Tag Archives: robbery

IT WAS ALL IN A DAY’S WORK

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At first, she felt terrified. Yet, she still held onto the hope that she could survive by some large or small miracle. As she stood there, she became immersed in her thoughts about what had led her to this desperate moment in her life.

Bank Robber

It all began on a day so ordinary that she could barely recall it. Except for the fact that on her way home, she stopped at her bank to deposit a check. And just as she was about to leave, she turned around to say goodbye to her friend Teresa, who worked at the bank as a teller. And she saw Teresa’s eyes suddenly open wide with terror.

Helen turned quickly around to see why Teresa looked so frightened. And at that moment, Helen knew her life would never be the same again. In front of her stood three men wearing masks on. And each was holding a gun and was pointing them at the tellers. The tallest one yelled out, ” the first person who hits the alarm button will be dead before they take their finger off the button. And then I will kill everyone in the bank.”

Helen had no clue how one should act in such a situation where their very life was at risk of ending at any moment. And where they didn’t have any control over what may or may not happen.

Then one of the customers who was standing in line attempted to call the police on their cell phone. And one of the robbers shot him in the middle of his forehead. And he dropped to the cold, tile floor like a bag of sand, slowly and then a thud when his bloody head hit the floor.

 About thirty people, including the tellers, were in the main room of the bank. And they all gasped as one. She had never seen anyone murdered before in her entire life. And she was seventy-one years old. She felt filled with anger, hatred, and fear all at once.

The bank robber who shot the man screamed out, “I want all the remaining employees to get out here immediately and hit the ground. If anyone attempts to call the police or get out the door, they will die in the same way that this fool did. If anyone texts the police or anyone else, I will shoot that person and the person standing closest to them. Is that understood?” We are going to collect all of your cell phones, so put them down next to your feet. No funny business. Do you understand?”

Everyone nodded their heads, and then everyone took out their phones and put them down on the floor. All the employees came marching out and laid down on the cold, hard tile floor. There was muffled crying from several people that were lying prostrate. “Everyone better shut up, or this will be the last day of your lives. Your lives mean nothing to me. It will be like swatting an annoying fly. Do you understand?”

Everyone nodded and then covered their heads with their arms folded over them. About half of them began saying a prayer, including a few who had been devout atheists for most of their lives.

And then the same man who had threatened their lives said, ” I want the manager of the bank to come forward, and you better not lie or try to manipulate me. A rotund man with a wisp of dark hair came forward. He was visibly shaking, and he took several deep breaths and said,” My name is Howard Hudson. I’m the manager of this bank. And my first obligation is to keep my employees and my customers safe. I will do whatever you tell me to do to that end. Do not injure or kill anyone else. I will cooperate in any way that I can.”

“I’m glad you understand how serious this situation is and will cooperate. Because if you do not cooperate completely, I will start by shooting you in both legs, and then I will start killing your employees one by one. I know that early this morning, you had a large amount of cash delivered to the bank.”

I want you and the assistant manager to go to the vault and retrieve that money. You will be accompanied by one of my men. Be aware that this man is a trained killer. And if either one of you tries anything. You will never take another breath, you will never see your family or loved ones ever again. Do you understand? In addition, I want all the doors locked from the inside and put a notice on the front doors that the back is temporarily closed. Do not try to get anyone’s attention outside the bank. Or I will shoot the assistant bank manager. I believe his name is Oliver Winchester.”

“Yes, I understand. We will fully cooperate.”And then one of the robbers, who looked like he would kill someone for staring at him the wrong way, stepped forward and pointed his gun at the manager and the assistant manager and said, “move, don’t even think about doing anything stupid. It would just make my day to kill both of you. Do you understand?”

They both nodded in unison. And double-timed it to the vault. They looked straight ahead and were afraid to take a deep breath. They were terrified. Mr. Hudson, the bank manager, was sweating profusely and having difficulty taking a deep breath. He felt light-headed. He tried calming down. He tried to answer the robber but wasn’t able to speak. His mouth was dry, and it felt like his tongue wasn’t operating in any normal way. So, he just nodded his head up and down.

