The Man With The Gun

Sam wants to see Miranda but he finds her in a dangerous situation.

The Man With The Gun

“Thanks Miranda. Keep the change.” Sam had been coming to Kelly’s Cafe since it opened five years ago. He stopped every morning on his way to work and on his days off he stopped in anyway just to see her.

Miranda was Kelly’s daughter. She dropped out of college to come home and take care of her mom when she was diagnosed with breast cancer. There were bad parts to being an only child. She inherited the cafe when Kelly lost her battle. She was pursuing a nursing career and didn't care at all about the cafe. Selling it wasn't an option because it would feel too much like letting her mom down. She knew that's what Kelly wanted. But, she never voiced her own feelings about it.

Sam didn't have the nerve to ask Miranda out on a date. They had become friends, sort of. She told him two months ago that she broke it off with her boyfriend of three years because he was talking marriage and though she loved him, she didn't see him as “the one.”

“Hey Miranda?” He turned back to her as he was leaving. He thought maybe this was the time.

“Yeah, Sam?” She was so beautiful.

“I'll see ya tomorrow.” He smiled and walked away. He lost his nerve.

Sam was a handsome man. Still quite young, out of college only two years, he hadn't lost his boyish looks. Dark hair cropped close and brown eyes. His dark skin made his white teeth look even whiter. He had a smile that wouldn't quit.

It was impossible to know why this young, good looking man had such trouble around Miranda. She made him turn to Jell-o. Could she see his feelings for her? One would think so, but if she did, she didn't let on.

He left quickly afraid she might see his nerves. When he reached the car he realized he'd dropped his keys somewhere. A search around the car turned up nothing.

“Ah man, I have to go back in there.” He whispered to himself.

He bowed his head and started toward the cafe.

“You'll do as I say lady.” He heard a man's voice. And Miranda looked frightened.

“I'm telling you I don't have any money. We just opened and I took the money to the bank last night. “All I have is what I've been making change with today. Maybe a hundred dollars. You can have that if you want it.”

“Miranda? Is everything okay?” Sam asked concerned.

“Is she okay? She's going to be dead if she doesn't give me what I came here for.” The man barely looked away from her long enough to see Sam.

As Sam got closer he could see the man had something in his hand. And, he could see the fear on Miranda's face. Her usual radiant smile, gone. Her alabaster skin was even more pale than before. He looked into her blue eyes and couldn't believe how sad she looked.

“I wouldn't take another step if I were you, Mister.” The man warned him. “Don't be a hero.”

“Listen, Sir I’ll give you all the money I have: cash, credit cards, debit cards, anything you want.” Sam was scared. He saw the thing in his hand was a gun.

“Who's this? Your boyfriend?” The man was smiling at her.

“I'm a concerned friend. Please don't hurt her.” Sam was worried the man would see him shaking.

“Why don't you shut up boy, before I put a bullet in your head.”

“Please Mister, I’m telling you the truth. I will give you every penny the store has and all that I have. I will show you the safe is empty.” She pleaded.

“I don't care about your safe. Find the money: call the bank or take up a collection. I don't care just get it!” He yelled at her.

Sam was more angry now than scared. But, he didn't know what to do. Still holding his coffee, he raised both hands and took a step closer to the man with the gun.

The cafe was still full of people who had been drinking coffee and working on their laptops. Those working and those doing school assignments. Miranda feared they would get hurt.

“Will you let my customers go?” She asked him sheepishly.

“Uh, no,” the man with the gun had a sarcastic tone. “why would I do that?”

“Because you're here for me not for them. They are just bystanders. Please let them go.” Sam was looking at her and he could see that she was shaking as badly as he was.

“No. Now shut up and don't ask again. I'm making the rules here. Not you.” Sam noticed for the first time that there was a clock behind the cash register on the wall. He read the time, 8:35 am.

“Please Sir, I can get you money.” Sam made a promise he didn't know if he could keep.

The man looked interested.

“Get over here with your girlfriend, idiot. How are you going to get me money?”

Sam tried to pay attention to details of the man but it was hard to do. He was wearing a mask: showing only his lips, nose, and eyes. The rest of him was covered with clothes except his neck. Sam did notice a small tattoo on the right side of his neck. It looked like the name, Janie.

His clothes were insignificant. Jeans, black t-shirt, black jacket, and black gloves. Nothing to identify him.

