11 PM. The neon sign on the outside of this particular Skyport convenience store was flickering, which made the word "SORT" flash intermittently.
Corey Hollet walked in and headed directly to the drink section in the back.
The store's electronic bell chimed as another customer walked in. The cashier barely got a word in before the new customer stuck a silver Walther P-38 pistol in her face.
"All the cash. Now." the customer said. They spoke very loud so everyone else in the store could hear them.
"I... I don't have any money in the register. We don't have any cash after 10 PM-" the cashier was interrupted.
"Bullshit! If you don't come up with money in the next five seconds, I'll blow your goddamn head off!"
The cashier scrambled to open the register, pouring single bills and loose change all over the lottery ticket viewing area built into the counter. The robber wasn't satisfied.
"Three..."
The cashier proceeded to dump the register's cash box on to the counter.
"Not good enough. I want-"
Corey came up behind the robber and turned him around, wrenching his gun away. The gun hit the floor with a hollow plastic *thud*.
"What exactly were you trying to accomplish with a toy gun?" Corey asked.
Before the robber could answer what was clearly a rhetorical question, Corey punched him in the face as hard as she possibly could. As the robber was reeling, Corey grabbed him by the back of the neck and slammed him into the front of the counter. He hit the floor, knocking down a few bags of candy along the way.
The cashier was speechless. Corey, on the other hand, looked briefly at the wall of cigarettes behind the counter, then reached into her right front pocket to take out a $20 bill.
"Two packs of Sapphire-99s, please."
The cashier stood still.
"Two packs of Sapphire-99s, please."
"...F-filters?"
"Nope. It's not a filter kind of day."
"That'll be-"
"Here's $20. Keep the change."
The cashier handed over the cigarettes. Corey took them and put them in her left pocket.
"You should probably call security."
"How'd you know the gun was a fake?"
"I'm with the local police. We've got a few Transformers fans in our precinct."
"...That's a Transformer?"
"Yeah, and it's pretty valuable, too. Honestly, the guy probably could have made a decent bit of cash selling a collector's item like that."
"...And he used it to rob a convenience store?"
"People can be idiots."
"...You said you're a cop?"
"An off-duty one. I've got a flight to catch. This time tomorrow, I'll be in Chicago."
Corey made her way out of the store to her car, promptly speeding away from the site and towards the airport's long-term parking lot.