Chapter 262 Battle for the Cowl (4)

There was a hostage standing in front of the bank. His hands and feet were shackled with tiny but tight plastic locks with a cash bag over his head.

The glass door of the bank could be opened and closed automatically. As long as someone approaches the door, the sensor will be triggered. Therefore, the presence of this hostage keeps the glass door open all the time.

Looking from the street to the bank lobby, at the moment, the police could see no sign of other hostages. They could only see the hostage at the gate.

Two bodies laid on the floor. One at the gate, which was the clerk that got killed by the bandits; the other, collapsed next to the counter, unidentified. The police have no idea whether that second body is a hostage or not, nor how he died. Anyway, the initial judgment is… It must have something to do with the gunfire and explosions.

As for the bodies of the money bandits and the area where the pistol bandits had been blown up, they weren’t visible from the outside.

“I suppose you have handy binoculars, sergeant.” Feng Bujue said again.

Clapton had no idea what this bandit was up to. He simply replied, “Yes.”

“Pick it up and look over the counter.” Said Feng Bujue.

Instead of laying down the phone, Clapton gestured for the nearby officer to hand him a binocular.

From the position that he stood, he could observe the whole counter. However, Feng Bujue had already hidden inside the counter right now, the phone on the table also had been taken below by him naturally, “Can you see me?” He raised one arm above the counter and waved it left and right.

“Yes, what do you want to do next? Give me the middle finger?” Clapton replied.

“Hehe… With all due respect, I can only show you my hand, officer.” Feng Bujue laughed, “Since the glass door is now open, that means your sniper can fire a bullet into it, although I have the vault code as a bargaining chip, exposing my head to the scope of a rifle is a risk I’m extremely reluctant to take.”

“Well, what do you want? Twenty minutes have passed since you put the hostages in the vault, and you still haven’t told me… “

“I have a gift for you, officer.” Feng Bujue interrupted Clapton.

The officer paused. “You mean… Are you going to release the hostage at the gate? Good…… I’ll have my men come and get him right away… “

“One step closer and I’ll shoot this guy at the door.” Said Feng Bujue.

“What are you going to do then?”

“I had him standing there just to keep the glass door open.” Feng Bujue smiled, “So, I can be able to give the gift to you.” As he spoke, a large square object rose slowly from the counter.

Clapton, looking through his binoculars, could hardly believe his eyes.

“It’s twenty-dollar bills, one cubic foot, tied up with paper tape.” Naturally, Feng Bujue didn’t hold the object in his hands. He used the [Anti-gravity Gun]’s buoyancy function.

“What are you going to do…” Clapton had a bad feeling.

“I’m going to do… This…” Feng Bujue took a good angle and launched this “cash cannonball”.

The pile of money flew over the head of the hostage at the gate and out of the bank. As it flew through the air, hundreds of banknotes floated out, attracting the attention of every policeman, journalist and citizen on the street.

The “money bomb” made a fascinating arc in the air and finally hit the outer wall of the building across the street, exploding about three or four floors high…

At this time, a breeze blew in time. Money… had been spread out all over the street.

Five seconds, ten seconds…

It didn’t take long for people to react, and when a few people in the crowd behind the cordon first reached out for the money, the situation spiralled out of control.

Soon the only tidy place left was the area just outside the bank’s main entrance that had been cordoned off by police cars. Within a few dozen meters, hundreds of citizens and journalists broke through the cordon to collect money, and even the police who were supposed to stop them bent over quietly.

“Hahahaha…” The other side of the telephone laughed crazily: “Running dogs of capitalism! Taste the sugar-coated cannonball!”

“Are you crazy? Do you know what you’re doing!” Driven beyond limits, Clapton shouted angrily, “You are not a bandit! You are a terrorist! Who the hell are you? Which organization do you come from?”

“Ha-ha… I’m Bill Gates! The greatest communist warrior!” Feng Bujue continued his bullshit without any logic and laughed like a mad man. “I bring you Andrew Jackson’s best regards!”1) As he spoke, he sucked up a second “money bomb” and fired it quickly.

After the second shot of “money bomb” exploded, the street went into chaos completely, after all… Policemen were also normal people. Gotham city policeman is a high-pressure and high-risk job, who can guarantee not being tempted? Before long, even in the area at the front door of the bank, a number of civilians were sneaking in. They bent over or waved their hands in the air and picked lots of bills.

