Prologue
“… I turned twenty-one in prison doing life without parole.
No one could steer me right but Mama tried, Mama tried
Mama tried to raise me better, but her pleading I denied
That leaves only me to blame 'cause Mama tried.”
That’s as much of Merle Haggard as I heard as the car with radio playing very loud pulled out away from the pumps. I guess I was doing a lot better than the one in that song as I was well over twenty one and I had not yet seen the inside of a prison. I wonder if the two just coming in the door could make that same statement.
The other guy that worked the graveyard shift had warned me about two black guys wearing the ever present black hoodies who stole beer and threatened him while he was on duty. I decided that would not happen on my shift. I walked around the counter and started arranging the items on display near the door.
Sure enough the two were coming from the back and each was carrying a case of beer. As they got close I spoke.
“I’ll just be a second and I can ring you up.”
“Ain’t nobody gonna ring nobody up. Get outta the way cracker.”
I stood up but stayed between them and the door. Even though I knew he was speaking English he was somewhat hard to understand.
“Gentlemen of course I have to ring up the sale.”
The first one was close enough now and he actually swung the case of beer as a weapon! What an idiot. The case was too heavy and awkward to work for a weapon. I just stepped slightly out of the way then stepped back in as the beer missed me and grabbed his other arm which I used for leverage to throw him on the floor. I did not let go of the arm and applied enough pressure until I heard it break, only then did I let go. And then I faced the other man.
The other guy was smart enough to put his beer down on the floor but he then pulled out a knife.
“I’m goona cut you up cracker.”
He made a very amateur lounge at my mid section with his knife which was very easy to evade. I grabbed the hand with the knife using both of my hands and applied pressure to the back of his hand with my thumbs and the knife clattered to the floor.
Stepping into him I just pushed back and when he tried to step back to keep his balance he found one of my feet behind him which caused him to trip and fall backward. I rode down with him and on the way brought my knee up to his mid section and allowed all of my over two hundred pounds of weight to fall on that one knee. I heard at least a single rib snap when we hit the floor.
I got up and walked around the counter and called the police. I told them that there was a robbery in progress at my location and please send someone as soon as possible because I was afraid for my very life before I hung up the phone.
I then walked back around the counter to keep the two guys company that were both still lying on the floor with both of them moaning. When I walked back over near them both tried to crawl away from me and I believe I heard both of them tell me to stay away from them along with an extreme number of swear words of course.