William Hamon, lecturer in applied mathematics, 30 years old Introduction part 1

William finished his lecture by looking around to see how many students were still listening. As usual, even though the lecture hall was half empty, no more than a dozen students were listening or taking notes.

What were the others doing, you ask? It was varied. Chatting, playing video games, social networking on their phones or simply napping. Nothing out of the ordinary. William even understood them a little. His wasn't the most exciting class of the year, and he wasn't a good teacher.

No, he wasn't one of those teachers who had the ability to captivate their audiences and carry dozens of students away with their explanations. It had taken him several years to recognize this, but he'd accepted it. However, it irritated him a little when people came to class and didn't even make the effort to follow. If they were going to do that sort of thing, they might as well stay in their rooms.

Fortunately, there were some students who remained attentive and followed his lesson. It was good for morale. William would undoubtedly worry if young Miss Brunet stopped coming to class. She was the only one who asked him pertinent questions.

"That concludes today's class, and don't forget you have a homework assignment due in 4 days. I won't accept any lateness and it will be marked," said William as he began to put his things away.

Fortunately, he didn't have many classes to teach today, so he could devote the rest of the day to his research.

"Mister Hamon, Mister Hamon" he heard as he was about to leave. He recognized the voice immediately.

"What is it, Miss Brunet? Do you have a question?" he asked.

"Yes, sir, but please call me Hélène, it feels strange to be called by my last name by my teacher", said the student.

"As you wish, Hélène. So, what's your question?" asked William, who couldn't help smiling.

"Ah yes. Regarding question 10.b of the homework assignment, I'm not sure how to do it. Can you give me some pointers?" asked Hélène.

"Ah yes, that question, you have to use the answers to questions 9.c and 10.a to arrive at the solution and the problem solves itself" replied William.

"I've thought about it, but I've got to get stuck somewhere - can you help me?" asked Hélène.

If it had been any other student, William would no doubt have told her to keep looking and he'd find it eventually, but it wasn't any other student.

"I'll be in my office all afternoon, so come in when you have time and we'll see what we can do," he said.

"Thank you, thank you", replied the student before running off.

Well, even if this job was boring, it had its moments. He decided to go and eat at the little local restaurant he'd been frequenting since he was a student. He knew the manager and the value for money was excellent.

"Hello Elisa, the usual please", said William as he entered the restaurant.

"Hello William, it'll be ready in 15 minutes" said Elisa, who alternated between taking orders and managing the cash register.

William settled down at his usual table and his meal soon arrived.

He would have liked to have been able to concentrate on it, but alas, the loud voices of Elisa and another woman prevented him from doing so.

_"I'm telling you again and again that I don't want to sell my restaurant!" _said Elisa to the woman standing in front of her.

"I'm offering you 2 times the market price, so you could open a much bigger restaurant, what more do you need?" replied the businesswoman, who seemed to be getting annoyed.

_"As I told you during your 3 previous visits. I have no desire to sell this restaurant. It was founded by my father and I'm emotionally attached to it. No matter how much money you offer, I won't sell" _says Elisa.

_"You'll be sorry," _said the businesswoman, who quickly slammed the door.

Elisa was the owner of the restaurant, and literally nothing in the world could her to sell her restaurant, which was also profitable. A few minutes after finishing his lunch, William approached Elisa and began a conversation.

"Are you all right? What's all this about selling? Who's this idiot who thinks she can do anything?"

Elisa sighed, "This idiot, as you call her, is called Marion Roka and she wants to buy the block to build a new shopping center, but given the restaurant's position, she won't be able to do anything if I don't sell." said Elisa.

The conversation continued. Elisa complained that her daughter didn't give her any news, and William that her pupils were worse every year, with a few exceptions of course.

_"Nobody move and nobody gets hurt," _William heard behind him and saw Elisa's horrified look. This was no joke. He turned slowly to see a young woman with a nearly shaved head and wearing a mask pointing a gun at him.

"You didn't hear what I said. I said we're not moving" repeated the young woman who couldn't have been 30.

"Let's calm down," said William in a calm voice, raising his hands.