Meanwhile, the bank customers stared straight ahead, not looking at one another. Hoping that they would see their family again, and not knowing what would happen next.

The older woman stood there, transfixed by her situation. She had always been able to navigate her way through life. And this situation made her extremely angry. And so, she began thinking about what was the best way to get out of this situation alive. She concentrated on remaining calm and breathing deeply. She decided to take one moment at a time. People often ignored her because of her age and how fragile and helpless she appeared.

But the fact was she had never been helpless. She had lived a long time, and she understood people and their behavior better than they did. She was a retired psychotherapist. She had spent her whole life studying human nature. She understood how people acted impulsively at times.

People who made a living from stealing from others who were wealthier than they or those who stole from a huge organization like a bank had a sense of entitlement. Because they felt like they deserved to have money, and therefore they didn’t have a problem stealing from a bank or from the rich. They felt they deserved it and had every right to steal it. They didn’t have a conscience or any sense of right or wrong. They acted and reacted. They are sociopaths. And they often act out without thought.

But, clearly, robbing a bank is not someone does in the spur of the moment. It has been planned. These robbers knew in advance of the huge amount of money that was transported to the bank that day. Someone on the inside was most likely working with them. She decided that they might be the weak link, and she would observe the bank employees’ behavior.

As Helen stood there contemplating what was her best course of action, she noticed that one of the tellers, who she had never seen before, was looking particularly nervous. Her face was flushed, and she kept wiping her brow with a tissue. And then she raised her hand and waved it back and forth. As if she was trying to get someone’s attention.

One of the robbers yelled at the top of his voice, ” Put your hand down before you don’t have a hand anymore.”

“I feel sick. I think I’m going to throw up. Can I please go to the bathroom?”
The robber looked at her like she had lost her mind. “As I said, put your arm down before I shoot it off. I don’t want to hear another sound now. Sit down on the floor. And shut your trap. Or I’ll shut it permanently. Got it?”

She nodded her head up and down. Her face was a particularly unpleasant shade of gray. And then she slumped to the floor in a heap. A young woman said, “can I go over and take a look at her to see if she is alright? I’m a nurse.”

“Sit the hell down, lady, and shut up. Do you understand?”

She nodded her head.

Helen said to no one in particular, “I believe I can be of some help to you. I‘m a therapist. And if you allow me, I have a short exercise that helps people who are under stress to calm down. It would prevent any further unfortunate events to occur. It will only take a few minutes.

“OK, lady. Come over here, and let’s see what you got up your sleeve.”

” As I said, I’m a therapist, and in my work, sometimes I used hypnotism to enable my patients to reach a deep level of relaxation to allow them to open up to me. And discover what is at the root of their problems. It only takes a short time. I think if I do this, you will have no further need to kill anyone and allow you to get on with your robbery and escape. What do you say?”

“Yes, go ahead and do it, and no funny business or you will be the next one to die. Do you understand?”
“Of course I understand. I’m going to go to the center of the room and ask all the bank customers to stand in a circle around me. And then I will induce them into a kind of sleep, but they will actually become deeply relaxed. And they will no longer be engaged in whatever is going on around them. And this will allow you to leave as soon as possible.”

“Alright, go ahead and do it. But keep in mind I can shoot you or anyone else if you do anything that will interfere.”

“Yes, yes. I understand. I will begin now.”

“Ladies and gentlemen, my name is Dr. Helen Orinoco. I am a psychotherapist. I help people relax so that they are better able and deal with stressful situations. I am just going to give to some prompts, and if you follow them, this event will come to a more peaceful conclusion. And no one else will lose their life, and you will all be able to go home to your families. I would like to begin by asking you to all stand in a circle around me. And then try to follow my instructions.

