American variety show: Sniper Elite

Chapter 20 Forest Club

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Medvedeva ignored Bianca and got into the Land Rover with her entourage.

Her deputy handed her a list: "This is a list provided by the training base's archives; it records all personnel with ultra-long-range sniping capabilities."

He then produced another identical list: "This one was given to the 'chimpanzees' by the base; I intercepted it."

Medvedeva took the two lists, crumpled one of them, and casually tossed it out the window.

“Let’s go,” she commanded curtly.

Three Land Rover Discoveries drove away from the parking lot in turn.

Medvedeva's phone rang. She answered, and her superior's voice came through the line: "The Scotland Yard Superintendent's son is dead. They've been suppressing the news for a day, trying to solve the case themselves. Now, go to the Forest Club and find out what happened at the scene."

Medvedeva's gaze darkened slightly, and she replied briefly, "Understood."

The three Land Rovers simultaneously turned around and sped towards the Forest Club.

Inside the car, Medvedeva unfolded the list provided by the training base, her fingertips slowly tracing the pages as she scrutinized each name that had been recorded at the training base, each possessing ultra-long-range sniping capabilities.

Medvedeva's gaze slowly moved across the list: Gianluca Fox, Josh Spencer, Alexander Dugan.
Her fingertips suddenly stopped on the name "Alexander Dugan." The name inexplicably stirred her memory, yet it was as blurry as if viewed through a thin mist.

“Contact the office,” she told her deputy. “Get a complete file on this Alexander Dugan.”

"Understood." The deputy immediately took out his encrypted phone and quickly dialed the dedicated line for the department's on-site support team.

The Land Rover convoy drove onto a dark forest road, but was soon stopped by flashing police lights.

Three police officers blocked the middle of the road. The lead officer raised his hand to signal for the cars to stop: "Road ahead is closed. The Forest Club is temporarily shut down. Please turn around immediately."

The deputy rolled down the car window and flashed an identification badge bearing the royal crest: "MI6 Special Operations Division, ordered to investigate the scene."

The police officers exchanged a glance. One of them picked up his walkie-talkie to ask his superior for instructions. After a brief conversation, they moved the police car that was blocking the road.

With a low growl from their engines, three Land Rovers drove past the police line in single file and disappeared into the thickening fog in the forest.

The crime scene has been cordoned off by the police, and the police tape trembled slightly in the night wind.

The news of the murder of the son of the Scotland Yard Chief Superintendent was like a slap in the face to the entire British police system. This was no longer just a simple assassination, but a blatant contempt and provocation against the entire law enforcement system.

Its negative political impact is almost comparable to that of the Downing Street incident; the nature of the case has long since escalated from a criminal offense to an image crisis concerning the entire country's law enforcement authority.

The crime scene was completely surrounded by police, including uniformed officers and forensic experts, covering almost all criminal investigation departments.

Medvedeva's gaze swept across the crowd, finally settling on the shadow of an oak tree in the distance.

Standing there was a man whose uniform clashed with the surrounding officers. He wore a trench coat and exuded a calm, focused aura, like a character straight out of a classic detective novel. Several officers surrounded him. His voice was soft, yet exceptionally clear: "The extent and shape of this soil subsidence are definitely not caused by short-term trampling or a random event. This is based on the humidity records of the core forest area over the past two days, soil type, and the impact of daytime temperature changes on the rate of surface moisture evaporation."

He spoke calmly: "It can be precisely deduced that the murderer remained hidden in this position, completely still, for at least 30 minutes. Considering that rainwater may have weakened some traces, the actual time may have been even longer."

He paused briefly, allowing the officers to process the information, while his gaze fell upon the luxury cars beyond the police cordon in the distance.

"There was no trace of shifting weight, no dragging or adjusting posture. This demonstrates extreme focus, extraordinary endurance, and almost ruthless patience." He emphasized the qualities of the killer reflected in these characteristics.

"As for the distance," he pointed to the target vehicle, "measured with a rangefinder and double-verified with a measuring tape, the straight-line distance is 223.3 meters."

"The bullet tail fragments found at the scene, based on their deformation patterns, fracture lines, and preliminary traces, indicate that the murder weapon was an old-fashioned bolt-action rifle chambered in 7.92x57mm Mauser caliber. This type of rifle is extremely accurate but has a very low margin for error, requiring superb shooting skills and a deep understanding of ballistics to achieve a fatal shot at this distance."

"This is not just murder, but also a demonstration of professionalism and deterrence. Only two types of people are capable of carrying out such a shot: either a top-tier military sniper with specialized training."

Medvedeva chimed in: "Either he's a professional killer, extremely professional."

The man looked at Medvedeva and extended his hand: "Walter Hansen, Scotland Yard trace evidence expert. That title was given to me by them, not something I gave myself."

Medvedeva flashed her badge: "Medvedeva Lake, MI6 Special Operations."

"Can you deduce the killer's height and weight?" she asked, getting straight to the point.

“Of course.” Walter pointed to the footprints under the oak tree: “Based on the depth and shape of the collapse, combined with soil moisture analysis, the murderer was between 180 and 190 centimeters tall, as for weight…”

He paused for a moment: "If he were carrying a standard Mauser rifle, after deducting the weapon's weight, his weight would be approximately between 80 and 90 kilograms."

Medvedeva quickly recorded these key data.

MI6's files on "β" are blank, but the analysis of this man might be able to fill in the missing pieces of the puzzle.

"What about the killer's nationality? Can you deduce it?" Medvedeva pressed.

Walter gently shook his head: "The killer's actions here were extremely clean, without any unnecessary movements, making it impossible to judge based on behavioral habits."

"And what about the pattern on the sole?" Medvedeva asked from a different angle.

“Just ordinary 511 tactical boots,” Walter replied. “You can buy them at any military surplus store in Britain.”

Medvedeva nodded slightly, her gaze shifting to the area under the oak tree, where several police officers were carefully using plaster to create a cast of the clear shoe prints for evidence.

Walter hesitated for a moment, then added, "Actually, there's another idea, but the success rate is hard to guarantee."

Medvedeva said, "Tell me about it."

“This forest is teeming with mosquitoes,” Walter explained. “And blood-sucking insects have relatively fixed ranges. If we could capture mosquitoes in this area, test the blood residue inside them, and compare it with blood samples from people at the scene, we might be able to extract the killer’s DNA.”

He paused for a moment: "Of course, this requires large-scale sample collection and genetic analysis, and the workload will be enormous."

(End of this chapter)