Chapter 80: The High-Speed Interview (Part 2)

[Chapter 80: The High-Speed Interview (Part 2)]

On the highway, the robbers' vehicles sped along recklessly. They had burst out of the neighborhood and were now on the freeway.

Up ahead, a black vehicle swerved wildly through traffic, followed closely by an SUV, while police cars wailed in the distance. A highway chase was underway. Leyso fixed himself to the SUV, with a camera set up on the mount, focusing hard on shooting as he shouted, "You better drive steady, man!"

Balster yelled back, "I need to catch up to that car! It's hard to drive steady when you're going this fast. Don't great photographers know how to hold steady under any circumstances?"

Leyso retorted, "I'm not a great photographer; I excel at getting inside scoop news rather than taking high-speed shots out in the open."

Balster shouted, "Then you're kind of useless!"

Leyso smiled, "My journalist name is Butterfly."

Balster was taken aback. "You're Butterfly? The one who exposed the Danny Koskri incident and the Oakland Paints company scandal?"

Leyso replied, "And the petrochemical company hiding their environmental pollution..." He was dutifully accepting his responsibility for the scoop.

Balster burst out laughing, "Wow, you're really impressive! I like you. When we finish, can I get a kiss? Oh, forgot to tell you, I'm gay!"

Leyso smiled, "You'd better not; I've got AIDS!"

Balster's expression froze instantly.

...

Meanwhile, the viewers watching the live broadcast erupted in laughter:

"Ha! So the photographer is Butterfly!"

"He has AIDS! That guy still wants to kiss him!"

"A kiss wouldn't hurt."

"Even if it did, I have AIDS too! Butterfly, I love you! Let's have a huge collision!"

...

Ian, watching the live feedback on his computer, chuckled, surprised that Balster's antics were working so well.

But the next moment, he shouted, "Fuck! They're being intercepted!"

While the police weren't quite as skilled as professional drivers, there were simply too many of them!

Ahead, several police cars had formed a blockade, blocking their path.

Ian sighed, regretting that such a great car chase would end like this. "What are those cops doing? Can't they be a little more useless?"

But then Balster laughed, "They're not going to stop him that easily."

As predicted, the car ahead suddenly slammed into the nearby barrier and flew off toward the lower road below -- a quick drop nearby. For a moment, that car sped toward the lower highway.

Balster shouted, "I can do that too! Get ready!"

Ian's face went pale. "Fuck!"

He hurriedly grabbed the monitor and microphone, then saw the SUV soar into the air, chasing after the black car, before crashing heavily to the ground.

The violent impact nearly sent the camera flying, but thankfully Leyso had prepared himself, holding on tight.

Wearing a seatbelt was an excellent habit!!!

"Keep the camera rolling!" Ian yelled.

Then he shouted into the microphone, "This is WND News Network. We are going through a high-speed chase, I don't know what you can see... oh my god, they're shooting!"

He saw another police car appear ahead, but this time the robbers chose to shoot directly at it, unloading their weapons.

...

The viewers tuning in live cheered:

"Gunfire! Finally, we've got gunfire!"

"Now we're talking! Just speeding isn't enough; we need a shootout!"

...

Then a robber in the car tossed a grenade out the back.

"Fuck!" Balster yelled, veering the car as they nearly crashed into an unfortunate vehicle, narrowly avoiding the explosion.

Balster shouted, "They're coming for us!"

"Because we're the ones chasing them the closest!" Ian replied. "Get closer; I want to interview them!"

Balster was stunned. "What did you just say?"

"This is an opportunity!" Ian had already suited up in a bulletproof vest, and besides, he wouldn't be showing his head -- Leyso was the one doing the shooting.

He shouted ahead, "Don't shoot! We aren't cops! We just want to interview you!"

...

The vehicle in front refrained from throwing more grenades, though one of the robbers flashed Ian a middle finger.

Ian raised his voice, "The interview fee is $40,000. If you get caught, I'll deliver it to you in prison -- $10,000 each! Just don't shoot! The whole country will witness!"

His gaze drifted to the rear-view mirror, hoping to catch a glance into their expressions.

To his surprise, the middle finger turned into a thumbs-up!

The stinging sensation was not strong; it turned out that money talked, and many were willing to accept it.

...

"Get closer!" Ian shouted.

Balster slammed on the gas, pulling up alongside the front vehicle, and Ian extended the microphone toward the nearby car, "Can you tell us your name?"

The robber pointed to his mask and shouted, "What do you think, buddy?!"

Ian chuckled.

He was purposefully being a "dumb" host, sometimes it just worked better for the show.

At that moment, both cars raced side by side on the freeway.

Ian leaned halfway out the window, calling into the microphone, "How do you plan to spend that money when you get it?"

He handed the microphone over to the robber.

The robber yelled, "What do you think? I'm gonna hook up with the bimbo next door! She only charges $200, and I could ride her till the end of the world!"

Ian laughed, "That's pretty dedicated of you!"

Another robber shouted, "What news station are you from?"

Ian pulled back the microphone. "I'm Ian Carr, the owner of the Los Angeles Herald and WND News website."

"The boss is still being a reporter?" the other shouted.

This guy hadn't even heard of Ian's name?

Clearly, he was out of touch!

Ian replied, "That's called dedication!"

Robber: "So you must be pretty rich?"

Ian replied, "Pretty much. Honestly, if you guys kidnapped me, you might get more than this!"

Balster looked shocked, thinking, are you worried about people not kidnapping you?

Exactly what I mean!

In that moment, both seemed to share a mind.

The robber in the car next to them shouted, "Then it's settled! Next time, we're kidnapping you; be ready for $500,000!"

"If you have a next time! Can I ask how much you got from this heist?"

"Damn, too little! Only a little over $200,000!" the robber in the passenger seat replied.

Ian laughed, "I bet I'd be able to offer way more than that."

"I'm starting to like you, kid!" The three robbers burst into laughter.

Ian pointed to Leyso in the back, "Let me introduce my good friend, his journalist name is Butterfly!"

The robbers turned to look at Leyso in shock. "You're Butterfly? Haha, I've read your reports! Not bad, not bad! Come on, let's shake hands!"

Leyso shook his head, "You'd better not; I have AIDS!"

"Fuck!" the three robbers yelled together.

They didn't care about dying, yet they were worried about AIDS?

...

Meanwhile, the audience watching the live broadcast also enjoyed the spectacle, shouting, "Oh yeah! This is amazing! I never thought I'd see news like this in my lifetime."

"Dude, what are you doing? Stop screwing around and check out WND News Network, there's a car chase happening...Fuck, you have no idea of this news value, a crazy reporter is interviewing a bunch of bank robbers on the run!"

"Yes! They're doing interviews while chasing at high speeds! I swear, you've never seen an interview like this!"

"Oh my god, this is so thrilling. I can see bullets flying past them, and the cameraman is insane; the camera doesn't shake at all. This can't be real news, can it?!"

"Ha! Butterfly! The photographer is that Butterfly, who's been dropping tons of big scoops lately."

"He has AIDS!"

"Ha ha ha, I'm beginning to understand why he doesn't care about dying! Only reckless idiots get to cover this kind of news!"

*****

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