Dr. Orinoco began by saying, “please, everyone, take a deep breath and close your eyes, now roll your eyes upward under your closed eyelids. Take slow, even breaths. You will all return home safely to your families if you listen to me and follow my instructions. That’s right, slow, even breaths, you are beginning to feel much calmer. Try to imagine that you are some place safe, at home, or perhaps sitting on the beach watching the waves slowly flow over the sand.”

“That’s good. I can see you are all feeling sleepy and calm. You are safe. Nothing can touch you where you are now. Your confidence flows from within, and no one can hurt you now. You are visualizing a place where you feel safe and loved, and relaxed. You feel calm and confident. No one can hurt you. You are safe. Breathe deeply, slow, even breaths. Your minds are focused and clear.

And then, the next thing that the customers and the bank employees realized was the Doctor saying, “you can open your eyes now, you are safe, there is no more danger. Imagine it is three or four months down the road from this terrible event, and you are home and safe. I’m going to count to five, and then you are going to open your eyes, one, two, three, four, five. You are now fully awake now. And all is well. You feel safe and confident. Open your eyes.”

And when they opened their eyes one by one, they saw that the robbers were on their way out the door in handcuffs. The injured and those that had been killed were no longer in the room. Some people started crying in relief. And others just looked from one to another.

One of the police officers was talking to Dr. Orinoco. “Dr., I’ve never seen anything like this in my life. What happened?”

“Well, officer, I am a psychotherapist, and I use hypnotism in my work. And I realized that if I was able to hypnotize everyone, including the robbers, I could end this nightmare without any further violence. Most people are highly suggestible. Especially if they are open to reducing whatever is causing them to be afraid or tense. So, once I saw that everyone, including the robbers, was under hypnosis. I called you and your fellow officers to come here. As I knew none of them would become aware of what was going on until I told them it was safe to do so.”

“Well, maybe you should come to work for the police when we have this type of hostage situation. And in addition, you need to come and make a statement of exactly what occurred today, including who was the shooter.”

“Of course, I will follow you to the station. I would like to add that learning to self-hypnotist yourself would be of great benefit to police officers since their lives are so stressful. I would like to talk to your commander if I may.”

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NIGHT SHIFT

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It’s been six years since I started working the night shift. It’s hard to remember just why I thought it would be a good idea to work from Midnight to the eight AM shift. I vaguely remember thinking I would have more free time and the pay was slightly higher than working nine to five.

Callowhill Depot, Philadelphia, Pa.

What I failed to consider is that I would be sleeping during the day. And the impact that would have on my life. Things like maintaining friendships with people that worked during the day. Not to mention I hope to get married and have children at some point. I suppose that’s still a possibility if I fall in love with a man that also works nightshift. But if we both worked the night shift and slept eight hours during the day having children together really doesn’t seem feasible. I guess the solution is that I or my husband would have to start working during the day like normal people. Of course, that would limit how much time we spent together as well.

The fact of the matter is that before I was hired at SEPTA, the job I had was tedious and boring. I was selling high-risk auto insurance. On the other hand, the customers that came into the office were often downright scary. These people were basically maniacs on wheels. I was making minimum wage and was still living at home with my parents. Because I couldn’t afford to move out. I couldn’t afford to do anything. I had to pay my parent’s rent, pay for the upkeep of my beater car, and insurance and gas. Which left me with pocket change.

On the other hand, in my previous job there was no climbing up the corporate ladder. There was no ladder. I was working at Ellis Insurance Company. We sold high-risk auto insurance. It was owned by two brothers, Harry and Evie Ellis. And there were only three employees. You were stuck in the same job. There wasn’t any upward mobility The other two girls that I met working there were nice and we became friends over time. I decided I need to make a change in my life.

