Chapter 177: Subduing Criminals

Words : 1081 Updated : Oct 13th, 2025

Chapter 177: Subduing Criminals That order was stupid, Athena thought. If she were in the gang, she would have shot the target and blamed it on an accident. But the gang members were loyal to a fault. Still... "So, what are you going to do now? Walk away? That seems like cowardice?" Athena asked, flexing her fingers as if warming up for a fight. "Careful, Doctor Athena. I might not have been given the order to kill you, but it doesn’t say anything about maiming you. I’m the one with the gun here." Heronica’s voice dripped with arrogance. Athena laughed, a sound that was both startling and cold, before a chilling glint settled in her eyes. "Not for so long..." She muttered, her instincts kicking into high gear as she deftly lunged forward, grabbing Heronica’s wrists in a swift motion. In one fluid movement, she pulled the woman toward her, twisting her body around so her back was now to Heronica’s front. With a sudden, sharp tug, Athena disarmed her opponent, the gun slipping from Heronica’s grasp and into her own deft hands. "Who’s holding the gun now?" Athena questioned, her voice steady as she aimed the weapon at Heronica, who stood there, bewildered, her bravado shattered by the rapid shift in power. "You..." Heronica stuttered, her confidence evaporating as she began to sweat, the cold glint in Athena’s eyes amplifying her panic. "How did..." Athena, noting the silencer attached to the gun, thoughtfully clocked it in place. Without hesitation, she shot the weapon less than a foot away from Heronica’s foot. The loud bang echoed in the clearing, and the criminal jumped in fright, any remnant of her earlier bravado instantly dissipating. Athena chuckled softly, savoring the moment. "Not so tough, are we?" She paused, gesturing to the grassy ground. "Take a seat. Let’s have a talk before I let my men take you away for questioning." With a reluctant nod, Heronica complied, her eyes darting around the area as if searching for an escape. "What’s the current plan of the gang?" Athena asked, keeping the gun steady and trained on Heronica. Heronica shrugged, trying to play it cool despite the situation. "What else? To frustrate you at every turn, of course." Athena nodded, her mind racing. "Quite understandable. So, in what ways?" "In every way... the children, your practice, your ex-husband—everything!" Athena furrowed her brows, mentally recalculating the positions of everything that Heronica had just listed. The children were safe with Old Mr. Thorne. Gianna was with them too, given that they were on an extended holiday leave. The Whitman’s hospital was larger and more fortified than the gang, so it couldn’t really be affected—unless Heronica was talking about her private lab. Athena’s brows knitted tighter. But the lab was in a secret location. She had sensed she was being watched for a while, but she hadn’t thought they would be able to discover the location. Even if they had uncovered it, they wouldn’t be able to access it; the doors only opened to her. And then there was Ewan... She pressed her lips together, considering that he was with Sandro. He had finally regained consciousness two days ago, even though his eyes had remained closed—He had murmured her name one night while she’d been working in the drug lab for the Grey disease. Immediately, at the early hour of three a.m., she had called Aiden to transport him to Sandro’s house, providing Sandro with the necessary drugs to keep Ewan stable. She has done her work, and wasn’t up for the mushy stuff that might arise when he opened his eyes, neither could she allow him to see her private lab. So, as far as she was concerned, there was no way the gang would have known about Ewan’s whereabouts; Aiden wasn’t a spy, and neither was Sandro. Looking down at Heronica, Athena felt a sense of conviction. The latter was just bluffing. If anything, the gang was the one in the dark about what was going on around them. With a smooth motion, she pulled out her phone from her trench coat with her left hand while still keeping the gun pointed at Heronica. "Come to..." She rattled off the location to Aiden with urgency. "And be fast!" When she returned her attention to Heronica, she noticed the other woman smirking, a hint of malice in her gaze. "You are really going to regret a lot of things in the coming days. I just wish I could see your face when it starts to happen..." But Athena’s focus shifted as she caught a fleeting side glance from Heronica to someone lurking right behind her. Instinctively, she inhaled deeply, allowing her senses to sharpen, just like Master Shen had taught her. When she heard the swooshing sound behind her, Athena sidestepped with agile grace, releasing a gunshot without even glimpsing her attacker’s face—partly as a precaution and partly to hurry Aiden along. When she regained her balance, she was met by the sight of an unfamiliar male holding a plank of wood, shock painted across his features. "You don’t have a gun?" She teased him, watching as he gasped in pain from the gunshot wound to the side of his belly. "Don’t worry, you won’t die. I know what I’m doing," She said, blowing away the smoke from the gun, a sly grin on her face. "Now, we’ll wait like obedient children for my partner—unless one of you is ready to kick life goodbye." Heronica laughed, a sound devoid of real fear. "You think we are afraid of death?" Athena remained silent at that, stepping farther away from the couple. "Didn’t your last experience with our last agent teach you something?" Athena scoffed, recalling the suicide bomber they had encountered. "It did teach me, really." Suddenly, her voice became more serious. "But if you were going to kill yourself, you would have done that already. Admit it, Heronica, the time is up." Heronica’s jaw slackened, a flicker of surprise crossing her features, clearly not expecting Athena to remember her name. "Oh, and how is your brother? Did he survive the blast?" Heronica’s expression shifted as she gritted her teeth, bolting upright as if an animal cornered. In an act of desperation, she tried barreling into Athena, but the latter was far too quick. Athena sidestepped the attack effortlessly and shot Heronica in the leg. "Now, take a seat, honey," Athena commanded, her tone firm and unyielding.

Chapter 177: Subduing Criminals

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