Also, because the bills were new, they stayed in the air for a long time. The sky was full of colourful paper, the ground was full of excited crowds, which made those arranged snipers lose their target.

“Leave the money alone! Stand your position!” Clapton picked up the horn at hand and shouted, “Watch the door of the bank! Don’t relax!”

Whether we admit it or not, most people in this world are the kind of people who pick up money when others do. People jaywalk, he jaywalks; People spit everywhere, he spits everywhere; Finally, people go to the Yasukuni Shrine to set a fire, he thinks about it, goes to the street and smashes a Japanese car.

However, there are a few people in the world who are a different kind of person. Maybe in normal times, they would jaywalk or spit, but when it comes to the critical moment, they can hold the line.

At the moment, more than half of the police at the bank’s gates were still at their posts with absolute focus, doing their best to maintain order, while keeping an eye on what’s going on inside. They knew what they are supposed to do, and it would have been even worse if they had all gone and picked the money.

“Do you like my present? Officer?” Again, Feng Bujue’s voice came through the receiver: “It’s not over yet…” He said, launching a third “money bomb” , after which he said: “The warm-up is almost done. Let’s play a guessing game.” He paused. “Now, I’m going to release some hostages, there are my associates among them.”

“What’s wrong with this guy? He’s trying to tell me what?” Clapton thought to himself: “Is… Is he trying to betray his accomplices?”

“The situation in the street is very chaotic at the moment. Snipers cannot fire into the area in front of the bank. So, if you let up a little, my men will join the crowd and escape.” Feng Bujue, who had been directing the three bandits, began directing the police.

Clapton wasn’t stupid, there were two possibilities why the bandit said those words, either this “anonymous” want’s to sell his associates, or he is in some kind of scam, there is no third possibility. If there is, then its… “he’s seeking death” …

“Are the tactical teams down the street behind the bank still there?” Clapton whispered to his men.

“Yes, they have been watching, nothing has changed, the bars at the windows are in good condition, and no one was seen moving in the room.” One officer replied.

“Are you sure there are no other exits in this building? Like ventilation or sewers?” Clapton asked again.

“There is a vent outlet on the roof and there are snipers watching and no one has crawled out of it yet. Besides, if the bandits did get to the roof, there would be no way down there.”

Clapton looked up. The roof of the building was seven or eight meters above the ground. The two buildings next to the roof are three or four meters away from each other. Besides, there are guardrails, and the possibility of jumping onto the roof of other buildings after running up can also be ruled out.

“Hum… I’ll see what you’re going to do…” Thought Clapton.

“All right, sergeant, the hostages are coming out. Get ready.” Feng Bujue said on the phone, “Call me when you know who my partners are.” Then he hung up the phone again.

From one side of the counter figures jumped with cash bags over their heads and bound hands and feet.

“When the hostages come out, take the bags off their heads, but don’t untie them.” Clapton’s thoughts are clear. He had begun to lay out his plan to the officers around him. “Be careful on each of them, they may just seem tied… Do you understand? Maybe some guy will pull out his gun and shoot you.”

On the other side, it was like directing traffic, Feng Bujue hid under the counter and yelled: “Right, you guys, that’s the direction, as I told you earlier, and eight steps forward, then turn left ninety degrees, yes, line up, one by one, follow up when you hear the man jumped out in front of you, worry will cause you to fall.”

Following Feng Bujue’s command, the hostages jumped one by one toward the door.

“Hey! Winston, you can go out, too.” Feng Bujue then shouted loudly to the hostage who was standing at the door.

The position in which this Mr. Winston was standing, and the direction in which he was facing, had been adjusted by Feng Bujue before the door was opened, and he had said that he would fire if Winston dared to move half a step forward. Only if he says that could Winston leap forward.

At that moment, Winston, who had heard the order, was granted amnesty. The few minutes standing in the doorway seemed like years to him.

But when he jumped out of the bank, he was greeted not by blankets, ambulances and thoughtful greetings, but…

“Sir, please come this way.” An officer opened the cash bag on Winston’s head, but instead of unlocking the clasps on his hands and feet, he dragged him aside and let him sit on the ground before two other officers came to watch him warily.

“What is this? I’m a hostage!” Winston cried.

“Please cooperate with us, Sir, the bandits may want to slip out among the hostages.” One officer replied.

“What do you mean? Do you doubt me?”

“Nothing is certain yet. It is for your safety too, Sir.’

