A rusty mud-covered pickup truck pulled up as they were loading the groceries into the car. The two guys from the store got out and walked threateningly over towards them. Yue threw the rest of the groceries in on her side and told LeBron to get in the car. She jumped in the car herself but one of the men had stepped in between the car door and the seat she was in. She’d have to reach in between his legs to even grab the door handle to pull the door closed. LeBron had his phone out on the other side of the car.
“Leave right now or I’m calling the cops!” He yelled at the guy. He gulped as his own door was yanked open by the other guy who’d walked around to the passenger side. The man grabbed LeBron by the throat and shoved him back against the seat then forcefully took his phone away from him. On the other side of the car the man was telling Yue to give him her phone.
“Bite me!” Yue said.
“You really want us to hurt your little boyfriend? Just give us the groceries and we’ll leave. You really want to get hurt over a few cans of beans and some toilet paper? The way you two acted was wrong and we’re not going to let you get away with it.” The man was squatting down on his knees now looking directly at Yue.
“You two get back in your truck right now and I won’t hurt you.” An authoritative voice rang out from behind them.
“What the hell you going to do old man? This little bi –“ The man started saying as he stood up. He never finished his sentence since Bart slammed an asp into his face before he got a chance. He’d be spitting out pieces of his teeth for the next few days.
Bart stepped into the man and grabbed him by the back of his head tossing him to the pavement. The guy on the other side of the car ran around to the opposite side of his truck and started fumbling around looking for something. Bart pulled a pistol out of his waistband and stepped over to the truck. He flung the door open on the other side right as the guy pulled a pistol out from under the seat.
“I will shoot you! Drop the weapon and step away from the truck!” Bart roared out in his best sheriff voice. The warrior buried in him wanted to just ice the guy and move on. This was a Publix parking lot in the middle of the day though. Not some jungle in the middle of nowhere.
Yue freaked as three gunshots rang out. She kicked at the man trying to get up off the ground. She yelled for LeBron to grab the other gun. LeBron started digging around under the seat.
“Yue. Get out of the car!” Bart yelled. Yue stepped out of the car. She was shaking all over. The man she’d kicked on the ground had rolled away and was standing beside the truck now with his hands up. He didn’t look scary anymore. He just looked scared.
Bart was walking around the truck shoving the other guy in front of him. He made them both lie down on the ground face first then spread their arms and legs like they were making snow angels. Yue was so happy to see her dad alive and see that he hadn’t killed anybody that she could barely stand up.
“You shot my truck man. You’ll be paying for that.” One of the men said from his position down on the ground. Bart calmly walked up and kicked the guy hard in the crotch. That shut him up. He’d put three bullets into the roof of the truck instead of into the guy’s head. He should be thanking him not looking to sue for damages. If the guy hadn’t thrown his pistol down on the bench seat the fourth bullet would’ve been in his skull. It was a nice nine-millimeter berretta that Bart now had shoved in the back of his pants.
“I should’ve just dropped you but that would’ve created a ton of paperwork and honestly I think we’re all going to be pretty busy the next few days. Me with putting together supplies and you two losers with pulling together money for bail and trading cigarettes for favors down at the pen. Yue do me a favor and call 911.”
Yue did. It was busy. It was still busy fifteen minutes later after they’d tried multiple times. Bart was wondering if maybe he should just give up and let the two morons go when a cop pulled up with his flashers on. The cop got out and had Bart put his weapons down. Yue sighed in relief when she recognized the cop as the same one who’d walked the two men out of the store earlier. After talking to Bart for a few minutes the cop told them to head home. He handcuffed the two men and shoved them in the back of his car. The cop nodded at them as they drove past him out of the parking lot.
“It’s just going to keep getting worse.” Bart intoned. Neither Yue nor LeBron had any doubts now that he was right.
Chapter 4: Preparing for the Worst
The hardest part for Yue of almost being killed in the parking lot over two hundred bucks worth of groceries was Bart ordering them not to tell their mom. That was no big deal for LeBron, but Yue told her mom everything. There was no way she was going to be able to keep such a big secret. She understood why
