Where: The Strip
When: August 24, 2012; Evening
What: A night on the Strip holds it's usual fare, including attempted purse snatching.
The Strip is always the place to be, no matter what night it is. But Friday and Saturday in particular see the place hopping far more ecstatically than just your average weeknight. The bar is undeniably raised in Sin City, to give the crowds of tourists and locals alike the best deals and the best experiences when the sun goes down on the desert landscape.
While not in droves, there are plenty of people out and about tonight. From teenagers gathered in groups to show off Daddy's car, to newlyweds and wedding parties out celebrating. There's tourists going from one casino to the next and hawkers everywhere, handing out flyers and offering discounts on dinners and shows.
In all, it's shaping up to be a perfectly normal evening in the city of Las Vegas.
It's damn hot, but even so, Ken is dressed a bit more sharply than usual tonight. He's got on a quality blazer and nice shoes instead of hiking boots, and he's talking to a young woman, giving her a business card and chuckling. He shakes his head at something she says and then says goodbye, waving to her as she goes.
Despite the heat, Raleigh has decided to venture out onto the strip, using her power to protect herself from the Nevada heat. She's dressed in her usual style, not seeming to mind or notice the looks that she garners from the tourists. She holds one of the large drinks from a casino that are sold for $30 a pop, but at least you get to keep the plastic cup. She drinks from the straw as she looks over the area.
It's a veritable party going on. With cheers raising up for street performers or spilling out from a jackpot win at one of the many casinos. Somewhere a man's voice professes his undying love to his woman companion and elsewhere someone belts out a rendition of Elvis' Heartbreak Hotel. And all around Kenneth and Raleigh is the ebb and flow of people and the noise that people make. Chattering and talking, laughing, crying. To each other and on cell phones. Unremarkable in and of itself.
Until from further ahead of the two strangers, someone screams.
Kenneth cranes his neck a little when somebody screams to see if he can see anything from here, but he doesn't approach.
Raleigh looks up at the sound of the scream, the sound of fright within it causes her to act and run towards the sound of the scream, pushing her way through the crowd that gets in her way and causing some of the liquor in her large cup to spill here and there as she makes her way towards towards the source of the scream.
Ken and Raleigh aren't the only two to look toward the scream. Many heads turn for a look, those not too drunk enough to notice something amiss. And Raleigh will be the first to see it, but Ken soon after with many other bystanders looking on will take note. The crowd parts, a path opening toward the her even as she pushes her way past shoulders and bodies. It's followed by a definite ringing of "Stop! Thief!"
"Oh, shit," Ken murmurs, but he doesn't take any steps to intervene. He just sticks with the crowd to rubberneck.
Raleigh stops as she sees the crowd parting towards her and then the sound of the cry of a thief. She drops her drink and gets ready to act as the parting draws closer towards her. She kneels down and touches the floor, creating a patch of ice next to her, hoping to slip up the thief.
Most people aren't willing to hang around. They stand long enough to catch a glimpse of the alleged thief or keep out of the path of escape. Then, as if nothing had happened, they go about their business. Some few hang around, phones out to record a little action. Someone jostles into Ken and offers up an apology after a beat. Raleigh nearly gets stepped on for her efforts at laying a trap.
But those efforts pay off. Just seconds after the patch of ice is laid the bodies split open in front of her to reveal a twenty-something male. He looks well off, dressed in designer clothes which makes his flight with a clutch purse in hand all the more out of place. He hits that patch of ice without seeing it. Feet fly out from under him and he lands hard on his back, against the concrete sidewalk, breath escaping him in one sound grunt.
Kenneth watches with fascination as the thief seems to slip on the pavement and fall hard on the sidewalk. He doesn't move to detain the guy, but with the wind knocked out of him, the criminal probably won't get far right away.
Raleigh stands as the trap is laid out and the man trips on the patch of ice. As he lands with a thud and the wind knocked out of him, she moves to make sure he stays down by placing her foot on his chest as she tries to retrieve the purse from the thief. "You should watch where you're going and not steal shit from people." She says to him as she reaches for the purse.
The man groans and sucks in a breath. His grip on the purse is weakened by the sudden overtaking of gravity and the rattling his body has taken, it's easily pried from his grip. He groans again when the foot presses into his chest though no effort is made to remove it yet.
While Raleigh is busy talking to the guy on the ground. Ken can bear witness to two more running through the narrowing break in the crowd. The clack of heels marks the way, sounding like a tiny unshod horse and manifesting into a couple of middle aged women. Tourists probably, they don't seem quite so comfortable in atmosphere of the Strip as the locals do.
Kenneth folds his arms over his chest, watching the old birds come up to claim their property.
Raleigh takes the purse from the man, still keeping her foot on the man's chest before she looks around for owner of the purse. She sees the middle aged women coming towards her. "Is this yours?" She asks the two women as she finally steps off the man's chest just to sneak a kick to his side for good measure. "Luckily he tripped or he might have gotten away."
From behind, the sound of sirens approaching can be heard over the din. Seems one onlooker managed to phone law enforcement while playing witness to the excitement. "Oh, thank you," crows one of the two women. They both come to a apprehensive stop, as though afraid being so near the well dressed man on the ground might soil their shoes. The speaker isn't the one who takes the purse, her companion is, too busy crying dark streams of mascara to find words of gratitude. "We'd be lost without Nattie's handbag! It's got our maps and everything inside."
The man on the ground starts to get up when the pressure is removed from his chest. But the sound kick to his side keeps him from getting too far. He grimaces and rolls slightly, just edging away from Raleigh.
Kenneth eyes the women coming to claim their very important purse, but he doesn't separate much from the crowd. He looks at the man on the ground next, curiously eyeing those designer threads.
Raleigh offers a smile to the women as she hands over the purse, glancing back towards the sound of sirens for a moment before she returns her attention to the two women. "I'm just happy to help. Just be careful next time and keep your purses close to you." She says to the woman who speaks. "I'm sure the police will want to talk to us, so I'll keep an eye on this guy." She says, glancing down at the man on the ground as he tries to get away from her before she moves over and puts another foot on his back to keep him put. It's not often she gets to feel like a bad ass.
"Oh yes. Yes yes, of course," the first woman answers. She wraps an arm around her friend's shoulders and gently guides her from the man on the ground. She makes hushing sounds, murmuring words meant to placate and calm Nattie. Meanwhile the guy on the ground just grumbles and groans for his treatment. He's putting up little resistance for Raleigh's efforts at keeping him still.
In no time the patrol cars appear, red and blue lights flashing off surfaces and adding their brilliance to that of the Strip. Statements will be taken from all parties involved, those who were near enough to the action are questioned in turn, along with the owner of the purse and her friend. The man on the ground is eventually taken away in handcuffs and Raleigh again thanked for her assistance in the matter.
In the end, it turns out to be just another evening on the Las Vegas Strip, a little excitement touching some lives while others are left with pockets a little lighter than when the arrived.
