"Get on it, Spic, I want the cash, NOW!", the criminal yelled. "You!", he shouted at Tony, "Get out of the way, I wanna see the guy behind you."
Tony stood there motionlessly. He felt Pedro move closer behind him. He was not about to give up his friend to a petty criminal. He knew Pedro had a family, even grandchildren. He'd be damned if he'd let them lose their grandpa.
"Alright. Look, there's no reason to hurt anyone here.", Tony uttered, his hands still up in the air. It would take all of his Marine and CTU training to bring this to an ending without a bloodbath and he was pulling it all together.
"Shut up! Move!", the man yelled.
"Hold on.", Tony replied. "Take it easy, alright? You'll get what you want, just put that gun down."
"You gotta be kidding me. Who are you to tell me what to do, huh?", the man answered, waving his gun.
Behind the shelves, Michelle felt her heart in her throat. No, Tony, don't play the hero, she thought, agonized about what she might witness.
Tony continued speaking to the man calmly. "Look, I'm just someone who'd rather get out of this alive, alright? Now put that gun down and we'll get you what you want. There's no reason to threaten anyone."
"What do you think I am, Spic, stupid?", the man exclaimed.
No, Redneck, I think you're a damn moron. Tony thought.
"No, you're not.", Tony said. "That's why you'll put that gun down. You know they'll get you. Right now, you can get away with armed robbery, you don't wanna be a murderer. Come on. Be smart.", Tony urged him, taking one small step towards the man, hoping to get an opportunity to end things soon.
"Stop right there!", the criminal shouted and Tony halted. He knew when to chance things and this was not the moment. He kept eye contact with his opponent, attempting to read him, predict his next move.
Tony.. Honey watch yourself... Michelle thought and took a small step behind a different shelf, wanting to see the assailant better. What can you do to help, Michelle?, she asked herself. Diversion.
She agreed with her inner voice.
Tony focused on the gun in front of him. The robber tightened the grip on his weapon, Tony could see the criminal beginning to sweat, his eyes had started wandering around. Don't get fussed now, Redneck. Don't cramp your fingers, Tony thought. You gotta calm him down, Almeida or he's gonna pull that trigger just outta nervousness.
Michelle took one of the beer cans and laid it safely in the middle of the pile of groceries she held.
"Hey, listen to me.", Tony began.
Michelle pulled the seal on the can. The can opened with a clicking sound and at that moment, Pedro looked towards Michelle, and the armed man also looked in the direction of the shelves for a moment, afraid that his information was false and the store had a guard after all.
Tony used the diversion and ran towards robber, grabbing the gun firmly. The man was shocked for a moment, not reacting as fast as he would have had to in order to fight the certified Krav Maga instructor that Tony was. A few skillful moves from Tony and he had disarmed the thief, knocking him out cold. The robber lay sprawled on the floor. Tony pointed the weapon at him just to make sure.
Gotcha, Redneck. Tony breathed a sigh of relief. With his right foot, he turned the thief, who was still unconscious, onto his stomach, twisting his arms behind him and placed a knee on the man's hands.
"Pedro, get some rope. Go!", Tony said to his friend. Pedro nodded, relieved and swiftly went to the back of the store. "Michelle, are you alright?", Tony called.
"I'm fine, Tony." she said, coming into view after placing the groceries to the ground. "You ok?", she asked, worried.
"Yeah, I am. Call 911.", Tony said.
"Alright.", she answered, walking over to a phone at the store and dialing 911. "This is Federal Agent Michelle Dessler with CTU. There's been an attempt at an armed robbery. The suspect is disarmed and under control but we need a unit to pick him up... Yes. We're at Pedro's Delicatessen..."
Michelle continued giving the details while Pedro came back with a piece of rope and handed it to Tony. "Here you are, Antonio."
Pedro watched his young friend tie up the man on the ground almost mechanically, his moves practiced. Tony tied up the criminal's hands first, removed a pocket knife from his pants, cut the rope, and then moved over to the man's feet, shackling them together as well, and finally, he bent the men's legs towards his back and connected the restraints on the hands and feet with a third piece of rope. Pedro had never seen Tony at work, but now he was glad that Tony turned up at the store at the right moment. When Tony finished, he turned his prisoner to the side, then got up, but stayed close to the man on the ground, watching him. Satisfied with the restraints he had placed on the man, he looked over to Michelle.
After ending the phonecall, Michelle went over towards Tony and Pedro.
