Running Hot - Jacob long (classic book list txt) 📗

turned out to be the most stalwart. Reed deftly applied the bandages and patted on the area after he was finished.
“There you go,” he said.
Reed proceeded to re-dress his own hand and clean the scratches on his face; then he did the same for Laurel’s new scar.
“Reed, we need to get going. It’s already past twelve thirty!” Angela’s voice sounded.
Reed was shocked. He looked at his own watch to confirm and suddenly jumped to his feet. “Crap! Alright, get going to Morristown. Take the Cuda.” Reed tossed his keys to Angela.
“But Reed, all this damage will probably earn us cop trouble,” Angela replied.
“Good, show them the evidence and they’ll probably help you get to Morristown,” Reed answered.”
“What are you going to do?” Laurel asked.
“I’ll find a ride,” Reed said vaguely.
“So you’re still going to rob that van?” Laurel asked accusingly. “Even after killing all of these people; it’s not enough?”
Reed got angry. He didn’t appreciate Laurel’s opinion of his actions. “Yes!” Reed stormed toward the house in a huff.
“Laurel you’re being unfair to him!” Angela said to her.
“He’s just a killer!” Laurel shoved herself into the backseat with a huff.
Devlin eased himself into the front passenger seat and Angela sat down in the driver’s seat.
“You just wish he wasn’t because you like him and you want him to change to meet your needs,” Angela muttered.
“What was that?” Laurel asked angrily.
“Nothing.” Angela started the car.
The car didn’t sound too well. It made the unhealthy chug chug chug of an engine in distress. Angela looked coyly at Devlin; who smiled in response. They pulled away from the house and headed down the driveway.

Reed went straight into the D.A.’s office and flipped open a small box sitting on the top of his desk. Inside the box was a pair of shiny keys. “Predictable as the tides,” Reed said, taking them, along with Comber’s voice distorter.
Next he ran out to the garage and opened it with the remote. As the door lifted, Reed’s smile grew broad. Sitting pleasantly next to a Mercedes-Benz CLK was Comber’s gen-u-ine 1966 Oldsmobile 442. Reed stared in awe for a moment; then rushed to open the door and hop inside. The seats were leather and a premium stereo system had been installed. Reed felt at home. He started the car and the old engine purred like a kitten. It was a well kept automobile.
“Hey Comber,” Reed said to the shadows. “You don’t mind if I take this, do ya?”
Reed buckled his seat belt and slammed down the accelerator. The car bolted forward with incredible acceleration; much to Reed’s delight. He would need to move fast if he was going to get back to Camden before everything went down.

10)
“Yessah, Uncle Sam. I’sa take your money if you ain’t got a use fo’ it no mo’.”

After the cleaning woman had called the cops, the police hurried over to the hotel and cut Brice loose from his bonds. When they did he immediately gathered the papers from the floor and rushed out of the room. Matt ran down the stairs and out to his car; then he sped to the police station and darted straight to Sergeant Nitch’s office.
“Sergeant Nitch!” Matt shouted as he burst into the room.
“Geez, Matt where the hell have you been?” Nitch asked immediately.
“Reed Newton tied me up and left me in one of the rooms at the Marriot hotel,” Matt huffed. “But that’s not important anymore; this is.”
Matt threw the pile of papers onto Nitch’s desk. “Reed Newton could be innocent.”
Nitch snatched up the papers instantly and studied them; a look of shock, then consternation, then shock again playing across his face.
“And worse yet,” Matt continued, “it would now seem that the bank van carrying the New Jersey citizen relief fund is about to be robbed!”
Nitch looked up from the papers and right into Matt’s face. “…We’ve gotta do something.”
“Well, duh!” Matt shouted. “The van’s already en route. We’ve gotta go now!”
“Alright, let’s go.” Nitch got out of his chair and put his jacket on.
“Yeah- but, just us. Some of the other police officers can’t be trusted,” Matt said.
Nitch hesitated for a moment to consider that proposal, and then said, “Fine.”
Nitch started leading the way down into the car park when Matt suddenly put in: “And I need a gun.”
Nitch stopped and gave him an expressionless look. “Where’s your issue?”
Matt shifted nervously under the gaze. “Umm, well you see--”

