Shadow of great britain

Bang bang bang.

Black powder smoke accompanied several gunshots.

In the early morning at the Old Pier of Liverpool, there were already many dock workers who came to try their luck. At first, the noisy voices quickly covered up the gunshots.

But when Alexandre Dumas, Louis and others began to draw their guns and fight back, pedestrians on the road finally realized something was wrong.

Soon, panic spread among the crowd, everyone ran away, and the scene soon became a mess.

Arthur and his party clung to the carriage as a cover, with tongues of fire spitting out from the muzzles of their revolvers.

Arthur looked at the chaotic and bustling crowd and looked around for a long time but could not find the enemy. He quickly asked: "Did you see clearly who fired the gun?"

Alexandre Dumas gritted his teeth and poked half of his head out: "There was a guy wearing a brown big-brimmed hat, a red jacket, and straight-leg pants. There were several people standing next to him, all holding guns in both hands!"

Arthur looked in the direction pointed by Alexandre Dumas and soon discovered several criminals hiding among the fleeing crowd.

Arthur silently counted the number of shots they fired, and suddenly shouted: "Six shots! They should have run out of bullets, rush up and kill them!"

After hearing this, everyone stood up and prepared to rush forward to subdue the gangsters. However, as soon as Louis came forward, a bullet shot through his top hat.

The close contact with bullets shocked His Majesty the Emperor into a cold sweat. He shouted: "Damn it! They are also holding revolvers, with more than one bullet!"

Just when Louis was angry, Dumas saw the opportunity for the crowd to disperse, and a bullet knocked down the attacker standing at the front.

The personnel sent by various departments in Liverpool to follow Arthur also quickly drew their pistols and stepped forward to support him.

They fired and shouted, "Mr. Hastings, are you okay?"

Beep beep beep!

In the chaotic environment of shouting, police whistles also sounded, followed by a chaotic sound of horse hooves.

The local Sheriff of Liverpool apparently noticed the unusual situation in the dock area and was coming with his mounted police team.

The attackers originally thought they would just deal with Arthur and his entourage nearby, but what they didn't expect was that the Liverpool authorities were so concerned about Commissioner Hastings that they even arranged a trap near the hotel to protect him. Lots of 'plainclothes'.

Seeing that the assassination attempt was about to fail, Arthur and others were gradually approaching them. The leading attacker simply gritted his teeth, took out a match from his pocket and threw it into the horse trough next to it.

"Hastings! You bastard who works for the government, go to hell!"

Only a loud roar was heard, and the flames of the explosion rose instantly.

The wooden trough was blown to pieces. The projectiles hidden in the trough flew everywhere and instantly penetrated the walls and window glass of the nearby hotel.

Several pedestrians who were unable to escape were also implicated. They covered the shot areas on their bodies and fell to the ground wailing. Even the attacker himself opened his eyes wide and trembled for a few times, like a broken kite. Usually falls to the ground.

Although Arthur and others were standing far away, there were still a few stray bullets scattered to this side.

Several holes were opened in the carriage door, and Alexandre Dumas was knocked to the ground by the shock wave generated by the explosion. Although Louis and Heine were less affected, their faces were still covered in mud.

Arthur was the most unlucky among them. Although the bullet did not hit him, a small stone thrown away by the explosion opened a cut in the corner of his eye. The bleeding wound only made him feel a burning sensation. It hurts.

However, Arthur was more concerned about Washington Irving, Secretary of the American Embassy next to him, than out of the corner of his eye. If he was also injured, then the characterization of the attack would be not just a domestic issue, but a diplomatic incident.

It was already troublesome enough to deal with the Lord Chancellor's Chambers, the Customs House, the Central Health Board and the Liverpool authorities; he did not want to involve the Foreign Office.

Especially when the Foreign Secretary is still Viscount Palmerston, this playboy among the Irish nobles is not so easy to deal with.

"Mr. Owen, are you injured?"

"It's really shocking!" Owen looked at the wounded and corpses in the pool of blood in front of him, and replied with wide eyes: "Mr. Hastings, rather than worrying about me, you should care more about yourself! How are your injuries? Sample?"

Arthur was very calm about being injured because he had already been mentally prepared for this situation, but what he didn't expect was that the attacker would launch a surprise attack in the street so blatantly.