A friend of mine told me that SEPTA was hiring but it was on the night shift. And I thought why not? Sounds interesting. What harm could it do to apply for the job and see what shakes out? And sure, enough a week after I sent my resume out, I got a call from HR at SEPTA for a job in the dispatcher’s office on the night shift. Of course, it was a job on the bottom rung of the corporate ladder.

Now I’m working at the Callowhill depot in West Philadelphia in the office that schedules the busses, trolleys, and drivers. I have to say I like working there. It keeps me on my toes, having to maintain the vehicle’s maintenance and scheduling the bus and trolley drivers. And as far as friendships go well, you’re going to almost instantly bond with your workmates because they are in the same boat as you are working the night shift. Unfortunately, no love matches, but plenty of friends. The routine doesn’t vary much from day to day but I feel at this point I am highly competent and confident in my ability to successfully perform my job.

About six weeks ago I arrived at work at 11: 45 PM. Just in time for the second shift to clock out and go home. “Hello everyone, how did your day go?” Helen who works the second shift in my position, as a dispatcher said, “no problems during our shift, but two drivers called out for the third shift. I contacted two drivers and they agreed to fill in. You’ll see the information on the log. Well, its’ been a long day. I’ll see you guys tomorrow before I clock out. I hope all goes well for you guys. Take care,”

“Bye Helen, I hope you have a good night, see you tomorrow.” Helen is a hard worker and always takes the time to say hello and wish us well. I’d like to get to know her but we have different days off and she has a family with four kids. I don’t know how she does it.

Two of the other people that work on my shift, Kathy a single woman, no kids, lives with her elderly mother, and Henry, a tall, gangly man in his early sixties yells out, “good evening, everyone, I hope you sneaked in a few Z’s today. For some reason, I had this feeling all day that something is going to go wrong on our shift tonight. You know I always thought I was a little psychic. But, my wife says, I’m a little crazy. So, it’s probably nothing. Oh, here’s Gertie. She is just a bundle of energy and so thin she disappears when she turns sideways. But believe it or not, she is strong as a horse.  She has been studying karate for years. And could probably take down a tank all on her own. But you would never know by looking at her. “Hi Gertie, how’s life treating you today?”

“Life is treating me just fine Henry. Anything new with you?”

“Well, I was just telling our friend here, that all day I kept thinking something bad was going to happen tonight, but I’m sure it’s nothing. Probably ate too much-fried chicken or something. But keep your eyes open anyway just in case.”

And then Kathy flew in the door. “Sorry to be late, but just at the last minute, I realize I left my purse and my lunch on the coffee table in my living room and I had to go back and get them. I hope that didn’t cause any problems.”

“No problems Kathy, sit down and take a deep breath and calm down, everything is fine so far.”

“What’s Henry talking about?”

“Oh nothing, you know Henry thinks he has some kind of psychic ability and can sense the future. It’s a bunch of bolognas if you ask me.”

The next hour is really busy as all the second shift drivers are returning with their busses and signing out and all the third shift drivers are clocking in. I wave at them as they walk by our office. Then I start checking the activity log to see if there are any problems that need to be addressed immediately. After that, I start checking tomorrow’s schedule to see if there are any conflicts or call-outs or buses that needed maintenance. The time really flies by. I check my watch and it’s already after 3 am. I decide to get a cup of coffee. Because right about this time every work night my energy starts to diminish. It’s always quiet in the depot this time of night. And we usually take turns taking breaks.

it’s Henry’s turn to take a break. He usually takes a walk around the depot and sometimes outside. But you really have to be careful in this neighborhood at night. You never know what’s going to happen. But it’s a beautiful night so who knows he might take a little late-night stroll.

Just when I was beginning to wonder what happen to Henry since he has been gone for about twenty-five minutes. Kathy, Gertie, and I hear a loud commotion out in the hall outside the depot office. I hear Gertie say,” what the hell is Henry doing out there anyway. Kathy responds,” I’ll go take a look maybe he slipped on the floor out there I noticed that it had just been waxed and was slippery when I came in. Some day one of us is going to break their necks.”

