Chapter 93: The Shooter Ends Up Shot Down

Sierra Sullivan’s words were like a sharp knife, ruthlessly slicing through Harvey Cheney’s hypocritical facade.

Even though Harvey Cheney was thick-skinned, his face still flushed red after hearing her words.

Harvey Cheney glared at Sierra Sullivan. "What do you know! You’re just a little girl, you don’t understand anything. How could you possibly understand why I did it?"

"Don’t flatter yourself," Sierra Sullivan sneered. "What other reason could there be? Of course it was for your own selfish desires! If you have the guts to do it, then have the guts to let people talk! Don’t be such a hypocrite. What’s the matter, a big man like you wants to be a bitch?"

"You!"

Harvey Cheney’s eyes bulged, his gaze murderous.

"Don’t think you can spout nonsense at me just because Jayce is here! Or do you two actually believe you can walk out of this building unscathed on your own? I’m only talking this much out of respect for Kevin Everett. If you two don’t know what’s good for you, then don’t blame me for what comes next!"

Sierra Sullivan’s eyes were filled with curiosity. "And how, exactly, are you going to do that?"

It was just a simple question with no hidden meaning, yet it instantly shattered Harvey Cheney’s composure.

"You’re simply... shameless! Fine, if that’s how you want to be, then don’t blame me! What are you all still staring for?! Shoot these two troublemakers dead!"

Harvey Cheney’s expression was savage, yet tinged with triumph.

"I know you both have Superpowers, and they’re very strong. But no matter how strong your Superpowers are, you’re still human! And being human means you’re made of flesh and blood! I refuse to believe your Superpowers are so great you can dodge bullets!"

Harvey Cheney backed away as he spoke.

As Harvey Cheney retreated, a group of armed men stepped forward.

Half of them knelt, and the other half stood.

Each held a gun, their dark muzzles aimed squarely at Sierra Sullivan and Jayce.

Harvey Cheney’s voice echoed from behind the men. "I’ll give you one last chance. Let my son go and drop this matter. I can let bygones be bygones, and we can coexist peacefully from now on—"

"Peacefully my ass!" Jayce cut him off. "Tell your men to open fire! Don’t you hesitate for a single second, or I’ll lose all respect for you!"

Sierra Sullivan added with a smile, "Yeah, hurry up and shoot! I’ll be sure to use your son as a human shield. Even if I’m going to die, he’ll die before I do."

Hugo Cheney was Harvey Cheney’s only son.

In these times, finding a woman was easy enough, but finding one to bear him another son was not.

But!

’My son’s life is important!

But my own life is even more important!’

Harvey Cheney squeezed his eyes shut. "Fi—"

"Harvey Cheney!"

A thunderous shout cut Harvey Cheney off mid-word.

Startled, Harvey Cheney spun toward the voice and saw Kevin Everett approaching from the stairwell, leading a large, imposing group.

Seeing Kevin Everett, Harvey Cheney wasn’t scared. In fact, he started to laugh.

"Mr. Everett! You’re finally here. I’ve been waiting for you!"

Compared to Jayce, Harvey Cheney much preferred negotiating with Kevin Everett.

Kevin Everett was a seasoned veteran, after all.

He wasn’t like Jayce, a hothead who saw the world in black and white and couldn’t tolerate the slightest injustice.

There was no point in negotiating with a hothead like that!

But Kevin Everett was different.

"Mr. Everett, tell me, how did such a minor issue get blown so far out of proportion?"

"A minor issue?" Kevin Everett shot back.

"Exactly!" Harvey Cheney walked toward Kevin Everett. "Those two kids, Jayce and Sierra Sullivan, are young and foolish. They don’t understand the stakes and made a huge scene, but I don’t blame them! Still, you need to have a serious talk with them. This kind of behavior can’t happen again!"

"So many people are dead, and to you, it’s just a ’minor issue’?" Kevin Everett’s voice rose sharply, his expression growing even darker than before.

Seeing Kevin Everett’s reaction, Harvey Cheney froze for a second before his brow furrowed. "Mr. Everett, I can accept the children being foolish, but you too? How can you say something like that? If this is your attitude, then there’s nothing left for us to discuss!"

"There was never anything to discuss in the first place!" Kevin Everett sneered. "I’m giving you a chance to resolve this properly. Otherwise, don’t blame me for what I’m about to do!"

"What do you mean, ’resolve this properly’?" Harvey Cheney asked, his face grim.

"Properly compensate the victims’ families, offer a sincere apology, make all the ringleaders atone for their crimes, and guarantee this will never happen again. As one of the main culprits, you must apologize to all the survivors and announce your resignation from your current position—"

"Impossible!" Harvey Cheney cut Kevin Everett off. "Kevin Everett, I’m only being civil with you because we’ve known each other for so many years. But that doesn’t give you the right to push it! Do you really think I’m afraid of you? What gives you the right to demand this of me?!"

"If we can’t reach an agreement," Kevin Everett declared with a wave of his hand, "then there’s nothing more to say!"

Harvey Cheney’s face twisted with rage. Without turning back, he screamed, "Open fire! Kill them for me!"

Hearing this, Kevin Everett’s pupils constricted. He instinctively moved to stop them, but it was too late.

A continuous volley of gunfire erupted inside the room.

From the sound alone, even a sheet of iron would have been riddled with holes.

"Harvey Cheney! How dare you!"

"What won’t I dare!" Harvey Cheney roared with laughter, his smile turning manic. "If you won’t let me live in peace, then I won’t let you either! If it comes down to it, we’ll all die together! But if you think I’m going down alone, you’ve got another thing coming—"

Before Harvey Cheney could finish, a series of blood-curdling screams echoed from within the room.

The sudden sounds made Harvey Cheney jump.

Most importantly, the screams didn’t sound like they came from Jayce or Sierra Sullivan.

’Could something have gone wrong inside?’

At almost the exact same moment, both Harvey Cheney and Kevin Everett rushed toward the door.

Reaching the entrance to the living room, they saw a group of people lying on the floor.

Pistols lay scattered beside their hands.

The men who had been firing the guns were now the ones who had been shot and lay on the ground.

Jayce and Sierra Sullivan, on the other hand, were still standing there, completely unharmed.

Hugo Cheney, still clutched in Sierra Sullivan’s grasp, now had a large, bleeding hole in his thigh.

Hugo Cheney’s face was deathly pale, his expression a mask of pained and twisted agony.

The moment he saw Harvey Cheney, he burst into tears.

"Dad! Help me! Please, help me! I don’t want to die!"

Harvey Cheney had been able to give the order to fire just moments before, but now, seeing his son’s condition, his heart ached, and his eyes began to turn red.