A New Setting
Saturday, 12:30PM
Lee expertly navigated the city streets to make his way back to Amanda's house when he veered off suddenly at spotting a shopping center.
"What are you doing?"Amanda said. "I thought we were going back to my house before shopping."
"Change of plans," Lee said as he pulled the "vette into a parking space.
"Lee, wait, I don't feel entirely comfortable running around the supermarket dressed like this," she said apprehensively.
"You don't have to," he said put the car in park and handed her his car keys. "Here, you take the car, go back to your place and get your packing done while I shop, then you can swing back by here and pick me up."
"Yeah, but it's not going to take you very long to shop for just the two of us. It will probably take me longer to pack than it will for you to shop. You may end up waiting a while."
"I like to take my time when I shop," Lee said.
"Still, maybe it would be better to stick to the original plan," Amanda argued.
"Amanda, will you just for once, not argue with me?" Lee said getting agitated. His whole plan would be destroyed if he couldn't gain her cooperation.
"What are you up to?" she said eying him suspiciously.
"What makes you think I'm up to something," he said evasively.
"I know that look," she said knowingly. "Are you sure this just isn't your way of avoiding facing the music with my mother? While I may be able to pass it off to the neighbors as just a late night out, she's going to know the second I walk in the door that I spent the night with you."
"No, I'm not avoiding anything," Lee said. "I promise you, I will "face the music" with your mother when I bring you home again on Sunday. Who knows? That may even be worse since you'll have spent two nights in a row with me by then." He smiled at her, merriment dancing in his eyes.
"Then what's this all about?"She asked him guardedly unwilling to be charmed by his flashy smile this time.
"Just trust me, huh?"He said flashing his most charming smile that he was sure would melt her resolve. When the determination on her face didn't change, he leaned across the console and kissed her gently at first, and then more demanding once she responded. He pulled back and gazed deeply into her eyes. "Trust me?"
"Ok," she said breathlessly as she took the keys from him.
Lee got out of the car and Amanda climbed across the console into the driver's seat adjusting it for her shorter height. "I'll see you soon," he said as he kissed her softly then added, "I love you," with a warm smile. He closed the door for her with a shake of his head amazed by how easily those three little words slipped from his tongue now. Now that he'd gotten them out for the first time, he wondered why he'd ever struggled with saying them in the first place.
He started to turn toward the shopping center until he was stopped by Amanda's voice saying, "Hey." He turned and saw that she'd rolled the window down. When he was once again facing her, she said, "I love you, too," with an equally warm smile then began to back the car out of its space.
Lee made his way through the parking lot toward the supermarket. When he reached the sidewalk in front of the shopping center, he watched until Amanda had pulled the car back out into traffic. Once he was sure that she was out of sight, he changed directions, making a beeline for the jewelry store two doors down.
Lee walked in a little uncertainly. Now that he was here, he wasn't at all sure that it was a good idea given their conversation about waiting until he'd gotten to know the boys a little better. But what if it turns out that she is pregnant? He had joked that she'd have to marry him then, but he wouldn't want her to think that he was only marrying her for that reason. If the day ever came that he did propose to her, he wanted her to know that it was because he loved her and wanted to spend his life with her, not because he'd knocked her up. Looking back on the events of the past day, he couldn't believe that he hadn't even thought of that possibility. He'd never been reckless like this before. In fact, he'd always taken great care to make sure that he would never father a child. He'd always told himself that he never wanted children, but with Amanda, he hadn't given it a second thought. He smiled as he thought of the love and care she showed her boys and realized how much his attitude about it had changed, how much he did want to be a father, but only if she was the mother of his children.
Lee's thoughts were interrupted by the store's sales clerk who'd been eying him distrustfully since he'd entered the building. He didn't like the nervous look of this man, the way he was shifting uncomfortably and he could swear that when he'd walked in that he'd seen a slight bulge in his jacket that could be a gun. Since working here, he'd been trained to spot potential robberies, but this man surely wouldn't attempt something like that in broad daylight in a busy shopping center. "Can I help you find something, Sir?" he said politely trying not to arouse his suspicions, his hand poised over the silent alarm button just in case the shifty-looking man made a move.
