Cut and Run 4 - Divide and Conquer

Pierce snapped.
    “Besides, the web site says the gym is closed for renovation. No one
    will get hurt that doesn‟t deserve it.”
    Hannah looked down, frowning faintly as she poked at one of the
    bank bags in front of her.
    “They raised over a million dollars to build that new gym,” Pierce
    said, sounding far too pleased with himself. Graham didn‟t know why.
    The Y was a charity, wasn‟t it? It wasn‟t like blowing up some million-
    dollar store. Didn’t the other bombs do enough damage?
    “Why do we need a better bomb?” Graham couldn‟t help but ask.
    “The others didn‟t do enough damage?”
    “No, they didn‟t,” Pierce said flatly.
    “A bomb is a bomb, isn‟t it?” Hannah asked tentatively. “It‟s just
    supposed to keep them away from the banks.”
    Pierce smacked his hand on the tabletop, and Hannah cringed. “It
    needs to be a better bomb because I said so.”
    Graham‟s stomach began to roil. He hoped that Mr. Garrett had
    found that note by now. It was okay, robbing banks. It was kind of
    cool, kind of badass, and fuck the banks anyway. It‟s not like they ever
    did anything good for anyone. He had heard his dad grumbling about
    all the money they‟d lost when… well, Graham didn‟t really
    understand that part, and half of it had to do with politics anyway and
    who cared about that, but it had been fun, going after something
    everyone seemed to think was so big and powerful. Plus, if they got
    enough money Graham could quit his crappy restaurant job his father
    had made him get to teach him “fiscal responsibility.”
    But Pierce was getting scary. It wasn‟t about the money to him
    anymore, and Graham didn‟t know when—or if—he‟d stop. They‟d
    been lucky more people hadn‟t been hurt at the mall.
    Divide & Conquer | 179

    “Pierce, we‟re really hurting people—”
    “Just the fucking cops!” Pierce yelled.
    “So which one are we hitting next?” Ross asked, looking so eager
    that the acid started inching up through Graham‟s gullet.
    “„We‟ aren‟t,” Pierce said with a smug smile. “Hannah is.”
    Hannah went totally white. “What? Me?”
    “It‟s about time you did something besides making phone calls,”
    Pierce ordered. “Time to earn your part of the take. You‟re going to rob
    the bank this time.”
    “B-b-but I don‟t know how!” Hannah wailed, wringing her hands.
    “Suck it up, Hannah,” Pierce said harshly. “You want your
    money so you can get away from Stepmommy Dearest, you‟ll do what
    I tell you. You hear me?”
    “Yes,” Hannah mewled, slumping in on herself.
    “So what are we doing while Hannah‟s hitting the bank?” Ross
    asked.
    “Graham‟s going to have the car nearby to get Hannah when she
    comes out. You and I are going to take care of those two piece of shit
    pigs who called us out on TV,” Pierce said with such relish that
    Graham had to swallow hard on his gorge.
    “Do you know who they are yet?”
    “The loudmouth‟s name is Grady. I can‟t find his address, but I‟m
    going to follow him home from the FBI one day.”
    “Why didn‟t you just take care of him when you had him in the
    car that time?” Ross asked.
    Pierce‟s face reddened. He‟d talked a lot of talk, but Graham had
    seen the size of the FBI agent. He knew exactly why Pierce hadn‟t
    “taken care” of him. Agent Grady would tear Pierce‟s arms off like a
    pit bull playing with a kitten.
    “I want to make him suffer first!” Pierce shouted.
    180 | Madeleine Urban & Abigail Roux

    Ross raised his hands in a placating gesture, and suddenly Pierce
    was fine again.
    “So Graham, you have to find a getaway car.”
    “We can use that kickass truck,” Ross suggested.
    “That Fed won‟t be needing it,” Pierce said smugly, pulling out a
    ring of keys and twirling it on his finger.
    “I‟m not driving a truck you stole from a Fed!” Graham said,
    feeling his stomach flip unpleasantly.
    “Then you better come up with something of your own,” Pierce
    snapped. “You don‟t like the truck, then I‟ll drive it. I‟ve already
    replaced the plate.”
    Graham slumped down into his chair under the sense of
    impending doom that hung in the air.
    Pierce stood up and leaned over, planting his hands on top of the
    mess of schematics and maps. “We keep going. No one‟s getting hurt
    who doesn‟t deserve it.” He reached out to the middle of the kitchen
    table and plucked up the pink ceramic piggy bank he‟d set there the day
    he