Rudy glanced at the counter where Maria was to check whether she was done.
'She is done. That's enough time-pass. Now, let's end this charade and go home.'
"Give the remote to me," John calmly asked.
"I won't! Step back!"
"Why don't you go ahead and press the switch," Rudy scoffed arrogantly.
"Hey!" John yelled as his face twitched from all sides. "Would you stop doing this? You can't just play around with hundreds of lives here."
"But no one's life is in danger."
"Huh?"
Even Ryan was surprised to hear that.
"The bombs in this building are not real. They were just for the show to scare everyone." Rudy shrugged his shoulders and said, "Think about it. Why would someone blow themselves up? The robbers said the same thing when they mentioned about the bombs."
"It seems you haven't met or seen the suicidal freaks who would blow themselves up to kill others with them," John commented. "There is no guarantee that the bombs are not real."
'Tch!' Rudy clicked his tongue and said, 'I thought he would buy it since my last two assumptions turned out to be true. Now I have to move to the next plan.'
Rudy had planned all that even before the cops showed up. He had thought of each and every possibility, so no matter what happened, he was ready to move to the next plan.
"If you think that's the case, why don't you call the bomb squad and let them do their job? Even if the bombs turned out to be real, they would be able to defuse it right away," Rudy suggested.
John moved his face close to Rudy's ears and whispered, "I have already done that. I was just trying to stall this guy."
'I know it. I caught the signals going out from one of your officers. But too bad, I can't let them ruin my plan.'
If the bomb squad got there and checked the bombs, it would be confirmed that the bombs were real, and the situation would go back to how it was before. Sure, defusing the bombs was also an option, but it was as risky as Ryan pressing the switch.
However, there was something no one except Rudy knew. Even Ryan wasn't the actual mastermind, and he only knew about the plan and its execution. He didn't know if the bombs were real or not.
"What do you say, Ryan?" Rudy mocked him. "The bombs won't go off whether you press the switch or not. There is still a chance to surrender and confess everything. Remember, no lives have been lost yet."
Rudy turned to John and asked, "Officer, what do you think he will be charged with?"
John's face twitched once again as he responded, "I am not a judge. And stop calling me officer."
"Ryan. Would you rather die with the many others you spent a few years of your life in prison and start a new life? Of course, the bombs are not real, so you are not going to die, anyway."
"Shut up! I have had enough of this!" Ryan raised his thumb and pressed the switch.
One of the officers had shot Ryan on the hand holding the remote, but it was already too late.
However, nothing happened.
"Huh?"
"...."
Ryan then pressed the switches several times, even with the injured hand, but the only sound that came was the noise of the remote falling to the ground from Ryan's hand.
"See? I told you." Rudy sighed and shook his head in disbelief before saying, "Why do they never listen to the citizens."
One officer walked forward and handcuffed Ryan.
Now, the cops allowed everyone to finally leave the bank. Rudy took advantage of the crowd and grabbed the remote from the ground.
PHEW!
He sighed in relief and crushed the remote with his hand before burning it into crisp.
'I used telekinesis to fuse the circuit inside the remote and jammed the signals for it as a precaution. The bombs are still here, and they are real. Even though I proved to everyone that they were fake, the cops would still take out the bombs as a formal procedure. Should I get rid of them before that happens?
Even if they realize that the bombs were real, they wouldn't be able to understand why they didn't go off after pressing the switch. They will probably call them faulty and close the case.'
Once everyone had gone, only the staff of the bank, John, Rudy, and Maria, were there.
"I didn't know the bombs were fake," Maria said.
"Uhh…." John turned to Rudy and raised his brow before saying, "I hope you are not an undercover detective or something. You solved everything and caught onto every clue as though you knew everything. That requires precise attention, skill, and experience."
'That's because I knew everything.'
"Just who are you?" John asked curiously.
"I am…" Rudy shot a glance at Maria before replying, "My name is Rudy Ross."
"Ross…? Wait, you are from the mafia family?!" he exclaimed.
"Yes. I am Miss Maria's cousin and her bodyguard. And I would appreciate it if you keep this a secret from her father or any of her family members. We weren't supposed to be here. In return, you can take the credit for this case and tell the higher-ups that you solved this case."
Since Maria had sneaked out and no one knew about it, she would be punished if the words reached her father that Maria was there. Rudy did that to save Maria as he was the one who had asked Maria to come to the bank.
He took the responsibility he thought was the right thing to do. But unknown to him, he had seduced the mafia princess with his kindness.
"I will take my leave now. We still have to interrogate Ryan and ask him everything. And I feel like he is hiding something."
"Good luck." Rudy said while waving his hand and added, "And let's never meet again."
