"This is a hold up!" (aka Locke and Load)

It was bound to happen sooner or later. South Africa is known for its murders, thievery, petty crime, and just plain stupid robbers. The capital, Johannesburg, is supposedly the worse city in the world averaging 50 murders a night. In Nelspruit I get the low down from the security guards who patrol our house at 2am because some dog tripped the alarm, “people get knifed for cell phones and shot for cars.”

We needed cash to pay the clinic. I told Emie and the kids to wait and I would walk around the corner to the ATM. The bank machine is located right in front of a major grocery store and people are everywhere. I have used this ATM many times and never felt any threat. Today I felt the need to watch my back.

The ATM’s are actually little cubicles. You walk into a frosted glass box closing and locking a door behind you. There are security guards on patrol 24/7 standing less than 10 feet from the machines. They seem to be more secure than Fort Knox, except when they get blown up by the really smart thieves (happens almost weekly, in daylight mind you). All the precautionary features were in place today; the frosted box, the doors and the guards. I checked my back as I went in.

I had a split second thought I should close the door. Yet, I did nothing with it. I want to live in peace and not fear. Today I was taking on all those professional thieves with my stubbornness. I would succeed with my withdrawal and be out in less than 39 seconds, no worries.
I took out my wallet, pulled out my debit card and began to put it into the electronic money tree.

At that same moment I felt a firm hand grasp my shoulder. He had slipped past the guards, and into my frosted box. Adrenaline instantly rushed through every vein of my masculine physique. A deep male voice reached my ears and I heard, “this is a hold up!”
I spun around and thrust my forearm into the throat this 6ft 3 Goliath. I pushed with every ounce my buck 30 body could give. The struggle began and I was bound to win. At least I was determined to show it with my eyes. They were fierce! My knife was in my pocket ready for action.

As the struggle quickly unfolded my neurons where communicating, STOP! It wasn’t a “hold up” it was Michael. A friend who soon realized that I would rather fight than flight and he started laughing and walked away yelling, “close the door!”

Had the battle waged on I would’ve been a pile of meat loaf. But I was going to give everything I had learned from Bruce Lee, William Wallace and Maximus combined.

Michael was lucky because I was about to open up a can of whoop arse!

It ended as soon as it begun, so . . . The End.

He@th Locke