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Description
Startled by the blaring of the burglar alarm, Jenna jumped out of bed and into a pair of sweet-pants and a night gown. The blaring sound of the alarm kept getting louder and she heard deep voices laughing. She couldn't make out the words but there were at least three men. Then there were running footsteps and the voices disappeared. Jenna went and dialled the emergency number, explaining what has just happened.

"Do not go down until the officer arrives ma'am," the young man on the other end of the line warned her. "The perpetrators may still be there."
"I heard them laughing and running off," Jenna replied. "My café is probably open to whoever comes by and the alarm just stopped. It has a timer, I have to get down there." The dispatcher disagreed but Jenna grabbed a light jacket and put it on and walked into the living room to watch the street outside. As she spotted a car pull in across the street, she tensed up for a moment. Then she relaxed, it was Spiros Dimitriades, the man who had the newspaper shack across the street.

"Tell them to hurry, will you, this is my livelihood!" she hesitated briefly and then she hung up the phone, through with arguing. She slipped on her sneakers and went out her apartment door, locking it behind her, headed down the steps and soon she was standing outside the door to the café in the slanted light of early morning. There were no sounds coming from inside so she opened the front door just a crack, and reaching in she flipped the light switch. The ceiling lights came on and illuminated the place. No one was there. Except Spiros standing where the big picture window with her café's name on it was supposed to be.

"You alright, Jenna? What happened?" the old Greek man asked with concern in his voice.
"You just missed it, Spiros," Jenna said distractedly, moving forward. The whole window was completely smashed from frame to frame and in little pieces everywhere. She had been so proud of that window! Artistically done, it had been beautiful. If she was lucky she could get it done again, but it would cost, even with what the insurance might cover.

This had been done deliberately, not just some kids screwing around. The neighbouring stores were left untouched. The grocery store next to Jenna's café was due to open and its owner, Ken Saul was coming over to look at the damage. He was a man in his sixties, widowed, who had been running his store for thirty years.
"What happened here," he asked. "Hooligans?"
"I don't know," she shook her head. "Someone broke the window and the alarm went off. I'm waiting for the police to arrive."
"They ain't fast," he noted with a sad nod of his head as he scratched the back of his neck.
"No," Jenna sighed as she kept looking up and down the street. No sign of the police. Ken and Spiros were looking at the damage.

"You know, Jenna," Ken said. "If you have a security camera, you may want to get that out. That was the first thing they asked me when I was robbed last year."
"It's a good," she agreed with a nod of her head. "Do you two want some coffee? I've to turn everything on and see if anything's missing."

The men hesitated, but agreed. The street was waking up as it got closer to nine 'o clock. People began walking by and some stopped by and looked at her shattered front window, talking to each other, while Jenna took care of needed things. It took almost an hour for the police showed up. By then she had watched the security recording and determined that nothing had been removed. The perpetrators had broken the window, making sure they got it all and then left running. It was also getting close to the time she usually opened, and she had customers to take care of.

Jenna did her best to not be angry with the police when they finally arrived. They took her statement and a copy of the security recording. When she was asked if this was the first trouble she had, she mentioned the punks from the previous day.
"But it wasn't them," she went on. "The voices I heard were deeper and the images on the recordings are of much bigger men, even if their features were obscured.
"You watched the recording?" the officer asked.
"Well, it took you so long to get here I figured I should do something."

The policeman just huffed at her comment as if a broken shop window was just a minor nuisance. And who know, they might well have narcotics and murder to take care of. London wasn't exactly a safe place these days. Then again, big things often started small and the people engaging in drugs and shootouts might well start with smashed shop windows. Or that was what her dad would probably have to say to her when he learned about this. Then he would take his beating out of the politicians in general and the present government in particular.

After policemen had checked around the premises for a while longer, they gave her a card and informed her that they'd let her know what they'd learned. The man she had spoken to obviously thought it an isolated occurrence and not to worry, based on nothing being stolen. Since she was sure nothing was missing, she couldn't argue that point. After that they stepped inside of their patrol car and left and she picked up her phone again, this time with calling a glazier in mind.

Helen came in then, aghast at the damage. Fortunately customers were entering confused as well so Jenna sent Helen off to take care of them, giving a quick explanation of vandalism. Spiros had left to open his stand. Ken came over though and offered to nail up a tarp until she could get something more stable. She thanked him and offered to pay him but he turned her down flat.
"You won't owe me nothing, Jenna. We look out for each other around here and we all think you are a good neighbour. Don't worry about it."
"Thanks, Ken!" Jenna smiled, grateful for his generosity. "How about free coffee every morning for a week. That is a fair deal between neighbours?" she added. Ken smiled, pretended to think about it and nodded. Then he went to get material while his clerk minded the store.

