American variety show: Sniper Elite

Chapter 31 Investigation in Progress
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Beta knelt beside the sand table and nailed a copper marker nail to the top of a building model 4212 meters away from the helipad.

He pulled out a measuring tape, the metal tape unfurled with a "whoosh," and easily measured the straight-line distance from the building to the helipad. Converted to scale, it was approximately 4332 meters, with a reasonable error of ±12 meters.

The building offered the best line of fire, but Beta couldn't be sure if the Indian businessman's security team would have secured the area beforehand. Hopefully, the businessman didn't wield enough influence to warrant such a large-scale deployment of security forces by French security services, stationed in a building so far from the airport.

Beta took out a label, neatly wrote down the shooting distance, and affixed it to the nylon rope representing the ballistic ray.

John stood beside the sand table and asked, "Are you confident about this distance?"

Beta straightened up and pulled out a document: "Employer intelligence indicates that after the 3800-meter long-range kill at Downing Street, the target's security team purchased and deployed the Russian Sosna-N laser counter-sniper system. It can actively scan and identify reflective points on scopes, but its maximum effective detection range is 3 kilometers, creating a window of opportunity."

He flipped through the follow-up documents: "Based on my records, the target security team, in cooperation with French security services, expanded the perimeter to a radius of 3.5 kilometers. Within this perimeter, all buildings and locations with direct visual views of the VIP terminal have been included in the surveillance network."

Beta said, "4332 meters, that's a distance that would take even a supersonic warhead 6 seconds to fly. The error tolerance for calculating the ballistic curve and wind drift is in millimeters."

Beta sank into the sofa, crossed his arms behind his head, and stared at the miniature city illuminated by the lights: "But this is what makes it interesting."
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MI6 Analysis Room.

Medvedeva braced her hands on the edge of the sand table, her gaze fixed on the red nylon line marking the trajectory of Killer β's shots.

This red line extends from the top of the miniature 60-story skyscraper model, supported by several transparent acrylic pillars, outlining a precise three-dimensional ballistic parabola above the model. The nylon line not only traverses the model's base horizontally but also draws a steep arc in vertical space, the entire trajectory resembling a beam of light distorted by space, connecting the sniper's position with the target location on Downing Street.

The case remains unsolved, and the only information about β in the files is still that cold code name.

It was initially thought that the height and weight data obtained by the Forest Club's trace analyst would be a breakthrough, but with the occurrence of the Elliott case, all speculations were completely overturned, because β disguised himself as a short and fat police wanted criminal, which meant that the clues he left behind were useless.

The wanted criminal was swiftly apprehended only after MI6 intervened. The missing little girl was also rescued thanks to the task force's investigation and is currently receiving psychological treatment in the hospital.

Perhaps the file should be supplemented with: β may have had a dwarf accomplice.

Although some within the department questioned whether the "little girl" who tricked security into opening the door in the Elliott case was actually a child, this hypothesis was quickly dismissed: no child could remain terrifyingly calm after witnessing a close-range shooting.

The deputy knocked on the door and came in, holding a report, and said, "Sir, the 'Mosquito Control Operation' has yielded results."

Medvedeva took the report and quickly glanced at it: "The report shows that DNA from 23 unfamiliar humans was found, and none of them belong to the people at the scene?"

The deputy explained, “That’s true. These DNAs could come from hikers, trekkers, cyclists, tourists, campers, fishermen… people from all sorts of activities.”

"Can you find a few of them?" Medvedeva pressed.

The deputy shook his head: "We can't find a single one. There are basically no surveillance cameras around the crime scene, so we can't find any clues at all."

Medvedeva placed the report on the table: "So how do we pinpoint beta from 23 unfamiliar DNA samples? Are the genetic characteristics of all these DNA samples British?"

The deputy nodded in confirmation: "Yes, all of them." Medusa rubbed her temples in frustration and ordered: "Send people to search immediately! Not a single person who has passed by can be overlooked. Investigate with great fanfare! If we still can't find them, then the one who can't be found is β."

The deputy immediately nodded and replied, "Understood, sir!"

Medvedeva sank deep into the back of the chair, the leather making a slight rubbing sound.

The deputy stood there, hesitant to speak, and said, "Sir."

“Speak.” Medvedeva closed her eyes and tapped her fingertips lightly on the armrest.

“β may not have left any DNA trace at all. After all, he’s a professional.” The deputy carefully chose his words.

Medvedeva opened her eyes: "Action is always better than waiting. Execute orders."

“Yes, sir.” The deputy straightened his back.

Medvedeva raised her hand: "Wait, any progress on the 'Jackal' case that Bianca is in charge of?"

The deputy closed the door again: "Bianca reports a lead, identifying the gunsmith who supplies weapons to the Jackals. Headquarters has approved her to lead a team to investigate further."

"Where did β's weapons come from?" Medusa tapped her fingertips lightly on the table. "A .50 caliber anti-materiel rifle and a standard-issue sniper rifle that the military has recorded as destroyed. These aren't things you can just buy on the black market."

The deputy flipped through his notebook: "We've tracked down an underground arms dealer with .50 caliber rifles, and we're investigating. As for the 'destroyed' standard issue rifle, military records show it was melted down long ago as scrap; the trail has completely gone cold."

"Knock knock."

A rapid knocking interrupted the conversation. The deputy opened the door, where another agent from the action team stood.

“Report, sir.” The detective strode in: “The murder weapon from the Forest Club was found in the Yorkshire Lake District. A fisherman’s hook got caught on a rifle that had sunk to the bottom of the lake, and the local police department handed it over to us.”

Medvedeva immediately held out her hand: "Give me the test report."

She quickly flipped through the documents; the report showed:
Main weapon: Mauser rifle (origin to be determined)
Secondary weapon: Assembled from parts of two antique pistols (source confirmed through comparison with images on the museum's website; seller has been apprehended).

“Notify Scotland Yard.” Medvedeva closed the file. “That Mauser must have also come from a private collection. At the time, the entire underground arms trade in Britain was under our surveillance; only unregulated gun museums could have produced such weapons.”

"Sir!" Another agent rushed to the door.

"explain."

The detective handed over a stack of files: "Regarding the Forest Club case, we've discovered a overlooked lead. A Yorkshire rancher reported a suspicious incident to the local police station; his gamekeeper spotted a gunman claiming to be hunting ducks with an old .22 bolt-action rifle, but judging from the sound, it was clearly the sound of a full-powered rifle."

He flipped through the file: "The farmer, fearing legal risks, immediately called the police, but the police only made a brief record."

(End of this chapter)