Sam walked slowly behind the counter next to Miranda. Still holding his coffee up along with his other hand. He felt so much better standing next to her. He didn't know how to protect her. He just knew he would do whatever it took. He realized in that moment that she could very well be “the one.” It didn't matter that they had never been on a date or kissed. All the touching done was hands exchanging money. He made sure to make that happen.

“What can I do?” Sam asked the man with the gun. The man switched hands with the gun. Sam noticed he was wearing a wedding band.

“You said you could get me money. So that's what I want you to do.”

“Okay, but I need to use my phone.” Sam replied unsure of who he was going to call. He had a little money saved but didn't have a lot.

“Who are you going to call?” The man asked. Clearly he was an impatient man.

“My father.” He had to have an answer.

“Aww he's going to call his daddy.” The man with the gun mocked him. “Make the call boy, but move slowly.”

He took the phone out of his pocket but was worried his shaky hands would drop it. He did not want to demonstrate such fear in front of the man.

The phone rang several times and Sam began to worry that his father wouldn't answer. Just when he was about to hang up he heard his dad's familiar voice.

“Hello Sam, nice to hear from you. I was beginning to wonder if you fell off the face of the earth. Or maybe you forgot about me.” Randy said in his usual jovial tone.

Sam moved away from his family when he took a position with a prestigious law firm in the city. He was born in a small town in New York but always dreamed of living in the city. That was a concept his father had disagreed with. Sam was his only child since his sister was killed in a car accident seven years ago. Randy couldn't let Sam go. They had ironed out their differences in the past year but Sam hadn't seen his father in six months.

“Hi Dad. I need a favor.”

“Watch what you say boy.” The man with the gun paid close attention to every word Sam said to his father.

“What's going on son? You don't sound right.” Randy worried a great deal over his son.

“I need money, Dad. Do you think you could wire me some?” He was certain his dad would notice the trepidation in his voice.

“Are you in trouble Sam?”

“Kind of.” Sam thought he could be just elusive enough that his dad would catch on that something was up.

“Put it on speaker phone.” The man said. Sam thought maybe he was the one that was catching on.

A man from across the room started to stand up but the gunman warned him to sit. Sam could see the fear in their faces. Four men and three women were sitting at tables.

The cafe was small. It only had ten small tables and was decorated in a contemporary style. The walls were bricked all the way around with an arch that separated the shop from the bathrooms and emergency exit. The walls were relatively blank except a photo of Miranda and Kelly on the wall behind the counter. And, the clock Sam never noticed until now.

“What do you need it for?” Randy asked. His phone was really loud and he knew all the people in the cafe could hear it.

“Just some bills. I was off work sick for a week last month and I got behind.” He didn't know where that lie came from or if his dad would buy it.

“Sick?” Are you okay?” Sam could hear the worry in his father's voice. He knew how things like that scared him.

“Yeah Dad, I’m okay. I just need to catch up on my rent.”

“How much do you need?”

“As much as you can spare.” Sam knew his dad would know something was up after saying that. His dad, an investment banker, had taught him how to save money and he put money in a savings account that Sam couldn't touch until he married.

“Okay, Sam Where should I send it?” His dad offered without another question.

“Where should I tell him to send it?” Sam whispered to the man with the gun.

“Tell him to transfer it to this account.” He said reaching for a piece of paper.

Sam read off the account number to Randy and hoped he would notice it wasn't his bank. After all Randy set that account up for him. He wanted to make sure Sam had all that he needed when he graduated college.

“Excuse me, Sir?” Came a voice from the tables. It was a younger woman with dark red hair.

“What do you want?” Sam could tell the gunman was getting annoyed.

“Can I please go to the bathroom?” She couldn't hide her nerves. Her chin quivered when she spoke.

“No you can't.” He didn't hold back his disgust.

The young woman sank into her chair with tears running down her face.

“Sir? Will you please let these people go?” Miranda asked again with fear in her voice.

“Now why would I do that?”

“They aren't useful to you.” Her voice was so quiet.

“I'll tell you what, if I don't get my money I'm going to kill one of these people every thirty minutes. How's that? I'll make them useful to me.” It was clear to Sam that Miranda had angered the man with the gun.

Sam could hear a collective gasp from the table area. He could see them: all of the women were crying and the men wore looks between fear and anger.

“I'll call my father again. You don't have to hurt these people.”

“Please Sir, don't hurt them.” Miranda begged for the lives of the people in the table area.

“Why do you care about these maggots?”

“They are people. We are all God's creatures. These people didn't do anything to any of us.”