There's no harm in looking, Lee thought as he tried to calm his jangled nerves. He then reasoned that even if he did buy her a ring, that didn't mean he had to give it to her right away. If it turned out that she was carrying his child, then at least she would know for sure that he'd already been thinking about it. If he already had a ring for her, then she couldn't possibly think that he was just trying to live up to his parental responsibility. He warily approached the agitated-looking clerk and said, "uh...yeah...I...um...I'm looking for something for my girlfriend," he stammered awkwardly, but then smiled at how easily he was able to refer to Amanda as his girlfriend. "I'm thinking of asking her to marry me," Lee said shoving his hands into the pockets of his jacket so as not to display how badly they were shaking, his nerves still on edge.
The clerk relaxed a little. If he was about to propose, that would explain his nervousness, but he still watched Lee cautiously. When he'd made the move to put his hands in his pockets, he no longer had any doubt that the man was carrying a gun. "Did you have any particular style in mind?" he said trying to act naturally, as he would with any other customer.
"To be honest, I'm not really sure," Lee said as he peered down through the glass case examining its contents. "I only really started thinking about it today."
"Ok, well, why don't we start with these?" The clerk said as he reached into the case and pulled out a tray of rings with elaborate settings.
Lee immediately shook his head. "No, none of those," he said. He thought of all the normal jewelry that Amanda wore and knew instantly that every one of those rings would be too garish for her tastes. He also knew that she always felt incredibly nervous about wearing some of the more elaborate pieces that she'd had to wear on undercover assignments.
The clerk visibly relaxed. If he wasn't interested in the more expensive rings, clearly robbery was not on his mind. "Well, if it's the price that bothers you, I should advise you that the typical rule of thumb when purchasing an engagement ring is three months' salary," he said haughtily.
Lee found he didn't like this guy's attitude at all. "Listen..." He looked at the guy's nametag and continued, "...Jeff, this isn't about the price. I don't care if it costs a year's salary. I just want something that's her style. She's not someone who wears a lot of flashy jewelry. She has very simple tastes."
"Yes, but an engagement ring is supposed to be a symbol of your love for your intended bride," Jeff said.
Lee was becoming increasingly irritated by this snarky salesman and said, "So, by your theory, I'm supposed to prove my love to her by buying her something that I already know she won't like? Put those away. I'm not interested. I'd like to look at these," Lee said as he pointed to a tray of solitaire diamond rings that were much more Amanda's style.
"Yes, Sir," he said as he obeyed startled by the Lee's ire. "So, since you said that the cost is not a problem for you, may I ask what it is that you do for a living?" He couldn't help but still be curious why this man was carrying a gun if he was just shopping.
"I work-" Lee's answer was interrupted by a shout from the doorway
"Everybody get down!" another man bellowed. He was dressed head to toe in black, face covered by a ski mask, a revolver in hand.
Lee reacted in an instant, drawing his own weapon as the other customers dove to the floor and the clerk, Jeff, who'd been waiting on Lee hit the alarm button before hiding behind the counter. "Don't try it, Pal," Lee said pointing his gun squarely at the robber's head."I'm a federal agent and a damn good shot. I don't want to have to take you down, but I will if you don't drop your weapon." The robber hesitated then hastened out the door. Lee was after him in a second, catching up with him quickly, knocking him to the ground and forcing the gun out of his hand. He grabbed the other man's gun, pocketed it and pinned the felon's arms behind his back.
"Come on, Chump," Lee said urging him up and pushing him against the brick wall. He held him there one-handed as he instinctively reached for his belt, holstered his gun now that he'd captured his prey and realized he was stuck. Damn, no cuffs, he thought. He shifted and used both hands to push the guy back into the jewelry store where the nervous patrons were just rising to their feet and the even more nervous Jeff was cautiously peering over the top of the counter. "Hey," Lee said to him. "You got some rope or something to hold this guy with until the cops get here? I'm off-duty, so I don't have any cuffs on me." He was going to have to remember this in the future. As many enemies as he'd made over the years, he never felt comfortable going anywhere unarmed, but he hadn't thought to pack handcuffs since he wasn't expected back at work until Monday.
"Uh...yeah, I think there's some twine in the back that came off the boxes our last shipment came in," Jeff answered nervously still rooted to his spot.
Lee looked at him expectantly and snapped, "Can you get it?" When the clerk still didn't move, he changed his tone. "Look, I've got this guy under control. You're safe."
"Yeah, ok," Jeff said as he hurried to the back room and quickly returned bearing the requested twine.
