Two weeks ago
“Hey, Bo I am going to take off for lunch, Ii will be back in an hour or so, call my cell if you need anything.” John said sticking his head into the Commissioner’s Office.
“Yeah, Sure John thanks for letting me know. Is everything okay you never leave for lunch?”
“Yeah Boss everything is cool just have to run an errand that’s all.” John said as he slowly stepped out of Bo’s office and closed the door. He turned to walk out of the station with a smile on his face.
John got in his car and headed to downtown Llanview. He pulled up in front of a store. Parked the car and just sat there for about 10 minutes.
“Come on McBain, you can do this. You know it is the right thing to do. Unbuckle your seat bell, turn the car off, unlock the doors, open the door step out and close and lock the door.” He said to himself. John followed his own directions to a T- and slowly walked into the store.
“Good afternoon sir, what can I do for you today?” The clerk behind the counter said.
John took a deep breath looked at the clerk and said, “Where are your engagement rings.” The sound of his own voice resonated in his ears over and over again. Yes he was in a jewelry store about to make one of the biggest purchases of his life. He flashed back to when he had done this before, when he had bought Caitlyn an engagement ring. This time was different though, he wasn’t going to let anything stop them from getting married. He needed to make Evangeline Williamson his wife, and he would stop at nothing to do so.
“Sure Sir, right this way. Are you looking for some in particular?” The clerk said as he motioned John towards to the stores assortment of engagement rings.
“Actually I have no idea what I am looking for. It is one of those things that I will know it when I see it.” John replied with a small smile.
“Of course sir, I will let you look, just let me know if you want to look at anything closer. “ The clerk left John on his own accord to look at the rings.
John stood there staring into the glass case at all of the engagement rings. Nothing was jumping out at him. They all seemed too usual and plain, nothing reminded him of Evangeline nothing was unusual enough to grace her hand. Then when he thought all was lost he saw out of the corner of his eye the ring that would make her cry and never leave her hand once he slipped on her finger.
“Excuse me sir, umm can I see that one?”
“Yes of course sir, let me get my keys from the back.” The clerk walked to the back of the store to grab his keys from his desk.
As the clerk started to walk towards the back, the door to the store opened.
“Okay, Listen everyone Hands in the air. This is a robbery!” Two men said in unison with ski masks on and guns waving in the air.
“Shit, are you kidding me, this cannot be happening not now!” John said in a mumbled voice.
“Hey, hey you over there, I said get you hands up!” One of the gun man said waving his gun at John. John raised his hands slowly as to not frighten the gunmen and also to hide his badge at the same time. If they even saw his badge things would be dragged out for so long and he really wasn’t in the mood for a hostage situation.
“Okay, get over there, and lay on the ground with your head down!” One of the gunmen said pushing John to the ground.
“You, you’re coming with me.” The second gun man said as he jumped over the counter and dragged the store clerk into the back.
The first gunmen kept an eye on his hostage and began breaking all of the glass cases that housed all of the jewelry. Glass shattered around John and all he could do was plan in his head his next move. The second gunman was in the back “helping” the clerk open up the safe. This was John’s chance if he was going to do anything he had to do it now.
He moved his hand down to his waist and un holstered his gun. He rolled to his side and fired into the first gun man’s leg. And then into his arm holding his gun. The other gun man came running out but John was still on the floor.
“Hey, man what the hell is going on!”” yelled the second gunman. The first gun man was screaming in agony with the bullets that had entered his body from John’s gun.
John slowly raised himself up off the floor and caught the second gun man in his sight. “Man these guys must be real amateurs to rob a jewelry store in broad daylight.” John thought to himself. When his shot was clear enough to get he aimed for the second gunman and shot taking out the gunman at the shoulder. The second gunman went down screaming just as much if not more than his partner. John moved himself over to where the first gunman lie and kicked his gun away and then did the same near the second gunman.
“You guys were in the wrong place at the wrong time. “ John said looking down at the first gunman lying on the ground bleeding behind the counter.
“Hey, McBain here, yeah I just apprehended two guys robbing the Westin Jewelry store down town. Yeah 2342 Windsor lane. Send an ambulance as well yeah two suspects both wounded.” John said and hung up his cell phone and waited as the ambulance and back up arrived.
He went to check on the clerk and found him cowering in the corner of his office.
“Hey, its okay you can come out now. Lieutenant John McBain, Llanview Police.” John said extending his hand to the clerk. “Are you okay sir? He didn’t hurt you did he?”
“No, no I am alright. Thank you Lieutenant. Wow, we have never been robbed. Thank the Lord you were here.”
“Yeah, just good timing I guess.”
“I want to thank you. Whatever ring you were thinking of getting let me tell you, you won’t have to worry about how much it costs. It is the least I can do for you saving my life and the store a whole lot of money.”
“That really isn’t necessary. I can pay for the ring, and actually I rather pay for it if you don’t mind.” John said as he moved the clerk out of the back office and he heard the sirens pulling up in front of the store.
“Lieutenant!” an officer yelled slowly walking into the store with his gun drawn.
“Yeah I am back here with the owner. Holster your gun officer.” the officer did as his commander told him to do.
John slowly walked out from behind the counter with the owner standing behind him. The two gunman lay on the floor still writhing in pain but handcuffed to the each other and the jewelry case they weren’t going anywhere.
The EMT’s came blazing in and assessed the criminals hauled them up on the gurneys and loaded them into the ambulances. Their wounds were not too serious. John had just wounded them enough to cause them incapacitated but not to kill them.
“Be careful with those two I wanted them treated and under complete watch the whole time. Once they are able I want them booked and processed, by the books guys, by the books.” John said to the EMT’s and the officer with them.
“You got it Lieutenant.”
“Sir are you sure you are okay?” John asked one more time.
“Yes, Lieutenant thank you again. The ring you wanted if you show it to me I will hold it for you until you can get back here and pay and pick it up.”
“Oh, really that would be great!” John pointed to the ring that still sat in an unbroken case. “That is it. That one. Please keep it safe, it is for a very special woman."
“Of course, anything for my favorite police officer.” The clerk said with a smile. He shook John’s hand and then walked over to the counter and took the ring out and placed it into the safe for safe keeping until John could come back. Now he had to get back to the station and file his police report.