Chapter 390: Chapter 390: Overestimated This Man_1
Heinz stood in the corridor of the apartment, gesturing to his subordinates to pick the lock and make their assault.
Indeed, they had not set up an ambush directly at Aiden’s residence because their preferred method was still to turn Aiden to their side via the softer means of bribery. If Aiden returned home and sensed they were preparing to harm him, it might lead directly to the failure of the bribery.
But this did not mean they were not prepared to use force if necessary.
If bribery proved ineffective, they would have to try a more aggressive approach, despite the risks. They hadn’t identified a target within Aiden’s network whom they could kidnap to coerce his compliance, so if they had to apply force, it would have to be directly against Aiden himself.
The surveillance team hid atop the residential buildings across the street, while Heinz personally led the assault team waiting in a nearby alley—he had always regarded Aiden Galahad as the greatest potential threat in this operation. As for a move against this man, he dared not slacken in the slightest and had to take the field himself.
When the surveillant saw Aiden forcing team leader Roddy into the house at gunpoint, he immediately raised his lantern to signal the hidden assault team, which then surged from the staging point toward Aiden’s residence.
Two members of the assault team blocked the apartment’s entrances, and one circled beneath the windows of Aiden’s second-floor apartment suite, while the remaining three, led by Heinz, rushed toward Aiden’s room.
They had never breached Aiden’s room before, but they had studied his door lock carefully and had made a temporary key—a task of this level was trivial for them.
Everything went smoothly; while in their own country, breaking into a target’s residence to capture them was routine for their kind of political police.
The apartment door opened unobstructed, and in the instant Heinz and his men burst in, the first thing they saw was Aiden and Roddy standing and scuffling. Roddy had the upper hand, clutching Aiden’s neck from behind with a chokehold and preventing him from calling for help.
Aiden’s face was turning red as he desperately tried to pry Roddy’s arms away, when a quick-reacting secret policeman from the assault team stepped forward, driving his knee into Aiden’s abdomen.
Aiden’s eyes nearly bulged out, and the intense pain almost caused his stomach to cramp.
In the next instant, his mouth was sealed with tape, and several hands grabbed his own to pin them behind his back, pressing him firmly to the floor.
Roddy stepped aside, clutching his wrist, and Heinz gave him a nod, "Well done."
Heinz looked over at Aiden, who was still struggling on the floor. Now the man’s mouth was sealed, his hands tied behind his back, and he was being held down by two men, his dishevelment complete.
Suddenly, Heinz felt that he might have overestimated this man.
When they entered the apartment, it was Aiden who had the gun on Roddy. It seemed that the sound of the door opening had drawn Aiden’s attention, and Roddy had taken advantage of the moment’s distraction to pounce on him, preventing Aiden from taking him hostage as they entered.
Although risky, it was indeed effective. Aiden Galahad had actually fallen into a disadvantage so easily—apparently, several years of inactivity had dulled the reflexes of the former Heretic Inquisitor when faced with danger.
Since coming to the autonomous state, Heinz had always had reservations about this man, starting with the safest and most reliable plan. Now, with just a slight risk, they had easily captured him.
"Commander," a secret policeman looked at Heinz for further instructions.
"Take him away," Heinz quickly instructed. "Bring the carriage over and find a place in the outskirts."
Their goal was to use their expertise in interrogation and brainwashing techniques to make Aiden completely submit, preferably getting him to use his authority to lead them into the prison to kill Sera.
The Hofmann Family had many generations of Family Heads who served as penal inquisitors, accumulating a profound experience in interrogation, which included various brainwashing methods such as drugs, pain, and hypnosis. Amongst these, the most effective was the power of that divine force—the pain which human consciousness simply could not resist. Just a few repetitions could break a person’s will completely. Now Heinz, as the head of the secret police, had wholly absorbed this "wealth" passed down from his predecessors.
This apartment was clearly not the place for such methods; any stronghold within the city was not secretive enough. It would be best to take advantage of the night to move to a random location on the outskirts to reduce the risk of exposing their base. The brainwashing had to be completed in a short time; otherwise, Aiden’s prolonged disappearance might jeopardize their plan.
One of the subordinates quickly put a sack over Aiden, stuffing him into it.
"Move quickly!" Heinz urged.
Although they had tried to keep their voices down, the commotion from Roddy and Aiden’s scuffle was feared to have been heard by the residents of several nearby rooms, so they had to leave the scene as soon as possible.
The tallest secret police officer hoisted the sack containing Aiden. Heinz looked at Roddy and commanded, "First, gather the people outside."
"Understood!" Roddy responded.
But in the instant when Heinz’s gaze shifted away, Roddy seized the blind spot in Heinz’s perception. Like a bolt of lightning, he drew a gun and aimed it at him.
The secret police officer who was always at Heinz’s side, serving as the commander’s guard, reacted in time. He harshly shoved Heinz aside while simultaneously the gunshot rang out, and the bullet blasted a spray of blood on the officer’s arm.
Enduring the pain, the guard positioned his body in front of Heinz. When Roddy realized he couldn’t aim at Heinz, he immediately turned the gun and shot the guard in the leg. The other secret police officers, after their initial shock, began to draw their guns quickly.
"Roddy," suddenly uttered in a low whisper. His voice was hoarse and obscure, with several syllables completely beyond the realm of human speech.
The hearts of the secret police officers present trembled enormously at that moment. They had heard similar sounds before—this was the secret technique of their supreme leader, the Earl of the Hofmann family!
The one most surprised was Heinz himself. One of his subordinates possessed the language of the gods... No, was this person truly his subordinate?
The secret police officers fired almost simultaneously. Gunshots thundered, but not a single bullet left the chambers of their guns.
Heinz, who had modified his vocal cords with dark magic, began to recite the sacred words. By this time, Roddy was already charging towards the window, smashing into it with a deep leap.
His body flew out the window, carrying countless shards of glass with him. Those fragments only danced in their normal trajectory for less than half a second before immediately reversing like time flowing backward, fitting themselves back into the window frame, restoring it to its original state.
"You?" The secret police officer stationed outside the window saw the person breaking out was his own colleague, momentarily taken aback.
Then Roddy shot him in the arm and followed up with a heavy punch across his jaw, knocking him down. He dashed into the narrow alley behind the apartment complex, vanishing into the darkness.
