Chapter 290: Chapter 290
"Noah’s in his room," Liam explained. "I told him not to come out."
Suzy glanced at Aaron in surprise. She hadn’t expected him to know Liam’s brother. Judging by the ease in Aaron’s tone, the two seemed fairly close.
Aaron simply nodded. "I’ll go chat with him later, then."
"Sure," Liam replied.
With that topic settled, everyone’s attention shifted back to the matter at hand.
Before discussing anything else, Aaron’s group checked on Suzy’s injury. Only after confirming that she was stable did they begin talking about what had happened downstairs.
"How’s the situation?" Suzy asked.
"We’ve dealt with almost everyone," Aaron answered. "But they’ll probably be back."
A wave of relief quietly washed over her. At least the immediate danger had passed.
Leonard picked up where Aaron left off.
"When we went downstairs, a few of them were still lying in ambush. Luckily, we reacted fast enough to deal with them, too."
He glanced gratefully at Aaron. "If it hadn’t been for him, I probably would’ve gotten hurt too."
Suzy blinked in surprise and turned toward Aaron.
He saved Uncle Leonard? That’s unexpected.
Noticing her gaze, Aaron smiled. Combined with his scholarly appearance and neat glasses, he looked almost impossibly gentle.
Silently, Suzy mouthed, "Thank you."
Aaron smiled back. "You’re welcome."
She lowered her eyes with a faint smile.
It was Thomas who finally broke the silence next.
"So... What do we do next?"
He wanted everyone’s opinion. Although Chris’s group had been driven off today, this was only the beginning.
They had killed Chris and so many members of the organization. There was no going back now. The conflict had escalated. The organization would never let this go. It was only a matter of time before they retaliated.
The room fell quiet once more. Everyone was thinking.
"We should strike first," Derek spoke at last. "Before they recover, we hit them. We keep attacking until they’re too afraid to come near us again."
Elijah frowned; his voice carried obvious hesitation. "...Can we really win? They have over a hundred people. And now we know they have guns."
Chris’s pistol had caught everyone completely off guard.
Their own side had far fewer people. If they launched a frontal assault... The odds were against them.
Elijah simply couldn’t support the idea. They were disadvantaged in almost every way.
Derek looked at him calmly. "That’s exactly why we have to move first. If we give them time... They’ll return with even more people. More weapons. Better preparation. When that happens, what do we do?"
"Hide? For how long? Run? Where to?"
Elijah opened his mouth to argue. Then slowly closed it again. His eyes dropped to the bandage wrapped around his hand.
The scrape from the steel pipe wasn’t serious. It still stung. But... Were they really supposed to take on an organization with hundreds of members?
Could they actually win?
"I agree with your reasoning." Aaron adjusted his glasses. "But we don’t have any intelligence. Charging in blindly isn’t an option either."
"That’s easy," Thomas answered without hesitation. "We capture someone, then we ask questions."
Silence filled the room once more.
It... Actually made perfect sense.
Leonard chuckled. "Thomas, I think that job suits you."
Thomas had far more experience extracting information than anyone else present.
Thomas merely nodded.
After another quiet moment, Aaron asked, "Do you already know where to start?"
Thomas lifted his gaze. "There are people watching this building. We only need one. That’s all."
As he spoke, he rose to his feet. Drawing his combat knife, he spun it once in his hand before gripping it properly.
"I’m going downstairs."
Everyone stared at him. No one had expected him to be this direct.
He wasn’t planning. He was already acting.
"I’ll come with you." Leonard stood as well, rolling his shoulders. "Two people are safer than one."
Thomas looked at him briefly before nodding. Neither objected.
As they reached the front door, Leonard looked back.
"Suzy... Stay here and rest that shoulder."
Leaning against the sofa, Suzy watched the two men prepare to leave.
"Be careful."
She wasn’t particularly worried. Leonard still had a pistol stored away for emergencies.
And Thomas... His background as a mercenary meant capturing an ordinary survivor would be effortless.
The apartment door closed behind them.
Thomas walked ahead. Leonard followed. Soon, both disappeared into the stairwell. Their footsteps gradually faded. Silence returned to the living room.
Suzy leaned back against the cushions and closed her eyes. Her shoulder still throbbed beneath the bandages. She endured it quietly without making a sound.
Beside her, Liam unconsciously rubbed his fingertips across his knee. Every few moments, his gaze drifted toward the bandages wrapped around her shoulder... Only for him to quickly look away again.
He silently gathered the used bloodstained gauze from the coffee table before handing the medical kit to Aaron’s group.
"You should all treat your injuries too."
Aaron and the others had suffered only superficial wounds. Among everyone present, Suzy’s gunshot wound was unquestionably the worst.
Time passed slowly. Suzy waited patiently.
Meanwhile, Aaron’s group quietly cleaned and bandaged their own injuries.
Outside the building... Thomas and Leonard stepped through the entrance.
A freezing wind immediately struck them, carrying tiny flakes of snow that stung against their faces. Leonard instinctively hunched his shoulders and pulled his collar higher.
"Where is he?" he asked quietly.
Thomas didn’t answer. Instead, his eyes calmly swept across the surrounding buildings. The eastern horizon was beginning to brighten ever so slightly.
"Two o’clock. Near the corner of that building."
His voice was barely above a whisper. Only Leonard could hear it.
Thomas’s eyes settled on an inconspicuous patch of shadow. Someone was crouching there, half concealed behind the wall, cautiously peeking toward their building.
Leonard narrowed his eyes and followed Thomas’s line of sight.
He saw... Nothing.
"You sure?"
Thomas offered no reply. He had already begun walking.
His pace appeared relaxed, yet every step carried him directly toward the hidden observer.
Leonard blinked before quickly catching up. Snow crunched softly beneath their boots.
The lookout seemed to sense something. He pressed himself tighter against the wall.
Ten steps.
Five.
Three.
Instinct finally overpowered patience. The man spun around and bolted.
Thomas moved. He was so fast that Leonard saw only a blur, and in the next instant... The lookout had been slammed against the wall.
His face was pressed into the frozen bricks. One arm was twisted painfully behind his back. He couldn’t move at all.
Thomas’s other hand had already clamped tightly over the man’s mouth.
The entire sequence flowed together with effortless precision. Not a single unnecessary sound escaped.
Thomas leaned close to his ear. "Don’t make a sound."
