Chapter 540
Nighthawk Gun Store.
This store is located in downtown Los Angeles in a street store, the store’s area is not large, only fifty or sixty square meters, the door is placed in two pots of pine trees.
The store is decorated with all kinds of 1911s, colorful and various accessories to match, only what you can not think of, there is nothing that can not be done.
Inside the store counter, an old man with gray hair was eating peanuts, he looked up at Luke, “Hey tough guy, good afternoon.”
Luke got right to the point, “I’d like a custom model 1911.”
The old gray-haired man tossed the rest of the peanuts into his mouth and clapped his hands together, wiping them first with a wet wipe and then drying them with a special towel, “Tell us what you want.”
Luke said, “I’m an enforcer, often involved in alley battles, and more focused on practicality.
First of all, I want to ensure the power of the gun, stable performance, good grip, the overall performance is biased towards the M1911A1, and do some more user-friendly modifications on this basis.”
The gray-haired old man took a black leather notebook and wrote down, “Sir, what is your budget?”
“No budget.”
“The price of a customized pistol may be a bit higher.”
“As long as the performance is superior, price is not an issue.”
“Will you be carrying the pistol regularly?”
“Not without it.”
“Do you need to install special sights?”
“No need.”
“OK, I’ll introduce you to a couple of guns that you can try out in your hand, and if you think it’s a good fit, we’ll match the pistol shape and color.”
“OK.”
The old man then took down a double-barreled pistol from the shelf and put it on the counter, then went back to picking out the other guns.
Luke picked up the double-barreled pistol, this pistol was a bit wider than a normal pistol and looked quite interesting.
The old gray-haired man introduced, “This gun can fire two bullets at the same time, with a capacity of 14 bullets, it’s very powerful, the disadvantage is that the recoil is a bit big.”
Luke held the pistol and loaded it, felt it for a while, and put the gun back on the counter, “The grip is not very good.”
The old man put away the double-barreled pistol and took out five more pistols one after another, each of which was modified from the 1911, only with a different focus on performance and more user-friendly.
Luke felt all the remaining five pistols, and the grip was good on all of them, “Can I try it?”
“Of course, please follow me.”
The gray-haired old man called a young man in his twenties to watch the store, and he himself led Luke to the basement.
The basement was much larger than the store above, with two fixed targets and a small range for practical training.
Luke mounted the bullets and tried out all five pistols, each of them performed well, Luke compared them carefully and selected the best of the best to find the two that performed the best.
Luke then used these two pistols for real-world training, and finally selected a Nighthawk 1911 that was the best fit.
The gun’s length was 209 millimeters, one centimeter shorter than the M1911A1, don’t underestimate this centimeter, it’s hard to change the shape of a pistol with the same performance.
A special alloy with corrosion resistance was used, it was lighter, the grip was made with a non-slip pattern for a comfortable grip, the trigger was flexible, and the performance was optimal in all aspects.
Luke asked, “How long will it take to customize this gun?”
“Are there any improvements that need to be made to this model of gun?”
“No.”
“Do you need to mark the gun with characters or designs?”
“I would like my initials engraved.”
The old grey haired man pulled out a tablet, “You pick the color of the pistol.”
Luke flipped through the tablet, there were many colors for the pistol, he just ruled out some of the fancy ones and chose black barrels and dark brown grips.
The old gray-haired man said, “The pistol doesn’t need much improvement, it can be finished in about five days, and it will take two days to mail it from Berryville, so it will take a week in total.
You can pick up the gun in seven days.”
“How much?”
“This Nighthawk 1911 is customized with a special alloy that is strong, resistant to wear and tear, lightweight, and very well crafted, and it’s a little more expensive, at $7,000.”
The price is indeed not cheap, but this is the guy who eats, and can save his life in critical moments, Luke won’t skimp: “Any discount?”
“Our prices are always the same, but I can include a matching holster and two spare magazines and seventy rounds of ammunition.”
“Seventy rounds of ammo won’t be enough, and I’ll have to familiarize myself with the gun’s performance and feel after I get it.”
“I’ll throw in 140 bullets.”
“Deal.” After all, it was for life preservation, Luke didn’t intend to press the price.
The two discussed some more details of the customized pistol.
It was already after three in the afternoon when they left the Nighthawk Gun Shop.
