Cooperation Between Police and the Public

A moment later.

A small electric scooter came rushing over.

Its tires scraped against the ground before it came to a rather clumsy stop by the roadside.

The newcomer was a blond man in a suit, with an obviously fake leather briefcase tucked under his arm.

At first glance, he looked like nothing more than a slightly chubby young man trying too hard to seem mature.

But as soon as he swung off the scooter, he immediately spotted Luca and Shamira standing by the roadside, where passersby were carefully keeping their distance. His voice was composed and courteous as he said,

"You must be Mr. Luca Orange, right? Hello, I'm Foggy Nelson, an intern at Land Law Firm. I've been assigned to help you deal with this emergency."

Before Luca could say anything, Shamira questioned him with clear displeasure.

"An intern?"

Orange Industries was a major client that had worked with Land Law Firm for years. Even if the firm had only received a request from Luca, a fourteen-year-old boy, sending an intern to handle it seemed like a rather dismissive attitude toward Orange Industries.

Luca, however, checked his watch. Less than five minutes had passed, and the man had arrived even faster than the New York police. A faint smile appeared on Luca's face.

Sure enough, when the young man named Foggy heard Shamira's challenge, he showed no sign of timidity. Instead, he calmly explained,

"I was nearby, so I was assigned to come over. Ms. Simpson should already be on her way."

"As for what I can do, Mr. Orange will probably have quite a few things to tell me before the police arrive. I suggest we make the most of this valuable time."

Foggy was a lawyer who might have been expected to advise Luca, the client, on what to do next. Yet he had turned the situation around and made it sound as if Luca had instructions for him. Luca couldn't help taking another look at the man.

He nodded, then spoke first.

"Aunt Shamira, sorry for the trouble, but could you tell Mr. Nelson what happened?"

At that, Shamira stopped dwelling on his status as an intern. She stepped forward and spoke rapidly.

"Just now..."

Police cars, ambulances, and fire trucks arrived one after another. The perimeter was quickly secured, and after receiving emergency treatment, the few injured people were taken to the hospital.

Beside a police car at the edge of the cordon, Foggy Nelson directly raised a hand to cut off the long-winded explanation of the bearded officer in front of him.

"Officer! This was an unmistakable assassination attempt. Under Section 20 of the New York State Penal Code, my client, Mr. Luca Orange, was fully within his legal rights to act in self-defense when faced with an assassination attempt that posed a grave threat to his life."

"As for this electromagnetic pulse pistol, it's a registered experimental firearm developed by Orange Industries, with development registration number NY-2011-1221. The entire process was legal and compliant. It had already passed nonlethal testing."

The bearded officer frowned as he took the screenshots Foggy had sent him, but he didn't actually look at them. Instead, he pointed toward the center of the cordoned-off area.

Apart from a wide swath of rubble, there was even a bowl-shaped crater left in the ground.

"Mr. Nelson, you call that nonlethal? That truck was blasted into scrap metal, and the driver they just carried away lost an entire leg! This is already a case of excessive self-defense—"

Foggy interrupted the middle-aged officer again.

"He was an assassin, not some ordinary driver."

"Besides, that truck was barreling toward my client at eighty miles per hour, while the attacker's accomplices had blocked in my client's vehicle from every direction. Under Section 20, Clause 3 of the Penal Code, that qualifies as a 'serious violent crime.' My client is entitled to use unlimited force in self-defense."

As he said this, Foggy's voice suddenly rose.

"Officer, in that situation, what other way out did my client—a fourteen-year-old boy—have, other than taking a huge risk and using an experimental weapon he happened to have with him?!!"

"And in the face of a vehicle attack of that magnitude, my client wasn't just protecting himself. He was protecting all the innocent people caught up in the crash!"

The bearded officer glanced at Luca. His Adam's apple bobbed, and his voice was a little hoarse.

"Actually... actually..."

"Actually, what you should be doing right now is finding out who was behind this heinous attack! Not harassing my client—a victim who's just been through a terrifying ordeal, a boy who's only fourteen!"

Faced with Foggy's imposing presence and sharp words, the bearded officer was sweating profusely and couldn't manage to say a word.

Just then, another middle-aged officer who had been inspecting the scene walked over quickly, frowning. He was clearly of higher rank.

However, when he saw Luca's face, he first paused in surprise, then nodded thoughtfully.

"James, there's no need to question him further. Please have this..."

"Luca Orange," Luca supplied with a smile and a nod.

"Please have Mr. Luca come to the precinct to give a victim statement, then send that high-powered weapon to the technical department for a report. You don't need to worry about anything else."

He had barely finished speaking when, nearby, a capable-looking mature woman lifted the cordon with one hand and stepped into the scene. She spoke softly.

"Chief Stacy, I'm afraid you won't be getting your way. This pistol involves Orange Industries' core trade secrets. If you want to investigate, you may need authorization from the state government. The examination would also have to be carried out by a confidential technical team appointed by the police, in coordination with Orange Industries' engineers."

"Ms. Simpson!" Foggy greeted the newcomer with a slight bow.

Gerald Simpson was a senior partner at Landman Law Firm, and Foggy's direct superior.

Ms. Simpson first nodded and smiled at Luca, then turned back to Chief Stacy.

The middle-aged chief, George Stacy, rubbed the bridge of his nose with a pained look.

The young, chubby man had already been difficult enough to deal with. Now a famous New York lawyer had shown up too.

Lawyers like these were all a handful.

That was why he had initially assigned one of his subordinates to speak with the victim's lawyer.

He hadn't intended to make things difficult for Luca in the first place. Since the other side's lawyer had offered him an out, he took it, spreading his hands in a gesture of resignation.

"We'll still need to take a statement, won't we? That'll help us investigate who was behind this attack more quickly."

At that, Ms. Simpson turned back to Luca and added,

"Mr. Luca, remember, the necessity of self-defense doesn't depend on the weapon's power, but on how immediate the threat is. Today, you not only protected yourself, but also saved every Orange Industries employee's livelihood. So whether to cooperate with the police investigation is entirely up to you."

Chief Stacy's temple throbbed at that.

Fortunately, Luca didn't refuse again this time. Instead, he gave him a friendly smile.

"Cooperation between the police and the public? I'd be happy to~"