Stealth Potato
Regular Member
imported post
So, a couple nights ago, I was walking back home from a friend's place, going down 45th Street from the U District at approximately 2AM. I was carrying concealed at the time.
As I approached the intersection with Roosevelt, I noticed a couple of guys on the opposite (south) side of the street near a gas station, who then proceeded through the crosswalk in my direction. I was stopped, waiting for the light to cross Roosevelt, and as they approached I could see that it was two young white males, one wearing a hooded sweatshirt.
The one in the sweatshirt promptly approached me and asked me if I knew if there were any tire repair shops nearby. Alright, a couple of guys got a flat in the middle of the night; nothing especially suspicious about that... I told him I didn't know of any offhand. But then, and this is what immediately set off the alarm bells, his friend didn't stop in front of me and instead maneuvered promptly behind me. Not exactly normal behavior for a couple of guys asking for directions at night...
At this point I was trying to move gradually out of the space between them while keeping my gun hand free. The first one then pulls out some cash and says that they're a few dollars short for some "Fix-a-Flat." I was just replying that I didn't have any cash on me (which was true, incidentally), when the guy behind me coughs. Right then they both "disengage," mutter thanks very rapidly, and beat a hasty retreat north on Roosevelt, away from the gas station.
I was kinda wondering why they left so quickly, but literally two seconds later, an SPD cruiser rolls past going west on 45th.
So, that whole encounter left me wondering - on the one hand, the words and demeanor of the first guy did not seem to suggest anything suspicious (he didn't sound nervous or overtly shifty), but certain specific behaviors told otherwise:
1. The immediate encircling maneuver by the second guy
2. The first guy flashing a fistfull of cash to a stranger at 2:00AM
3. The second guy coughing, followed immediately by a hasty retreat at the approach of an SPD cruiser (The first guy's back was to 45th Street; perhaps the cough was a signal?)
So, what do you guys think? A couple of guys having car trouble, or a clumsily aborted robbery attempt? Hopefully I would have been able to extricate myself from the situation had things gone south, with or without the aid of my 1911, but in retrospect I'm irritated with myself for being too calm and slow to react when I first noticed the guy circling around me. Surrounded is always a bad way to start any engagement, and I probably should have moved more right away. Ah well, chalk it up as a lesson learned, fortunately not the hard way. :?
So, a couple nights ago, I was walking back home from a friend's place, going down 45th Street from the U District at approximately 2AM. I was carrying concealed at the time.
As I approached the intersection with Roosevelt, I noticed a couple of guys on the opposite (south) side of the street near a gas station, who then proceeded through the crosswalk in my direction. I was stopped, waiting for the light to cross Roosevelt, and as they approached I could see that it was two young white males, one wearing a hooded sweatshirt.
The one in the sweatshirt promptly approached me and asked me if I knew if there were any tire repair shops nearby. Alright, a couple of guys got a flat in the middle of the night; nothing especially suspicious about that... I told him I didn't know of any offhand. But then, and this is what immediately set off the alarm bells, his friend didn't stop in front of me and instead maneuvered promptly behind me. Not exactly normal behavior for a couple of guys asking for directions at night...
At this point I was trying to move gradually out of the space between them while keeping my gun hand free. The first one then pulls out some cash and says that they're a few dollars short for some "Fix-a-Flat." I was just replying that I didn't have any cash on me (which was true, incidentally), when the guy behind me coughs. Right then they both "disengage," mutter thanks very rapidly, and beat a hasty retreat north on Roosevelt, away from the gas station.
I was kinda wondering why they left so quickly, but literally two seconds later, an SPD cruiser rolls past going west on 45th.
So, that whole encounter left me wondering - on the one hand, the words and demeanor of the first guy did not seem to suggest anything suspicious (he didn't sound nervous or overtly shifty), but certain specific behaviors told otherwise:
1. The immediate encircling maneuver by the second guy
2. The first guy flashing a fistfull of cash to a stranger at 2:00AM
3. The second guy coughing, followed immediately by a hasty retreat at the approach of an SPD cruiser (The first guy's back was to 45th Street; perhaps the cough was a signal?)
So, what do you guys think? A couple of guys having car trouble, or a clumsily aborted robbery attempt? Hopefully I would have been able to extricate myself from the situation had things gone south, with or without the aid of my 1911, but in retrospect I'm irritated with myself for being too calm and slow to react when I first noticed the guy circling around me. Surrounded is always a bad way to start any engagement, and I probably should have moved more right away. Ah well, chalk it up as a lesson learned, fortunately not the hard way. :?