The sun was still high, and Luke’s mouth was so dry from what he had just said that he didn’t even drink any water.
There was a convenience store around the corner, and Luke wanted to go in and buy a bottle of water to drink.
He just walked to the door of the convenience store, a teenage black child ran over, just as the two brushed past, a small black hand reached for Luke’s shirt pocket.
The other party’s movements were very covert, it was difficult for ordinary people to find, but Luke’s observation power was far beyond normal people, the first time he found the abnormality, a hand grabbed the black kid’s arm: “Hey, kid, your hand is in the wrong place.”
The black kid’s hand had just touched Luke’s shirt pocket when he was caught, “Sorry sir, I didn’t mean to.”
“Do you know where the nearest police station is?”
The black kid showed a nervous look, “Sir, please, don’t send me to the police station.
I won’t dare to do so in the future.”
“So, you admit that you were trying to steal from me just now?”
The black child said pitifully, “Yes sir, I am very hungry ……
I haven’t eaten anything for a day, please let me go.”
“Where are your parents?”
“Dead.”
“What a poor boy.” Luke let go.
The black kid breathed a sigh of relief and the corners of his mouth rose slightly as Luke’s hand rose as well, then fell heavily, smacking the slightly raised corners of his mouth.
“Slap!”
The slap was so powerful that it directly knocked the black kid to the ground, dazed and with a swollen cheek, his whole body was confused.
“This slap is for your parents, don’t ever steal again, not everyone will be as kind as me.
Get lost!”
“Oooo……” the black kid got up from the ground and cried while running into the distance.
Luke walked into the convenience store where a young female clerk behind the counter was poking her head out, “What happened, sir?”
“I just met a thief.”
“The security in this neighborhood really isn’t very good, do you need me to help call the police?”
“No need. That thief is not very old, not yet an adult, I patiently educated him, told him that it was wrong to do so, and he admitted his mistake, and then, let him go.”
The shopgirl praised, “Sir, you are really a caring person.”
Luke spread his hands, “Everyone says so, but I just did what I was supposed to do.
I’m sure everyone in a similar situation would do the same.”
“You’re right.
What can I get you, sir?”
Luke then grabbed a packet of wipes from beside the counter, pulled one out, wiped his hands, and placed the rest on the counter.
The young black female clerk bit her lip and clenched her fist hard, looking a little strange.
Luke pointed to the wipes, “How much?”
“Uh …… just a moment.” The black female clerk picked up the scanning gun.
Luke’s hand blocked the wet wipes, his gaze fixed on her, “Tell me directly, how much?”
“Uh…… there are so many items in the store, I can’t possibly remember the price of every item.”
Luke stared at the other woman, “Is your forehead sweating?”
“It’s probably because it’s a bit hot today and I’m a bit uncomfortable.”
Luke picked up another bottle of red wine from the shelf next to him, “How much is this one?”
“Like I said, I can’t possibly remember every piece of ……”
Luke interrupted, “I didn’t ask you to memorize the price of every item, but you well have to know the price of an item.” Luke pointed to the bottle of red wine, “Take a guess.”
“Five dollars?”
“Expensive.”
“Four dollars?”
Luke shook his head, “One more chance.”
“Three dollars?”
“Two ninety-five dollars. You’re not even familiar with the way convenience stores mark up prices.”
The black female clerk scowled, “I’m new here and I’m not fully familiar with the store’s goods yet.
Besides, I don’t want to play this childish game with you anymore, if you want to buy something, please check out.
If you don’t want to buy, please leave.”
Luke took out his badge and hung it on his chest, “Do you know the kid who stole the stuff?”
The black female store clerk looked at the badge and took a deep breath, “Sir, I don’t know him. I’ve just seen him playing around occasionally, probably a resident of the neighborhood.”
“But you have similar looking features.”
“Sir, if you are dissatisfied with my work, you can complain to my store manager, but please don’t take it personally.”
“You think I’m taking it personally?”
“Yes.”
Luke scanned his eyes around, “OK, where is your store manager?”
“He’s in the storeroom checking out the goods, I’ll go get him.”
The black female clerk turned and walked away, faster and faster, bypassing the shelves and running straight to the convenience store entrance.
Luke seemed to have guessed this, pulled out his pistol, and also ran straight to the convenience store door, “LAPD, don’t move!”
