Hostile Takeover ❖ Jake Riley | ✓ [book 1]

4~ Tragedy Plus Time

Satire is tragedy plus time. You give it enough time, the public, the reviewers will allow you to satirize it. Which is rather ridiculous, when you think about it.

~ Lenny Bruce

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Jake ran around the corner, following the other cops, but he stopped dead when he saw the sight before him. Max was trapped to a car, and a large clock sat on the hood, counting down with only three and a half minutes to spare.

"Oh God, this can't be happening," he muttered. Another car pulled up and Slater arrived on the scene, followed shortly by Agent Reynolds.

"What the hell is going on here?" Jake asked them.

"One of the officers spotted Ridley from the car and got Carnahan's attention. All we know so far; Max is trapped inside, and Tate thinks it the same type of bomb used this morning," Slater replied. Jake felt like somebody had just punched him in the gut.

"Why don't we just break the glass and pull him out of there?" he asked.

"Our friends from the void left Max with a little insurance policy," Reynolds replied. Dr. Tate was already at the site, trying to find a way to defuse the bomb, and Lex was at the car window, trying to keep Max calm.

"Max! Just listen to me! You need to keep calm, you can do that, right?" he asked him. Max nodded slowly.

"Yes sir, though, this was never taught to us at the academy," he gasped. Lex put on a small smile.

"Unfortunately, the academy doesn't prepare you for life, son," he replied.

Jake ran over and had a look into the car. Max's hands were duct tapped to the steering wheel, and he was wearing a necklace made of wired that hooked into the car dashboard.

"Oh my God!"

"Well, just where the hell have you been?" Lex asked him.

"Chasing ghosts. Max, are you okay?" he asked him.

"I've been better, Jake. That's for sure," he replied.

"Well, don't worry bud, we're going to get you out of there," Jake said. He then ran over to Dr. Tate, who had little beads of sweat trickling down his face... and not just from the heat.

"Doc, how do we get him out there?" he asked.

"I'm cutting into the clock's main centrifuge. It's hooked up to the engine, in which the bomb is connected to our little friend in the front seat," he replied quickly.

"Okay... but how do we get him out?" he asked again.

"Officer Riley, this task isn't exactly pick-up-sticks. I'd appreciate it if you weren't jabbering in my ear right now!" he snapped. Jake grumbled frantically and stepped back.

"Why can't we just break the windows?" he asked.

"Because the car is booby-trapped! If we so much as put a dent in the door, the bloody thing will go off!" he exclaimed.

"Son of a bitch!" this was one of the moments Jake hated the most; the moment were he was absolutely helpless.

Jenna rounded the corner to see what the commotion was. Cradling her bad arm, she jogged over, and was shocked to find a mass of officers crowded around one car.

The clock on the car suddenly started to make a frantic beeping sound. Lex and Jake looked up with panic; they only had two minutes left.

"Doc! You might want to hurry up!" Lex shouted.