Read Detour to Apocalypse: A Rot Rods Serial, Part Two for Free Online

ignored it. He pulled open the Packard’s door. His sawed-off shotgun rested under the seat, right where he had left it. Roscoe grabbed the gun and stood. A burst from the Thompson took him in the side, gouging out a chunk of flesh. He fired both barrels, one after the other, into Craddock’s car. Glass shattered and metal bent. The engine boomed again.
    The car gained speed, as Wooster stood. He pulled his revolver and fired all six shots, fanning them off as he walked into the street after the speeding automobile. He pumped bullets into the back of the Buick as it sped away.
    “Goddamn you, Craddock!” Wooster cried. “We were friends! We took down scores together! Shooting at a kid like Felix after I let you go―you’re asking for it now, and you’ll get it―you hear me, boy!”
    The Packard zoomed away and squealed around the nearest corner, vanishing from sight.
    “What’re you thinking?” Roscoe tossed the sawed-off into Wooster’s car and helped Felix up. Together, they gathered the food and put it inside the vehicle. Felix stumbled shakily into his seat and snapped into the seatbelt.
    “We’re gonna rob that casino.” Wooster started the car. “I’ll tell my plan to you when I tell it to the Captain. Now get in and let’s go before the cops arrive.”
    Roscoe hurried into the passenger seat. The two-tone Packard creaked down the street, breaking the speed limit as it pulled away from the diner and drove back to the Oasis Motel. It had taken a line of bullet holes, but the hulking Packard could still navigate. Wooster gripped the wheel, knuckles white. Felix’s breath came in ragged gasps. The poor kid was still terrified. Roscoe felt his own heart beating, stirred to life by fear. He forced it to go silent and reached back to grab a burger from the bag. He had a feeling he’d need to heal quickly.
    They arrived at the Oasis Motel and headed inside. Angel, the Captain, and Betty looked over maps of Las Vegas, spread out on the bed. They looked up when Roscoe, Wooster, and Felix came inside.
    Betty looked worried. “Oh, god,” she whispered. “What happened?”
    “Craddock paid us a visit,” Roscoe said. “He tried brawling and when that didn’t work, ran a drive by on us.” “We did get the grub, though.” His words sounded pathetic. “I guess a peaceful solution is off the table.”
    Felix set the food down on the little coffee table, and hurried to stand beside the Captain, who patted the kid’s shoulder. The boy seemed to have calmed down a little.
    “Yeah. And I got me another idea.” Wooster reached into the bag and withdrew the bottle of beer. He used his Bowie knife to pop the cap, letting it fall onto the carpet. “I know armed robbery. I know it well. Roscoe knows the layout of the place, from when he saw the alien. So he’ll tell me and then we’ll think of a plan.”
    “A plan to do what, man?” Angel asked.
    “Rob them,” Wooster said. “Steal that alien right out from under them. Maybe take some of their money too. See what Craddock and Frankie Fink think of that.”
    Silence filled the motel room.
    The Captain’s eyes moved to Roscoe. “What do you think?”
    “This wasn’t going to end peacefully, Captain.” Roscoe felt a little like he was surrendering, giving up somehow―or giving in. But Wooster was right. There was no other way. “I say we listen to Wooster, hit the casino tomorrow morning, rescue the alien, and talk to it to find out what Mars is planning and why he snatched Dr. Bolton. Then we put a stop to it.”
    The Captain nodded. “I think you’re right. What’s your plan, Wooster?”
    Wooster laid out his scheme. Roscoe listened, not meeting the eyes of his friends. Maybe this was the only way it could end―but he still didn’t exactly like it.



oscoe went with Wooster and Angel the next morning. They took the Packard, now gleaming from a fresh paint job. They rolled around the fat, towering rectangle of gaudy cement that was the