Chapter 8

Assuming a defensive posture, Ling stepped in front of John and Ed. Edgy, Rover and Shadow were both whipping their tails signaling their agitation. There was something wrong in the area, but there wasn’t any sign of what it might be. All they knew was that the problem was inside the convenience store.

John had felt drawn to the store, but Ling wouldn’t allow him to enter. His service was conflicting with Ling’s insistence on keeping him safe. Finally, he could take in no more and said, “We go in together.”

Glaring at John, Ling opened the door and entered the store. The cats shot through the opening like a bullet almost knocking her off her feet. With much greater caution, John and Ed entered the store. There was no one in sight.

Ed stopped and looked around the store. It was an older convenience store with the checkout counter, crowded with cigarette racks, next to the door. To the left ran narrow aisles stocked with chips, snack foods, and the necessities of modern life that one often found missing at the last minute. Along the back ran the coolers with soft drinks, milk, and other products that required storage in a cold environment.

Making a sign to be quiet, Ling pointed to a door at the back of the store where the cats were gathered. The cats looked very agitated as though there were something inside that they didn’t like. Driven by an urge to act, John had to restrain himself from charging into the back room, allowing Ling to do her job.

Disliking the prospect of moving into a room that they had no idea what was inside, Ling came over to them and said, “I don’t like this. I recommend that we call the police and let them handle it.”

Unable to resist his urge any longer, John walked over to the door and opened it. As he stepped in, he shouted, “Hello. I want to pay for this quart of milk.”

The cats slipped into the room and gathered in front of a door marked ‘office.’ Very irritated, Ling pushed John out of the way and ran into the room. Ed followed them and examined the room. The majority of the space was occupied by storage and was dimly lit by a single forty watt light bulb. To the immediate left was a heavy metal lined door that was the entrance into the cooler. To the immediate right was an unlit unisex bath room with the door open. Next to the bath room was a closed wooden door that had a little sign pronouncing that it was the office.

Moving into the storage area, Ed immediately noticing a young woman tied up and laying on the floor in the corner. The expression around her eyes was one of terror. Ed knelt down and removed a Swiss army knife from his pocket. Holding a finger in front of his lips to let her know that she was to remain quiet, he cut the ropes that were binding her legs. Moving carefully, he moved behind her and cut the ropes around her wrists. Rather than removing the gag, he allowed her to do that giving her a little sense of empowerment in freeing herself.

With a little hand gesture, he signaled for her to follow him out of the storage area. The noise caught John’s attention and he turned to watch Ed lead the girl out of the storage room. He followed them to find out what the girl knew about what to expect in the office. She finished removing the gag when they reached the inside of the convenience store proper and took a deep breath.

Whispering, John asked, “How many bad guys are there?”

Walking over to the cooler, Ed retrieved a coke for the girl to drink. Handing it to her, she took three big sips before answering the question. Even so, her voice came out as a croak as she said, “One. He has a gun.”

Nodding, John asked, “What does he look like?”

She answered, “The guy is old, maybe mid-twenties with short hair that is shaved around the back.”

Amused that the girl thought that someone younger than him was old, Ed asked, “What does the store employee look like?”

“He’s real old. At least forty and bald.”

“Thanks for the information,” replied John as he returned to the storage area.

Unsure what to do with the young woman, Ed suggested, “Let me get you into our car. You’ll be safe there.”

The girl looked at Ed and said, “I’d rather not get in a car with a stranger.”

Understanding her sentiment, Ed suggested, “You can wait outside or stay in here while I call in the police.”

She looked outside and said, “I’d rather stay in here.”

Frowning, Ed asked, “How old are you?”

“Fourteen.”

Looking at her, Ed could hardly believe that she was fourteen. She looked like she was eighteen or older. Of course, that explained why she thought someone in their mid-twenties was old. He said, “When I’m done with the police, call your parents. You’ll want your mother or father here when the police start asking you questions.”

Ed went over to the phone and dialed the police. It was difficult telling the police where they were, since they had just been driving through the area when John had insisted that they stop. The police said that they would be there in about ten minutes as it was well outside of town. Almost as an afterthought, Ed mentioned that an FBI agent and private detective were in the process of apprehending the suspect.