I go back to work and I hear Gertie quip, “oh yeah this place is a hotbed of activity like the morgue at three in the morning.”

Then I say, “Gertie, did anyone ever tell you have a weird sense of humor?”

“Weird no, not at all. I’m perfectly normal. And then she lets out a big guffaw. Her laugh is like a donkey neighing. “He haw, he haw, he haw.”

And then we hear shouting and something heavy falls to the floor. “What the hell, Gertie screams at the top of her apparently huge lungs. She scares me almost as much as what’s going on in the hallway. I whisper maybe we should call the police or the transit cops, somebody. Henry did say that he had a bad feeling about today, and he has always been right when he has his “psychic premonitions.”

“Oh, come on let’s all calm down,” I say.

“I’m going out to see if Henry is alright, one of you call the freaking police just in case.”

Kathy and I sit tight, and I decide maybe I should call the police, better safe than sorry. I’m about to pick up the phone when the doors to the depot office burst open and three huge guys that I’ve never seen before burst in with Henry and Gertie. Who are being dragged in kicking and screaming all the way. Their hands are tied behind them. Gertie’s eyes are practically bugging out of her head. Henry’s face is so red it looks like he might stroke out any minute. I hear a loud voice in my head keep repeating, why didn’t you call the police you idiot?

The biggest guy who looks like he could be a sumo wrestler yells, “you two go over next to the vault. Whoever knows the combination better open it up immediately or this old man is going to be breathing his last breath tonight and it will be your fault “

I start sweating like a pig. I’m afraid I’m going to pee my pants or pass out. I’ve never been so scared in my life. I walk towards the vault and starting keying in the combination. There is no way in hell I’m going to die because of money. Which can be replaced. No way. I open the huge door and then the Sumo wrestler says, “all of you get over there and don’t move and he points to the wall next to the safe. “My friend here is going to hold his gun at this guy here and if any of you try anything, anything at all I’m going to put a bullet in his head. Do you understand? We nod.

The youngest-looking robber goes into the vault with a large canvas bag and then we hear a whole lot of rustling coming from it. It is clear he is taking all the money that was put in there during the day shifts. Then he comes out dragging the heavy satchel. “OK, get rid of these jokers, and let’s go before the police show up the alarm must have gone off when we broke it.”

And that’s when they grabbed the rest of us and gagged us and tied our hands behind our backs and literally threw us in the big safe. I started hyperventilating immediately because I have a fear of small spaces. I think at some point I passed out because the next thing I knew there was a burly Philly cop standing over me and shaking me. “Hey wake up, you’re alright, wake up for god’s sake.” And then he slapped me across my face and I said, ok, ok stop hitting me. He just laughed.

When they took off Henry’s gag he immediately said, “I told you something bad was going to happen tonight.”

And that is when I said, “shut up Henry.” And I decided it was time for me to stop working on the night shift.

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EVERY ROSE GARDEN HAS ITS’ THORNS

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Masks by Robert P. Culver

Masks by Robert P. Culver

I wake up with a faint memory of a dream I had during the night. I close my eyes and try to recapture the dream. In my mind’s eye, I glimpse an image of my father’s rose garden. I can remember how red the roses were and the overpowering fragrance that lived in that garden when the roses were in full bloom.

My father passed away over thirty years ago. Although I don’t think of him every day. I think of him often. Of all the people in my life, as I grew up, he influenced me more than anyone else.

He was a highly intelligent man, who had read widely and had a large vocabulary. He held high standards for whatever he did to the point of being a perfectionist. I admit I too am a perfectionist and spent untold hours reading and learning and trying to understand life. He was a man of action. If something needed to be done, no ifs, ands, or buts he did it.

I’m an introspective person. Over the course of my lifetime, I have examined every inch of my psyche. I believe Socrates stated, “An unexamined life is one not worth living.”

