Here's my close call story from my high-volume convenience/liquor store days. My wife and I worked the busy Friday & Saturday 4pm to 12pm closing time shift. She ran the cash register, and I sacked beer and kept the walk-in cooler's windows full. About 8 pm or so business had slacked off. A beat-up car pulled up to my side of the gas pumps. Three black guys got out and headed inside. The black driver left the motor running and got out and pumped $2 gas in the car. Then he got back in the car and left the motor running. That fact put me on alert.
The other three came inside the store. One got beer out of the walk-in cooler, and one put a big pile of frozen sandwiches in the microwave and cooked them maybe 30 seconds, not even half enough time to even thaw the sandwiches. That fact further put me on alert.
The third guy walked over to the plate glass window looking out over the parking lot and the highway. He stood there looking up and down the highway. He had a semi-auto pistol tucked in his rear waistband. The outline of the butt was clearly visible under his shirt. That fact told me the shiite was about to hit the fan.
I left my wife at the register and I sat on a counter behind the checkout counter. I placed the store's 38 Chief's Special on the counter beside my right hand and clearly visible to the three guys when they walked up to the checkout counter maybe five feet away.
They walked up, and I purposely engaged them in a conversation so they were forced to see my pistol and my hand at the ready. My plan was simple: if the window guy reached his hand behind his back I would raise my 38. If he came out with the semi-auto, I would put a 38 wadcutter exactly in the center of his chest. They nervously paid for their gas, beer, and still-frozen sandwiches. Window guy noticed the closed circuit TV monitor above the front door.
I said, "There's cameras all around the store, and everything they see goes on a VCR in the back." Then I lied and added, "There's another monitor and another VCR down at the local police station. The officer on duty is seeing exactly what you see in the monitor above the door."
They left. When they drove away, my wife and I breathed sighs of relief. I called the cops, but the car wasn't found. They headed south, and I have always suspected that they previously cased the store and getaway routes, so they went south then circled through town and left town in a different direction. I eventually lost the store and the wife, and I am now very glad about losing both.
