Chapter 54 - Chapter 54. The Chase

When Kevin met Officer Emmett at the bank to discuss his Egyptian bracelet, they were interrupted by an armed robbery. Officer Emmett took out two of the robbers, but stopped fighting when one of them threatened to start shooting the hostages. Kevin stood up to draw their attention so Officer Emmett could give first aid to the bank manager.By the time Officer Emmett realized what was going on, Kevin had already leapt in front of the man and kicked the gun out of his hand. Then he threw a lightning fast punch to the man's head. He dropped like a sack of cement.The customers and employees were amazed and started to whisper to each other. "Do you think we're saved?" they wondered.Then one of the robbers asked him, "Kid, which gang are you from?"Another one tried to sound like he wasn't afraid, "Don't let him scare you. There's more of us than him."Yeah, let's kill him!" one of them said as he rushed towards Kevin. Then he reached out to grab Kevin's throat.Kevin quickly reacted and grabbed the man's wrist, squeezing it hard. The sound of his bones breaking echoed off the walls as the man screamed in agony.One of the other men came up behind Kevin with a switchblade. But Kevin saw him out of the corner of his eye and stepped to the side as the man lunged. Then he grabbed the man's wrist, crushing it so hard that he dropped his knife. While holding onto him, he turned around and threw him into the first attacker, who was still holding his wrist. The two men dropped to the floor at the same time.There were only two men who were still upright and one of them quickly pounced on Kevin, but before he could do anything, he was sent flying."It's your turn!" Kevin said calmly to the last man standing.The man was holding a gun, but he was so psyched out that his hand started to shake. He'd just seen Kevin take out his four accomplices in less than a minute!"Don't you have a gun in your hand?" Kevin said without changing his expression, "Go ahead and shoot. I'm not afraid." Kevin slowly walked resolutely towards the man."Stay back!" The man shouted as he saw that Kevin was getting close enough to reach him. In fear for his life, he started to aim toward the hostages.Kevin saw that the gun was pointed at a little girl, who was lying on the floor next to her mother. He knew this wasn't good and sprang between the man and the little girl just as he pulled the trigger.Kevin suddenly felt a burning sensation near his waist. He took a deep breath and forced himself to stand up, enduring the intense pain."I told you to shoot me. Why did you shoot at someone else? What the hell is wrong with you?" Kevin said as he gritted his teeth. "Don't you know how to rob a bank?"Kevin?" Officer Emmett shouted nervously. She could tell that Kevin was doing this to distract the gunman and keep anyone else from getting hurt."Why don't you put down the gun and face me like a real man?" Kevin said with a mocking smile."Shut up!" The man yelled as he turned toward Kevin. But he was so nervous that he accidentally pulled the trigger again.But luckily the man's shot was aimed at the floor and didn't hit anyone.In desperation, the man suddenly grabbed a little boy who was next to him. "If you say another word." but he didn't have to finish his threat.Kevin knew what he meant and didn't make a move because he was too worried that the kid would be injured. Now that the robber had hostages, he had to be careful. Kevin took a deep breath and said, "Let's talk this over."Talk? There's nothing to talk about. You're going to stay right here and we're going to leave. Take another step and you'll regret it," the man roared.By now, the rest of the men were getting up off the floor. The one nearest to Kevin immediately hit him on the head with the butt of his gun.Kevin saw double for a second, and then he took a couple of steps back."That's what you get for interfering!" The man snarled as he spat at Kevin.Blood immediately started flowing down from Kevin's head. Fortunately, he was in pretty good condition, so the blow didn't knock him out.The gang's leader turned to his men and ordered them, "You guys go and put all the money in your backpacks." A minute later, the five of them ran out the front door with five bags of money and their young hostage.After the men left, everyone was relieved–except the boy's father–and Officer Emmett and Kevin knew that it wasn't over yet."Kevin, are you alright?" Officer Emmett asked Kevin with concern."I'm fine," Kevin said as he tore off a piece of his shirt and tied it to his head to stop the bleeding. "Should we chase after them?"I'll chase after them. You get to the hospital!" Officer Emmett said worriedly.She had been very impressed by Kevin's courage under fire."I'll be okay. Let's go!" Kevin said to her as he headed towards the door."Those scumbags! They stole all that money and still took a hostage," Officer Emmett complained as she followed Kevin to his car. "That boy is so young. Even if we manage to save him, I'm afraid he'll never get over it."She was right. The young boy was in grave danger."They were probably afraid that the police would follow them, so they grabbed a hostage," Kevin said calmly as he drove after them, "Call 911 immediately and ask them to check the surveillance cameras along State Street. Also, ask them to send backup or I'm afraid we won't be able to save the boy."I know! You do realize I'm a cop, right?" Officer Emmett replied as she was pulling out her phone to call the station. "Hello. It's Lieutenant Emmett."She gave instructions to the sergeant who took her call and then she turned her attention back to Kevin, who had just been shot a few minutes ago.