Of course, that doesn’t mean that I don’t make mistakes. I do. But I rarely make the same mistake twice. However human nature being what it is there are unlimited mistakes waiting on the sidelines to be made by every one of us each day, myself included.

And this story is about what could have been one of those mistakes. It happened about twelve years ago. When I was still in the bloom of my youth. I’m not and have never been a beautiful woman. But even I admit that I have certain physical characteristics that attract the opposite sex. I have a ready smile and a friendly countenance. And I have a figure that draws attention wherever I go. Whether I’m looking for attention or not. Of course, that’s neither here nor there. I just thought you should know that I wasn’t always old.

I‘m standing in line at the bank. I’m a graphic artist and I work from home in my art studio. I also paint surreal paintings. That usually includes birds. But I’ve never tried to sell any of them. I become emotionally attached to them and only sell the prints of my work.

Anyway, I was standing there for quite a while since it was lunchtime and apparently, a great many people decided that today would be the day to make their deposits and withdrawals. Finally, I ‘m next in line when I hear a loud commotion behind me. Someone shouted,” Get down on the floor, everyone.”

I didn’t really pay any attention as I was developing an idea for my next painting. I heard someone say,” you too, honey.” And then I felt someone grab my shoulders roughly. I look up at the teller. I couldn’t help but notice that her eyes are open wide and look as big as silver dollars, and she’s sweating profusely.

The next thing I know I’m on the floor. “Keep your head down lady,”
“What the hell is going on?” I shout. If there’s one thing I can’t stand it is being manhandled. Or being told what to do for that matter. That’s why I am self-employed.

“Get your filthy hands off of me you neanderthal.”

“One more word out of you lady and you won’t have any teeth to chew with tomorrow.”
I decide my best choice at this moment is to sit down, stay down, and contemplate my next step. But I know before this day is done, I‘m going to make this thug regret the day he was born.

I hear another voice yell out,” alright, everyone keep your head down and your mouth shut. Do as your told and no one will get hurt.”

I look around as surreptitiously as I can. So that I won’t garner any attention from any of the robbers. I’m lying on the floor with my head resting on my folded arms. I slowly turn my head from side to side. I move my legs slightly until I can see to the right and the left and ultimately behind me. I can see that there are three robbers. The one who pushed me down, the one who was yelling and ordering everyone to get down, and the one at the door.

They’re all wearing carnival masks. You know the elaborate ones that people wear in New Orleans during the Mardi Gras. The husky guy that pushed me down to the floor is wearing a gold and black mask not unlike a harlequin mask. It has musical notes on the gold sections, and the guy at the tellers’ counter yelling out the orders is wearing a similar mask except it is more of a jester with a headpiece with gold bells on it. The robber at the door who I only caught a glimpse of is wearing a mask that looks like an ornate Renaissance bird mask.

For the first few minutes, my mind keeps telling me that this is some kind of elaborate hoax or even a joke. I mean it was all so absurd. And you know what else? It’s damn inconvenient. I have work to do at home. I don’t have time for this kind of melodramatic nonsense. I’m hoping any minute they will all burst out laughing and say,” just kidding folks, go back to what you were doing.”

I glance up and notice the teller, a middle-aged woman who probably has spent her entire working career, depositing checks and handing out small amounts of cash. She looks so terrified that she keeps dropping the stacks of money she’s handing over to the jester. I think she might just keel over and die of a heart attack any minute. The Jester screams at her, “move it lady, or I’ll hit you so hard sorry your mama will feel it.”

That’s when I said, “Hey, leave her alone, you bastard.” And the guy closest to me walks over and kicks me hard in the side. I think for a moment I might pass out. I can’t remember ever being hit so hard in my life.

Except for when I was young and my sister and I used to get into these fights that started out by calling each other names and ended up with us pinching, punching, and pulling hair out. The weird thing is I can never remember what we used to fight about all. We were just mad at each other all the time. We never told on each other to our parents because we knew our father would make us sorry if we did.