He took out a handkerchief and covered the side of his face, even in the mood to make a few jokes: "This small injury is nothing, just a scratch on the skin. Although the attacker's formation looks quite scary, the actual effect is not as good as in London Ruffians. At least when I first joined Scotland Yard, the East End gangsters literally kept me in bed for a few days."

When Owen saw Arthur looking so calm and even taking out a cigarette, he was relieved: "As you said, I'm not surprised at all that Arthur Sigma is Hastings. Except for you. Who else could have written ‘Hastings’?”

Agares put his hand on Arthur's shoulder, raised his finger and dipped some blood on the handkerchief. The red devil curled his lips and shook his head: "I told you earlier, Arthur, you just don't have a long memory. Although it's not necessary for you. But even if we really send you on your way, those people don’t particularly mind.”

"Mr. Hastings!"

As soon as the Red Devil finished speaking, staff from various departments in Liverpool who saw that the gangster was dead hurriedly gathered around him.

But as soon as they got closer, they discovered blood stains on the side of Arthur's face. For a moment, no one dared to take the lead, for fear that the responsibility would be placed on themselves.

While the scene was silent, Liverpool's security team finally arrived belatedly.

The Sheriff got off his horse and asked quickly: "Mr. Hastings, you..."

Before he could finish his words, Alexandre Dumas said sarcastically: "Sir, as you can see, the assassination is over. Rather than asking for help, you and your security team should stain this piece of blood as soon as possible." Clean the streets."

Owen, who had recovered from the assassination, also expressed his dissatisfaction: "I now finally understand how Spencer Percival was assassinated in the hall of the Palace of Westminster. The Prime Minister is still like this , not to mention Liverpool’s special anti-smuggling ombudsman.”

The Sheriff's face turned red and his neck was thick after being scolded by them. He held it in for a long time and didn't know how to reply.

Seeing this, Arthur just laughed softly and comforted: "Actually, it's not that bad. My situation is better than the Prime Minister. At least judging from today's scene, the guys who assassinated me have no brains. They were in San They shot me from ten yards away, and if they had been smarter, like John Bellingham did, and waited until they were close enough to shoot me in the chest, I should be able to lay down and go home this afternoon. London."

The Sheriff's face was covered with sweat after hearing this: "Mr. Hastings, this is a mistake on our part. But as you know, our security team only has so many people. Liverpool is so big that there will always be oversights. .”

Arthur nodded: "Yes, this was also the original intention of Sir Robert Peel in advocating the establishment of Scotland Yard. He believed at that time that it was too much to place all the responsibility for London's security on the shoulders of the local sheriff and the Bow Street Mounted Police. Seriously. I have taken note of your opinion, and out of gratitude to you, I will report truthfully what happened here."

Having said this, Arthur turned his attention to the silent followers: "Gentlemen, what are you doing standing around? Go back and report to the people who sent you here. I feel a little unwell today, so I I won’t go to their place anymore. As for whether they come to my place, it depends on their mood.”

…

On the second floor of the Golden Lion Hotel, in Arthur's room.

Arthur looked at the six pistols on the table, four flintlock pistols, and two revolvers.

The flintlock pistol was professionally appraised by firearms expert Alexandre Dumas. One was a double-barreled Gouda flintlock pistol produced by the Ordnance Bureau of the British East India Company, and the other was produced by the Venetian medieval arms dealer Pietro Beretta. A screw-barreled flintlock pistol, and two mercury-fired percussion guns that were suspected to have come from an unknown firearms workshop.

As for the remaining two revolvers, although Arthur did not know as much about firearms as Alexandre Dumas, this did not affect his recognition that the two guns must have been made by Samuel Colt.

As a gadget that appeared in the 16th century, although the revolver is not a new gadget, the previous revolvers were either matchlocks or flintlock guns.

Apart from Colt revolvers, there is currently no other manufacturer in the world that is equipped with a primer-impact bolt, a spiral rifled barrel, and uses conical bullet shells.

Alexandre Dumas sat at the corner of the table and picked up a revolver and played with it: "Ha! This job is really rough. Forget about assassination, he also uses a revolver to assassinate. This is for fear that we don't know where he bought it from. A gun? The Colt revolver production line has not yet been established, so now almost every revolver is handmade by Mr. Colt and several craftsmen. Just ask someone to check who has placed an order recently, the assassin Isn’t his identity clear?”

