It would be best to settle everything within New York, or Nassau police would become involved if the robbers escaped into their jurisdiction.
Luke felt lucky when he saw how busy the road was.
It was a good thing he had tampered with the robbers’ car, or they could very easily cause a car pile up in a traffic jam like this when they chased the women later.
He wasn’t Watson, and he didn’t plan on causing any disasters.
Bell was so bored in the car that she turned on the radio and listened to a rather funky rap.
Elsa said helplessly, “Bell, can you switch to the local news? We might hear something about the womens’ next job.”
Bell thought that made sense. She certainly couldn’t miss out on any news related to the foe who had made her lose her car.
Luke, however, grinned.
Elsa didn’t need radio updates at all; Luke had been eavesdropping on the robbers, and everything was under control.
Elsa just didn’t want to listen to the funky rap.
Luke was still focused on his earpiece.
At a quarter to ten, an hour after the banks opened, there was breaking news on the radio. “Another bank has been robbed in Queens. The four robbers are now playing hide-and-seek with the police in their BMW 760Li. Yes, dear audience, you heard that right. The ballsy robbers are at it again. Estimates are that they’ve looted more than ten million in their three robberies over the past week. What a bunch of greedy criminals…”
The announcer didn’t seem very angry. If anything, he seemed to be gloating.
This was mostly because losing several million was nothing for the banks, and the bank accounts of ordinary people weren’t affected.
More importantly, the robbers had only knocked out two disobedient security guards and wrecked the bank interiors, and hadn’t injured any civilians.
They were purely after the money, and weren’t interested in civilians, as long as the latter didn’t get in their way.
Luke asked Elsa, “There’s no updates from the boss?”
Elsa seemed rather uneasy.
Whether they were going to have meat or soup would depend on NYPD’s response.
She checked her phone; the signal was fine, but there were no calls.
Taking a deep breath, she shook her head. “Let’s just wait.”
She noticed that Luke was playing with a baseball. “You’re still training your fingers.”
Luke said with a smile, “Yes, I have to exercise all the time.”
Then, it was another half-an-hour wait.
Luke suddenly said, “They’re almost here, Elsa.”
Anxious, Elsa called Dustin. “Boss, is it still not settled? Our fish are about to escape the hook.”
Dustin said helplessly, “We’re still negotiating. I’ll inform you as soon as we have results. Remember not to use your guns until you receive my go ahead. Is that clear?”
Elsa said, “Got it.”
Luke shrugged after she hung up the phone. “Let’s just wait. Someone is bound to be more anxious than we are.”
Suddenly, he heard gunshots through his earpiece. Luke frowned. “Elsa, do you hear anything, like gunshots?”
Elsa opened the window and listened carefully. “Yes, it’s headed this way. Could it be…”
Luke thought quickly as he listened to his earpiece. “Bell, drive back. Don’t go too fast.”
Bell nodded and slowly turned the car around.
Four hundred meters back the way they came, they saw that the road was blocked.
A big truck was parked horizontally across the entire road.
Bell was surprised. “What the hell?”
Then, intense gunfire burst out, and she hurriedly hit the brake.
Luke frowned and took a deep breath. He left the car and said, “Bell, stay back. I’ll let you know if we need your car.”
Elsa followed him and asked, “What’s going on?!
After they were some distance away, Luke said to Elsa in a low voice, “It’s Sergei. His men have stopped the four robbers.”
Dazed for a moment, Elsa got anxious. “How many of them are there?”
Luke said, “We’re talking about a job that’s worth more than ten million. How many people do you think Sergei would send?”
Elsa said, “…Probably most of his subordinates. Thirty of them?”
Luke nodded. “At the very least, I would think. So, here’s the question: What are we going to do? The robbers are going to be killed.”
For the sake of an easy retreat, the robbers were carrying nothing but pistols; they had abandoned the rifles which they had robbed the banks with.
Now, they were caught in an awkward situation.
The thirty armed gangsters were shooting at them so fiercely that they didn’t dare remain in the car any longer.
Naturally, it was also because they were worried that the money stashed in the doors of the car would be revealed if the car was damaged.
So, the robbers could only retreat, fighting back as they did so.
However, Sergei had blocked the road with big trucks on both ends to prevent them from fleeing, trapping other cars along with them.
The cars were their best cover, but it was impossible for the women to escape through the cars, either.
At the same time, they were probably also hesitating because of the money in their car.
Sergei had too many men.
The thirty armed bandits couldn’t care less. They simply chased down the women, and were about to surround them.
The robbers weren’t as strong as men, after all. They were even wearing high heels. It was impossible for them to run fast.
Seeing that Elsa was still hesitating, Luke said, “I’ll go there and distract them.”
Elsa was shocked. “Are you crazy? That’s thirty criminals with guns! Also, we’re not authorized to use ours. You’ll be in big trouble if you shoot!”
Luke chuckled. “I didn’t say that I would distract them with gunfire. Relax, I’m not stupid. But remember to tell me if you get authorization.”
As he spoke, he quickly stepped off the road and approached the battlefield from one side while he put on a pair of thin gloves.
When he passed the truck, he quickly climbed up and looked through the window, and just happened to catch the driver’s eye.
Luke said with a smile, “Hi, do you need any help?”
The driver immediately raised the gun in his hand.
Luke threw the baseball that he had been playing with through the open window, and it hit the driver’s head with a dull sound.