As noted in the previous post current events always need to
be addressed, it is somewhat like what the children are missing in the story.
They have no idea what is going on around them and nor do their parents. If you
don’t or can’t pay attention to the world how can you make the changes to make
it better.
And the story continues……………………………………………………………………………
It was shopping day. And she enjoyed shopping day. She
usually preferred being alone, but as a human she did need communal interaction
and so she set aside certain days to go out and get involved with what was left
with the idea of community. And at times she missed him so going out and
interacting took away some of the pain of him not being around anymore.
She got up early for shopping day, very early. Took pains to
take out just enough money from where she had it stashed in a secret
compartment under the house. A few years ago she had took out most of her money
from the banks. Luckily this was right before all the banks were taken over by
certain elements of the ruling elite. No one said it was a take over and to the
general populace they didn’t know what happened. Yet the banks were continuously
monitored to see if anyone was able to start saving or building a balance in
their accounts. Something always
happened when a person started to get ahead a bit in life. All of a sudden
their job was cut or their house would need an extrodinate amount of repairs.
It was something that would eat into the budget and usually enough to make them
go crawling to the secondary banking system for a loan. Once you obtained one
of these loans your finances were never in your control again. It would have
taken three full time jobs to truly pay these off completely and be rid of
them. They became a round robin of refinancing just to make the payments for
the previous one and then you never had enough for food etc. Unbeknowst to
many, getting ahead was not the best idea or at least getting ahead where
someone could know. She had decided that something was amiss so she decided to
keep her money to herself. Fortunately for her, the timing was good. Even
though the bosses wanted to look at the history of people’s accounts, since no
one was trained very well or hours were kept scare no one had the time to
historical audits of people’s accounts so only the present activity in the
banks was reviewed.
She divided her money up so she could carry it in different
places on her self and in her car. She knew that if she did get stopped by a
gang or the boss’ men it would be better to have some in her purse for them to
take their share than to try to hide it all. She had never been robbed, but
having talked to the shop keepers over time she knew what the risks were in
going out so better to act like you have contributed to the boss’ neighborhood good
campaign than fight it. She knew how much she needed so hid that amount and
then she made sure there looked like an appropriate amount was in her purse for
someone shopping on a budget and hoped for the best.
And she knew to go early so she was out of the house about
ten minutes before the shopkeepers opened their stores. Many didn’t have
business till later in the day, but there were a few smart shoppers that would
come out when they could so they wanted to be ready for them since these people
were generally their best customers.
Today it was cloudy so a bit dreary, but that did not dampen
her spirits as she drove out of the garage and headed off to the stores. She
did drive cautious with her eyes wide open. She knew to give in if someone
attempted to claim a donation from her, but if they wanted anything else from
her there would be a fight. She had no desire to become a victim like so many
other women were becoming. And of course the police never were able to solve
the crime. Some even suspected that the police were some of the worst when it
came to crimes against women. No one could prove anything of course, most crime
was blamed on gangs, yet the boss’ men and police never seemed to be where they
were needed nor able to help women who had been victimized. She decided it
would probably be the end for her if she fought, but she was going to fight. So
under her car seat placed very carefully in a slot that you would not feel if
you made a cursory feel under the seat was an older but well maintained Kimber
9mm semi automatic pistol. She had one that was made to prevent snagging if
being pulled out of a holster or in her case from a slot or sleeve cut into the
fabric under her seat, an Ultra CDP II. It was one of the guns he had got for
her many years ago. He had taken her to the gun range many times. It was a
hobby for him. At first she regretted going at all, but she loved him so she
went to humor him and now something she was glad she had done. Even though she
didn’t like shooting she had become very comfortable with one in her hand and
being able to use it. She always made sure the gun had been reviewed the night
before she went shopping just to be on the safe side. She also had two hunting
rifles and a shotgun in the house. They were also well maintained.
She drove to the grocery store. A two store building built
over a hundred years ago and being held together by sheer desire of the store
owner. An older gentleman of around 60 years old. Since early it was slow so he
saw her coming down the street and his eyes lit up. Yes he was married and he
had no desire to do harm to his wife, but this woman was still very beautiful
and he appreciated when she came in. His wife also saw her coming from an
upstairs window. She stayed upstairs for two reasons. One she knew the lady was
beautiful and all the older men fell all over themselves to help her including
her husband, but two her husband always seemed to be a bit more amorous on the
evenings she came. She still loved her husband even with all the difficulties,
so a night where he would make advances and pay special attention to her was
something she still enjoyed. They still felt good to each other, so what if
some days this women provided a bit of a spark to him , he still ended the
night with her. The other was she did spend money. The wife didn’t know where
she got it nor did she care. She was a good customer and upstairs there were
still items to sell in the store. The wife wanted to be up there to help her if
needed without interfering with the woman’s interaction with her husband. They
always needed the business and she was one of the best customers. And the wife
knew not to say anything about her being a good customer. It benefited them and
the woman for no one to know.
She arrived at the store and was greeted warmly by the
shopkeeper. She had her list and he filled it hastily knowing the importance of
anyone noticing she was in the store for any amount of time. If people were
watching, a long visit might mean a large sell. He hated that he had to hurry,
but he made every effort to finish the list. The lady went upstairs for a
couple of items while he filled the grocery order. The wife and the woman had a
short, but cordial conversation. The wife kept her up to speed on some of the
goings on that she knew about. She appreciated having the conversation even if
it was mainly gossip. It was still nice to talk to adults from time to time.
They loaded her car in the back taking out the bags through
the rooms where the lived in the back of the store. Everything was going well
and they were almost done. Then the car drove by the street and probably wouldn’t
have noticed except one of the gang members riding was bored so he was looking
down the alley and saw the lady’s car in the back. He knew what this meant so
the car turned around and blocked the alley. Luckily they were almost done
loading the car and had put the groceries in the trunk except for two bags of
some of the least important items. The shop keeper and she knew just like the
money situation you had to have something visible to pacify the gangs so they
wouldn’t suspect there was something more. Gang members because of alcohol and
drug abuse just weren’t that smart.
She had never been robbed before. She started to drive down
the alley to hopefully force the gang car to move. It didn’t. She stopped just
short of hitting it on the side of the car which prevented the guys from
getting out that side so they all climbed out the other side and now were a bit
angry. She stayed in her car while they got out. Once they got close she put
the car in reverse and went back down the alley at a high rate of speed. The
gang members got back in their car and started giving chase. The shop keeper
and his wife watched in horror as this played out. People rarely ran. They
would just accept the inevitable and move on. This was unexpected. She was a
woman, alone. A very dangerous move. At
the end of the alley before she could back into the street another car pulled
up and she came to a screeching stop. She was trapped. The gang members got out
and began to yell at her. The shop keeper did what he was supposed to do and
called the police. Not that he expected them to come, but being older this was
something he knew what was supposed to be done.
The police operator said someone would be out soon. He didn’t believe
her, but he had called.
The cars that had trapped her were not of the same gang.
This made the situation even more dangerous.
To be continued…….
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