Heine also echoed: "Yes! I originally thought that assassination was a high-end business. It was necessary to design a strict and detailed plan, cooperate with the killer with accurate marksmanship, and then bury an ulterior and mysterious purpose. Able to complete an assassination operation that can be called art. But what did I see today? So many shots were fired, but none of them could land. The only thing that really caused damage to Arthur was his bad luck. .God knows how he was hit by stones?"

Several people were talking when Louis opened the door and came in: "Arthur, according to Sheriff Field's confirmation, two of the three attackers were killed and one was injured. However, the situation of the injured one is not optimistic. He was shot by Alexander. The right chest is injured, although he won’t die for the time being, but he should be close soon.”

Arthur covered the side of his face with a handkerchief and asked, "Is he willing to confess?"

Louis shook his head: "The employer probably gave them a lot of money, or gave them some promise that they couldn't refuse, so he was unwilling to say anything. But this does not affect our continued investigation. We searched from his body Something interesting came out. Look at this."

After saying this, Louis threw a pocket watch towards Arthur.

Arthur must have opened the watch cover with his fingertips, and a portrait of a soft blond woman suddenly appeared in front of his eyes, and her name - Agnieszka - was outlined in beautiful words below the portrait.

"Well... this name is not common in the UK." Arthur read: "Agneshka, that's how it should be pronounced, right?"

"That's right." Louis nodded slightly: "It's a very common Polish name, and the three killers all look quite Eastern European."

"Poland?" Alexandre Dumas exclaimed: "You mean, it was a group of Poles who assassinated Arthur? Why did the Poles have trouble with him? Even if you say it was done by the French, I find it credible. point."

Louis was also helpless about this: "If you are referring to Poland, a country that no longer exists, then I think they really have no need to do this. And not only do they have no need to assassinate Arthur, they should also be grateful to him. After all, Asia Not long ago, Sze had just saved Poland's national treasure pianist - Frederic Chopin for them. But what we are talking about now is not Poland, but Polish killers. Killers work when they are paid, and now Britain's Poland There are so many refugees, so it’s not surprising that there are a few who want to make a fortune by fishing out of the way.”

Heine asked: "But those killers clearly didn't want to go back alive. They detonated the explosives around them whenever they disagreed. How can they make money like this?"

Louis nodded and said: "Maybe they don't make money for themselves? Maybe they still have family members in Britain? There are many people who trade one life for a good life for their families."

"Ah..." Alexandre Dumas suddenly seemed to think of something when he heard this: "So... no wonder they made the assassination so amateurish. The Poles did not have any hatred for Arthur, but they had to take action after taking the order. . So, they came up with such a solution to get the best of both worlds?"

Heine questioned: "But if Arthur is not killed, can the employer pay the money willingly?"

Alexandre Dumas shook his finger and said: "You can't say that. If they dare to accept this kind of order, no matter whether the assassination is successful or not, they will not be able to come back alive. So they will definitely ask for enough money before taking action, otherwise they will die. In the future, are we going to let the orphans and widowers at home have to ask their employers for debts?"

Heine snorted: "If you put it that way, the employer who hired them to kill people has no brains. What does it mean if the money is given but the work is not done?"

While everyone was arguing about this confusing case, the victim, Arthur, remained silent.

He is not as concerned about the killer's psychological activities as Alexandre Dumas and others. Compared with this, he is more concerned about who did it.

On the bright side, there is absolutely no need for the old guys in Liverpool to do such a mindless thing when it is possible to win a municipal construction project worth 200,000 yuan.

And Arthur remembered that Agares had warned him before that someone in London seemed to want his life.

He doesn't have many enemies in London, but he doesn't have too few either, but he only knows of two who can pay for killers.

One is Mr. Bernie Harrison, the former MP, and the other is Judge George Norton.

But although Mr. Harrison no longer has the qualifications to be a member, the company is running smoothly, and Arthur has not shown any intention to pursue him later. In this case, is it necessary for him to jump over the wall?

As for Judge Norton, he is currently in a heated battle with the Viscount of Melbourne over an extramarital affair lawsuit. Does he still have the time to hire three hit men to come to Liverpool to cause trouble for him? If his CPU was really so good and capable of multi-threaded operations, he shouldn't have worked for so many years and ultimately had to rely on his wife to get a job as a magistrate!