Chapter Three: The Shot Heard Around the World
It was early evening by the time Gary and Lisa finally returned to McGinty's, tired but satisfied with their accomplishments for the day. They'd just prevented a pile-up two streets down that would have sent a dozen people to the hospital.
Gary plopped himself onto a barstool and ordered them dinner while Lisa went around to the staff, letting them know about a potential visit from the deaf Sue Thomas and her roommate and dog.
"You know," Lisa said as she finally seated herself beside Gary. "That name sounds so familiar."
"What name?" came the voice of Gary's partner, Marissa Clark, tapping her cane as she walked over to them, Reilly the dog in tow.
"Sue Thomas. We stopped her dog from getting run over in the park. Something about that name sounds awfully familiar. She's deaf. We invited her to come here." She suddenly grinned big. "And we met Rascal Flatts." She pulled the tickets and CD out of her pocket. "Concert!" she said, giggling. She put the CD in a little alcove behind the bar, but re-pocketed her tickets. "Tomorrow night." She was practically bouncing on her stool with giddiness. "I can't wait."
Gary simply shook his head, digging into his burger and fries that had been set out in front of him.
Several minutes later, a golden retriever who was not Reilly ran up and put his front paws on Lisa's lap, barking a greeting.
She looked down, and grinned. "Levi! Hey, you. Is Sue here?"
Levi barked, and what Lisa – with her ability to understand animals – heard was, "She sent me over here." He looked over his shoulder, and there was Sue Thomas standing next to an African American woman, both smiling. They waved and Lisa waved back. "Gary, they're here." She practically dragged him over to the two women, Levi trotting behind them.
"Lisa, Gary," said Sue, "this is my roommate, Lucy Dotson. Lucy, these are the people I was telling you about."
"Nice to meet you," said Lucy, shaking Lisa and Gary's hands, then she looked around. "This is some place. You own it?"
"Yep," said Gary. "How about we get you a table?"
"So, you stopped Levi from getting hit by a car?" asked Lucy as the couple led them into the restaurant.
Lisa turned and walked backwards so Sue could read what she was saying. "We were just in the right place at the right time. I love animals; I can't bear to see anything happen to someone's pet."
They seated the two women at a table and Gary summoned a waitress to take their order. At their request, Lisa and Gary sat with them and started chatting. Reilly the dog wandered over and he and Levi sniffed at each other in greeting. Marissa made her way over, too, and Gary introduced her to Lucy and Sue.
"Deaf, huh?" she said. "Yes, I know the feeling of living with a handicap."
They spent a few more minutes discussing their pros and cons of the blind-and-deafness, and that's when Sue mentioned that she and Lucy worked for the FBI. Impressed, Lisa, Gary and Marissa asked questions about what it was like and so on.
Marissa was soon called away for a phone call while Sue excused herself to the restroom, Lisa and Gary pointing her in the right direction, and soon their discussions were interrupted by a "Meow!" from the orange tabby cat that brought tomorrow's newspaper to Gary's door every morning as it rubbed up against Lisa's leg. While Reilly was used to it by now, Levi regarded it with interest, snuffling.
"Down, boy," said Lucy, hearing and noticing the cat.
Levi whined, still eyeing the cat.
The cat hissed. "Who brought that flea-bag?" it asked, glaring at Levi. "One around here is enough."
"Chill," said Lisa.
The cat eyed Levi warily. "Well, whatever. One of you may want to check that paper." It proceeded to disappear behind the bar.
Lisa and Gary exchanged a look. Paper, she said. Aloud, to Lucy, she said, "Sorry, he…doesn't like strange dogs." Gary, meanwhile, excused himself so he could peruse the paper for whatever the cat wanted him to see.
Lucy and Lisa continued chatting when, suddenly, a panicked Gary shouted, "Get down!" just as a black-clad man with a ski mask over his face pulled a gun and fired two shots into the air.
"Nobody move!" he shouted, a foreign accent coating his words.
The two women dove underneath the table, huddling with Levi and Reilly. Lisa locked eyes with Gary, who relayed to her, This wasn't here before. Sue and Lucy are gonna be shot…
Fire lit her eyes. Not if I can help it.
Lisa…
As if on cue, Sue walked out of the bathroom, oblivious to the peril outside. The man trained his gun on her, shouting, "Don't move or I'll shoot! Get down, get down on the floor!"
Sue didn't move; the ski mask was hindering her ability to read lips.
"She can't hear – " Lucy started to say.
"Shut up!" he commanded. "You!" he shouted, waving the gun at Sue, "get down on the floor, bitch!"
Sue still couldn't understand what he wanted; his body language was too erratic for her to figure it out. All she could do was raise her hands in the classic "I'm unarmed" gesture.
The man cocked the gun. "I said down, you c – "
Sue, down! Lisa shouted telepathically, causing the deaf woman to start.
What happened next all blurred together. Just as the attacker pulled the trigger, Lisa flew from her position on the floor to block Sue from the bullets.
Sue, get down! she shouted once more, this time colliding with her and yanking her down so she'd get the message. However, what was pulling her down was the fact that she'd taken three shots and was now on the floor, unconscious.
End chapter three.