Theres something else, said Danielle. Major Daniels, can you give me a close-up of the knives that are being held by the man to the right and left of the center man?
Major Daniels didnt say anything, but almost immediately the screen split in half. On one side was a hand holding a serrated military knife, and on the other side of the screen was a hand holding a notched throwing knife.
Danielle walked up to the screen, pointed to the serrated military knife, and said, This is the knife that severed the tendons in the fourth victims arm, and its also the knife in the first victims eye. She then pointed to the other knife and said, This is the knife that punctured the heart of the gunman on the left. One more thing, she said. Major Daniels, will you now show the picture of the three men again? Immediately the picture was back on the screen. I want you to notice that the man holding the serrated blade, standing right here, and she pointed to the man on the screen, had the arm holding the knife broken at the elbow. She paused for a moment and then said, And this man holding the notched knife had the tendons severed in his wrist on the arm that he was using to hold his knife.
They all looked at each other while the implications of what she said sank in.
Major Daniels said, Lets continue the video. And immediately on the screen the camera started moving away from the six people arrayed at the wall. They then watched the camera swing back and saw that four of the five men were sprawled on the sidewalk. They also saw the big man in the center still looking at the man sitting against the wall. The camera paused and, before it swung away, they could see the two men on the screen talking. When the camera swung back again the big man and the man against wall were gone and only the four dead bodies remained.
Just a little more, said Major Daniels. One of my monitors took over manual control of the cameras in this area when one of them picked up the sound of gunshots. He then started the video again, and they saw the big man running down the street until he came to an entrance into a building and went through it. The view then switched to the corridor that the big man entered. There were hundreds of people moving and they lost sight of him. We lost him in the crowd.
How far were you able to follow the man sitting against the wall? Esa asked.
Ill get to that in a minute, Major Daniels said. When our system detected two gunshots, one of the monitors on duty immediately took manual control of all the cameras in this area.
Inspector Connor said, Victim number two fired his gun twice. I dont think he hit anyone, because the four dead men had no bullets in them, and there was no blood where the big man was standing or where the other man was sitting.
Colonel Ortiz then said, I think I can tell you what happened.
John, I want you to record what the colonel says, and also, if you dont mind, please get a copy of Major Danielss videos.
Yes sir.
Then Inspector Connor said, Go ahead, Colonel.
Just as Colonel Ortiz started to explain, two men walked up to the group. Just a moment, Colonel, Esa said.
Jack Chin, one of John Sinclairs assistants, said, Inspector Connor, you asked me to bring Sergeant Garcia when he arrived.
Thank you, Jack. Good evening, Sergeant.
Good evening, said Sergeant Garcia. Dont let me interrupt you.
Ive invited Sergeant Garcia here because he might have something that relates to the man sitting against the wall, Major Daniels said. I was working with him on another issue when the attack took place here.
If its all right with everyone, Id like to stay on task, Esa said. Well get to Sergeant Garcia after I hear from Colonel Ortiz. Go ahead, Colonel.
Thank you, said Colonel Ortiz. The first one to attack was this man to the right of center. He thrust his knife at the person sitting against the wall. Whoever the person against wall was, lets call him the victim, he stepped inside the thrust, twisted the arm, and broke the elbow with a hand blow that caused the attacker to drop his knife. The victim then caught the knife before it hit the sidewalk, as he was rolling under the man on the left who was slashing at his back. The victim placed his knife in the path of the attackers arm to use the attackers own slashing motion to sever his tendons and ligaments, which also caused him to drop his knife. The victim came out of his roll holding both knives. He immediately threw the serrated knife into the eye of the gunman on the right, who I am certain was about to begin firing.
He paused for a moment and said, I feel certain about everything so far, and I can see in my mind the moves that the victim made. Then the colonel walked over to the four bodies and stood facing the gunman on the right with his back to the gunman on the left. Its this next move that Ive never seen before, he said. Theres only one thing the victim could have done within the time restraints that Miss Ash has given. The gunman behind the victim fired a shot at him, but the victim anticipated that and had begun a roll. He threw the knife back between his legs, upside down in the middle of his roll, into the gunmans heart, causing his second shot to go wild. His roll would have brought him in front of the first attacker, probably still holding his broken arm since only a few seconds had passed. The victim grabbed this arm and swung him face-first into the wall, then he rotated and kicked the second attacker with the severed wrist between the legs and then slammed his knee into the attackers face as he bent over. The attacker died when he flipped over backwards and hit his head on the concrete. He had a broken nose, which tells me how the victim flipped him backwards. The victim then sat back down against the wall just as the camera returned.
Colonel, what did you mean by the victim using a move youve never seen before? Esa asked.
Colonel Ortiz looked at Inspector Connor, who could tell he was struggling with how to answer his question. Inspector, the victim never saw the second gunman when he threw the knife.
What!
Let me demonstrate. Colonel Ortiz walked over to the street and picked up a small rock. He then walked back to where he was facing the gunman on the right. Now I want you to imagine that Ive just rolled under the attacker on the left, cut his wrist, and picked up his knife as I came to my feet. I then throw the serrated knife at the gunman in front of me. Colonel Ortiz demonstrated the motion of throwing a knife. This rock in my left hand represents the other knife. I want you to notice at this point that I cannot see the gunman behind me, but I know hes got to be lining up a shot at me, and remember that according to Miss Ash, whatever I do now must be done within one second, and I have to slam the attacker with a broken arm into the wall within two seconds after that.
Hold that position for a moment, Colonel, Esa said. Jack, go down there where the second gunman was about to shoot and take a position like you were going to take a shot.
Yes sir.
Okay, Colonel, continue.
As I was saying, notice that I cant see the gunman behind me. The only thing I can do with the time I have left is to roll forward and throw the knife between my legs in the middle of my roll, then come to my feet in time to grab the first attackers broken arm. The problem is that when I have to release the knife I still wouldnt be able to see the gunman. Let me show you with this rock.
The colonel then rolled forward and threw the rock between his legs at Jack. The rock completely missed.
Thanks for not hitting me, Colonel, said Jack.