The Apple of My Eye
Chapter 1139 Protest

When Warren was far away from the two of them, Duncan pushed Vivi away with all of his might. He then quickly picked up the gun, along with his luggage in one go, and ran towards the basement's parking grounds.

Seeing this, Warren immediately reacted and went after Duncan. He wanted to catch him as he posed a threat to the others, especially since he had a gun. The officer was well aware that the hostages were in jeopardy once the criminal had made his escape. As Warren ran past Vivi, she immediately fell onto the ground and blacked out due to having a lack of oxygen.

"Vivi! How are you feeling? Are you okay?" Warren cried out as he kept shaking her unconscious body.

After a few seconds, Vivi fluttered her eyelashes open. She gasped for air and responded to him in a weak tone, "I...I am fine, Warren."

"Can you drive?" Warren asked her hurriedly. He was hoping that she would say yes because he didn't have any backup to help him.

After a long pause, she uttered, "Yes..." Her voice was husky and sounded as though she was very weak.

Warren realized that Vivi was still in shock about what just happened.

"Here. Take the keys and drive towards southwest. My fellow-officers are there and waiting for you. I will go catch Duncan," Warren urged. As he gave the keys to Vivi, Warren rushed to the underground parking lot hoping to catch Duncan.

Just as Vivi wanted to respond, Warren disappeared.

She was angry about what Duncan had done to her, but she didn't have the guts to stay there, or seek revenge. She neither had the energy, nor strength, to do so.

Duncan seemed to have gone mad. A vindictive look pondered on his face, which remained vivid in her mind. A cold shiver ran down her spine as she thought that he would kill her if they ever met again. Frightened, she thought to herself, 'No, I have to leave here immediately!'

Standing up, she was still injured. Nevertheless, she was determined to get to the car and get out of there. She then sprinted towards the car and got into the driver's seat. She started the engine immediately and drove away.

"Sir, I'm afraid I've lost Duncan. He took my gun and ran towards the underground parking area. I suspect that the children have been hidden there. I desperately need backup!" Warren said into his headset as he ran towards the parking lot.

"Mark, please go to the underground garage right now, Be careful, the criminal has a gun and I fear that the hostages might be locked up in the garage. You must keep the children safe at all cost," the leader informed Mark first. He then notified his other subordinates.

After informing all of his team members, he quickly led his men to the underground garage.

"What's happening? How about we go get more money now? I am so scared..." Sheryl said to Charles in a trembling voice. After she heard the leader's instructions, her heart grew heavier with anxiety. She had trouble catching her breath at even the slightest thought that her loving children might be in danger.

"Listen to me, Sher. Please, don't panic. Don't think about what's happening. Even if we get the ransom and give it to him, I'm sure that he won't give our children back to us anyway. We have to be smart about this. Besides, once we give him the money, there is no turning back. All we can do is trust in the police to bring back our kids," Charles said, in a bid to comfort his wife. Her eyes were red from crying. She still seemed terrified about the whole ordeal.

"It's all your fault! I told you that we couldn't call the police but you persisted to ignore me! They haven't even caught him yet, and to make matters worse, he took away an officer's gun. So much for trusting in the police to save our children! Can you imagine if anything bad happens to Clark and Shirley?" Sheryl berated as tears continued to flow down her cheeks once more.

Sheryl felt helpless and apprehensive. Above all else, she was unable to hold back her feelings. She also didn't mean to blame Charles. She knew that it wasn't his fault. 'Even if we hadn't contacted the polic, we might have not been able to get their children back either way,' she thought.

Charles understood exactly how his wife felt. He also felt helpless and as a means of comfort to them both, he pulled her into his arms. He reassured her, "Don't worry. Everything is going to be okay. The police are already here and they are going to save them. They will keep Clark and Shirley safe, Sher."

"I can't help it...I am so afraid, Charles. I don't know what to do..." Sheryl cried her heart out like a helpless little girl.

At that moment, she was on the verge of having an emotional breakdown. She really couldn't afford to hear any more bad news.

She felt like she was already out of options.

