Chapter 1

That deciding moment was four months after I had left college. Eighty-seven days after I had started what seemed to be a dream job, at the time. Three days before my probation period was up. I would soon be looked upon as a full employee, with benefits.

I was on my lunch break, but I also needed to go to the bank. The closest branch was downtown. It also had two distinct advantages. The first being that there was a park across the street; parks always had an attraction for young girls I had found out. The second reason, and much more practical, was that the bank had its own parking lot. In a downtown location, that was a premium. If I wanted to eat, as well as stand in line at the bank, this was the branch to go to.

After parking, I went across the street and ate my lunch. The park was nice and it was a pleasant fall day. One of those that had clear blue skies yet was not too hot. I sighed, after I had finished my lunch. Not a single girl to be seen. Even though school had started, it was one of those many school holidays that no one else gets off. There had been plenty of other men and women who had filled up any place to sit and enjoy the park, but I wasn't interested in them.

As for my schooling, and much to my parents chagrin, I wasn't going back this semester. They had scheduled to be out of the country on an extended vacation with friends. Gone for two months in Asia, including remote parts of China. It coincidently coincided with the time I was going to be back in school! Imagine that. The good thing about that was that my mother couldn't just call and hound me about my decision about school.

Now it was banking time. I walked in and smiled. Only three people were ahead of me in line. After ten minutes there was no trace of smile. There were now still two people in front of me. One man at the counter was engaging two of the three available tellers in his problems. I tried to remain calm as I watched the minutes tick by, wishing I could have used the ATM for my transaction.

By the time the teller gave me my deposit slip, I was ten minutes late for work. As frustrated as I felt, my upbringing caused me to hold the door open for a woman entering the bank.

My nose cringed as soon as I stepped outside, smelling the exhaust of the diesel from the armored car that had just pulled up, right in front of the door. Having to now walk beside the smelly truck, I was just a bit more than agitated.

Half way to the parking lot and in the middle of the driveway, I heard the first pop. There was a yell. I turned and looked. Oh fuck! A robbery!

To this day I don't know how I heard, felt, sensed, smelled— I shouldn't have known. My head turned and I saw a girl on a bike coming down the sidewalk.

Another 'oh fuck' ran through my head. The combination of conditioning my parents had brought me up to have, along with my obsessive desire for junior high girls, made me react as I did.

I briefly saw her head turn towards me, as she had been looking across at the park, oblivious to what was going on next to her. Her eyes widened. She started a scream as I grabbed hold of her, pulling her down to the ground. My leg caught the edge of the bike, throwing me off balance. As my leg went up in the air, I felt a searing pain rip through it. With both hands on the girl and my leg in the air, I was in a bad shape.

My head hit the sidewalk.