You Killed Someone and Saved Someone

Lina's face was pale as she thought about what would become of her with the charge that she faced. She would be sentenced to prison and her lucrative future as an attorney would come to a halt. 

"You had been examined and everything was alright except for some very minor bruises. So, you can leave the hospital now and follow us to the station to provide a statement." The poker face officer continued.

"I need to contact my attorney first..." Lina quickly reclaimed her calm and demanded her rights.

"We will arrange for that at the station. Now, let's go." Poker face nodded and signaled Lina to follow them. 

Lina had no choice but to get up and followed them to their car parked at the hospital parking lot. She began to remember the accident clearer on their way and had questions in her mind. "There were three of them... May I know how the third guy is doing now? And I heard some gunshots. What happened?"

The other police officer, a middle aged bearded guy replied, "I'm Officer Turner and he is Officer Peterson. There were only two dead bodies at the scene when we arrived. And yes, there were bullets all over your car. If you hadn't shielded by the airbags, you would probably be dead already." 

The poker face Officer Peterson added on, "I believe that guy survived the accident. He was shooting you as an act of revenge. He then fled before we arrived."

Lina was indeed shocked to know she was under fire when passing out. "Do you know who these guys are?"

"We are checking their identities." Officer Turner explained, "Whoever they are, looks like you had smashed some dangerous guys!"

"Well, at least I didn't smash some good guys..." Whatever Officer Turner told Lina actually made her less guilty. All she wanted to do at this moment was get it over with her statement and then get someone to bail her out. 

Home, sweet home. She could really use a good sleep after such a long night. Little did she know that the night would just get longer and longer.

Once the there of them stepped outside the hospital, a tall man in a business suit walked towards them and greeted Lina, "Hi, you must be Ms Connelly. Sorry for being a little late."

Lina was puzzled, "I'm indeed Connelly, but who are you?"

Both Officer Turner and Peterson quickly stepped forward and stood in front of Lina. "Who are you and what do you want?" Being the more outspoken one, Officer Turner posted this question to the tall stranger.

"Relax, guys...!" The tall gentleman raised up his hands. "I am Donaldson from Veridian Legal Group. I will represent Ms Connelly from this moment on."

Lina knew that Veridian was one of the biggest law firms in Los Angeles. With Donaldson around, she should be able to go home a few hours later. That was a relief to her. But, what she could not figure out was who sent Donaldson over to help her?

"Ms Connelly, I know what's on your mind now. My client will contact you soon after we get all these over." Donaldson knew exactly what Lina's suspicion was and he quickly addressed it.

"Mr Donaldson, we will need to bring Ms Connelly to LAPD. You can whatever you need do after we are done with her. And you gotta use your own transport." Officer Turner made his point clear to Donaldson after knowing that he was an attorney.

"Of course." Donaldson shrugged while forcing out a smile, "Let's do this fast as Ms Connelly needs some rest now."

Just as Donaldson finished talking, a speedy Chevrolet with windows winded down suddenly appeared in front of them. Both officers were experienced enough to notice the threat and shouted to Lina at once, " Lay down low!" At the same time, they pulled out their guns and shot. 

The officers' judgment was correct. There were guns in the car aiming at Lina as it passed them by. Gunshots were all over out of the sudden. Had Lina not done as instructed, she would have become a corpse with uncountable bullet holes. 

It was a shoot and run affair. Whoever in the Chevrolet wanted Lina dead. With the two officers around, they knew they just had one chance. So, they fled after shooting regardless of the outcome. 

Lina's face was all pale again. "What the fuck? Who are these people?" She could not control herself anymore and kept shouting out loud. As calm as she was, she was only an attorney, not a field agent who was used to gunshots. Her horror was further intensified when she realized that both officers were down in blood. They saved her but they took some bullets for her. 

"Oh my god! Are you guys okay?" She was totally horrified.

Officer Turner's shoulder was bleeding while Officer Peterson was holding his chest in agony. "We are NOT okay but we will survive... The good thing is we are just right in front of the hospital..."

Donaldson was somehow unharmed throughout the incident. He pulled Lina up from the floor and said, "It's obvious that they want you dead at all costs! You are not safe even in LAPD. You gotta leave with me now!"

Lina was confused. "Where to? Who are these crazy people? How can I be safe with you if LA police could not ensure my safety?"

Donaldson could only give her a fast overview, "One of the guys you smashed is an extremely bad guy's son. He will go all out to get your head. Only my boss can protect you right now. You just have to trust me and go with me."

"I know who those guys work for... I hate to admit it but what he said was quite true..." Officer Turner spit out these words while struggling to get up. "Go now! Come back when it's safe."

Donaldson rushed Lina into a Cadillac SUV; he took the front seat while she at the back seat. While he was driving, Lina asked further questions. "Who is your boss and why he wanna help me? More importantly, how could he do better than LAPD?"

Donaldson chuckled, "He is helping you because you just saved his fucking life! He is the only one who can save your ass now because he is Michael Carlito."

"Carlito?" Lina just could not believe what she just heard. "The Carlito family who controls like forty percent of LA's underworld?"

"There's only one Carlito family." Donaldson nodded. "It seems to me you killed someone tonight and at the same time, saved someone."