bChapter /bb183 /b

    Arms smuggling was considered a high–level criminal case in Dasmieca, typically handled by elite police units for arrests. However, since it was Hamish–a legendary retired soldier with a skilled team–who discovered the

    incident on Aston’s turf, the situation was different.

    When Thiago received the news, he dismissed it, advising against wasting police resources. He allowed the parties

    involved to settle their disputes among themselves, as long as the culprits were eventually apprehended and the stolen goods were recovered. In any other city, this might be considered shocking, but in Shoneport, in Ashton’s territory, it was just business as usual.

    When they arrived, Briar concealed herself in the shadows. After listening to Hamish exin their n for cleaning

    up, she smirked and asked, “So, are we temp workers for the cops this time?” This situation had nothing to do with

    the big move they had discussed or any confrontation.

    Hamish scratched his nose awkwardly and let out augh. “Yeah, you could say that…”

    supposed to be?” He thought they would have the chance to cause some real trouble, perhaps pick up a few weapons along the way, and make some quick money.

    Hamish nced at Ashton, who was walking over, then lowered his voice. “Don’t underestimate this job. Sure, you can’t just walk away with guns and ammo for a quick profit, but the bonus is quite substantial…” He waved his hand in front of Briar andn, emphasizing his point by wiggling his fingers.

    Hamish corrected him, “Nope, it’s 150 thousand dors.”

    Bothn and Briar just stared, entirely at a loss for words.

    Hamish looked even more embarrassed. “What? Not enough for you? That’s already a lot–Ashton was the one who pushed for it. Otherwise, you’d only be getting 30 thousand dors After all, it had been a government

    bounty–issued directly by the national agency.

    Han blinked in disbelief. “You and Ashton both had to show up, and they’re only offering us 150 thousand dors?

    The Dasmieca police are stingy. With so many of us, that amount is barely enough to go around.”

    Before Hamish could say anything, Ashton’s voice came from behind them. “That 150 thousand dors is just for you two. Hamish is only in charge of turning in weapons.”

    “That’s right,” Ashton nodded, then crouched down beside Briar, looking at Briar gazing up at him. “Splitting it

    between just the two of you, that’s not too shabby, huh?”

    Briar smiled. “That’s more than enough.” Just a few hours of waiting around, and they got to split 150 thousand

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    dors–nothing toin about.

    Briar nodded calmly. “Sure, I’ll wait here for you two.”

    Once the deal was finalized,n was the first to act–he sprinted forward and swiftly took down one side with practiced ease. Hamish and Connor quickly followed, subduing the other group. The entire encounter was over in just a few minutes, leaving neither side aware of what had happened.

    They couldn’t understand it. They’d been assured no one would notice them on Ashton’s turf. After half a month of observing the venue, getting caught the moment they showed up made no sense.

    Briar and Ashton strolled out at a leisurely pace. With a flick of her wrist, she pulled a sleek, heavy–range scoped rifle from one of the crates–a masterpiece by Qathana. Weighing around 31 pounds with a range of 2,000 yards, it waspact, efficient, and in the right hand, could fire five rounds in 1.5 seconds.

    “Kids shouldn’t be ying with rifles,” Ashton said as Briar handled the rifle. He reached out to take it from her just when an unexpected event urred–a redser dot suddenly appeared on the body of the rifle in Briar’s hands. The expressions on both Briar and Ashton’s faces changed instantly. Ashton said, “Sniper…”

    But before Aston could react, Briar was already a step ahead. She turned, raised the rifle, aimed, and fired in one fluid motion, resulting in a sharp bang.

    Ashton was equally quick. Almost immediately after Briar fired, a second shot rang out right after hers. It was Ashton who fired that second shot.

    Upon hearing Briar and Ashton’s warning, the others quickly scattered for cover, grasping their rifles tightly. After the two shots rang out, Connor was the first to sprint over 550 yards away to the sniper’s position. Once he confirmed the sniper was dead–shot through the head–he dragged the body back and gave them a thumbs–up to signal that it was safe.

    Hamish slung his rifle over his shoulder, raised an eyebrow at Briar, and gave her a thumbs–up. “One shot, right in the center of the forehead? Impressive, Briar! Where did you learn to shoot like that?”

    Everyone here was familiar with rifles. They could tell that Briar had fired the first shot, hitting the sniper right between the eyes. To achieve that kind of precision from such a distance, reacting in just two or three seconds–a feat only a true sharpshooter could aplish.

    Hamish now viewed Briar in a new light. ‘She’s the real deal!‘ he thought. ‘First, there was the whole Speed Queen Bree secret identity, and now this? Does Briar have even more hidden talents? Was she in the army before?‘ Yet the way Briar carried herself didn’t exactly suggest a military background.

    ‘Crap,’ Briar thought, her heart racing. She stood there gripping the sniper rifle, unsure whether to set it down or continue holding it–so awkward that she wished she could just sink into the floor and vanish.

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    Things had happened so quickly–her instincts had taken over before she had time to think. Now she had no idea what to say. “Oh, well, I…” Briar stammered, clearing her throat.

    Briar was about to exin when Ashton interrupted her. “Let’s take care of these guys first; Thiago is still waiting

    for our update.”

    Hamish nced at Ashton, noticed the expression in his friend’s eyes, and shrugged. “Alright, we need to report to Thiago first.n,e on, help me out. Let’s get these guys out of here.” Everyone, along with the corpse, was taken away, leaving only Briar standing obediently and Ashton, hands in his pockets, looking as calm as ever.

    Once everyone had left, Briar sensed that Ashton wanted to speak with her alone. She decided to break the silence first. “Ashton, I know you have a lot of questions right now, but I can’t share answers just yet. Can we talk about itter?” It wasn’t that she didn’t want to tell him; she simply couldn’t.

    Ashton stared at Briar, as if he were trying to etch her face into his memory. After a moment, he asked, “So, you can’t tell me–does your true identity mean I’d be in danger if I found out?”

    AD