Rosha reported that Tony and Luo Fei were safe, then saw everyone on the square darting around like headless chickens. The explosion had panicked the hostages, who had been held captive for so long. They were running all over the square, and some had even fled beyond it.
Most of them probably wouldn't survive. Rosha and the others had only raided the three largest hostage-holding sites; the terrorists elsewhere hadn't been taken out yet.
The increasingly fierce gunfire and screams from beyond the square only made the poor people more frantic.
In these circumstances, Rosha had no chance of finding the figure he'd spotted earlier. So he had to fire a Repulsor Blast, creating a thunderous boom, and order everyone to crouch down.
"Listen. I'm here to rescue people, but not everyone deserves to be saved—especially those who run off on their own. The terrorists outside haven't all been killed yet. The safest place is within my sight. If you want to die, you can leave this square, but I guarantee you'll die by my hand before you ever meet a terrorist."
Rosha had Belcher translate his words in the sternest, most menacing tone he could manage. In hostage-rescue operations, the biggest trouble often came not from the kidnappers, but from the panicked victims. So Rosha had to resort to a few harsh measures to make sure this group didn't cause him trouble.
Although the hostages had calmed down, Rosha still had no time to search for the shadow he'd seen earlier. The terrorists had realized something was wrong and were beginning to attack the square from the east and west entrances.
With no other choice, Rosha had to split up from Belcher.
"Belcher, you take the west. I'll handle this side."
Rosha put on his Tactical Goggles and Sensor