Being Butch Green || ✓

Chapter 20 - An Aggressive Approach to Interrogation

Jack hoisted me up onto his shoulders so I could reach the escape hatch. Considering we both worked in completely different ways to each other, I was a little surprised that at least this time, we had the same idea. The only exception is that I'm incredibly stupid. So much so, that I began to pummel the poor hatch with all my measly strength.

"Come on!" I muttered, beginning to fiddle with one of the many confusing handholds on the hatch.

"Pull it away from you and then towards you from the other handle," Jack instructed, "and be quick about it! I can't hold you all day!"

I did as he instructed and to my surprise, a satisfying click and flush of fresh air began to flow in through the hatch.

"Now what?"

"Pull the handle!"

I fumbled with the handle, pulling it until it eventually popped open. Shoving the roof hatch aside, I pulled myself out onto the roof of the bus. I scrambled out of the way over the polished white surface, then lay on my stomach and stretched out my hand for Jack to grab.

He locked his hand securely around my forearm, and amassing our strength, we managed to hoist his large body out onto the roof. The bus began to slow beneath my body; the fluid motion of it descending into a bumpy, disjointed set of popping candy.

A rock began to form in the pit of my stomach as I noticed the vehicle was closer to the bus stop than I'd originally hoped for, and before we knew what to do, the bus came to a crashing halt. Police rushed to surround us, their weapons trailing our every move.

"Get down off the roof," an officer bellowed from a loudspeaker.

I stood up, steadying myself against Jack's sturdy shoulder from where he kneeled. "What are we gonna do now?"

"I dunno genius, this was your idea!"

"You agreed!" I shot back.

He rolled his eyes. "I ain't getting caught again."

I scowled at him. "We're both felons, you dingbat!"

"You know scowls never looked good on you," he joked. As quickly as it'd come, his grin faded as I lunged at him. We both slipped and landed heavily on the roof of the bus with an echoing thud.

"Fuck you," I growled, kicking him in the stomach from where I lay. He doubled over in pain, frantically searching for a handhold to stop himself from falling into the arms of the police. When he couldn't find any, he slowly fell into the awaiting mass of angry police officers.

Now it was just me.

I watched as the officers swarmed around Jack, tackling him to his stomach. It was now or never. "I can do this!" I muttered, standing carefully on my feet.

Cocking my head to the side, I made a run for it. In the commotion, I sprinted the length of the bus, slid parkour-style down the front of it, and landed on my own two feet. I galloped towards a gap in the ring of officers, soccer dodging two incoming cops on the way.

I continued to bolt up the road when suddenly the force of a thirty-pound dog snagged my pants within its mouth and I tripped. No less than a millisecond later, I was positively squashed by several officers.

"Stay down! Hands on your head!"

I rolled my eyes, complying with the request. "Could you get your friggin' dog off of me?"

It was a fair request in all honesty, and the officer huffed in reply. Someone commanded the dog to let go and eventually dragged it from me.

"Anything you say, can and will be used against you in the court of law," the gruff man stated as he strapped a cold pair of cuffs tightly around my wrists.