Jenna went back inside and took condolences from customers and served coffee. Once she had a moment, Helen approached her with concerned eyes.
"So what happened?" she asked.

Jenna explained everything including what she saw on the recordings. Helen didn't like it any more than her. As they talked, they were interrupted by a customer. He was a big man wearing a dress shirt, slacks and black leather vest. He had steel grey hair and a black goatee.
"It is a shame about your window. Hooligans perhaps?" he said. Jenna shrugged.
"I do not know yet. It is a shame though. How can I help you?"

He ignored her question.
"It is a real shame. I thought maybe you did something you shouldn't. Some people do not take that well."
"What are you talking about?" Jenna frowned, not liking what he was implying. He smiled but his eyes were hard and sending a warning.
"You may not want to call the cops on young boys having fun. That was not nice. Neither was this. Get me?"

Now Jenna really was confused. she hadn't ever called the cops until tonight. Helen got it though.
"We didn't call the cops on those punks. The cop was here on his own, and they were just stupid enough to harass us in front of him. Maybe you should talk to those boys about being idiots!" Helen said. She was furious and now Jenna was too, as she understood who this man was.
"You may want to watch how you talk about my nephews, girly," He had lowered his voice.
"And you may want to fuck off 'coz we talk to the cops how much we want, thank you," Helen snarled, eyes narrowed.
"I'm not warning you twice young lady," the man took one step closer, but Helen was not backing down.
"No, because you have better things to do. Like going home and deride your nephews' tender asses already instead of making a fool out of yourself around here anymore," she shot back, clearly more furious than fraught.

Jenna noticed then that Gavin and Dave had stopped outside, staring at the shattered window. Then, Gavin lifted his eyes and was now staring at the man Jenna and Helen were talking to. The look on his face can only be described as dangerous.
"Just take the hint girls, you are playing with the wrong people. And you," he looked at Helen. "You have a big mouth." Helen snarled about ready to go over the counter at him.
"I also have a size four foot that is going to connect with your ass unless you get the hell out of here," she told him.

While Jenna began dialling the emergency number for the second time that day, she watched as Gavin leaned over to Dave. Interesting, she thought, then a dispatcher answered. She explained the situation and he assured her that an officer was in the area. To Jenna's surprise he did show up within minutes, a plainclothes detective who'd been nearby and he introduced himself as Will Jenford, holding out a hand big as a shovel. He took the women's statements and another copy of the day's security camera footage.
"This may give us what we need to stop this harassment," Jenford said. "I'm a little surprised I didn't see the incident report on the computer this morning. However I'll look into that and will keep you informed."

Jenna felt slightly better after this visit from this very police officer. Contrary to those fools in the morning, this officer actually seemed interested and involved.

As he turned to leave, he intercepted two uniformed officers who had just arrived, spoke to them briefly and then they left. They were looking at each other nervously. That made her feel uneasy. she didn't know exactly why, though.

Meanwhile Ken had arrived and began stapling up a tarp. One side was sagging and Gavin stepped over and grabbed it, holding it up for Ken to staple. The younger man continued helping Ken and soon the tarp was neatly stapled over where the window had been. A billionaire helping at grunt work. Will wonders never cease, Jenna thought. Gavin and Ken voices were heard for a while afterwards, talking to each other for a moment, and Jenna turned around and began making a cappuccino which she poured in a Styrofoam cup and went outside with it. As she stepped out, she watched the back of Ken as he entered his own store.

"It's on the house," she told Gavin, holding the coffee out. "Thank you for helping Ken, I really appreciate it. And I'm sure, Ken did too." Gavin smiled as he received the coffee. Unlike everyone else, he didn't ask what had happened. He already seemed to know.
"Helping Ken was no problem. I go into his store occasionally for this and that. Nice old guy," he said. Then he gestured around at the damage. "I'm glad no one was hurt." Jenna nodded. That had occurred to her.
"The timing was clever," she pointed out. "It was before Ken or Spiros would be here to notice, early enough that no one would be around."

"That says something about who did it," Gavin stated. "It's a little late for drunks screwing around. Pubs have been closed for hours you know. And hooligans are seldom early risers." The way he said the last part told her he had been listening in to the conversation with the man in the leather vest. She met his eyes and they were shining with concern as he went on. "I have to say I'm more than a little worried for you, Jenna. Guys like that do not warn people without a serious, to them, reason. It also bothers me that there was no incident report for the first police visit."
"It all did seem strange to me too," Jenna replied with a frown. "My father use to say that coincidences do happen, but several in a row are not to be believed."

