Irish Throwdown (What Happens In Vegas Book 4) by Matt Lincoln (short books for teens .TXT) 📕

“I’ll put my hands behind my head,” Finnian replied as he slowly clasped his fingers together behind his neck. “But do I really have to get on the ground? This is an expensive suit.”

“Shut your mouth, you daft eejit!” Seamus yelled as he stalked up behind Finnian and forced him roughly to the ground. “I’ve had just about enough of you.”

Finnian didn’t break eye contact with me the entire time that Seamus was putting the handcuffs on him, and I recognized the savage look in his eyes for the challenge it was. I held his gaze unwaveringly, unwilling to back down from whatever mind game this was.

My eyes finally shifted away from his a few seconds later as three other police cars pulled up to the scene.

“Took you long enough,” Seamus chuckled as the three Garda officers we’d met before climbed out of the cars.

“What’s the damage then, Seamus?” Roberts asked.

“We’ve got four men total,” Seamus replied. “One of them needs an ambulance.”

“It might be faster if we just take him,” the Roberts replied. “The parade’s in full swing right now. If we call for an ambulance, it’s going to take a while to get here.”

“Alright then.” Seamus nodded as he gestured toward the man still lying on the ground before addressing the other two officers. “Roberts, you two take these two back to the station while Shelley’s taking that one to the hospital. O’Haines, you’ll drive their vehicle over to the impound lot after I take a look at what’s inside. I’ll handle the boss myself.”

The three men nodded before moving off to their respective duties. Two of the officers carefully lifted the injured man into the back of one of the police cars as quickly as they could. As they did, Seamus yanked Finnian up off the ground roughly before shoving him into the back of his police cruiser. He slammed the door shut before turning to move toward the black car the men had arrived in, and I followed him, curious to see what was inside myself.

To my disappointment, the car was completely empty. There weren’t even any specks of dirt or bits of trash that pretty much everyone had just via normal wear and tear. It looked like a brand new car.

“Well, that’s a shame,” Seamus scowled as we finished combing through the car. “We’ll tear it apart when we get it over to impound. If there’s anything we missed tonight, we’ll find it. Now, which one of you will be riding back with me, then?”

I blinked in surprise before looking over to Junior. Obviously, it wouldn’t be safe for one of us to ride in the back with a suspect, but I didn’t like the idea of separating from my partner. It seemed like every time we did that during a mission, something went wrong.

“You go,” Junior insisted. “It’s not that far to the station. It’ll be fine.”

I nodded in agreement and watched as Junior walked over to one of the other police cars before climbing into the passenger seat of Seamus’s car.

“I’m sorry that you wasted your time,” Finnian’s slimy voice mocked from the back seat. “I could have told you that there was nothing in my car for you to find if you’d only asked.”

“Shut your mouth,” Seamus spat in annoyance. Finnian just grinned at him maliciously in the rearview mirror.

We drove in silence for several minutes, but I kept glancing back at Finnian. Even handcuffed and locked in the back of the car, I didn’t feel comfortable turning my back on him. There was a wicked glint in his eye that told me he was up to something.

“It’s quite the affair, isn’t it?” Finnian suddenly piped up as we approached the main street where the parade was taking place. “It’s the biggest Halloween festival in the world, you know. It’s such a shame you had to miss your opportunity to see it, agent.”

“I’ll live,” I deadpanned as I glanced back at him. To my surprise, he was lying on his back across the backseat. “What are you doing?”

Instead of answering me, he bent his knee before extending his leg out forcefully to kick at the door.

“Hey!” Seamus barked in anger and surprise. “Stop that!”

Finnian ignored him and kicked at the door again, and to my shock and horror, it burst open. He was out the door in a flash and running up the street with his hands still cuffed behind his back.

I swore before throwing my door open to give chase. He wasn’t that far ahead of me, but just a few seconds later, he slipped into the large crowd, and I lost sight of him.

“Damn!” I yelled as I shoved my way through and fought through the throngs of people dancing and singing around me. Everywhere I looked, I saw clusters of people wearing costumes, masks, wigs, and towering hats, all smashed together as they clambered to get a better look at the floats rolling down the street. It was dizzying, and for a moment, I wasn’t even sure which way I’d come from.

Then I spotted him. Ironically, he stood out because he was the only person in the crowd wearing a plain black suit instead of a ridiculous costume.

I lunged forward through the crowd, shoving people aside in my haste to get to him. He turned around just before I made contact, and I saw his eyes go wide as I tackled him to the ground, off the sidewalk, and directly into the path of the parade floats.

I felt a large, dark shadow fall over me and looked up to find a massive float looking back down at me. It was nearly as tall as the buildings around us and in the shape of a ghastly old man with long, wispy white hair holding a lantern as tall as I was. The float was glowing eerily, and the man’s eyes seemed to loom threateningly over me.

Finnian let out a bark of laughter beneath me, and I turned to