The underling crashed to the ground. The burly, 100-kilogram man clutched his chest in pain, his eyes filled with fear.
His inability to breathe wasn't because Captain Stacy had grabbed him by the throat.
The high-speed collision was even more violent than a full-force hit from a football player. His diaphragm had stopped working in an instant, disrupting his breathing.
By the time his diaphragm had recovered somewhat, the pain was still there. Every breath, cough, and moment of tension made it ache again.
His instincts were at odds: on one hand, he needed to breathe; on the other, breathing caused pain.
He blocked his companions' escape route. Seeing him in that state, they were startled at first, then even more determined to run. One of them kicked his good buddy out of the way-
But their mistake was reaching for their waists as they ran.
Modern martial arts: America was the pinnacle of draw-your-gun quick-draw techniques.
Illegal gun owners had evolved to the point where they could draw their guns in the blink of an eye. Any experienced cop knew what to do when they saw that movement.
As a cop who'd been on the front lines even during the worst economic times, he could tell at a glance what these guys were up to and what kind of people they were:
People forced by circumstances to steal or rob for a living would tremble when they committed a crime. Those handed a gun to scare someone might even forget to take off the safety.
Only truly vicious criminals considered carrying a knife and a gun at their waist normal, and tried to reach for them when they saw a cop-
A gun might only take a pull of the trigger to kill someone, but fighting with firearms required