I just laid there for a while. I don’t really know how long. I kept my eyes tightly shut trying to pretend this all wasn’t happening. And then I start getting really mad. It feels like my blood is actually boiling and my head might just explode all over the room.

I know the smart thing to do is to just lie there and wait for them to get the money and leave. I’m wondering if the teller set off the silent alarm. My sister-in-law worked as a teller for years and she told me that the bank employees are always told to cooperate, and give up the money. Because money can be replaced but they couldn’t. They were advised never to do anything crazy.

Plus, the amount of money that is kept in the teller’s cash drawer at any one time is limited. The rest of the money and valuables are kept in the vault and the tellers don’t know the codes to open the safe.

Then the robber yells out, “Ok everybody on the floor, get up and get in a single file you’re going to move into that office over there. Don’t anybody try to be a hero. Unless you want to be a dead hero. Do what you’re told and this will all be over soon.”

As we all start getting into a line, the husky guy says, “Ok, everyone put your cell phones in this bag, don’t try anything funny. I have a gun, and I ain’t afraid to shoot you. Two of the older ladies standing there start crying along with a young mother who’s holding a baby in her arms. “Stop that racket right now, hand over your phones, and walk toward the office on the right. When you get there lie on the floor with your hands behind your back.”

The young mother with the baby says,” I can’t put my hands behind my back, I have to hold my baby. And she is going to start crying soon. Since it is past her time to be fed and she needs her diaper changed.”

“Alright, feed the baby but I don’t want to hear that baby of yours crying or I’m going to lock her in the safe before we leave. Do you understand?”

The young mother said, “yes.” And then she starts sobbing. I start to see red. No-one would look at me and think that I have a temper. I’m also soft-spoken and generous to a fault. But humans are complex creatures full of ambiguity. I can be open and loving in one moment and in the next if someone says something to me that is unfair or untruthful, I can go off like a bottle rocket. My anger isn’t long-lasting but while it’s hot, it’s powerful and out of control.

“What the hell do you think you are doing intimidating a young mother with a baby? You low-life creatine.”

The next thing I know he’s looming over me like the sword of Damocles ready to chop my head off. He leans down to smack me and I grab both his ankles and yank as hard as I can. And he comes down like a tree after a chainsaw hits it. His head hits the floor hard and he stops moving altogether. His mask flies off. He looks like he is middle-aged. He has pock scars from a really bad case of acne and he is missing several of his front teeth. I check and he’s still breathing. His breath smells like something died in there recently.

Everyone in the room gasps. One of the men whispers,”. Have you lost your mind? They are going to come in here and shoot all of us.”

“Did you expect me to just stand there and let this pig hit me or worse? Would you let him beat you up without fighting back? Huh? Yeah, that’s what I thought.”

I quickly glance out the office windows and I don’t see the other two robbers immediately. And then I see them standing next to the safe with the manager.” No, they’re busy trying to get the safe open. Any of you men have a belt on? If you do bring them over here and we can restrain this guy. Two of the men bring over their belts. The larger of the two men pull off his belt and pulls the robber’s arms behind his back and wraps the belts around the robber’s wrists and then around his waist. The other guy puts his belt around the robber’s ankles.

I whisper, “anybody have any cloth to shove in the bastard’s mouth?”

The baby’s mother, says, “Hey, you can use my babies’ blanket.”
I consider shoving the blanket down the guy’s throat. But at the last moment reconsider and I end up just wrapping the baby blanket around his head twice and then tying it in a big knot behind his head. I’m fairly certain he won’t suffocate.

“Ok, we have to shove this guy over next to the wall so if the other two looks in here they won’t notice their buddy is knocked out on the floor right away.”

“And then what are we going to do when the other two wise up and start wondering what happened to this guy here?”

“Well, that’s a good question. I will have to contemplate that for a few moments. But if they do come in here. I will cop to the whole thing and tell them none of you had anything to do with it.”

