Chapter 1053: Conflict, Choice, Interference
Frank walked over, grabbed Grote, and punched him in the face. âHere, tell our naive little friend what you did on the night of 20 December.â
Grote shuddered. âN- no.â
Frank punched him again. âSay it, or Iâll kill you like this.â
Groteâs face was covered in blood as he pleaded, âI... I really canât remember.â
Frank smiled grimly. âIs that so? Let me remind you then: Lafayette Street, Room 207 on the second floor.â
Groteâs expression changed. âNo, donât. Theyâre the ones who forced me. There was nothing I could do.â
Frank punched him again. âThen thereâs nothing I can do either.â
Grote screamed as he was knocked to the ground again. âI donât know. I donât know anything.â
Frank pulled out the pistol from his waist and aimed it at Groteâs head. âThen whatâs the point of you being alive! Iâll give you one last chance. Tell him what happened in Room 207 on the second floor of Lafayette Street on the night of 20 December.â
Grote wept bitterly. âDonât. Iâll talk, Iâll talk. They told me to kill a man. He got involved in something he shouldnât have.â
Frank glanced at Matt and smirked a little. âSee? This is the regular guy youâre talking about.â
Matt suffered a huge blow, but still said, âHe should be punished according to the law, and turn himself in ââ
Frank snickered and turned back around. âWhat else? Youâre not finished yet.â
Grote hesitated again. Frank stepped on one finger and crushed it. âSay it.â
Grote screamed. âAnd an old lady. She shouldnât have been there. It should only have been the man. She was screaming. I couldnât help it. I couldnât help it. I had to shoot.â
Matt froze. âYou ââ
Frank: âLook, these are scum. They never have any good intentions.â
Matt said subconsciously, âBut killing them wonât bring the dead back!â
Frank: âYes, but if theyâre dead, they wonât hurt innocent people again. Look at this city, Red. Itâs full of rot. All this trash. They have no bottom lines. They can kill innocent people for their own needs. Why are you protecting them? Why are you letting those innocent people continue to be hurt and killed by them? Just for that little bit of ridiculous justice in your heart?
âDog sh*t!â Frank scolded. âYou come out to beat up these b*stards until theyâre seriously injured, but you have to wear a mask and donât even dare show your face. I dare! I know what I want to do, and I know what Iâm doing. I donât have to wear this fake mask to deceive myself. Iâve broken the law. What about you? Wearing a mask only proves that youâre a coward and running away. You donât dare face this evil world with your real face. You and I, weâre just protecting the people of this city in our own way.â
Beside him, Luke scratched his head. It seemed that he was the one with the most masks here, but he wasnât running away from anything.
Frank strode over to Matt and shoved the gun into his hand.
Mattâs hands werenât tied behind his back. Frank had simply bound his body with the chain. Matt could still shoot with a gun.
Frank pulled out another pistol and aimed it at Grote. âNow, Iâll give you a chance. Choose to be your real self, or keep running away. At the end of the countdown, if you donât kill me first, Iâll kill him. 3!â
Matt struggled. âNo, you donât have to. Itâs not worth ruining yourself for someone like that.â
Frank was unmoved. â2!â
Grote was scared out of his wits. He struggled and begged, âSave me, save me. I donât want to die.â
Matt: âNo, donât make me.â
Frank: â1... huh?â
Just as he was about to pull the trigger, he suddenly felt that his hand was empty. The gun that was pointing at Grote was gone.
He turned around and saw Luke standing next to him with a gun in his hand. He weighed the gun in his hand and said, âAlright, how old are the two of you? Arenât you tired of playing such games?â
As he spoke, he tossed the gun back to Frank. âThatâs the end of it for today. Iâm sending Red home.â
Frankâs mouth moved, but he didnât say anything.
Matt was relieved, too. Fortunately, Puncher wasnât completely on the other manâs side.
Luke crouched down next to him and started to untie him. âNot everyone can let go of the past or vengeance for their family. If you can do it, youâre a saint. If you canât, youâre just an ordinary person. You canât save him, and he doesnât need your help.â
Matt: âBut if he does this, heâs not just hurting himself; heâll also cause ordinary people to misunderstand him.â
Luke said, âHe doesnât care. He only cares about his family, and theyâre already gone.â
Matt was speechless.
Luke said, âGet some rest. Donât worry about the adults.â
Matt looked up, puzzled. âHuh?â
At that moment, he heard a soft hissing sound. He felt a sting in his neck, and looked at Luke in astonishment. âWhat did you do?â
Luke raised the syringe in his hand. âItâs just a tranquilizer. Itâll help you sleep well tonight.â
Matt: âYou *% $#...â
The second half of his sentence turned into muffled sounds as his head dropped and he passed out.
Luke untied him and stood up. âLetâs go. Arenât you going to clean up the trash? Iâll go with you.â
Stumped by Lukeâs action, Frank said after a moment of silence, âArenât you his friend?â
Luke took out two pistols from his backpack and tossed one to him. âBut youâre Gray Rabbitâs friend. If you want revenge, Iâm happy to help you get it.â
Frank caught the pistol and looked. It had a silencer on it. âI have guns.â
Luke said, âWe should act quietly if we can. Youâre not afraid of NYPD, but you donât want to kill police officers, do you? If you carry on like this, youâll be surrounded by NYPD before youâre done cleaning up your enemies.â
Frank had nothing to say to that. He had almost been besieged by the ESU today, although that was mostly because of Mattâs interference.
But it was true that Luke had rescued him.
Luke handed him another five clips. âLetâs hurry up and finish this in ten minutes.â
Frank was stunned. âTen minutes?â
Luke said, âOf course. I still have to take Red home.â
Frank turned to look at Grote. âThen this guy...â
Luke said, âLet him go.â
Frank gave him a strange look, which was clearly saying, âYouâre joking.â
Luke said, âRed doesnât want you to kill him, so let him go.â
Frank had a strange expression on his face, but he nodded.
Luke took Grote downstairs and untied him. âYou can go now. Donât let us see you again, otherwise...â
Groteâs face was filled with joy. âIâm going. Iâll go as far as I can...â As he spoke, he staggered and ran away.