"I won't dare to do it anymore."

"So, you admit that you were trying to steal from me just now?"

The black kid said pitifully, "Yes, sir, I'm very hungry...

I haven't eaten anything for a day, please let me go."

"Where are your parents?"

"Dead."

"What a pitiful kid." Luke let go of his hand.

The black kid breathed a sigh of relief, a slight smile appeared at the corner of his mouth, Luke's hand also rose, then came down heavily, slapping the slight smile off.

"Smack!"

The slap was powerful, knocking the black kid to the ground, dizzy and dazed, with a swollen cheek, completely stunned.

"This slap is on behalf of your parents. Don't steal anymore, not everyone will be as kind as I am.

Get lost!"

"Boo hoo..." The black kid got up from the ground, crying and running off into the distance.

Luke walked into the convenience store, where a young female clerk behind the counter was peering out, "Sir, what happened?"

"I just encountered a thief."

"The security in this area is indeed not very good, do you need me to call the police?"

"No need. The thief wasn't very old, not yet an adult, I patiently talked to him, told him it was wrong to do that, he admitted his mistake, and then I let him go."

The female clerk praised, "Sir, you're really a compassionate person."

Luke shrugged, "Everyone says that, but I just did what I should do.

I believe everyone would do the same in a similar situation."

"You're right.

Sir, do you need anything?"

Luke then picked up a pack of wet wipes from beside the counter, took one out and wiped his hands, then placed the remaining wipes on the counter.

The young black female clerk bit her lip, clenched her fists tightly, her expression somewhat unusual.

Luke pointed to the wet wipes, "How much?"

"Uh... one moment." The black female clerk picked up the scanner.

Luke's hand blocked the wipes, his gaze fixed on her, "Just tell me, how much?"

"Uh... there are too many items in the store, I can't remember the price of every item."

Luke eyed her, "You're sweating on your forehead?"

"Maybe it's a bit hot today, I'm not feeling well."

Luke then picked up a bottle of red wine from the shelf beside him, "How much is this?"

"I said, I can't remember the price of every single item..."

Luke interrupted her, "I didn't ask you to remember the price of every item, but you should at least know the price of one." Luke pointed to the bottle of red wine, "Take a guess."

"Five dollars?"

"Too high."

"Four dollars?"

Luke shook his head, "One more try."

"Three dollars?"

"2.95 dollars. You're not familiar with how convenience stores price their items."

The black female clerk said with a straight face, "I'm new here, I haven't fully familiarized myself with the store's items yet.

Besides, I don't want to play this childish game with you anymore. If you want to buy something, please check out.

If not, please leave."

Luke took out a badge and hung it on his chest, "Do you know that kid who was stealing?"

The black female clerk looked at the badge, took a deep breath, "Sir, I don't know him. I just occasionally see him playing around here, he might be a local resident."

"But you two have similar facial features."

"Sir, if you're unhappy with my work, you can complain to my manager, but please don't target me."

"You think I'm targeting you?"

"Yes."

Luke glanced around, "OK, where's your manager?"

"He's in the storage room checking the goods, I'll go get him."

The black female clerk turned and walked away quickly, then sprinted toward the convenience store's exit.

Luke seemed to have anticipated this, pulled out a gun, and also ran straight to the store's exit, "LAPD, don't move!"

Whether the black female clerk heard him or just ignored him, she kept running outside.

"Fuck!"

Luke sped up, directly tackled her, pinned her arms down, and handcuffed her, "Congratulations, you're under arrest."

"Why are you arresting me?"

"I showed you my badge, told you not to move, why did you run?"

"I wanted to go to the restroom."

Luke pulled her up from the ground, pinned her against the wall, searched her, "Good excuse, I'll have someone take you to the police station restroom, it's more suitable for you there."

"Sir, please, let me go.

I have a grandmother over seventy and three underage siblings to support, if you arrest me, they won't be able to survive."

"You don't have to worry, I'll have the officers contact child welfare to arrange their living."

The black woman shouted, "No, please don't do this, don't tear our family apart!"

"Then tell me, why were you at this store?"

"I... saw the store was closed as I passed by, but the shutters weren't down, only the glass door was locked, so I wanted to go in and get some food.

My siblings are all very hungry, and I had no money for food, I needed to take care of them."

"So, you admit you're a thief?"

"Yes."

"What relation is the black boy thief at the entrance to you?"

"That's my brother."

"He was acting as your lookout?"

"Yes."

"You coordinated well, this isn't your first time doing this, is it?"

"Please, don't arrest me.

We were just too hungry, we never intended to hurt anyone.

We just wanted some food."

"Tell that to the jury, maybe they'll sympathize with you." Luke pointed to the corner, "Squat there, don't move!"

Luke wasn't particularly interested in petty theft cases, he directly called old rookie John, "Hey, you working today?"

"Yes, I'm patrolling, what's up?"

"I caught a thief near the Nighthawk Gun shop on Davis Street, looking to hand over to patrol, interested?"

"Of course, I'm nearby, I'll be there in ten minutes."

Ten minutes later, John and Asian female officer Lucy arrived at the convenience store.

"You two partnered now?"

"Nope, just a temporary shift switch." John pointed at the black female store clerk squatting in the corner, "Is that her?"

"Yes, I entered the convenience store to buy something, found her suspicious, showed my ID, asked a few questions, and she started running.

No one else was in the store."

Lucy asked, "How did you get into the convenience store?"

"Picked the lock."

"What about the store owner?"

The black woman defended, "I don't know, the store was closed when I came, I was just too hungry, wanted to grab some food, happened to be caught by him."

John and Lucy replaced the black female thief's handcuffs, put her in the police car, then Lucy went to contact the store owner, while John and Luke talked by the roadside.

John curiously asked, "What are you doing here?"

"I went to the Nighthawk Gun shop for a custom gun."

"Nighthawk 1911?"

"Yes."

"I always thought you had to go to Arkansas for custom work, apparently here does it too, I'd love to check it out sometime."

"I'm picking up the gun in a week, wanna come along?"

"Absolutely." John rubbed his hands, feeling a bit excited.

Suddenly, Luke frowned slightly, "You've handcuffed that female thief, right?"

"I personally cuffed her to the car, don't worry, she won't escape."

"I'm not so sure." Luke pointed at the police car by the roadside.

The back door of the car was open, the female thief quietly got out, and when she saw Luke noticing her, she turned and ran in the opposite direction.

John widened his eyes in surprise, "Damn, I clearly handcuffed her and locked her in the car, how did she get free?"

Luke was also curious, but now was not the time for thinking, "Catch her first."

"She's mine!" John was a bit angry, feeling responsible.

Luke and John flanked her from both directions, as they approached the black female thief, John pulled out a taser gun and fired,

"Bang!"

Two small electric dart hit the black female thief's back.

Her body trembled, her legs weakened, and she fell to the ground.

In a moment, Luke had caught up, pinned her hands, looking at her bare wrists, couldn't help but be curious, how did she manage to escape the handcuffs?