening to r*pe his unconscious wife. He would have been cheered out of here, for not only talking you out and rescuing his wife but all the rescue work he is doing to save those hurt. You on the other hand only wanted to steal from the victims and loot stores."

Matthew having heard what Ben said, moved in saying "You better believe it, now you can have two choices confess everything to the police, and take the civilian penalty or I will ask you be transferred to face a military court for threatening to harm the wife of an army general." Matthew smiled and turned to Ben before moving away.

Ben responded "You better take that offer, because you will not like the outcome if you head to a military court. You were caught read handed threatening to r.a.p.e his wife, and when confronted you then decided to order your thugs to try and attack me, a Colonel." Pausing for a few seconds for dramatic effect, Ben said "Have fun with your choice."

Ben turned and quickly moved to Matthew noticing the look of despair on his face, saying "Boss, everything will be alright. We know that the shockwave from explosions can knock people off their feet, particularly in an enclosed space. That is all that seems to have happened to your wife, and as she has hit the ground, she has knocked herself unconscious. Again, not unexpected."

Matthew went to take a couple of paces forward, and Ben then grabbed his right arm saying "Let it be boss. The Medics are on there way and will take care of her, and we both know those thugs will look out for themselves and throw themselves on the mercy of the civilian courts because they are absolutely terrified of what they will face in military court."

"They do not deserve…"

"General, Colonel," came a female voice. Matthew looked up and noticed it was Lieutenant Colonel Zhang. "I understand that we have located Madam Rong."

"Colonel, she is over there," said Matthew pointing to where Lexi was slightly to the left behind them.

Quickly Lieutenant Colonel Zhang with other medics moved over to where Lexi was laying. Ben moved and dragged Matthew to the side saying, "She is…?"

"A reservist. As she told me, she had been active until about six months ago when due to issues with her husband she transferred to the reserves and relocated to her hometown. She apparently is the second in charge of the emergency department at the largest hospital here. Being an emergency doctor would indicate that she operated not only in the hospital setting but would be deployed to war and war-like zones and for emergencies."

Ben gave a low whistle. "That says we are lucky boss. I would have thought there would be minimal military medics here, regardless of whether they were active or reservist due to the limited military facilities here."

Matthew turned and looked over at Lexi, before quietly saying "It is, not only for Lexi but everyone else. But…" Matthew trailed off before shaking himself back to focusing on Ben.

"A miscalculation on the terrorists' behalf?"

"While the police would say we are jumping to conclusions about terrorism, but it is just too sophisticated of an attack to be a criminal gang, unless they have a have terrorists ties. The more I have pondered it, the more terrorism makes sense. It does not appear that they were looking at mass casualties. It is more about creating injuries, overwhelming local resources, and creating fear in the population. Yes, the IED had shrapnel but it was not covered in anything to cause additional issues."

Before Ben could respond, Colonel Zhang said "Colonel, the General is right. Every person I have seen, either has been impacted by the shockwave or shrapnel injuries. The numbers are significant and have the real prospect to overwhelm medical facilities here."

After a shot pause, she continued adding "General, your wife is stable, but because she is unconscious, I am going to send her off site for an Xray, and depending on the result either a CT or MRI to determine if I can send her to the military hospital in City K via air. But I must ask, could your wife be pregnant?"

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