“Oh yeah, because you look like you could take a fat guy like this down all by yourself.”
A man in a grey suit said, “OK, that’s enough arguing let’s just figure out what we are going to do. We can’t undo what’s been done already. Any ideas?”

“Do any of you have any weapons or know any martial arts?”

There was a deafening silence. And then I said, “So, we have no weapons, but we do outnumber them. I just counted and we have seventeen people and there are only two of them out there. We are also at an advantage because we’re smarter than they are. Let’s face it if they were better at life, they wouldn’t be robbers. They would be bank presidents and lawyers and politicians.”

“We can distract them. We can all start making a ruckus and when one of them comes in to investigate what’s happening, we take him down the same way. While he is trying to figure out what is going on, we rush him all at once.”

“That sounds like an opportunity to get someone killed if you ask me. Another man said. What’s stopping him from killing one of us?”

“Well for one thing we don’t even know that they have guns, do we? In fact, I’m positive they don’t or they would have shown them right off the bat, just to intimidate us.”

A young man with pink hair suddenly spoke up,” you know she’s right they would have shown us at the get-go if they had weapons. Let’s all starting yelling and screaming until one or both of them come in here to investigate and swarm them. Well, maybe not all of us. None of the older people, or the lady with the baby.”

And then I said, “I’ll start yelling at the top of my lungs one of them will come over and tell us to shut up and we gang up on him and beat him down. Anyone else have a belt so we can restrain him? And the last guy is going to run because he can’t stop all of us.”

A middle-aged man said, “I think the better course would be to just stay in here and be quiet, and eventually they will get want they want and leave.”

“Oh, yeah? Well, what about this guy here. Won’t they wonder what happened to him?”

“You know it’s weird that one of them hasn’t come over to see what happened to this guy?
“Well, you know there’s no honor among thieves. Come on, let’s start screaming like bloody murder. Most likely the next guy that comes over here is going to take a look in here before he comes through that door. So, let’s be ready to jump him when he comes in, get him down to the floor, and restrain him. Anybody that has a belt get it out and be ready to hold him down. Then we keep making a racket until the other robber freaks out and takes off. Most likely they have some money by now and he’ll just take off. On the count of three everybody starts screaming like we’re being murdered.”

“One, two, three scream.”

And then we all screamed so loud that we all got freaked out and screamed even louder. No one came to the door. I looked out the window and I couldn’t see the robbers at all. But I did see the police pulling up to the curb. “I yelled the police are here, the police are here. And then I started banging on the door. “Let us out. Let us out. We’re in here.”

About a minute later, a cop opened the door. We were still standing there in front of the unconscious robber. He just stared at us for a moment, and said, “Is everyone alright? Where is the other robber?”

We stepped aside and he looked down at the body. “Is he dead? What’s been going on in here?”

“No, he’s unconscious. He kicked me because I told him to stop threatening the young mother with the baby. So, I pulled him down and we restrained him with belts.”

“That was dangerous. What would you have done, if he had a gun?” Said the police officer.

“Well, he didn’t. Did he?”

“You didn’t know that.”

“Well, logic told me, they didn’t. Or they would have shown the guns when they walked in and start threatening everyone. Plus, there are seventeen of us and only three of them.”

The cop looked at me with a smirk on his face and said, “well, you were all lucky this time, next time you might not be that lucky.”

“I sure as hell hope we never have to be robbed again to prove your point. Can we get out of here now or what?”

“Yes, you can get out of here but you’re all going to have to give statements before you leave.”
Everyone in the room moaned at the same time. “Can’t we do this another time?” No, you have to do it now before you forget all the details. You can do it here or you can come downtown to the police precinct and fill out a report there. It’s up to you.”

And that’s when we all started filing one by one out of the office, mumbling, and complaining. “A young officer came over and said, “who wants to go first?”

I said, “I do.” One of the middle-aged men said, “well, that figures.”

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