On The Fence About Their Motives

(I get off of shift and am waiting for my ride by the general merchandise entrance when I see someone bolting out of the store with an employee and a security guard chasing him. Since this particular store opened, they have had a lot of trouble with theft; thus, the guard. A couple of minutes later, the employee returns to a gathering group of other workers drawn by the commotion.)

Employee #1: *after catching his breath* “You know that fence we have?”

(He’s referring to a seven- or eight-foot fence that separates the parking lot from semi-active train tracks.)

Employee #2: “S***! Did the guy jump the fence?”

Employee #1: “Nope! He suddenly doubled back and tried to climb the garden center fence! [Guard] got him on the ground. Anyone call the cops yet?”

Employee #3: “But we have a ceiling on the garden center; what did he hope to accomplish?”

Employee #1: “H*** if I know.”

(When my ride came, I saw the police car pull into the parking lot, and the guard still holding the would-be thief along with a case of broken beer bottles next to the twenty-foot-high garden center fence.)