"Let's follow the police," Charles proposed tenderly, even though he knew that they might get into trouble after they entered the premises. However, they didn't care. They couldn't just stand by and do nothing. 'Sheryl must want to see what's going on inside too, ' he thought irrationally.

If they were not going to enter, they might live in guilt for the rest of their lives and if something went wrong, it would simply be something they wouldn't be able to live with.

They should be there when the children were found, especially because they were in grave danger.

The moment Mark led his companions to the underground parking lot, Warren rushed in.

"Have you discovered the criminal yet?" Warren gasped anxiously, as he bent down while resting his hand on his knees.

"No, I fear not yet," one of the team members replied.

"Damn it!" Warren cried out in anger.

Out of the blue, a figure appeared in their site and quickly ran away.

"Freeze!" Mark shouted immediately. He knew that it was the criminal.

He loaded his handgun along with the other officers. They rushed towards the direction where Duncan disappeared.

Duncan panicked as he saw the police gaining on him. Out of options, he was forced to drop the suitcase and run forward aimlessly. After a moment, he was trapped at a dead end. He had nowhere to go and was trapped. He then paused and shouted loudly in many different directions. With a rattled look on his face, he snarled threateningly, "Get lost. Don't push me or I'll kill you all."

"Duncan, it's not too late, you know? You can surrender right now. Believe me, you don't want to do something stupid at this moment," Mark reprimanded loudly, pointing his gun right at Duncan.

"Is that so? Do you think that I still have a choice whatsoever?" Duncan snorted. "I will not be fooled by you. Let me leave now or choose to perish together here with me. If you choose to stay, we will both go down today!"

He held his gun tightly, still pointing it at the police, his body still trembling violently with fear and anxiety. Sweeping his gaze through the police warily, he yelled in a fluster, "Don't push me. All of you...I mean it!' "Don't you want the money, Duncan Qiu? You blackmailed Sheryl for a large sum of money. I mean, you haven't even had the chance to spend a single penny yet. Do you really want to die this way?" Warren tried to persuade Duncan in hopes that he would rethink the situation.

"Yeah, you are right. If you let me go, I'll leave and I won't kill any of you," Duncan responded with a sinister expression on his face. He was determined to get away from the police no matter what it took. "Well, then...If you'd like to escape, wouldn't you want to take the money with you?" Warren asked as he pointed at the luggage. He turned around, made his way to the suitcase and picked it up before Duncan could get to it. "Don't you want this?" he asked as he rejoined his team.

"What the hell are you doing, Warren? Don't take any risks now! This is not the time or place!" Mark warned Warren who was walking past Duncan as if he read his mind and was able to perceive his next move. He didn't want to see his companion get hurt.

"Relax. It's okay," Warren returned with a reassuring smile alongside his companion. "Life is hard. All we ever do is work to survive," he said, turning to Duncan.

"However, our job is more than that and has a different purpose. My responsibility is and has always been to protect others. So, most of the time, I don't take my work too seriously. I don't want to get myself killed for the sake of others either," Warren continued.

When he spoke, he stepped towards Duncan with the suitcase in hand.

"Stop! Stay where you are!" Duncan shouted in an alarming tone as his hand which held the gun started to shake. He didn't want anyone to get close to him even though the officer wasn't armed and had fifty million in cash.

"Okay, fine...I won't move. I'll just wait and talk to you here." Warren gave in as he paused for a second. He stood looking straight in the direction where Duncan pointed his gun at.

"I elaborated this much because I was afraid of death and I only wanted to survive. After all, I have a wife and child of my own. I don't want to sacrifice my life here. I think you feel the same way, don't you?" he began.

"Stop talking rubbish to me!" Duncan snapped impatiently. Despite what he said, he didn't mind that Warren was standing right in front of him. It was almost like Duncan had let go of all his fear.

"Let's get straight to the point, Duncan. How about we make a deal? I give you fifty million and you can hold me as a hostage and leave here silently. I only have one condition, give my pistol back when you leave without hurting anyone," Warren negotiated.