The bank van had left The Federal Reserve Bank at exactly 12:00 pm eastern time, escorted by Philadelphia police up until it came to the Benjamin Franklin Bridge. There the police broke away and the van was left to its own devices while it crossed the bridge. At the other side of the bridge the van was joined by four New Jersey motorcycle police.
The bank van had only two security guards in the front seat armed with .38 caliber pistols, and another in the back with standard issue .38. The four policemen that joined the bank van were now completely uncorrupted ones the department was forced to put in place because the four that were supposed to do it could no longer perform their duty. Jeremy Davis had been shot in the chest, Frederick Smith was away with a leg injury, Tom Hutchison has gone missing, and Marcus Greenwich had apparently died when part of the Jacobs’ residence had collapsed on top of him.
The convoy left the bridge and turned onto North Broadway; the bank not far away yet. At the corner of Market and Broadway a red 1986 Fiat Punto pulled in front of the van and barred its path. The driver of the van quickly hit the brakes and stopped almost instantly thanks to the van’s already slow rate of motion.
The driver furiously beeped the horn for the Punto to move. Then without warning, four masked men stepped out of the car with shotguns and opened fire on the police! The two cops at the front of the convoy were thrown off of their rides from the point-blank force of impact. Pedestrians looking on screamed and ran in every direction. The two cops in the back of the convoy jumped off of their motorcycles and made for cover behind the van. The robbers moved confidently like faceless, indestructible machines. One fired another shot and one of the cops fell onto the pavement. The driver of the van punched down the accelerator pedal and the weighty vehicle powered to a slow start.
Robbers one and two hopped onto the doors. They proffered small keys that they stuck into the lock and twisted. The doors opened easily. Then the robber on the passenger side stuck his shotgun into the ribs of the guard in the seat and fired. The pellets tore through his intestines and rib cage like tissue paper. Blood sprayed out and all over the robber’s black garb. There the last living police officer poked out from behind the van and fired twice at the robber. Both bullets hit him in the left lung and he fell off of the still moving vehicle; rolling along the pavement. On the other side, the robber hit the driver in the face with the stock end of the gun and threw his body out, but he was too late. The van careened into the Punto and the robber smacked into the door on his way to the ground.
Robber four ran around the van behind the last officer and shot him in the back. Robber three walked up to the downed driver and shot him cold-bloodedly on the pavement. Robber three then proceeded to run over to robber two and check his vital signs. He was dead.
“Elaine!” robber one shouted.
Robber three looked up at him.
“Bring the car around, Kurt and I will unload the money!”
The robber named Kurt opened the lock on the van with yet another key the officers had pilfered. When he opened the door, the security guard inside immediately squeezed off five shots from his gun in a panic stricken impulse. Kurt shuddered in a death spasm and fell on his back. Robber one sprang from around the corner and fired one shot into the van. The guard was blown backward; smacking into the innermost wall of the van and landing in a sorry looking sitting position.
“Maybe just me,” robber one muttered to himself.
He pulled himself into the van and grabbed a bag full of cash. When Elaine backed the Punto up in front of him and popped the trunk he tossed it inside. The car bounced gently on its leaf springs from the weight.
Elaine got out of the car and started to help him. “Hand me that one, Steve.”
Nitch and Matt pulled up to the scene in shock. It had all already occurred. Matt jumped out of the car immediately and pulled his gun. Nitch stepped out and followed right after.
Matt jogged closer to the two perpetrators still standing and pointed his gun at them. “Drop the money and put your hands in the air! Do it now!”
Just then the barrel of a gun pushed against the back of his head. “No Matt. You drop your gun.”
“Nitch,” Matt growled. “You’re behind all this.”
“Yup,” Nitch answered. “Well, me and Comber were the ones who thought it up.”
The two robbers continued about their business casually.
“But why?” Matt asked. “This money’s going to help the police station clean up the town!”
“Hah!” Nitch spat. “This city can’t be saved! And no amount of money is going to change that! We have the second worst crime rate in the entire United States—in the entire world! This heist is just our way of getting the bureaucrats in Washington to open their eyes to that fact!”
“So you all just gave up on the people,” Matt said.
Nitch ignored him. “It all would have went perfectly if it weren’t for Newton and that do-gooder Assistant District Attorney! I had the idea to use Newton’s family against him, but then we find out from you that he has no family, no friends--not even a dog! Over six billion people on this god-forsaken planet and Hutchison manages to frame a god-damned machine!”
During Nitch’s angry rant, Steve noticed a man crouched down behind the Punto. “Hey, what’re you doing to that car asshole!”
Reed jumped to his feet at the sudden noise and moseyed a ways away from the car as he spoke; getting far enough from the grenade he just stuck in bumper. Umm, anybody got any marshmallows?”
Steve got the point quickly. He gasped and slammed the steel doors of the van shut; leaving Elaine outside.
Suddenly the Punto exploded! Reed dove to the ground and covered his head. Elaine was trapped between the explosion and the van. The blast practically incinerated her. Nitch was shocked by the sudden explosion and Matt took the opportunity to spin around and grab the gun. Nitch didn’t let go and they began to fight for it.
The explosion had left the van doors charred except for an Elaine-shaped area that was not.
Reed stood and started walking casually toward the van. Suddenly the back doors flew open and Steve burst out with the shotgun in hand, screaming like a nut. He fired maniacally at Reed and Reed jumped to the ground behind the burning Punto’s empty shell.
“Screw that,” Reed muttered.
He grabbed another grenade off of his sash and lobbed it over the car at Steve. The grenade flew past Steve and landed in the van. Steve scrambled, grabbed the grenade, and threw it as hard as he could away from him; not realizing the pin hadn’t been pulled.