At the same time, Helen stepped through the door.
"May I borrow my boss for a moment kind sir?" she asked Gavin. He smiled.
"Of course Helen," he replied. He nodded and smiled to Jenna and then he followed them inside and walked up to sit down at a table with his coffee. Meanwhile, Helen led Jenna over to the end of the counter away from everyone.
"Normally I would not point this out, but I figure you would want me to," she said.
"Ok, what is up?" Jenna asked.
"Well, you are wearing red sweat pants, pink tennis shoes and a yellow t-skirt with something spilled on. I'm surprised your head has not exploded yet."

Hearing that, Jenna looked down in horror. She'd completely forgotten her plan to change after meeting the cops first thing this morning. Then, she raised her hands to her hair and realized the bun she put it in had come loose. She was a wreck, a walking zombie! She glanced over the entrance door, noting that there were two more customers coming in.
"I can't disappear now," she hissed. "Damn I look like shit."
"I'll take care of this," Helen smiled. "Be right with you," she then called to the new customers.
"But..."
"I can take care of this. Here, I will prove it." She turned and walked out where everyone could see her. "Ok, listen up dear friends and valued customers. This lovely lady here," she pointed to Jenna, who saw that Gavin was trying hard not to smile. "She's been up since seven this morning dealing with all of this." She gestured at the window. "Would any of you mind if she took a break and I handled things here? It may take a smidgen longer but the time is going to a good cause."

The response was heart felt and immediate.
"Nah"
"Go on honey, you deserve it!"
"Of course not!"
"No problem dear."
"I got time."

"It would be fine," said Gavin. "In fact I'm waiting for my ride so if the lovely Helen needs a hand, I have always wanted to sling caffeine." Helen grinned widely as she turned back to Jenna.
"Sure thing," Jenna said as she felt herself beginning to blush. "Go ahead!"

Gavin took off his jacket and winked at Jenna and she felt a lump well up in her throat and couldn't speak. She put a hand over her heart towards her customers and turned to go. She smacked Helen on the shoulder but she saw the tears welling up.
"Take care of yourself sweetie! We got this."

As Jenna went up the stairs to her apartment she could hear Helen ordering the billionaire around. She decided to take advantage of all the kindness and really take care of herself. But as soon as she shut her door behind her she slid to a sitting position on the floor and started to cry.

Description
Startled by the blaring of the burglar alarm, Jenna jumped out of bed and into a pair of sweet-pants and a night gown. The blaring sound of the alarm kept getting louder and she heard deep voices laughing. She couldn't make out the words but there were at least three men. Then there were running footsteps and the voices disappeared. Jenna went and dialled the emergency number, explaining what has just happened.

"Do not go down until the officer arrives ma'am," the young man on the other end of the line warned her. "The perpetrators may still be there."
"I heard them laughing and running off," Jenna replied. "My café is probably open to whoever comes by and the alarm just stopped. It has a timer, I have to get down there." The dispatcher disagreed but Jenna grabbed a light jacket and put it on and walked into the living room to watch the street outside. As she spotted a car pull in across the street, she tensed up for a moment. Then she relaxed, it was Spiros Dimitriades, the man who had the newspaper shack across the street.

"Tell them to hurry, will you, this is my livelihood!" she hesitated briefly and then she hung up the phone, through with arguing. She slipped on her sneakers and went out her apartment door, locking it behind her, headed down the steps and soon she was standing outside the door to the café in the slanted light of early morning. There were no sounds coming from inside so she opened the front door just a crack, and reaching in she flipped the light switch. The ceiling lights came on and illuminated the place. No one was there. Except Spiros standing where the big picture window with her café's name on it was supposed to be.

"You alright, Jenna? What happened?" the old Greek man asked with concern in his voice.
"You just missed it, Spiros," Jenna said distractedly, moving forward. The whole window was completely smashed from frame to frame and in little pieces everywhere. She had been so proud of that window! Artistically done, it had been beautiful. If she was lucky she could get it done again, but it would cost, even with what the insurance might cover.

This had been done deliberately, not just some kids screwing around. The neighbouring stores were left untouched. The grocery store next to Jenna's café was due to open and its owner, Ken Saul was coming over to look at the damage. He was a man in his sixties, widowed, who had been running his store for thirty years.
"What happened here," he asked. "Hooligans?"
"I don't know," she shook her head. "Someone broke the window and the alarm went off. I'm waiting for the police to arrive."
"They ain't fast," he noted with a sad nod of his head as he scratched the back of his neck.
"No," Jenna sighed as she kept looking up and down the street. No sign of the police. Ken and Spiros were looking at the damage.

