The pretty woman ascended the steps to my house. I stood up to meet her as she approached.
"Is this..." she looked back at her paper, "Emma Winslow's house?" she asked.
"It is," I said cautiously.
"Oh, good," she breathed a sigh of relief. "My name is Brittany Powers. I represent Hightower Corp., which handles a mailing service Emma had signed up for."
"Oh?" I asked, hoping to get more of a response.
"Yes," she said. "I am supposed to meet with her and give her the introductory material face to face. Is she home?"
"No, she isn't," I said. At the same time there were alarms going off in my head. I had just been looking over the newspaper and saw a story about the "Door-to-Door Robber" still being on the loose. This was the exact kind of story that it said the Robber used to gain entrance to people's homes and then rob them blind. She also seemed to fit the physical description of the Robber.
She looked dejected and said, "This is not good. I have to get this information to her, but I can only do it with her."
Obviously she was trying to get in the house. The article specifically said never let someone with this story in your house, else you would be robbed. But I had something that could combat that, now didn't I?
"Well, if you just want to come in for a minute, I can get your phone number and I'll have my mother give you a call on Monday, since I take it you're off tomorrow," I said.
"Could you," she asked, a smile appearing on her face.
"Absolutely," I said. With that I opened the door and led her inside. "Just let me grab a piece of paper," I said, heading to the desk in back of the living room. I could hear her starting to rustle through the large purse she carried. "It's funny," I said over my shoulder, "I didn't think this kind of thing was done on the weekend."
"It isn't," she said. My body stiffened as I heard a gun cock into position. I spun around to see that she was holding a gun at my face, though she was still some 10 feet away from me. "Don't try anything stupid," she said, "Or else I'll have to shoot you."
I smiled. "So you are the Door-to-Door Robber?"
"Bingo," she said, smirking back at me. "As dumb as that nickname is. And your place is going to be my latest score."
I smiled at her again as I walked a little closer to her. "You don't want to do that," I told her.
"Don't come any closer," she warned. It seemed that she hadn't found anyone with this much courage once she whipped out the .357 magnum she was holding. "And believe me, I will shoot you."
"I don't think you'd be as tough without your gun," I laughed.
Now she was getting angry. "You'll never find out," she said. "Now shut up and do as I say."
"Oh, but I will find out," I said. With that I silently wished that her gun would fly out of her hands and into mine. I extended my right arm, with the palm of my hand wide open. The gun sprung out of her hands and right into mine, pointing itself directly at her. The moment was straight out of The Emprie Strikes Back.
She panicked and tried to run away. I wish the front door would close and lock from the outside so she couldn't get away. As the door slammed in her face, she tried desperately to kick it open, but to no avail. I wished that she wouldn't try to jump out of the windows either.
I walked towards her as she continued to try and kick the door down. She was kicking it pretty hard, too. She must have had some athletic legs. She did not notice I was behind her until I stuck the barrel of the gun into her back. She froze instantly.
"Turn around slowly," I commanded.
She did as I told. The look on her face was one of fear. "Now what?" she whimpered.
"I should call the police," I said. "You've been a naughty girl."
"Should?" she asked.
"I'm a big believer in second chances," I said. "The only problem is, I don't know if you'd learn your lesson from this incident."
"Fair enough," she said.
"My biggest problem with your failed attempt here is that you're not robbing the right people," I said. "Do you think my mother and I can afford to replace anything you might have taken?" I demanded.
"Easy target," she said. "Rich people don't fall for this scam."
I raised the gun over my shoulder as if I was going to hit her in the mouth with it. She braced herself for the impact.
"That was a warning," I said. "Sit down," I said, pointing her to the couch. I did not take the gun off her while she moved. That worried me though, because I had never handled a gun before. I wished that it wouldn't fire unless I wished this wish away. That way I could avoid any Pulp Fiction moments.
I did find it funny that she didn't try to take the gun away from me either. Judging by the marks she had left in the front door, she probably could have done so with ease. I sat down next to her after she had taken a seat. Her look of fear never vanished. What to do with her?