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spin_kick_snapKathy was half-inside the cooler when it happened, appreciating the blast of cold air on her skin while she debated whether she should get a Coke for the road or stick to water. The tiny convenience store had been surprisingly busy when she'd stopped to gas up her bike and grab a snack; her EMT course didn't get out until after midnight and yet she'd passed two kids with skateboards on her way to the back and the door had jingled again just a moment ago.
Still, even knowing this was a less-than-great neighborhood, she was still surprised when she heard a muffled, "Stick 'em up!" coming from the front by the register. Easing the freezer door closed, she peeked around one of the aisles and saw a masked man holding a shotgun at the terrified clerk. The two teens also remained frozen in place, one of them in the process of shoving a bag of chips into her bag and now too afraid to move.
This was entirely under the heading of heroics she'd sworn to give up, but the masked guy sounded jittery; his hands were shaking and his voice was over-loud. She wasn't sure if he was on something specific or it was just nerves, but this was the kind of thing that had the potential to get bad, fast. "Who's motorcycle is that outside?" the burglar demanded, waving his shotgun around. "Where are they? Bathroom? What!"
Well...shit.
The teller tried to stammer out an answer, but between his accent and the fear, he wasn't really getting anything coherent out. The burglar looked like he didn't have a lot of patience to try to figure it out, either, leveling his gun on the cowering man. On catlike feet, Kathy eased her way over to where the teens were, silently grabbing one of the skateboards and motioning them back the way she'd come, a finger over her lips to remind them to stay quiet. She had a half-baked idea and a skateboard; the last thing she wanted was to put anyone else in the line of fire if this didn't work.
Once the kids had slipped away, Kathy breathed a prayer, set the skateboard on the ground, and sent it slamming into the front counter immediately to the left of the burglar. He whirled in that direction, gun blasting the poor board in half, and Kathy launched herself at him, tackling him from behind. She hit him with enough speed to knock him to the ground, the gun spinning out of his hands and across the floor. She followed that up with a sharp kick to his ribs and pushing an endcap full of snacks and toys over him. The kids took that moment to make a break for it, the girl stomping on the guy's questing hand on their way out the door. Her friend kicked the shotgun over to Kathy before disappearing into the night.
Kathy snatched up the gun and passed it over the counter to the teller, who clutched at it like a security blanket, staring at her with wide, shocked eyes. "Don't look at me!" she snapped, kicking the guy again since he didn't seem to understand the concept of staying down, "call the cops!"
She very, very much would have preferred to bail like the kids had, but she was worried about what would happen if she left the cashier alone with the guy. Even with the shotgun, he seemed shaken and afraid, so she stayed until the police arrived--which then meant giving a statement and going to the station and also getting fingerprinted since she'd touched the stupid gun with bare hands.
Ugh. Stupid, stupid, stupid. Amateur move. If she'd been thinking like Banzai, she wouldn't have made such a dumb mistake. She also would have been carrying zip ties to keep the burglar immobilized and could have bailed long before fingerprints were a problem.
And she never did get her drink, dammit.
It was a lot later than normal when she finally got home, her fingers still smudged with fingerprinting ink. She let herself in as quietly as she could, planning on heading into the kitchen to make some tea. She was exhausted, yeah, but she had a lot to think about.
[Establishy, but up for housemates if they're awake for some reason? Based on this video, which might be fake but is still pretty awesome]
Still, even knowing this was a less-than-great neighborhood, she was still surprised when she heard a muffled, "Stick 'em up!" coming from the front by the register. Easing the freezer door closed, she peeked around one of the aisles and saw a masked man holding a shotgun at the terrified clerk. The two teens also remained frozen in place, one of them in the process of shoving a bag of chips into her bag and now too afraid to move.
This was entirely under the heading of heroics she'd sworn to give up, but the masked guy sounded jittery; his hands were shaking and his voice was over-loud. She wasn't sure if he was on something specific or it was just nerves, but this was the kind of thing that had the potential to get bad, fast. "Who's motorcycle is that outside?" the burglar demanded, waving his shotgun around. "Where are they? Bathroom? What!"
Well...shit.
The teller tried to stammer out an answer, but between his accent and the fear, he wasn't really getting anything coherent out. The burglar looked like he didn't have a lot of patience to try to figure it out, either, leveling his gun on the cowering man. On catlike feet, Kathy eased her way over to where the teens were, silently grabbing one of the skateboards and motioning them back the way she'd come, a finger over her lips to remind them to stay quiet. She had a half-baked idea and a skateboard; the last thing she wanted was to put anyone else in the line of fire if this didn't work.
Once the kids had slipped away, Kathy breathed a prayer, set the skateboard on the ground, and sent it slamming into the front counter immediately to the left of the burglar. He whirled in that direction, gun blasting the poor board in half, and Kathy launched herself at him, tackling him from behind. She hit him with enough speed to knock him to the ground, the gun spinning out of his hands and across the floor. She followed that up with a sharp kick to his ribs and pushing an endcap full of snacks and toys over him. The kids took that moment to make a break for it, the girl stomping on the guy's questing hand on their way out the door. Her friend kicked the shotgun over to Kathy before disappearing into the night.
Kathy snatched up the gun and passed it over the counter to the teller, who clutched at it like a security blanket, staring at her with wide, shocked eyes. "Don't look at me!" she snapped, kicking the guy again since he didn't seem to understand the concept of staying down, "call the cops!"
She very, very much would have preferred to bail like the kids had, but she was worried about what would happen if she left the cashier alone with the guy. Even with the shotgun, he seemed shaken and afraid, so she stayed until the police arrived--which then meant giving a statement and going to the station and also getting fingerprinted since she'd touched the stupid gun with bare hands.
Ugh. Stupid, stupid, stupid. Amateur move. If she'd been thinking like Banzai, she wouldn't have made such a dumb mistake. She also would have been carrying zip ties to keep the burglar immobilized and could have bailed long before fingerprints were a problem.
And she never did get her drink, dammit.
It was a lot later than normal when she finally got home, her fingers still smudged with fingerprinting ink. She let herself in as quietly as she could, planning on heading into the kitchen to make some tea. She was exhausted, yeah, but she had a lot to think about.
[Establishy, but up for housemates if they're awake for some reason? Based on this video, which might be fake but is still pretty awesome]
