you doing here?” His voice was low and rich, almost a whisper that was in my ear, but not carrying up the alleyway.
I shook my head because I really didn’t have an answer. Then, I heard a noise up the alley. He heard it, too because he turned his head that way, but he didn’t move away from me. I looked in the direction of the noise and saw two men moving against the building.
I heard him say a harsh word low, then he opened the door of the Hummer . He pushed me upward towards the seat. I hesitated, but the look he gave me told me that there was something going down and that I did not want to interfere. For some strange reason, the danger signal wasn’t coming from him. I let him push me into the high vehicle, his strong hand shoving me down below the windshield.
He closed the door quietly. From my prone position, I watched him move forward until he got out of sight of the window. I remained sprawled over the large console in the center. Finally unable to stand not knowing, I sat up slowly. I think I had a death wish with me this day.
He was against the wall with one man beside him. The other had stepped out, holding a gun in his hand. The three of them stood for a moment, frozen. The guy against the wall was saying something, but it was so low, I couldn’t hear. Then, the man with the gun brought it up to point it at him. Everything happened so fast that I didn’t think I could repeat the details to anyone.
I knew he struck out at the gun as he drew in the man next to him. Then, there was a lot of violent fast movement with the two men on the ground. Both weren’t moving. There seemed to be a lot of blood, all on them. I couldn’t believe what I saw, but I wasn’t sure if they were alive or not.
He stooped over and went through their pockets. I still had that alarm feeling going off. At last my survival button turned on. I slowly opened the door, sliding out of the Hummer . I moved back around the vehicle, then ran back to my jeep.
By the time I got to it, I had my keys out. I had the motor running and in gear without even using the seat belts. I glanced back in the mirror, but saw nothing as I skidded around a corner. I then gunned my fast little vehicle, skidding around another corner that sent me back to the main thoroughfare. It was a Stop sign, but I swept into the traffic immediately to move over to the center lane, irritating a few drivers. I found a turn lane that let me make a U-turn and I headed back towards home.
The ride home was torture. I watched more through the rear view mirror for a Hummerthan I did in front, but at last, I made the turn into my complex. I made my way to my little garage. I pushed the automatic garage door button, pulled in and pushed the button to close the door before I even had the motor shut off. I sat in the jeep with the motor off, hearing the small noises it made as it cooled down.
I wasn’t sure, but I thought I had seen him at least beat up two men into unconsciousness. He had possibly even killed them. I thought I had witnessed a crime by someone who had my address. Now, do I go to the police? I still didn’t know what to tell them. I didn’t know his name. He could really claim that all he did was defend himself from a couple of guys. If the guys weren’t hurt as bad as they looked, they would be gone and I had no proof.
I went through another couple of sleepless nights. I didn’t leave the house without looking out windows or watching through my rearview mirror. I flinched whenever I saw a Hummer . I took my lunches to work to eat at my desk. I looked at my jeep and around the parking lot before leaving the office. Whenever possible, I walked with other workers. I was so paranoid that every tall guy had me shivering or crossing the street or driving out of my way.
Then, one evening, we had worked late. We had all walked out to the parking lot together. We were half way from the curb when the Michelle danger alarm went off. I just grabbed one of