Winston could not say any more. He was about to complain when he saw a shower of money and a crowd of people: “Hey! What’s going on here? Do you bind the law-abiding citizens here and turn a blind eye to the looters?”

……

Five minutes later, all 29 hostages were outside the bank. However, after the last hostage jumped out, Feng Bujue put the electronic door of the bank down again.

Next, the interrogation and identification of the hostages began in earnest.

After initial questioning of the hostages, Clapton received a stream of surprising information.

“Well, well, ladies and gentlemen… Be quiet.” Clapton said, “Let’s see… At first, three bank bandits were killed by a single hostage. And this guy is a tough guy with anti-human tendencies, high IQ and good manners…”

“Yes.” “Exactly.” “Right.” The hostages replied in a confused voice.

“He had no accomplices, and he didn’t hurt any of you, and no one is locked in a vault,” Clapton added.

“Yes…….” “Yes.” “In a sense, he saved us.”

Clapton laughed dryly. “It sounds like he’s a hero. Can someone explain to me, this ‘Anonymous’, why he’s playing this game with us, the police?”

“Maybe he is afraid you might think he is with the bandits.” “Yes, just like us, trapped here for you to interrogate.” “That’s right! Let me go! I want to complain!”

“Well, I’ll make sure his physical appearance for the last time… Asian, short black hair, long purple suit, right?” Clapton asked.

When he got the answer, he went to the phone and dialled the number again.

After five seconds, Feng Bujue picked up the phone: “What instruction do you have, officer?”

“Boy, I don’t know who you are or what you want to do.” Clapton said, “But you’re in big trouble.”

“Ha-ha… What trouble?” Feng Bujue smiled, “I’m all ears.”

“I know you’re not a robber, and your actions in killing those three people could be construed as justifiable defences, or even good deed, but…” Clapton said, “After you killed them, you took the hostages then threatened and fooled the police and threw a lot of cash out of the bank into the street. It’s the same as robbing a bank.”

“So… Please tell me, Officer Clapton. Am I a hero or a villian?” Asked Feng Bujue. His voice suddenly became bizarre. “This answer is very important. Please think carefully.”

“Open the door, surrender, and come back to the police station with me.” Clapton did not answer the question, but said, “Now that you have no hostages, if you do not come out, we will attack through the main gate.”

“Answer my question, officer.” Feng Bujue ignored the request, a bizarre tone in his reply

“Of course you are a villian! Who do you think you are?” Clapton shouted, “Open the door and surrender!”

“Well…” Feng Bujue muttered, “Is this your answer… Hum… Interesting, very interesting.” He thought for a few seconds and then said, “Okay, I’ll open the door.”

As the shutter door rose slowly, the view inside looks the same as when it was last closed.

“Raise your hands and come out from behind the counter,” Clapton said into the phone.

“Ha-ha… Nope, I refuse.” Feng Bujue replied.

Fed up with the other side, Clapton raised his hand, motioned to the men around him to go in and arrest Feng Bujue, and tried to distract his attention on the phone. “Haven’t you played enough? I don’t want to see another death today.”

The counter was surrounded by four armed police officers who ran directly through the main entrance and dispersed.

Clapton, observing the situation with his telephone in one hand and his binoculars in the other, saw his men come close to the counter, his heart rose to his throat, afraid of a gun battle if Feng Bujue refused to surrender.

However, what followed was…

The four officers looked inexplicably behind the counter. One of them said in the speaker, “No one’s here, Sir.”

“What?” Clapton said instinctively.

A smile came from the phone in his hand: “Ha-ha… Guess what happened after that closing.”

“Go search, he’s still at the bank! He must be hidden somewhere!” Clapton, not afraid of being overheard, spoke directly into the speaker.

“Hum… Are you sure?” Feng Bujue sneered.

Clapton spoke into the phone again. “I’m still calling the phone on the counter, how… “

“Call transfer.” Feng Bujue said, “I was lying to you when I first said the dead man’s cell phone is dead, his cell phone had a lot of power and I still have it in my hand.”

Clapton now had an enlightened look. The “anonymous” covered the head of hostages and tied them, and the word about, “I have accomplices in it,” which was, in plain English, to gain time.

Clapton thought: I’m clear of what he previously did, said, until the time the gate closed… He knew that after that, I would learn everything from the hostage, and all his lies would be exposed to me. And what I don’t know… Is what did he do between the last closing and the opening…

1. Andrew Jackson: Seventh president of USA, his figure is on the 20 dollars’ bill.