Excerpt of Hold On by LaVerne Thompson

“911 Operator.”

“Hello…listen I’m at the corner of Broad Street and Denny
Way. I’m looking into the second floor of a garden style
apartment opened onto Broad, and it looks like there’s a…a
robbery taking place.” Stephan spoke anxiously into the
phone, his voice cracking mid-speak.

The emergency operator on the other end replied in a steady
tone, “I’m dispatching a patrol car to the area sir. Stay
on the phone with me. Are you one of the victims or do you
know the people involved?”

“No, no it’s not me and I don’t know them. I’m in my car.
Hang on, the light’s changing. I’m going to make a U-turn
and park on the street so I can keep watch.” He ignored the
car honking at him because he had cut in front of it. The
building in front of him, and the woman in trouble his only
focus. The sun hadn’t been down for very long, but the open
lighted walkway in the three-story building allowed Stephan
a pretty clear view.

“Sir, I’m going to have to ask you to remain in the car,”
the operator insisted in a forceful voice. “How many people
are involved?”

“Two, I think. A man and a woman, he grabbed her purse and
she tried to run. Hurry!” he cried.

“Help is on the way. Please try to stay calm.”

“My God!’ the man exclaimed. “He just hit her… she’s trying
to fight him off. He kicked a door open and…he’s…he’s
trying to drag her in!” His words were coming faster,
rushing to get the information out. “She’s fighting back.
I can’t just sit here watching this.”

“Sir, please do not leave your car,” the operator said
firmly. “The person could be armed as well as dangerous.
Wait for the authorities.”

“I’m sorry. I’m already at the building. Tell the cops,
when they get here, it’s the second building from the
corner, second floor, the door at the top of the stairs.
I’m going to leave my phone on so you can listen in, but I’m
putting it in my pocket.”

Without waiting to hear a reply, Stephan did just that.

As he ran up the stairs he could hear a woman’s screams. Why isn’t anyone trying to help her? He had seen three other doors with apartment numbers on this floor. Surely one of them was occupied. It didn’t matter, he was here and he wasn’t going to do nothing. Too late, he wished he’d taken the time to grab a tire iron from his car. But he had stopped rational thought as soon as he glimpsed the woman in trouble. He’d just have to rely on being in good physical shape. It wasn’t like he was a fighter, in truth he used his mind not his muscle. Now he may have to use both, and so far he hadn’t been using much of his so-called intelligence tonight. An intelligent person would have waited on the sidewalk and pointed the cops in the right direction.

Stephan stopped at the now closed door he had seen the man
kick open. A scuff mark near the bottom of the panel
confirmed he had the right place. He put his ear to the
wood but could hear nothing. Turning the doorknob he found
it unlocked, and cautiously pushed it open. He slipped
inside leaving it slightly ajar so the cops could enter
easily.

Muffled sounds were coming from the interior of the condo.
Taking a step in the direction of the noise, ragged cries
suddenly rent the air. A hallway, probably leading to a
bedroom, stretched in front and to the right of him. There
were no lights on, but the blinds were partially open, and
the glow from a street lamp provided enough light to
illuminate the small room.

Glancing to the left he spied a kitchen. His heart pumped
blood into his system, adding strength to his resolve.
Moving quickly, he headed there first for a weapon. As soon
as he pulled a knife from the block on the counter, the wail
of a siren whined from a distance, at the same time he heard
a scream that curled his soul.

Throwing caution out the window he ran down the short
hallway, fear setting his pace. Stopping in front of the
only room he gripped the open doorframe. The scene
unfolding before him chilled his blood.

The dimmed overhead light showed a woman lying face down on
the bed, and a man in dark clothing sat on top of her,
straddling her legs to hold her down. She kept screaming
and bucking to try to throw him off, but he kept laughing,
and using one hand to hold both of hers on her head while he
ripped her blouse with the other. So engaged in his
activity, he didn’t even hear Stephan behind him.

Stephan wanted to stick the sonofabitch with the knife in
his hand. But he spotted an empty metal potpourri bowl on a
stand near the door. He didn’t want to shed any of the
man’s blood on the woman if he didn’t have to. He put down
the knife and picked up the bowl. Using all of his
strength, fueled by his anger, he smashed it against the
side of the bastard’s head.

Like a bowling pin toppling over, the man fell off the bed
onto the floor, hopefully out cold for a while. When the
weight holding her down disappeared, the woman on the bed
flipped over. She raised her tear streaked face and her
eyes momentarily collided with Stephan’s before shifting to
the man on the floor. As her gaze returned to his, fear
flooded her beautiful chocolate colored eyes. She gasped,
and backed up against the headboard.

Even with puffy eyes, tear tracks on her face, and a bruise
on her toasted almond colored cheek her beauty still shone
through. Stephan’s heart, which had been racing before,
stopped in mid beat.