021 POV Pharmacy 2 1360

'There's a man outside with a gun aimed at you right now. Don't make any sudden moves or he'll shoot you.' I say in the calmest tone I can manage, which is honestly, not very calm at all. 

The woman freezes. Her feet fear-bolted to the floor where she stands.

'I don't want any trouble.' She says quietly. 

'There won't be any, all you have to do is get me a bottle of liquid Benzocaine and a pack of syringes.'

The lady nods, then says, 'I'm going to turn around now and get what you want. Okay?'

'You hear that?' I say to the man.

'Yes, tell her if she doesn't do anything stupid, she'll live to see another day.'

I don't tell her that as it's redundant. Instead, I nod to her. She raises her hands in the air and turns around. She takes a key from her pocket and unlocks a draw on the cabinet. It only takes her a few seconds to locate both items, then she raises her hands again, turns back to me at the same pace she turned away and lowers them into my basket.

'I've got the Benzocaine and needles. I'll come out now.' I say to the man.

'No you won't, you're not done. You need to get the security tapes. Ask her where they are.'

I ask the lady and she says, 'We don't use tapes, it's all recorded onto the computer in the office.'

'You hear that?' I ask the man.

'Yeah, tell the checkout girl to stay standing where she is with her hands in the air. If she moves I'll shoot her. You guys have two minutes to go into the office and get the computer. If you're not back before then, well, you get the idea.'

I understand only too well. I call to the checkout girl, 'Put your hands up and stay where you are. Don't move while we go back to the office.' 

The girl looks terrified, and rightly so. She's probably only seventeen years old. I imagine she works this job part time for spending money. I can tell she'll follow instructions and not do something stupid, it's not exactly a job she's going to risk her life for. She looks at me and nods as she raises her hands. She gets it.

I return my attention to the Pharmacist. 'Please take me to the computer. We're in a hurry.' The lady nods, then says, 'I need to walk to the side of the room.'

'Just go, don't run. Walk, but quickly.' I say

She moves out from behind the dispensary to a hallway at the side of the room. It's a long hallway that goes deep into the building. I follow her to a door at the end that opens into an office. When we step inside I realise that we are both now out of sight of the man. A selfish impulse momentarily flashes to mind. The desire to flee. There's a window in the office that faces onto an alley. I could easily open it, climb out and run. But just as quick as this thought arrives I dismiss it. The idea of that poor girl being shot just so I can escape is too much. To know that another has died because of my direct actions would be a burden my conscience could not reconcile.

The office is small and well organised. A twenty one inch Mac sits on a large desk. It's identical to the one I have at home. Though, mine I bought second hand and is on its last legs. It's only eight years old, but in modern day computer years that's equivalent to around eighty human years. They say one dog year equals seven human years. I'd say ten to one is a fair estimate for computer years. Especially Macs.

'Everything is recorded on this.' The lady says as she clicks the mouse and types in the password. She opens a program that has a window with a grid of six security cameras in it. One of which I notice is the camera at the entrance to the store that I saw on the way in. It is angled directly on my car, within which, the man is clearly visible. 

'Unplug it, I need to take it.' I say, reluctantly. 

The lady doesn't think twice. She immediately does as asked. Within seconds she has all the cables removed and she picks it up. There's an awkward moment where she's not sure if she should carry it out, or pass to to me. 

'I'm really sorry.' I find myself saying. 'All of this is nothing to do with me.'

She locks eyes with me and nods. She understands. I notice her pupils are dilated with adrenalin spiked fear.

'I've got the computer. What do you want done with it?' I ask the man.

There's no reply.

I pick up my earphone cable and hold the miniature microphone to my mouth and repeat what I just said. 

Still no reply. 

I check my cell and see to my horror that the call has disconnected as there's no reception here in the office. At the top left of my iPhone it says SOS calls only. A chill runs down my spine as I hear another gunshot, glass shattering and the checkout girl scream out in the drug store. 

I run from the office back to the main room, the Pharmacist close behind me, carrying the computer. I find the checkout girl standing where I left her, arms still in the air, still alive, but her face stricken with absolute terror. 

I look out the window at the man in the car. He's staring in at me, his face creased with anger. My cell rings and I answer immediately. 

'You want to get this girl killed?' He snaps.

'I didn't know there was no reception back in the office, how could I?' I blurt out and feel justified in doing so as there's no way in hell I could have known the call would cut out. 

'Get the computer off the lady and get back in the car, now.' The man commands. 

I reach for the computer and the lady places it under my arm. 

'Thank you. I'm so sorry for all this.' I say, then hurry out the door, leaving both the employees with an experience they'll remember to their dying day. 

Outside, I open the door to the car and hand the basket of medical supplies to him. He takes it and dumps them on the back seat. I try to pass him the computer but he says, 'Don't bring it. Smash it on the road.' 

I hesitate and look at the computer. To destroy it seems such a foreign act to me. Until now I've never imagined a scenario in which I would want to hurl a two thousand dollar machine at the road.

The man sees my trepidation and says, 'Hurry up, what are you waiting for?'

I look back at the drug store and see the security camera fixed to the wall right by the entrance that's angled on my car. I'm holding irrefutable evidence of what this man looks like and that I was forced to do all this, that I am not a willing accomplice. 

I lift the computer high, then throw it at the road as gently as I think I can without making the man think that I'm trying to preserve the hard drive - which I am.

The screen shatters. I leave the computer where it fell and try to get back in the car but he stops me. He fixes me with a curious look and says, 'You must think me stupid. Stand aside.' I stand back as the man leans across the seat, aims his gun at the computer and fires three shots into it. All of which hit their mark, and serve their purpose - to completely destroy the hard drive within and all evidence of us being here.

I stare at the decimated machine in shock. 

'Get in.' He says, waving his gun at me. As I sit in the driver's seat and close the door he warns, 'Don't underestimate me. You try anything like that again and I'll drop you.'

I nod and ask, 'Now where to?' 

'Your place.'