The tension in the alley was thicker than the grime coating the pavement. Emily's heart hammered against her ribs, a frantic drum solo against the backdrop of the city's distant hum.
"There's no cat, so if you aren't deaf, for the very last time leave." the larger mugger growled again, his voice a low rumble. The knife in his hand seemed to pulse with a menacing life of its own.
Time to improvise. A mischievous glint sparked in Emily's eyes.
"Oh, Fluffy's a clever one," she chirped, her voice deceptively bright.
"He can squeeze into the tightest spaces. Maybe he's even learned to pick locks!"
Her outlandish claim had the desired effect. The smaller mugger, a jittery fellow with a perpetually worried expression etched on his face, choked on a surprised laugh. The larger one, however, remained suspicious, his eyes narrowed into slits.
Needing a more decisive tactic, Emily decided to take a gamble. With a feigned look of exasperation, she threw her hands up in the air. "Alright, alright," she sighed dramatically. "Look, I stumbled upon your little operation here. No need to get stabby."
The smaller mugger's eyes widened in alarm, the nervous laugh dying in his throat. The larger one, however, seemed to bristle at the perceived challenge.
"You think this is a joke?" he snarled, taking a menacing step forward.
This was it. This was her chance. In a blink, Emily lunged forward, her movements deceptively swift. The smaller mugger, caught off guard by her sudden aggression, stumbled backward. His misstep was all the opening Emily needed.
With a practiced grace, she disarmed him with a lightning-fast move. Her hand shot out, fingers wrapping around the hilt of the knife with surprising strength – surprising even to herself. It seemed the years of weight training she'd taken to "tone up" were proving surprisingly useful.
The smaller mugger yelped in surprise, his face contorting in fear as the knife was ripped from his grasp. The larger mugger, momentarily stunned, froze.
"Don't even think about it," Emily gritted out, her voice surprisingly steady despite the tremor in her legs. She held the stolen knife pressed against the smaller mugger's throat, the cold metal sending a shiver down his spine.
The larger mugger, his bravado momentarily deflated, hesitated. He cast a wary glance at Emily, then back at his hapless accomplice. Sizing up the situation, he let out a frustrated grunt and melted back into the shadows, disappearing as quickly as he had appeared.
As he vanished, Emily breathed a silent sigh of relief. Her legs, however, refused to cooperate for a moment, a wave of post-adrenaline jitters washing over her. The smaller mugger, still whimpering under the threat of the knife, didn't seem like much of a threat anymore.
Taking a deep breath, Emily lowered the knife, keeping it pointed at him nonetheless. "You gonna make a run for it too, champ?" she asked, her voice laced with a steely edge that surprised even herself.
The smaller mugger just whimpered helplessly, his eyes wide with terror. Things had taken a sudden turn. He looked confused and disoriented, clearly this was his first rodeo and he was unlucky enough to have met Emily.
She was about to call the police but realise she didn't come along with her purse, when a groan erupted from the figure sprawled on the ground. Looking down, her heart lurched.
"Max?" she gasped, disbelief flooding her voice.
Lying unconscious beneath the flickering streetlight was none other than Max, the charming stranger who had helped her out of a car crash just a few days ago.