After hanging up, he handed the phone to the young girl to call her parents. It was a very emotional call. When she hung up, Ed said, “I think it would be best if we wait outside for your parents. Our wives are outside in the van and they can watch over you. One of them is a doctor and the other is a nurse.”

Following her out the front door, Ed waved to the van where Beth and Kelly were waiting for them to finish their business. The pair of them and Tiger left the car and came over to Ed. Ed said, “This young lady was tied up in the back of the store. Ling is going to subdue the suspect. John is serving as backup to Ling and the cats. The police and her parents are on the way here.”

Kelly asked, “What are you going to do?”

Ed answered, “I’m going to guard this door so that if he gets past John, then I can stop him.”

Entering the store, Ed stopped so that he was effectively blocking the exit. He had hardly finished positioning himself when a man burst through the door from the back room. He flew out head first with Ling holding his arm between his legs. When she lifted up on his arm, the pressure on the guy’s balls forced him to a stop and to raise on his tiptoes. She said, “You are going to lie down on the floor spread eagle.”

She slowly forced him down to the floor by putting pressure on his back. When he was flat on the floor, she kicked his legs apart and put his hands out to the side. Rover came over and laid on the guys back, pinning him there.

Coming out from the back room with the owner of the store, John stopped by the man on the floor and said, “If you move that cat will rip you to shreds before you can get one foot.”

Ed went over to the owner and looked over him. There was a nasty cut on his forehead that looked like he had been hit by the pistol. As he led him outside where Kelly and Beth were watching the girl, he said, “We have a doctor outside. She’ll look at the cut on your forehead.”

Holding a hand over his forehead, the owner replied, “Thank you. I’m not feeling very well.”

That statement worried Ed as he considered what that meant about the nature of the injury. It was most likely a mild concussion, and it made him feel better that Beth was here to take care of him. He handed the man off to Beth and Kelly and said, “This is the owner. He’s been hit in the head and is complaining that he doesn’t feel well.”

Beth immediately went to examine the man while Kelly, after checking with the girl, went over to help. Since things here were well in hand, he started to return to the store. Pausing to look over at the girl they had rescued, he saw that she was busy petting Tiger. It always amazed him how the cats could help calm victims by giving them something to take their minds off the most recent events. He went over to her and knelt down. He asked, “Are you feeling okay now?”

Smiling up from Tiger, she answered, “Much better. Beth and Kelly took very good care of me. They introduced me to Tiger. He’s such a wonderful cat.”

Happy to hear that she was feeling better, Ed stood up and said, “He’ll take care of you for now. He’s a great watch cat.”

As she turned her attention back to the cat, Ed returned to the store. The man was lying very still on the floor, afraid to move. Standing with arms crossed, Ling watched the man for any trace of movement. Leaning on the counter, John looked bored and asked, “When are the police getting here?”

Checking his watch, Ed answered, “Another five minutes.”

There was a muffled croak from the man on the floor. The attempt to protest his treatment had been cut off by a very slight pressure of claws on his back. Amused, John and Ed looked at the man on the floor. John said, “I think the perpetrator of this crime feels that five minutes is too long.”

There was a squealing of tires from a car driving too fast entering the parking lot. Ed stood at the open door to see what was happening. A very frantic looking woman leapt out of the car as soon as it stopped. As Tiger got out of the way, the woman raced over to the girl nearly blinded by tears. Ed called into the store, “The girl’s mother has just arrived.”

Beth called over to Ed, “Can you see if there are any bandages in there?”

Ed returned to the store and looked around for bandages. There were Band-Aids, but no bandages. He picked out a selection of things that might help and other medical supplies that might be of use. Returning outside, Ed said, “I couldn’t find a bandage, but here is a box of various size Band-Aids. I also brought some antiseptic and aspirin. Is there anything else I should look for?”

Beth looked at what he had brought and said, “No, I can make do with this stuff.”

Hoping to make sure that everything was okay, Ed went over to the mother and daughter. When the mother finally stopped hugging her daughter, Ed said, “The doctor and nurse gave your daughter a cursory examination and found nothing wrong. She was scared but unhurt.”

