Summary
Finding out his pregnant wife Jen needs a costly operation, Tommy turns to a life of crime. They're in the middle of one of their jobs when the owners come home. Kirk is trying to see if the pawn shop owner has some stolen merchandise when armed thugs come in.

Fear surges through the owner's entire body as he watched the thugs reach inside their black, gangster replica jackets. A smug smile spreads across their hideous faces as the three remove their Glocks from their waistband. "They've got guns," the owner warns, ducking behind the counter. Shots echoes across the store as he scampers to safety.

Kirk steps into the center aisle, his gun pointed at the troublesome trio. "Drop your weapons, now." The hoodlums spin around, their weapons out in front of them. Kirk takes a quick side dive to the floor. His body lands with a thud behind a large display of dishes.

"You're not escaping this one, pig." Andy pulls the trigger, small ceramic pieces land all around him. Kirk's heart beats so hard that he feels like it's about to pound right out of his chest. Hundreds of thoughts race through his mind as he tries to come up with a plan. I need to call for backup. He notices his hands are trembling uncontrollably when he lifts it off the floor. He takes a deep breath to calm his nerves. "Shots fired, shots fired in Berryville Pawn. Officer needs assistance. Repeat, officer needs assistance." He hears it repeated across the radio a few seconds later. I need to check on the owner, see if he's ok.

"Kirk peeks around the corner to find the three stomping towards him. Their large stature and heavy steps cause the remaining tableware to clank above him. Kirk nervously watches as the unsteady display wobbles back and forth. It's going to crash on top of me if I don't move. He anxiously looks around, hoping to find a safe place to hide.

"Come out, come out wherever you are," Andy says. as he continues to clomp through the store.

"You don't want to do this, boys. You really don't."

"Wanna make a bet," Andy growls.

"You may think so now, but what you do in the next few minutes could determine your future; whether you're locked up for a few years or the rest of your life."

"No judge will give us life; the prisons are too crowded as it is." Andy chuckles as he and his two younger brothers continue towards him. The three were released early this last stint because of the prison's overpopulation. It's also the reason why they haven't spent more than a few years behind bars.

Kirk slinks down the aisle, making a mad dash behind the row of couches when he reaches the end. How am I going to get to the owner from here? He quickly glances around hoping to come up with an idea.

Realizing Kirk has moved from his spot, Andy motions his brothers to fan out."You can run, but you can't hide." Andy continues to tromp through the aisles.

Kirk peeks around the furniture and finds two of the thugs are directly in front of him. Now's my chance to even the odds. Bringing his weapon out in front of him, Kirk shoots the first man in the knee. His portly body crumbles downward, landing with a thud on the cold dusty floor. The thug's hand flies open, his weapon whizzes across the room. It pings off a few pieces of merchandise before falling out of sight somewhere towards the back of the store. Not wasting a second, Kirk pivots and squeezes off a second round. The bullet lodges in the center of Jack's leg. He grabs his extremity as he tumbles to the ground.

Kirk starts searching for Andy when he hears a deep, scratchy voice behind him.

"You shouldn't have done that, pig." Kirk feels something hard press into the center of his back; he winces from the pain. Andy pushes the barrel in deeper. "Game over, detective, you lose." Andy laughs as he cocks his gun.

***

Terrified, the young woman glances towards the dark kitchen. "Who's out there?" she asks again. The house remains eerily still. Her frightened cat scampers towards her. Startled, she jumps back. "What's going on Kitty?" She squats down to pet the beautiful, white Persian; the ball of fur scampers past her. Something has her spooked. Julie looks towards the kitchen but doesn't see a thing. They could be hiding in the shadows. She pulls a small handgun out of her purse. Taking it off of safety, she holds the weapon out as she continues towards the back. "I have a gun and I know how to use it." She gulps, hoping she sounds braver than she felt. Not hearing anything, she nervously continues on.

Stepping through the service door, Tommy closes it behind them. "Run guys, run." He dashes up the hill. His friends follow. The three just reach the back of the shed when the service door opens.

Stepping into the warm afternoon sun Julie takes a quick look around. I must have scared him off. She starts to head back to the house when she sees movement out of the corner of her eye.

"That was close, Tommy." Larry leans against the shed, trying to catch his breath.

"Too close." Vinnie agrees.

"I hate to burst your bubble, but we're not out of danger yet." Tommy points towards the armed lady clomping her way up the hill.

"What are we going to do?"

Tommy looks around, hoping to come up with a plan.

***

Rachel glances around the crowded precinct as she steps through the door. It's packed wall to wall with desks and equipment. The officers somehow manage to get the job done despite their close quarters. I don't know how they do it sometimes, she thinks, recalling how busy it can get. She sees some officers typing up reports while others are taking statements as she continues to survey the room. "We have a good team, Joe."

"You're right, we do." He agrees as they continue across the station.

"Just the people I wanted to see, " Jerry says, stepping up beside them.

"Did you find something?"

"It's more like what I didn't find. I've checked the robbery victim's bank statements like the sergeant asked and they all seem to be doing rather well."

"No one has suffered a financial loss, recently?"

"Quite the opposite, they all seem to be doing extremely well; as good if not better than what they did the year before."

"There goes my idea."

"It's not all a loss, guys."

"Do you have a lead?"

"I have something better." He walks over to his computer and pushes a button. "I checked the security footage from the house on Church Street and found this." They see three men walking through the house, grabbing things as they go. He stops the video when a picture of three men pops up on the screen. "I scanned their photos against what's in the system and came up with some names; patrol is picking them up now"

***

Julie's fear turns into anger and her anger turns into rage as she climbs to the top of the hill. This is the second time someone's broken into my home this month and I'm going to put an end to it right here, right now. Her father's advice replays in her mind. Let the police to do their job my ass. I won't have anything left If I wait for those bozos to figure this out.

Walking up behind him, Julie shoves the pistol against the intruder's head. "Don't move a muscle or I'll blow your brains out, got it?" She cocks her gun.

"Yes." Tommy gulps. He looks towards the shed where his friends were safely hidden and wishes he was in there instead of taking the heat.

"What were you doing in my house a few minutes ago?"

"I've... I've never been inside your home."

"Don't lie to me."

"I'm... I'm not. I've been checking satellite signals for the last twenty-five minutes, see?" He slowly lifts a small handheld device up to his shoulder. "The clock in the corner tells you how long I've been on this machine." What he didn't tell her was this was an old reading.

She glances at the clock and then at him. "I know I heard something when I walked into my house."

"Whatever it was wasn't me."

"It has to be, you're the only one here."

"Well it wasn't and unless you have proof the cops won't do a thing about it."

"Oh, I have proof plenty of it." She storms back down the hill.
 

Characters
Tommy main conspirator to the crime
Vinnie, Larry Tommy's friends
Jen, Tommy's wife
Salois Brothers Andy, Jeremy, Jack career criminals.
Berryville PD

Kirk- detective.
Rachel sergeant
Joe captain
Jerry detective