The instant the doors of the East End Police Department closed behind him, Li Jie realized he had underestimated the media's frenzy.
Camera flashes lashed at him like a downpour, making his eyes ache. At least thirty reporters crowded the steps outside the station, their cameras and recording devices practically jabbing him in the face.
"Sheriff! Sheriff!"
"Can you tell us more about the courthouse attack?"
"How did you react at the time?"
"Do you feel guilty that you failed to fully protect Prosecutor Dent?"
"Were you carrying those stone balls because you'd prepared in advance?"
Questions fired at him from every direction like bullets. Li Jie raised one hand to shield his eyes from the glare, instinctively keeping Harleen behind him with the other. She wasn't in uniform today, just simple, dark casual clothes, but her blond hair still gleamed under the lights.
"No comment. The case is under investigation." Li Jie mechanically repeated the official line, trying to squeeze a path through the crowd.
But the reporters clearly had no intention of letting him go. A male reporter in a brown jacket practically shoved his microphone into Li Jie's mouth.
"Sheriff! Sources say you and Maroni go way back. Did you know in advance that he would launch an attack?"
Li Jie stopped and turned to the reporter, his expression blank. "If I'd known he was going to attack, I would've brought a gun in, not two rocks."
A few muffled laughs came from the crowd, but more questions followed immediately.
"Tell us about those two stone balls!" a young female reporter in glasses shouted. "Have you trained in throwing? Was that Chinese kung fu?"
Keeping Harleen shielded as he moved toward the parking lot, Li Jie answered dismissively, "They're exercise equipment. For preventing dementia before it starts."