"Thanks," Lee said and made quick work of securing the would-be robber's hands behind his back then drew his gun again training in on the guy in the event that he tried anything else. It wouldn't be the first time someone with their hands behind their back had tried to tackle him and he wasn't taking any chances with innocent bystanders around. When he noticed a couple of the patrons trying to work their way toward the door, he pulled out his badge showing it to all of them and saying in an authoritative voice, "Nobody leave yet. I know you're all scared and you probably want to get out of here as quickly as you can, but the police will want to take witness statements when they get here. I need you all to stay calm and stay put. You're all safe now." He then turned to glare at the robber and added, "This guy's not going anywhere." He'd just finished his speech when he heard the sirens.
As two metro cops entered the building seeing Lee holding a gun, they trained their weapons on him. "Ok," one of them said. "Let's put the gun down nice and slowly."
Lee held up the ID he still had in his right hand. "I'm a federal agent," he said then nodded toward the robber. "There's your perp," he added as he re-holstered his Beretta.
One of the cops turned toward the attempted-robber while the one who'd spoken to him, took Lee's ID from him and examined it. "Agency, huh?" he said handing his badge back to him. "What the hell are you doing getting involved in a jewelry store heist? That's not exactly your jurisdiction."
"No, it's not. It's actually my day off. I was just shopping for an engagement ring for my girl when this joker made an ass of himself trying to rob the place in broad daylight on a Saturday afternoon." He stowed his badge back in his jacket pocket, pulled out the gun he'd stashed there handing it to the cop by the barrel."Here's his piece," Lee said to the cop and then turned his attention to the perp who was now being handcuffed by the other cop. "Not a brilliant move, huh, Chum?" he said.
The cop he'd been talking to couldn't help but laugh. "We've got this," he said. "Go back to your shopping."
"Thanks," Lee said, as he turned back toward the counter with a shake of his head unable to believe that the simple act of shopping for a ring could result in a showdown. Only my life, he thought. He went back to perusing the tray of rings still sitting on the counter convinced now more than ever that he needed to make a move now. If something like this could happen so randomly when he wasn't even working, he didn't want to waste anymore time questioning whether it was the right thing to do. He couldn't wait any longer to start living his life with Amanda. He knew he may not ask her right away and that when he did, she may not say yes right away, but they would both at least know that they were in a committed relationship. After a few minutes, he found just what he was looking for. "I want this one," he said to Jeff, but soon realized that he wasn't paying attention, his eyes fixed on the cops who were now manhandling the perp into the squad parked outside in the fire lane. "Hey, Jeff," he said snapping his fingers to get the other man's attention. "This one," he said pointing at the ring that he'd selected.
Jeff the sales clerk shook off his stupor. "An excellent choice," He said shifting back into salesman mode. "Three-carat diamond, eighteen-karat gold-"
"Spare me the sales pitch," Lee said impatiently. "Just wrap it up."
"It's not quite that simple. It will have to be sized. All the rings displayed here are a size seven. I don't suppose you know her ring size," Jeff said highly doubtful that he did. While he was grateful that he'd stopped the robbery-in-progress, the man in front of him didn't seem like the type to know those details. He seemed too sure of himself and guys like that always suffered from too much over-confidence. He would love to see hm knocked down a peg or two.
Lee answered with a smile, "Seven," and was delighted to see the smarmy clerk's sarcastic grin disappear. As many times as he'd put a ring on Amanda's finger for undercover assignments, he'd never forget her ring size. His smile widened as he thought of putting a ring on her finger for keeps. As the salesmen turned away from him to work on Lee's request, he reached for his wallet whipping out his MasterCard.
When Jeff had finished boxing up the ring, turned back toward him and asked, "Will this be cash or charge," Lee couldn't help but chuckle at being a step ahead of him as he held up the card. "Oh," Jeff said a little disappointed that he hadn't been able to get one over on the cocky man in front of him. He rang up Lee's purchase, handing him the box fixed him with his fake salesman smile and said, "Good luck, Sir. I hope she says yes," though in reality he hoped the opposite was true. He'd like nothing more than to be a fly on the wall to watch his girl turn him down cold and knock him off his high horse.
"Thanks," Lee said flashing the irritating clerk a smile as he took the ring box from him, veered around the cops who were now taking down witness statements, his smile never leaving his face as he exited the store.