*About ten minutes later, the men thought they might be getting away with their robbery. As they raced up Fullerton, one of them said excitedly, "Man, we hit the jackpot this time.""Bullshit. We could have done a lot better. Who would have thought such a big bank wouldn't even have a lousy eight million?" the man said bitterly.Suddenly, the driver looked in the rearview mirror and started to panic. "Hey, man, we've got a tail. I think it's the guy from the bank."Damn it! How's that even possible? Didn't you just shoot him?" another one said in horror."What are you panicking for? There are only two of them. Just him and that cop," the leader said coolly, "Just keep your foot on the gas and stick with the plan. As long as we get to the boat, we'll be fine."He was acting like he was calm, but the panic showed in the man's eyes. Kevin had been shot and hit on the head, but he kept coming after them. What kind of man was he?"What if we get caught? How are we going to kill him?" one of them asked."We won't have to. Have you already forgotten what I told you?" the man answered grimly, "Maybe that guy can fight, but we've got a hostage."While they were discussing their options, Kevin and Officer Emmett were coming up with a plan of their own."Kevin, hurry up and drive faster. Let's not lose them," Officer Emmett said impatiently. She couldn't believe that she was actually chasing the suspects in a Pagani roadster. It was probably worth more than what the robbers had stolen from the bank."Don't worry. We're almost at the lake. They'll have to stop soon," Kevin replied as he focused on the big black car ahead of them.Then he thought for a second and said, "You'd better let your backup know that we're heading for the marina. I'll bet they plan to switch to a speedboat."He knew his car could catch up with them in two seconds, but if he got too close, he couldn't guarantee that they wouldn't hurt their hostage.Officer Emmett noticed the bright red stain on Kevin's shirt. She asked him earnestly, "How are you holding up? That looks pretty bad."It's nothing serious. I can hold on for a while longer," Kevin replied calmly."This probably isn't the right moment, but there's something I want to know," Officer Emmett stared at Kevin and asked, "You could have dodged that bullet, but why did you put yourself in danger like that?"Kevin didn't reply to her question. He just kept driving, keeping just far enough behind the robbers so they wouldn't get jumpy.When they got near the marina, the men grabbed their hostage and ran from their car.Kevin put the bracelet inside his jacket. Maybe it could at least deflect a bullet.Officer Emmett and Kevin jumped out of the car. Just as they were about to catch up with them, the group of men suddenly stopped."Stay back or the hostage is dead," the head robber turned around and shouted.The thieves were getting angry. One of them said, "If it wasn't for these two bastards, we'd already be counting our money."We can count it after we kill them," the other man said optimistically."Cut the crap! Throw down your weapons, let the child go, and put your hands on your heads. This is your last warning," Officer Emmett shouted."Stay where you are!" The leader hollered back. "Take another step and he's finished!"The man pointed his gun right at the kid's back while he used him as a shield.The little boy was seriously frightened, and he couldn't stop crying."Let the child go, you worthless son of a bitch," Officer Emmett growled.Kevin patted Officer Emmett on the shoulder and took a step forward."So, you tough guys are using a child as a human shield. I'm really impressed. Very manly," Kevin said sarcastically."Shut up! If it wasn't for you, we'd have been out of that bank in two minutes and we wouldn't even need a hostage," the man said viciously.In the past few years, he and his gang had committed dozens of robberies, but they'd never failed. Until now.Kevin had messed up their plans."I'll tell you what. If you want a hostage so bad, take me," Kevin said in a very serious tone.When Officer Emmett heard him say this, she turned her head in shock. She looked at Kevin and didn't know what to say."So, you want to be a hero? You got it," The gang's leader said angrily, "Come on! Raise your hands over your head and walk over here. Slowly. If you play any tricks, you know what I'll do."As soon as the man finished speaking, Kevin started to sneer. He slowly raised his hands and walked toward him."Kevin!" Officer Emmett shouted in shock.Before this incident, Officer Emmett would never have thought that Kevin would risk his life to save a little girl, and then offer himself as a hostage for a little boy.Why did everyone in the Jones family keep calling him a bum?When Kevin was less than six feet away, the man let go of the little boy. The kid immediately ran toward Officer Emmett, still crying uncontrollably."Come over here," the man roared at Kevin."Don't worry, I didn't bring any weapons with me," Kevin retorted as he continued walking towards the man.Then Kevin made his move. He punched the man in the center of his chest and sent him flying backward.His men were shocked and they definitely didn't want to face Kevin again. They just snatched their leader and ran away as quickly as they could.After they were gone, Kevin grabbed his side and complained, "Damn this hurts!"When he punched the bank robber, the wounds on his head and side had started to bleed again."Kevin, lie down and breathe calmly," Officer Emmett said as she carried the little boy over to him. Then she took off her jacket and held it against Kevin's side to stop the bleeding. "Help is on the way," she reassured him." "That's okay. I'll just lie here and bleed for a while," Kevin said jokingly."I'm sorry I got you into this," Officer Emmett answered quietly.She was feeling pretty guilty because she was, after all, a police lieutenant, but she had ended up letting Kevin do her job today."That's okay," Kevin said, "It's not like I had anything else to do.""Just hang in there," Officer Emmett said as she nodded her head."What are we going to do now?" Kevin asked in confusion, "Those guys are probably halfway across Lake Michigan by now. Even if you wanted to, I don't think you could catch up to them."They can wait. Let's get you some help first. I'll call the bank to let them know the kid's all right," Officer Emmett said calmly."That's all right," the little boy said, "Just send me back to the bank. This man needs to go to the hospital."Kevin and Officer Emmett were stunned to hear the kid say that."I didn't know a child could have so much common sense," Kevin said in surprise."Me neither!" Officer Emmett said with a smile.They relaxed a little when they finally heard the sirens approaching.