The mother said, “Oh, thank you so much for taking care of my little girl.”

As a police car raced down the street, Ed checked his watch. They were going to be late for the wedding. Glancing over at Beth and Kelly, he realized that they wouldn’t complain since they were totally involved in treating the owner of the store. He turned to the woman and said, “The police are coming. They will want to talk to your daughter. Let her tell her story, but don’t let them grill her about details that she is unsure about.”

Having an assigned task seemed to calm the mother significantly. She replied, “Okay, I can do that.”

Turning to the girl, Ed said, “Answer their questions exactly. Don’t embellish your answers. The truth is exciting enough. Okay?”

Nodding seriously, the girl answered, “Sure.”

Satisfied that both of them were ready to deal with the police, Ed stepped forward to fill them in on the basic details. He pulled out his ID and held it up for them as they stepped out of the car. Eyes glancing over the badge, the officer said, “Are you the guy that called us?”

Nodding, Ed answered, “Yes, I am.”

“Okay, can you tell me what’s going on here?”

Ed answered, “Of course. It looks like a man entered the store and forced the owner to tie up a fourteen year old girl. After that, he took the owner into the office. You’ll have to talk to the owner to find out what happened in there. My group was on their way to a wedding. We stopped at the store and realized that something was not right. John and Ling took the cats into the back of the store to deal with the perpetrator. I located the girl in the store room, untied her, and took her out of harms way. I then called you.”

The officer asked, “You have the perpetrator under control?”

Laughing, Ed answered, “Yes, but he would probably prefer to sit in the back of a patrol car as soon as possible.”

“What’s so funny?”

Still laughing, Ed said, “You’ll see when you get inside the store.”

Following Ed into the store, the policeman froze when he saw the man on the floor with the cougar sitting on his back. After looking at the man’s face, the policeman started to laugh and said, “Now I understand.”

At a gesture from John, the cat moved off the man and sat down next to him. The policeman asked, “Has he been read his rights?”

John answered, “No. He also hasn’t said anything. We were detaining him until the appropriate authorities arrived.”

The policeman cuffed the individual and read him his rights as he led him to the police car. John, Ed, and Ling were alone in the store for the first time. The two men relaxed for the first time since this whole thing began. However, a very angry Ling turned to face John. With a barely contained fury in her voice, she said, “If you ever step in front of me again when I’m doing my job, I’ll quit.”

Surprised, John straightened up and said, “Sorry, I didn’t mean to do that. It’s just that I was being driven by an urge to save the owner.”

Holding her hands on her hips, Ling said, “The job of a bodyguard is to protect the client, not for the client to protect the bodyguard. You should not have come in the store.”

Chastised, John said, “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to undermine your job.”

This explosion on the part of Ling surprised Ed, although he should have predicted it. As a security specialist, Ling took her responsibilities very seriously. The cats didn’t seem to like her tone, but didn’t react in an excessive fashion. Ed said, “Ling, John had three bodyguards. Rover, Shadow, and you. Two of those bodyguards were gifts of the God that he serves. The God drives John to this behavior, but has provided for his protection.”

Turning on Ed, Ling said, “That doesn’t change the fact that he should have allowed me to do my job.”

John said, “You opened the door and took the guy out. Not me. You did your job.”

“After you pushed me out of the way when we went in the back room.”

Quietly, Ed said, “May I suggest that after we get home that we find a way for us to work together on cases like this? I don’t think that we’ll have much luck right now.”

At the realization that Ed was right, Ling relaxed and said, “That’s a good suggestion.”

John nodded his approval and said, “I think we had better give the information to the police so that we can at least make the reception.”

Satisfied that things would eventually get resolved, the three of them went outside. There was an ambulance there and they were loading the owner of the store into it. Several other police cars were parked around the store in a very haphazard fashion. Three policemen came over to them to get their statements.

Ling received the least respect from the police. Apparently, the FBI and IRS identifications meant more to them than Ling’s private detective license. The treatment of her immediately improved when John mentioned that Ling was his bodyguard and security specialist.