C416 Willy's Men

Mark was beginning to lose hope. For the past several minutes, he had been surrounded by armed men. Every direction he looked was blocked by trees, bushes, or armed attackers searching for him. His clothes were torn, his breathing was heavy, and the pain in his body was becoming difficult to ignore. But Mark had survived worse situations. He pressed his back against a tree and carefully looked around. The men were becoming impatient. They had already searched several areas of the forest, but they still had not found him. Brian, who appeared to be leading the operation, stood several metres away with his gun raised. "Mr Mooney, Come out now you are surrounded. We can make this easy for you."

Mark remained completely still. He knew that if he moved carelessly, even for a second, they would hear him. His eyes moved from one attacker to another as he studied their positions. There were too many of them to fight directly, and his only advantage was that they did not know exactly where he was hiding. Then, in the distance, he heard something. At first, it was faint. A siren. Mark's eyes widened slightly. Police sirens echoed through the forest, growing louder with every passing second. The sound immediately changed the atmosphere. The men stopped searching and looked toward Brian. Brian cursed under his breath. "The police?" one of the men asked nervously. Brian glanced toward the direction of the road before turning back to the forest. "Quickly, finish him!" he ordered. "We don't have much time."

The attackers immediately began moving faster. Mark knew the police were close, but he also knew they had not arrived yet. If Brian's men found him before the officers reached the forest, he would not survive. He tightened his grip around his weapon and waited. One of the men moved closer to his hiding place, pushing branches aside as he searched. Mark held his breath. The man was only a few metres away. Mark slowly lowered himself, positioning his gun between the branches. He waited until the attacker turned slightly toward another direction. Then he fired. Pa! The bullet struck the man in the chest. He stumbled backward and fell heavily onto the ground. The remaining attackers froze.

For a moment, no one moved. Then Brian shouted, "He's over there!" Several guns immediately turned toward Mark's hiding place. Bullets tore through the branches. Mark ducked quickly as gunfire erupted around him. Pieces of bark flew from the tree beside his head, and leaves fell heavily to the ground. He rolled behind another tree, trying to escape the line of fire. But as he moved, a sharp pain suddenly shot through his leg. He gasped. "AHH." A bullet had struck him. Mark looked down and saw blood spreading across his trousers. His leg was bleeding badly, but he forced himself to remain focused. He could not afford to stop now. The attackers continued firing. "Keep shooting!" Brian shouted. "Don't let him escape!" Mark pressed himself against the ground and crawled behind a large fallen tree. His breathing became heavier as he tried to control the pain.

Then the police sirens became louder. The officers had finally arrived. Brian heard the vehicles approaching and immediately realized they no longer had enough time to search for Mark. "We shot him!" Brian ordered. "Quickly, run! We will meet at our location." The men began retreating through the forest. Some ran toward the left side of the trees, while others disappeared deeper into the bushes. Within seconds, the group had scattered in different directions. Mark could hear them running away. He wanted to chase after them, but his injured leg made it difficult to stand. Instead, he remained behind the tree until he heard police officers entering the forest. "Mark!" someone shouted. "Minister Mark, where are you?" Mark slowly pushed himself up. "I'm here!"

Several officers rushed toward him. The moment they saw the blood running down his leg, they immediately moved closer. "Sir, are you injured?" Mark ignored the question for a moment and pointed toward the forest. "They ran that way," he said firmly. "Chase after them." The officers immediately split up and followed the direction he had indicated. More police vehicles arrived, and additional officers began searching the surrounding area. Mark stood where he was, leaning slightly against the tree for support. His leg was bleeding, but he refused to sit down. He watched the officers disappear into the forest before looking toward the bodies left behind by the attackers. One of the men he had shot lay motionless a short distance away. Mark slowly walked toward him. Despite the pain in his leg, a faint smile appeared on his face when he saw the man's clothing and weapon. "They are Willy's men," he said quietly.

An officer standing nearby looked at him. "Are you sure?" Mark nodded. "I have seen enough of them before. Their weapons, their clothing, and the way they operate are familiar." The officer looked toward the forest. "We will find the others." Mark did not respond immediately. Instead, he stared at the body in front of him, his expression becoming serious. For the past month, the Harris family had been unusually quiet. There had been no major attacks. No threats. No suspicious movements that could be traced back to Willy. After everything that had happened between their families, the silence had almost seemed unnatural. And now, without warning, they had attacked him directly. Why? Mark looked toward the trees where the remaining men had escaped.

After a month of silence, why would Willy suddenly decide to attack the police minister? The question remained unanswered. The police continued searching the forest for some time. Officers checked nearby roads, searched bushes, and questioned people in the surrounding area. However, despite their efforts, none of the attackers were found. Eventually, they were forced to return to the city. Mark was immediately taken to the hospital. The bullet had caused a serious wound to his leg, but fortunately it had not damaged any major bones. Doctors cleaned the wound, removed the bullet, and treated him before bandaging his leg. "Mr Mooney, you should rest for a few days," the doctor advised. Mark looked at him with little interest. "I have rested enough." The doctor sighed. "At least avoid putting too much pressure on your leg." Mark nodded politely, although he already knew he would not follow the advice for long.

After leaving the hospital, he drove his car back to the family residence. The vehicle had several bullet holes in its body, and one of the windows had been damaged during the attack. By the time he arrived, his family was already waiting inside. Peter was the first to see him. The moment Mark stepped through the door, Peter froze. "Son, what happened?" Mark looked down at his injured leg before walking slowly toward the living room. "I'm fine," he replied. Peter immediately shook his head. "You are not fine. Your leg is bleeding." Mary and Quinton exchanged worried glances. Georgia, who had been sitting nearby, quickly stood up. "Who did this to you?" Mark sat down carefully. For a few seconds, nobody spoke. Everyone waited for an explanation. Finally, Mark leaned back and said, "Willy tried to ambush me."

The room immediately fell silent. "Willy?" Georgia exclaimed. Peter frowned deeply. "That doesn't make sense. They know you are the police minister. How can they simply come after you like that?" Mark explained everything that had happened. He told them about the men following him, the gunfire, the police sirens, and how the attackers had escaped through the forest. He also explained that one of the men he had shot was confirmed to be part of Willy's organization. When he finished, Peter remained quiet for several moments. Mark looked at everyone. "What confuses me is that for the past month, nothing happened. They seemed to have calmed down. Then suddenly, today, they attacked me." Quinton folded his arms. "Could they have found out about Alicia and Mike?"