Chapter 190: Ian Didn't Do Anything

[Chapter 190: Ian Didn't Do Anything]

In the distance, sirens blared.

The police finally arrived.

They couldn't get there quicker than the reporters.

The arrival of the police brought a great sense of relief to the hospital staff.

A nurse carefully brought the baby to the hospital room, drew all the curtains, and nervously said, "The baby is fine. Do we need to keep him here?"

Ian picked up the baby and replied, "Just leave it to me; nothing's going to happen while I'm here."

The newborn baby, still a bit wrinkly, had big, adorable eyes and was wide awake.

He placed the baby next to Lena and said, "See, the baby is great."

Lena looked at the baby and smiled, "He has blue eyes, just like you."

The fear from the shooting incident hadn't completely faded for Lena, but the safety Ian provided, combined with the joy of the baby, helped ease her turbulent emotions.

Gaskill also looked at the baby with sympathy, "Poor little guy, going through this just after being born."

Lena shot an angry glare at Ian, "This is all your fault, Ian Carr."

Ian thought to himself, 'That's unfair; if it hadn't been for me, who's to say that guy wouldn't have fired a second shot?'

But when dealing with women, it was usually best not to argue.

He just smiled at Lena, "I promise, I will ensure this never happens to you again."

Lena huffed, "Just remember that. Go do what you need to do."

"Do you even know what I'm going to do?" Ian replied with a wry smile.

He sighed, "I want to be with the baby."

"You're already seen the baby. He's first and foremost Gaskill's son," Lena cheekily responded.

Ian hung his head in resignation and kissed the baby, then Lena, and gave Gaskill a hug. "There's still one guy on the loose. I'll find him and bring back his head as a trophy."

Gaskill answered, "Just don't make it too bloody."

...

Once out of the hospital, Ian called, "There's been a shooting at St. George Hospital. One nurse is dead. Send reporters immediately to interview everyone in the hospital! Damn it, there are already reporters here, but you haven't sent anyone? You wouldn't know news if it hit you in the face! You're all morons!"

Despite having news already, Ian still emphasized his attitude.

It was mind-boggling that LANN reporters hadn't shown up yet; it was absolutely ridiculous!

Fuming, he hung up the phone and muttered, "Murdoch is way better at training reporters than I am. Maybe I should give him more power to shape my team in the next negotiations... he might like that."

An exclusive interview at the hospital was now out of the question, but fortunately, there were other leads.

Brydon was tracking the guy who had fled, and crucially, his face had been recorded.

But Ian wasn't planning to just hand him over to the police; he wanted to capture that bastard himself.

Just as he finished his call, several police cars roared by.

In the movies, cops always seemed slower than the audacious heroes.

But in reality, they often arrived after reporters did!

...

The police cars screeched to a stop in front of the hospital, and Katherine got out from one of them.

Dressed in her sharp uniform, she strode up to Ian and said, "I knew you'd be here whenever there was a shooting."

The way she spoke carried an air of irritation, as if nothing had ever occurred between them.

Ian glared at her, "A sniper's bullet just flew past my woman's head less than thirty inches away ten minutes ago, and she just had my son today! Do you think I'd risk my family for a news story?"

Katherine looked taken aback, "You had a son?"

Ian ignored her and walked away.

Katherine hurried after him, calling out, "Ian, I'm sorry for misjudging you earlier! But you have to cooperate with us."

Ian stopped and turned back, "What are you talking about?"

Katherine caught up, "Three people are dead, with two shooters involved. Someone saw you fire a shot! And your driver and the reporter are now missing! I know your people are tracking another shooter who definitely got a shot of his face! But you're not a cop; you don't have any authority."

Leaning in closer to Ian, she whispered, "Just help me out! You can't keep stealing the cops' thunder."

Looking into her sincere yet desperate eyes made Ian's mood soften just a bit.

After thinking it over, he said, "Every citizen has an obligation to prevent crime."

"Where was that sense of duty when you were involved in the Palos Bank chase?"

"That's when my conscience got stronger."

"I bet it will weaken again; your conscience depends only on what your reporting needs. Ian, those two shooters nearly killed your woman, and you still want to put your job before something like this?"