"You know, Jenna," Ken said. "If you have a security camera, you may want to get that out. That was the first thing they asked me when I was robbed last year."
"It's a good," she agreed with a nod of her head. "Do you two want some coffee? I've to turn everything on and see if anything's missing."

The men hesitated, but agreed. The street was waking up as it got closer to nine 'o clock. People began walking by and some stopped by and looked at her shattered front window, talking to each other, while Jenna took care of needed things. It took almost an hour for the police showed up. By then she had watched the security recording and determined that nothing had been removed. The perpetrators had broken the window, making sure they got it all and then left running. It was also getting close to the time she usually opened, and she had customers to take care of.

Jenna did her best to not be angry with the police when they finally arrived. They took her statement and a copy of the security recording. When she was asked if this was the first trouble she had, she mentioned the punks from the previous day.
"But it wasn't them," she went on. "The voices I heard were deeper and the images on the recordings are of much bigger men, even if their features were obscured.
"You watched the recording?" the officer asked.
"Well, it took you so long to get here I figured I should do something."

The policeman just huffed at her comment as if a broken shop window was just a minor nuisance. And who know, they might well have narcotics and murder to take care of. London wasn't exactly a safe place these days. Then again, big things often started small and the people engaging in drugs and shootouts might well start with smashed shop windows. Or that was what her dad would probably have to say to her when he learned about this. Then he would take his beating out of the politicians in general and the present government in particular.

After policemen had checked around the premises for a while longer, they gave her a card and informed her that they'd let her know what they'd learned. The man she had spoken to obviously thought it an isolated occurrence and not to worry, based on nothing being stolen. Since she was sure nothing was missing, she couldn't argue that point. After that they stepped inside of their patrol car and left and she picked up her phone again, this time with calling a glazier in mind.

Helen came in then, aghast at the damage. Fortunately customers were entering confused as well so Jenna sent Helen off to take care of them, giving a quick explanation of vandalism. Spiros had left to open his stand. Ken came over though and offered to nail up a tarp until she could get something more stable. She thanked him and offered to pay him but he turned her down flat.
"You won't owe me nothing, Jenna. We look out for each other around here and we all think you are a good neighbour. Don't worry about it."
"Thanks, Ken!" Jenna smiled, grateful for his generosity. "How about free coffee every morning for a week. That is a fair deal between neighbours?" she added. Ken smiled, pretended to think about it and nodded. Then he went to get material while his clerk minded the store.

Jenna went back inside and took condolences from customers and served coffee. Once she had a moment, Helen approached her with concerned eyes.
"So what happened?" she asked.

Jenna explained everything including what she saw on the recordings. Helen didn't like it any more than her. As they talked, they were interrupted by a customer. He was a big man wearing a dress shirt, slacks and black leather vest. He had steel grey hair and a black goatee.
"It is a shame about your window. Hooligans perhaps?" he said. Jenna shrugged.
"I do not know yet. It is a shame though. How can I help you?"

He ignored her question.
"It is a real shame. I thought maybe you did something you shouldn't. Some people do not take that well."
"What are you talking about?" Jenna frowned, not liking what he was implying. He smiled but his eyes were hard and sending a warning.
"You may not want to call the cops on young boys having fun. That was not nice. Neither was this. Get me?"

Now Jenna really was confused. she hadn't ever called the cops until tonight. Helen got it though.
"We didn't call the cops on those punks. The cop was here on his own, and they were just stupid enough to harass us in front of him. Maybe you should talk to those boys about being idiots!" Helen said. She was furious and now Jenna was too, as she understood who this man was.
"You may want to watch how you talk about my nephews, girly," He had lowered his voice.
"And you may want to fuck off 'coz we talk to the cops how much we want, thank you," Helen snarled, eyes narrowed.
"I'm not warning you twice young lady," the man took one step closer, but Helen was not backing down.
"No, because you have better things to do. Like going home and deride your nephews' tender asses already instead of making a fool out of yourself around here anymore," she shot back, clearly more furious than fraught.

Jenna noticed then that Gavin and Dave had stopped outside, staring at the shattered window. Then, Gavin lifted his eyes and was now staring at the man Jenna and Helen were talking to. The look on his face can only be described as dangerous.
"Just take the hint girls, you are playing with the wrong people. And you," he looked at Helen. "You have a big mouth." Helen snarled about ready to go over the counter at him.
"I also have a size four foot that is going to connect with your ass unless you get the hell out of here," she told him.

