Chapter 8
Kevin
stared disbelieving at the scene in front of him. This couldn’t be real. About
four squad cars littered the parking lot, lights flashing. Several of the
officers that had arrived in them were crouched behind the vehicles, using them
as a shield, with their weapons aimed at the store. Others milled around in the
back, trying to get a handle on the situation.
Brian
and A.J. are in there, he thought bleakly. The question was, were they alive?
One
of the cops was on a bullhorn, speaking calmly to the crooks inside.
“We
have you surrounded. There is no way out. Please release your hostages and
surrender yourselves peacefully!”
Yeah,
right. Nick thought to himself. Haven’t these guys ever watched movies? This
never works.
Howie
was clutching his phone for dear life, praying for it to ring again. He stared fixedly at the building in front of
him, as if he concentrated hard enough, he could make A.J. and Brian walk
through it. Kevin noticed how contorted his face was, and could see his
knuckles were white from gripping the phone. He walked over to him, placing his
hand down on his shoulder. Howie didn’t seem to notice him.
“You’re
going to break that if you don’t loosen up, you know,” he said, the corners of
his mouth turned up in a slight smile. Howie looked quickly up at him, and then
down to the phone in his hands. He immediately loosened his grip.
“Sorry,
man.” Howie said, exhaling a breath he didn’t know he’d been holding.
“Nothing
to be sorry for.”
“Do
you think they are all right?”
Kevin
raised a shaggy eyebrow. “This is A.J. we’re talking about. Do you honestly
think he’d let himself get shot? Or Brian for that matter?”
Howie
forced his breath out through his nose in a slight chuckle. “You have a point.
Then again, his smart mouth could have started all of this in the first place.”
“If
that’s true, maybe when this is all over he’ll think twice before he shoots it
off again.”
“That
would make our lives a little easier,” Howie admitted, trying to hide his
smile.
“Just
relax, D.,” Kevin said, patting his friend on the back. “They’ll be ok.”
“Yeah
right. Can you honestly tell me that you’re not wound tighter than a drum?”
“Nope.”
“Well,
as long as I’m not the only one.”
Nick
wandered over to them, and Kevin recognized that angry crease in his forehead.
Nick was pissed.
“What
the hell is taking them so long? Why can’t they figure out what the deal is?”
Kevin
pointed to the hood of a car. “Sit,” he ordered.
Nick
stared at him as if he’d grown two more heads.
“Do
it.”
“And
if I say no?”
“Then
I’ll kick your ass.”
“Do
I have to keep reminding you that I’m bigger than you now?”
“I’ll
still kick your ass.”
The
two squared off, Nick’s blue eyes hard and glaring, while Kevin’s green ones
were calm and steady. For a minute, neither said a word, until Kevin broke the
silence.
“Wanna
play Rock, Paper, Scissors?”
This
time, it was Nick and Howie’s turn to stare, open-mouthed. What really threw
them was there was that he gave them no sign that he was kidding.
“I
think he snapped,” Howie said, petrified. Nick nodded in agreement.
“I
have not,” Kevin said, irritated.
“Then
where the hell did that come from?” Nick exclaimed.
“It
took your mind off of Brian and A.J. didn’t it? You didn’t haul off and do
something stupid did you?” He lounged against the back of the car, getting
amusement out of the dumbfounded expression on Nick’s face. “That’s what I
thought. The more we work ourselves into a frenzy, and get all wigged out, the
more chance we have of getting in the way and screwing things up for them.”
The
two of them digested this for a moment.
“Kevin?”
Howie asked.
“Yes?”
Nick
finished his thought. “What would we ever do without you?”
Kevin
feigned a smile. Deep down, he was more troubled than the other two put
together. If only I could take my own advice, he thought miserably. The only
reason he could remain so calm was the fact that the other two needed him to so
badly.
Howie
caught the flicker of worry that crossed his face, but chose not to bring it
up. He knew Kevin was as concerned as he and Nick were, but if this was the way
he could deal with it, than so be it.
***