Ian stopped, looking up at the sky.

His mood became unexpectedly heavy.

After a long pause, he said, "She's Gaskill's wife."

Katherine looked shocked.

Ian pulled out a notepad and jotted down a number, handing it to Katherine. "This is Brydon's number; you can reach him."

He looked around and said, "This is my first time giving up; congratulations, you've got one up on me."

Katherine was furious now.

She grabbed Ian by the collar, shouting, "Ian! Do you see me as someone who just wants to beat you all the time?"

Ian looked at her, "Isn't that true? I remember you saying that you were playing me while I was fulfilling your needs!"

"Damn it!" Katherine cursed loudly. "I'll come to your house tonight, and it doesn't matter how many people you get; I'll make you play!"

Her loud call caught the attention of the nearby police, leaving them speechless.

"It depends on my mood," Ian coldly replied, turning to leave.

...

With Ian's rare generosity and Brydon's help, the Los Angeles Police Department finally closed their first big case of the year.

The Washington father and son shooting was solved quickly.

The pair were forty-year-old John Allen Muhammad and seventeen-year-old Lee Boyd Malvo; John was the stepfather and Lee was the stepson.

The entire event was orchestrated by John Muhammad, motivated by his fierce loss of custody of three children to his ex-wife. This drove him to harbor resentment towards his ex-wife, her family, and friends, whom he deemed unhelpful.

John sought revenge on those he believed wronged him, but doing so directly put him at risk of exposure. He realized it would be difficult for him to achieve this alone.

Thus, John decided to involve his stepson Lee Malvo, who would greatly increase their chances of success. John's plan was to cover his true motive by randomly assassinating passersby to disguise his goals.

In simpler terms, this was an attempt at a targeted killing disguised as random violence.

Interestingly, even in the past timeline, when John Muhammad was caught, he hadn't succeeded in taking out his primary target -- his ex-wife.

In this timeline, they managed to kill twenty-two victims instead of twenty-seven, as they had previously done.

The reason the father-son duo came to Los Angeles stemmed from a small difference in time -- one of John's targets had arrived there, and he found that operating in Washington would be too conspicuous, so why not expand their operations?

Thus, they made a choice not taken in the previous timeline but unfortunately ran into Ian Carr.

Though Ian was aware of the Washington father and son shooting, he couldn't recall the names; otherwise, he would have struck long ago. Little did he expect the culprits to come knocking on his door willingly.

With Ian's help, the case was swiftly cracked.

...

Chief Beaton basked in glory.

Before reporters, he boastfully stated, "What took Washington four months to solve, we did in one go. This is the Los Angeles Police Department -- we are committed to eliminating crime and protecting the public!"

He claimed all the credit for himself.

...

As for Carr Media, even though Ian didn't pursue further coverage, Brydon's footage of the firefight remained valuable, especially the moment when John was taken down.

The news agency boldly titled it: "Ian Carr Takes Down John Muhammad -- Another Body!"

Excellent!

They were more crafty with headlines than he was!

Some events lose their value with repetition, while others only gain in worth.

Ian Carr's brutal takedown of corpses had become a topic of great interest to many.

"Why do I feel like Ian is the true hero of this case?"

"He killed John Muhammad, and Butterfly captured the footage of the firefight!"

"But Ian Carr didn't even step into the scene this time."

"That's odd; it's not like the usual Ian. In the past, he would have aggressively interviewed everyone, he'd have crossed paths with Lee Malvo while beating him and asking how it felt to get punched, or whether the ropes on him were too tight, or if he wanted to change positions."

"You might have misunderstood the concept of binding?"

"He would have dragged the deceased John Muhammad out for a live interview."

"Ah, you really know Ian Carr, but I kind of believe he would do something like that."

"But don't you find this fascinating? Ian Carr didn't do anything, and the most interesting point this time is that he practically did nothing."

"Right, let's get the news out there. The biggest story isn't the arrest of the Washington father-son duo but that Ian didn't do a thing."

As the news spread, "Ian Didn't Do Anything" flourished into a hot topic.

In conclusion, Ian Carr's inaction became a talking point, even leaving Chief Beaton dumbfounded.

How could such news even trend?

Is the world really this absurd?

*****

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