While Jenna began dialling the emergency number for the second time that day, she watched as Gavin leaned over to Dave. Interesting, she thought, then a dispatcher answered. She explained the situation and he assured her that an officer was in the area. To Jenna's surprise he did show up within minutes, a plainclothes detective who'd been nearby and he introduced himself as Will Jenford, holding out a hand big as a shovel. He took the women's statements and another copy of the day's security camera footage.
"This may give us what we need to stop this harassment," Jenford said. "I'm a little surprised I didn't see the incident report on the computer this morning. However I'll look into that and will keep you informed."

Jenna felt slightly better after this visit from this very police officer. Contrary to those fools in the morning, this officer actually seemed interested and involved.

As he turned to leave, he intercepted two uniformed officers who had just arrived, spoke to them briefly and then they left. They were looking at each other nervously. That made her feel uneasy. she didn't know exactly why, though.

Meanwhile Ken had arrived and began stapling up a tarp. One side was sagging and Gavin stepped over and grabbed it, holding it up for Ken to staple. The younger man continued helping Ken and soon the tarp was neatly stapled over where the window had been. A billionaire helping at grunt work. Will wonders never cease, Jenna thought. Gavin and Ken voices were heard for a while afterwards, talking to each other for a moment, and Jenna turned around and began making a cappuccino which she poured in a Styrofoam cup and went outside with it. As she stepped out, she watched the back of Ken as he entered his own store.

"It's on the house," she told Gavin, holding the coffee out. "Thank you for helping Ken, I really appreciate it. And I'm sure, Ken did too." Gavin smiled as he received the coffee. Unlike everyone else, he didn't ask what had happened. He already seemed to know.
"Helping Ken was no problem. I go into his store occasionally for this and that. Nice old guy," he said. Then he gestured around at the damage. "I'm glad no one was hurt." Jenna nodded. That had occurred to her.
"The timing was clever," she pointed out. "It was before Ken or Spiros would be here to notice, early enough that no one would be around."

"That says something about who did it," Gavin stated. "It's a little late for drunks screwing around. Pubs have been closed for hours you know. And hooligans are seldom early risers." The way he said the last part told her he had been listening in to the conversation with the man in the leather vest. She met his eyes and they were shining with concern as he went on. "I have to say I'm more than a little worried for you, Jenna. Guys like that do not warn people without a serious, to them, reason. It also bothers me that there was no incident report for the first police visit."
"It all did seem strange to me too," Jenna replied with a frown. "My father use to say that coincidences do happen, but several in a row are not to be believed."

At the same time, Helen stepped through the door.
"May I borrow my boss for a moment kind sir?" she asked Gavin. He smiled.
"Of course Helen," he replied. He nodded and smiled to Jenna and then he followed them inside and walked up to sit down at a table with his coffee. Meanwhile, Helen led Jenna over to the end of the counter away from everyone.
"Normally I would not point this out, but I figure you would want me to," she said.
"Ok, what is up?" Jenna asked.
"Well, you are wearing red sweat pants, pink tennis shoes and a yellow t-skirt with something spilled on. I'm surprised your head has not exploded yet."

Hearing that, Jenna looked down in horror. She'd completely forgotten her plan to change after meeting the cops first thing this morning. Then, she raised her hands to her hair and realized the bun she put it in had come loose. She was a wreck, a walking zombie! She glanced over the entrance door, noting that there were two more customers coming in.
"I can't disappear now," she hissed. "Damn I look like shit."
"I'll take care of this," Helen smiled. "Be right with you," she then called to the new customers.
"But..."
"I can take care of this. Here, I will prove it." She turned and walked out where everyone could see her. "Ok, listen up dear friends and valued customers. This lovely lady here," she pointed to Jenna, who saw that Gavin was trying hard not to smile. "She's been up since seven this morning dealing with all of this." She gestured at the window. "Would any of you mind if she took a break and I handled things here? It may take a smidgen longer but the time is going to a good cause."

The response was heart felt and immediate.
"Nah"
"Go on honey, you deserve it!"
"Of course not!"
"No problem dear."
"I got time."

"It would be fine," said Gavin. "In fact I'm waiting for my ride so if the lovely Helen needs a hand, I have always wanted to sling caffeine." Helen grinned widely as she turned back to Jenna.
"Sure thing," Jenna said as she felt herself beginning to blush. "Go ahead!"

Gavin took off his jacket and winked at Jenna and she felt a lump well up in her throat and couldn't speak. She put a hand over her heart towards her customers and turned to go. She smacked Helen on the shoulder but she saw the tears welling up.
"Take care of yourself sweetie! We got this."

As Jenna went up the stairs to her apartment she could hear Helen ordering the billionaire around. She decided to take advantage of all the kindness and really take care of herself. But as soon as she shut her door behind her she slid to a sitting position on the floor and started to cry.