Mug Story
Matthew Ryan Fischer
The
man ran possessed with fear. He showed no hint of awareness of his
surroundings. The driver didn’t have time to stop or react. It was over in an instant.
The man appeared and just ran out into the street with no regard for his own
life – he wasn’t watching where he was going – he was just running. There was
nothing the driver could have done. Short of being psychic, there was no way he
could have foreseen what was to come.
The
driver waited for the police to arrive. He was a decent man. He felt terrible
for what had happened. He had great inner peace and was prepared to pay any
price necessary for what he had done, even if it had been an accident.
At
the same time, a block away at the entrance to a dark alley a man lay on the
ground, bleeding from a gunshot wound. A wallet was on the ground, an indicator
of a mugging gone wrong. The driver and the crowd of gathering witnesses to the
car accident had no knowledge of what was happening close by.
“These guys look similar to you?”
The police had arrived. The detectives were
surveying the scenes. Both men had died.
“Other than their faces being busted up?” replied
his partner.
“Yeah. Other than their busted faces.”
“Nah. Not really.”
“No, I didn’t think so either.”
Hours earlier there had been an attempted mugging.
Manny was held at gunpoint. He handed over his wallet because he didn’t want
trouble and he wanted to live. He wasn’t going to beg though, because he didn’t
want to live like that. He handed over his wallet and instead of leaving, his
accoster for some reason remained. He opened the wallet and looked inside.
Then all of the sudden he paused. He stared and lost
his concentration. His hand with the gun slowly lowered. He looked up at Manny,
a surprised look across his face.
By then Manny was already charging him. Not because
of some intense bravery or stupidity but because of some chemical fight or
flight instinct. Manny was no hero, but he had been held at gunpoint. He had been
threatened. He was ready to fight for his right to self-preservation.
They thief had been distracted, but not that
distracted. They fought. They struggled for the gun. The gun went off.
One man fell.
One man took off running.
One man died from the shot.
The car took care of the other one.
The police detective stared at the bodies and shook
his head.
“What is it?” asked his partner.
“What happened here? Who was the mugger and who the
true victim?” He tossed his partner Manny’s wallet.
This partner looked at it. “Yeah? So?”
He tossed his partner the other wallet. “Look at the
IDs.”
Manuel S. Gonzalez met Manuel Z. Gonzales and now
both were dead as a result.
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