Having lived abroad for so long, it took Maxine a moment to register the presence of a gun.
Right after that, she heard Lucas continue, “Those guns look homemade, but they pack a punch. Let’s stay hidden here, Maxine, call 311 now.”
Maxine whispered, “It seems safe enough here for now. They probably wouldn’t find us anytime soon. I already called 911 when I came in.”
But now she still had to update the police on their current situation. She picked up her phone and made another call.
+28
Maxine said, “Yeah, about three people, armed with guns… not sure exactly how many.” She glanced at Lucas beside her, who subtly held up two fingers. Maxine continued, “It should be two. It all happened too fast to get a clear look.”
“Guns?” The 911 operator’s voice tightened, but she quickly composed herself and reassured her, “Stay calm, help is on the way. Find a safe place to hide and don’t come out until officers arrive.”
The crashing sounds outside grew louder. Maxine’s heart raced as she struggled to keep her voice down and urged, “Please hurry, someone here is already injured.”
Luckily, Lucas was a surgeon and had managed to administer basic first aid on himself. However, judging by his ashen face, his condition was far from good.
Lucas slumped in the chair, cold sweat beading on his forehead from the pain. He took a deep breath and managed a wry grin. “The bullet’s probably still lodged in there. At least it was from a distance, could’ve been a lot messier.”
Lucas had torn his shirt to use as a makeshift bandage, but it wasn’t doing much, blood still occasionally seeped through the fabric.
Maxine hurried to his side and said urgently, “This won’t work. You’ll bleed out before the ambulance gets here.”
Lucas gasped in pain and said, “Help me redress the wound.”
There were still some torn fabric strips left. Lucas picked out a longer one and handed it to Maxine, then pointed to a spot on his arm. Through gritted teeth, he said, “Tie it here. You’ll need to pull tight.”
Maxine recognized the pressure bandage method. With Lucas in dire condition, this was her only choice.
Seeing her hesitate with the bandage in hand, Lucas managed a weak smile and said, “What’s wrong? Don’t be scared. Sure, there’s no anesthesia, but i can handle the pain.”
“No,” Maxine snapped out of her daze, a bit embarrassed as she grabbed a pouch nearby and pressed it into his hand. “I’ve got a pretty strong grip, just in case, try to hold it together. But if the pain gets unbearable, bite down on this.”
Lucas stared at the model he’d spent a fortune acquiring. “Do you have any idea how precious this is?”
This acupuncture kit was an honorary award gifted to him by one of the nation’s top senior physicians in the medical association.
Though not expensive, it held immense symbolic value, and here was Maxine, actually handing it to him to bite down on.
Maxine glanced at his wound, rolled up her sleeyes, and said, “Precisely because it’s precious, I’m giving it to you. But if you dare make a sound, your acupuncture kit will be the first thing I destrcy.”
Lucas fell silent. ‘Maybe the survival pressure is getting to Maxine,’ he thought, and obediently clutched the acupuncture kit in his hand.
As soon as Maxine yanked the cloth strip tight, Lucas, despite bracing himself, couldn’t suppress a pained groan. Quick as lightning, Maxine shoved the acupuncture kit between his teeth.
