Bad Guys. Good guys. Both.

Man holds the bad guys back.

“This is your last chance.”

“You know something weird? I was going to say that same thing to you.”

Eddie looked at me, then he glanced sideways at the four thugs with him. The thugs were youngsters, kids from the street, here to make their bones, and they stood in a row next to Eddie, lined up, their jeans low on their hips, dazzling white sneakers, kicks, whatever the kids call them now, and they began to laugh, chuckle really, and then Eddie began to laugh, and then all of us were laughing; me included.

The laughter stopped when I showed them the little plastic box with the flashing red light. I held it up. The look on their faces… I mean… the look on their faces! All eyes were on me, focused. They didn’t look scared, but they didn’t look amused any longer either.

The thugs looked at Eddie and then at each other, and then back to me.

“Feeling a bit underpaid, fellas?”

They all held .38s trained on my forehead. Eddie held his gun in the normal way. Three of the thugs had their guns turned sideways. One guy went back and forth, sideways then back to normal, and it was this guy who walked forward, holding his gun two-handed now, his arms out straight ahead.

He said, “Where’s the money?”

“You boys can head out the back way, through the kitchen.”

“You trying to be funny?” Eddie asked.

“Go now!” I said and stepped aside.

The four thugs looked at me, then ran past me, up the steps to the kitchen..

I pressed the button and my garage door opened. Red and blue flashing police lights lit up my garage. Eddie stood frozen.

“Surprise!” I said.