The black female clerk didn’t know whether she didn’t hear it or didn’t want to pay attention to it, and continued to run towards the outside.
“FUCK!”
Luke accelerated and chased after her, directly pounced on the other party, held down the other party’s arms and put on handcuffs, “Congratulations, you’re under arrest.”
“Why are you arresting me?”
“I flashed my badge and told you not to move, why did you run?”
“I wanted to go to the restroom.”
Luke yanked her up off the floor, pinned her to the wall and searched her, “Good reason, I’ll have someone take you to the police station restroom, it’s a much better place for you.”
“Sir, please, please leave me alone.
I have a grandmother in her seventies and three underage siblings to support, if you arrest me they will not be able to move on with their lives.”
“You don’t have to worry, I’ll have the officers contact the child welfare agency and make arrangements for their lives.”
The black woman shouted, “No, please don’t do this, don’t break up our family!”
“Then tell me, why are you in this store?”
“I …… was passing by and saw that the store was closed, but hadn’t pulled the roller shutter, just locked the glass door, so I thought I’d go in and get some food.
My siblings were hungry and I didn’t have any money for food and I needed to take care of them.”
“So, you admit to being a thief?”
“Yes.”
“What’s the relationship between the black boy thief at the door and you?”
“That’s my brother.”
“He’s keeping watch for you?”
“Yes.”
“You work well together, I don’t think it’s the first time you’ve done something like this.”
“Please, don’t arrest me.
We were just so hungry and didn’t mean to hurt anyone.
We just wanted to get some food.”
“Tell that to the jury, maybe they’ll sympathize with you.” Luke pointed to the corner, “Crouch down there and don’t move!”
With little interest in this kind of petty theft case, Luke called John, the old rookie, directly, “Man, did you work today?”
“Yeah, I’m on patrol, what’s the order?”
“I’ve got a burglar near the Nighthawk Gun Shop on Davies Street ready to be handed over to the patrol, interested?”
“Sure, I happen to be in the neighborhood, be there in ten minutes.”
Ten minutes later, John and Lucy, the Asian policewoman, arrived at the convenience store.
“Now you two partnering up?”
“No, just a temporary shift.” John would point to the black female clerk crouching in the corner, “Is that her?”
“Yes. I entered the convenience store to buy something, noticed she was suspicious, identified myself, asked a few questions, and she started running.
There was no one else in the convenience store.”
Lucy asked, “How did you get into the convenience store?”
“Picked the lock.”
“Where was the owner of the convenience store?”
The black woman sophomorically said, “I don’t know, the door to the convenience store was just closed when I came in, I was just starving and wanted to get something to eat, and it just so happened that he saw me.”
John and Lucy replaced the handcuffs on the black female shoplifter and escorted her into the police car, after which Lucy went to contact the owner of the convenience store while John and Luke stood on the curb talking.
John was curious, “What are you doing here?”
“I went to the Nighthawk Gun Shop to customize a gun.”
“A Nighthawk 1911?”
“Yes.”
“I always thought you had to go to Arkansas to get it customized, but it turns out they have them here too, I’d like to swing by sometime.”
“I’m picking up the grab in a week, do you want to come along?”
“Sure.” John rubbed his hands together in some anticipation.
Suddenly, Luke frowned slightly, “Did you cuff the female thief?”
“I handcuffed her to the car, don’t worry, she won’t get away.”
“I don’t think so.” Luke pointed to the police car on the side of the road.
Only to see that the door on the back side of the car sat open and the female thief stepped gingerly out of the car, seeing that Luke had spotted her, turned and ran off into the distance.
John’s eyes widened in amazement, “Hell, I obviously handcuffed her and locked her in the car, how did she break free?”
Luke was also a little curious, but now was obviously not the time to think, “Grab her first.”
“She’s mine!” John was a little angry, feeling responsible.
Luke and John outflanked the black female thief from both directions, and after approaching the black female thief, John pulled out his taser and fired it.
“Bang!”
Two small darts with electricity hit the back of the black female thief.
Her body trembled, her feet went limp, and she fell to the ground.
In a moment’s effort, Luke had already chased after her and held down her hands, looking at her bare wrists, he couldn’t help but be a little curious as to how she managed to break free from the handcuffs.