"Watch him, will ya.", Tony said to Pedro and then eagerly took a few steps towards Michelle, meeting her half-way.
Tony and Michelle hugged, both relieved that the other was okay. She pulled away and kissed him, and Tony kissed her back with all he had. As she pressed her soft lips against his, and a moment later his tongue twirled in her mouth, finally, he felt the adrenaline rush in his body and the tension in his mind begin to die down, leaving him happy he was able to ressolve the situation without anyone important getting hurt. And especially, he had been thankful that, during all that time, Michelle was never in the line of fire, never in front of that gunbarrel. He silently thanked God and Providence as their lips parted and he held her tightly in his arms and she leaned her head on his shoulder.
They let go of eachother after a while and Tony kissed Michelle's forehead. "Come on.", he uttered lowly, taking her hand, beginning to walk towards Pedro. She followed him willingly, glancing in passing at the figure on the ground; the man looked like a package ready to be sent.
The sounds of police cars outside revealed that backup was approaching. Pedro went up to Tony, offering his hand. "Graçias, amigo.", he said.
Tony shook his hand and pulled him into a quick hug. "De nada, my friend.", he answered. "Anytime."
Pedro smiled. "Michelle, take whatever you want to, it's on me. You guys should go have that picnic."
"Thanks Pedro. We'll hang around for a while.", Tony answered. He still needed to talk to Pedro before they left. And now the police were there, he knew they'd have to stay for a while but he was hoping they'd let them go soon enough.
The officers entered the store, securing it, allowing Tony, Michelle and Pedro to lower their hands again once it was clear they were no threat and that Michelle was the one who called them in.
The detective on duty introduced himself to the three of them and quickly went over the main points of the attempted robbery with Tony and Michelle first. Then he began talking to Pedro, but announced to Tony that he wanted to talk to him and Michelle again later on and Tony nodded. "Fine. But not today. We're off duty. You can reach us at CTU tomorrow, alright?", he said calmly but firmly, looking the detective in the eye.
The detective looked at Michelle, and then back at Tony. From the glances they were giving eachother during all the time he was talking to them, it was clear they had other plans and he decided to let them leave. After all, they were not just some random eyewitnesses who would forget what happened as soon as they left the store. He trusted that as Feds, they'd still give him accurate information the next day. "Alright. I'll be in touch.", he agreed.
"Thank you." Tony said, and walked over to Michelle. "Uhm, look, the detective cleared us to leave, but I need to talk to Pedro for a moment before we do, alright?", he finished, biting his lip.
"Sure. I'll wait outside, let them do their jobs.", she smiled and Tony smiled back, nodding at her. "Thank you Pedro.", Michelle called to the store owner, holding up the bag of groceries he had put together for them, insisted on her taking it and refused to take any money in return.
"Always welcome, Michelle.", Pedro laughed, waving goodbye to her. "And thanks."
When she left, Tony joined Pedro. "About before... Remember what I said about the surprise?"
"Yeah.", Pedro said.
Tony slipped a hand into a pocket in his jacket, taking out a key with a pink key fob, giving it to Pedro. "Here's what I need you to do.", Tony said in a low voice.
Outside, Michelle watched Tony talk to Pedro through the glass window of the store. At some point, a huge smile covered Pedro's face. Then she saw Tony say something, and Pedro visibly surpressed that smile, trying to look serious, but his eyes betrayed that there was something big behind it.
A couple of minutes later, Tony and Pedro hugged again and Tony strolled towards the exit. He joined Michelle a moment later, putting his arm around her waist. "Now, where's that picnic?", he said.
"I've got it right here", Michelle answered, showing him the bag, which Tony took from her to carry.
"You're my hero, Tony.", she smiled, kissing his shoulder.
"You know I'll do anything for you, sweetheart. Anything.", he replied sincerely.
She stopped and turned to face him, wrapped her arms around him and looked him in the eye. "I love you Tony. I really do love you.", she whispered and, closing her eyes, she led her lips towards his.
Their lips had almost touched when Tony whispered, "I couldn't love anyone more." He hugged her tightly and they kissed passionately.
At some point, they continued to walk, holding hands and ignoring the rest of the world around them. At some point, the entrance to the Echo Park was straight ahead and they entered, looking forward to finding a secluded corner somewhere by the lake and spending a quiet rest of the afternoon there. At that point, they felt like teenagers who were just beginning to discover what love was.