Because I should probably record this somewhere...

If you're a reader of Shaine's blog, feel free to skip this one.  It's just my version of the Jack in the Box "adventure".

Shaine and I decided to meet up for a brief visit after the general Relief Society broadcast, because we hadn't seen each other in a month or so (which is entirely too long).  I'm too tired to do it after work, and her weekends have been absolutely insane, so we made a plan to meet in Fremont, which is halfway between Livermore and San Jose.

We met at a Jack in the Box that's a couple of blocks from the freeway, and had been chatting for at least an hour.  It was a little after 10 pm at this time, and there were a few other people in the dining area with us.  My back was to the main door, but I heard it open, and some people came in.  (This next part all happened REALLY fast.)

Shaine's eyes got wide and she said "They have guns!"  I was confused, but at that point the two young men had walked in far enough that I could see them.  They were all in black with black hoodies, and one jumped on and over the counter, followed by the other.  For a second I thought maybe they were employees and they were messing with their friends who were working, but then the cashier saw them (she'd been facing the drive through window) and she screamed - most likely because they pulled a gun on her.  I watched them back her into a corner and then I looked at Shaine and said "What do we do?"  I mean, they were armed.  It's not like you want to make any sudden movements when someone might actually shoot you.

By that point the other 2 - 4 people in the dining room ran for the side door, so we followed.  Shaine got on the phone to 911 the minute we were out the door, and we walked out to the sidewalk on Mission Blvd.  I wasn't even sure where we should go.  We didn't want to go to our cars, which were quite close to the restaurant, but standing around on the dark sidewalk didn't seem like a great idea, either.  While we hovered anxiously Shaine stayed on the phone with the police, describing what had happened as well as their exit and vehicle when they came out a few minutes later.  They drove right by us and I yelled out as much of the license plate as I could to Shaine, who passed it on to the dispatcher.  Within seconds police cars were chasing them and we saw their SUV head for the freeway.

We had to hang around for a while to give statements, but they let me go since I didn't ever see anyone's face.  Since Shaine had seen them, however, they asked her to stay and do an in-field identification.  (I guess they caught them a small way down the freeway.)  I don't think Shaine got home until 2am or so.

CRAZY!  And stupid.  I didn't ever really freak out - adrenaline rush once we were out of the restaurant, yet, but falling apart, no.  Shaine had a rough time for a couple minutes - she seemed to be a little shocky and couldn't speak clearly to the 911 dispatcher for a minute or two, but she was fine quickly thereafter.  I'm thinking my lack of reaction was because I didn't see nearly as much as she did (as in the freaking BIG gun(s) these guys were toting), or maybe I'm just one of those people who gets numb when crazy stuff happens.  Either way I'm grateful, because I'm sure getting really worked up would have been too good for Scrapper.  I think part of my brain just kept asking if the situation were for real.  I mean, what a truly stupid crime.  They had to assume no one would call 911, no one would be able to ID them, no one would get their license plate number, and that the police wouldn't catch them.  Dumb!

Obviously I'm grateful we were safe.  And I'm very grateful for my brave heroine, Shaine.  Still, the whole thing is beyond my comprehension.  I guess it's like Robb said:  If they were somewhat intelligent, they'd most likely have some sort of job and wouldn't be robbing Jack in the Box at 10pm on a Saturday night.  Good point honey! ;-)