“God's creatures?” He scoffed. “Are you kidding me? Who is this God? Huh? Is he the same God that took my job, the same one that gave my five year old son cancer? The same one that took him from me last year? Are we talking about the same God here?” He was getting louder with each word.

Sam understood why the man was here doing this and he needed to figure out how to handle the situation, to come up with a way to appeal to his soft side. It was obvious he had one after what he said about his son.

“Can I call my father now?” Sam asked cautiously.

“Speaker phone.” Even though the man wore a mask, Sam could see the growing rage in his eyes.

The phone rang four times before Randy picked it up. Sam was getting nervous again.

“Hey Dad, I have to meet my landlord and I haven't received the money yet.”

“I know. Large transfers have to be done in person. I'm pulling into the bank right now.”

“Okay, I need it in thirty minutes.” Sam hoped with everything in him that his dad would see the holes in his story.

Twenty-five minutes went by and nothing.

“Come up here Red. The man ordered the young woman with the red hair, while pointing the gun at her.

“Please Sir, don't hurt me.” She whispered, her silent tears turned to sobbing.

“Get up!” He yelled at her.

“Please, please don't do this.” She begged. She stood, but stayed by her table.

Right then Sam heard the gun fire and the people at the tables screamed. Miranda cupped her hands over her face and screamed too. She almost fell.

“Oh my God!” Sam cried. Looking at the woman collapsed on the floor. Blood was pooling under her from the wound in her chest.

“Don't mention God one more time. Do you understand me?” He was pointing the gun directly at Sam's face.

“Yes Sir.” Sam had tears in his eyes and was about to let them flow. He wanted to be strong for Miranda and the others but he could feel his strength leaving him.

“Now call Daddy and tell him to transfer my money!” He yelled.

Sam could see the cars passing by through the glass entrance. He wanted so much to scream for one of them to stop.

“Hello.” Came Randy’s voice again.

“Dad? What's going on at the bank. It's been thirty minutes and I don't have the money.” It was all he could do to not say the words 'help me' into the phone as fast as he could.

“There's been a little glitch but don't worry, it's coming.”

“Dad, I have thirty more minutes until my landlord shows up.”

“You'll have it in time. Don't worry.”

“Sir can you please let my customers leave?” Miranda for the third time. Sam wanted to take her in his arms and hold her until the man left.

“If you ask me that one more time, I’ll shoot them all while you watch, then I’ll shoot you. Understand?” Now he was pointing the gun at Miranda. Sam took a step closer to her but didn't know what to do after that.

It had been two hours since the man with the gun walked into the cafe. He was five minutes away from shooting the next customer.

“You get up here boy.” He chose a young man this time. He looked like a teenager. Brown hair and freckles.

“Please, oh my God please don't do this.” The young man cried. Sam knew he had to stop him from shooting the boy. But, right then the gun went off again. He turned back to Miranda and Sam.

Sam watched the people as they watched the young man die. He laid on the floor twitching and bleeding from the head. After about thirty seconds he was still. Just a baby, Sam thought.

“I said God was not to be mentioned one more time!” He was more angry now than before.

“Now I’m going to check my account and if there isn't money in it I will kill the rest of them and then you. Then I will hunt down daddy and blow his head off.

Sam didn't know if it was fear for his own life, fear for Miranda's, fear for his dad, or all the above but he made a split second decision to reach over the counter for the gun.

Just as his hands wrapped around it the man pulled him over the counter. The weight of Sam's body pulled the man down. They were tussling on the floor for the gun and Sam knew this was a fight he could not win. Both had their hands on the gun when it went off. The sound shocked Sam and for a second he was stunned before the man went limp. He laid there in the floor for a minute with the man on top of him. He could feel the warm blood begin to soak through his shirt. Sam rolled him off and looked over at him. His lips were blue and his mouth was open and his eyes were still open. He scooted away from him to put some distance between them. He sat up looking at his hands. The same hands that had been holding that coffee just took a man's life. He put his head in those hands and began to cry. Before he knew it Miranda's arms were around him. He had never felt so safe as he did in her arms. She was warm and soft. As he sat there in her arms he could hear the customers running out. One of them was on the phone with 911.

Miranda pulled away looked him in the eyes, brushed his hair over to one side and whispered, “It's gonna be okay.” He looked up and saw his father standing in the door with a gun in his hand.

“Dad?”

“Yeah Son?”

“Did you?” Sam didn’t' finish that sentence.

“It's okay Sam.”

Sam heard sirens outside. He looked into Miranda's eyes. Her black hair lay perfectly around her face. She leaned down and gently kissed his lips.