"You! Empty the contents of the crate into this bag and you go round and get me all the jewelry and wallet you can find. And no tricks or I'll go on a rampage", said the young woman, gripping her gun a little tighter.

William complied slowly. His mind was racing at 100 miles an hour. What the hell was going on? Why rob a restaurant, especially after lunch when it's so crowded? It would have made more sense to wait until evening. There would have been more money in the till.

He passed between the tables, picking up what people were handing him. They were terrified. He finished quickly and placed it all, along with his phone, in the bag handed to him by the robber. Giving away his phone among the wallets would make it easier for the criminal to be spotted.

"You think I didn't see you? Do you think I'm stupid?" said the young woman, pointing a gun in his face.

He wanted so badly to answer her question and ask her again without holding a gun to her face. At the thought he smiled.

_"Does that make you laugh? Let's see if you still laugh so hard after that?" _she said.

"Bang!!!"

Then he first noticed the sensation of liquid running down his leg. It was warm. Then came the pain.

"Ah!" he yelled, grabbing his leg.

He'd just been shot in the thigh. He tried to think, but clearly pain and panic were getting the better of him. He fainted.

--

He woke up lying on the floor, staring at a white ceiling. Had he died? If the bullet had hit the femoral artery, his chances of survival were close to zero. But if he was dead, why did he feel so numb?

"Take it easy. Steady, steady. You've had a narrow escape, you know," he heard on his right.

He opened his eyes a little wider to see a young Asian woman in medical clothes standing next to him.

"Where am I?" he asked, mentally insulting himself at the same time given the obviousness of the answer.

"You're in hospital. You've been shot." said the young woman.

He'd been shot. Ah yes, now he remembered, but why did his head feel like it was in absorbent cotton?

"You're on medication so you don't feel pain. Honestly, you were lucky. A few millimeters and you'd have been done for. By the way, my name is Leto Nicole and I'm in charge of you for the next few hours", said the young doctor, nurse, student? Did it even matter?

"How long ago was that?" asked William.

_"You were brought to the emergency room exactly 6 hours and 22 minutes ago. Which gave you plenty of time to become a real star on social networks," _replied the young woman.

"A what?" said William, thinking he'd misheard.

"A star. One of your students filmed the whole scene and shared it on social networks." replied the woman in the blouse.

"Show me please," he asked.

He then looked at the video with the live commentary, and judging by the voice, it could only be one person. But what was Hélène doing there?

"Thank you very much. Do you know where my phone is?" asked William.

"It was brought with your personal belongings and is right there. Here you are. But there's a police inspector who'd like to talk to you. Do you have enough strength to talk to her for a few minutes?" asked Nicole.

"I'll be fine, I should be able to," replied William.

The young woman who entered couldn't have been 30, but she was clearly confident and determined.

"Hello Mister Hamon, I'm Inspector Charlotte Buch. I'm in charge of the robbery case in which you were injured. I'd like to ask you a few questions, if I may", said the inspector.

"Put them down. I'd be delighted to help, and as you can see, I'm not going anywhere just yet," said William.

"Do you remember what happened and can you tell me everything in detail?" asked the inspector.

"I was at Elisa's restaurant, as I've been going there every week for years. I was chatting with her when this woman came in and started threatening everyone with her gun. I was tasked with collecting everyone's wallets and jewelry, and took the opportunity to slip my cell phone in with it so that we could locate her. She must have noticed and got angry and shot me. After that, it was pitch black. Was anyone else hurt?" he asked.

"No, there were no other casualties. According to other witnesses, after firing, she retrieved the bags and fled. We found the vehicle used, but it was stolen and burnt. Could you give me a description of the robber?" asked the inspector.

"I think the other witnesses have already described her to you. Young woman under 30, of Hispanic origin, dark eyes and short, close-shaven black hair. About 1.70 meters tall. Medium-built, though muscular, with a bust size between B and C." Said William.

"That's precise," commented the inspector.

_"When you're held at gunpoint, you look at everything in detail," _replied William.

"I see. Last question. Do you remember anything unusual happening today?" asked the policewoman.

The question caught William a little off guard and he took a moment to think.

"No, I don't really. I had class this morning as usual. I had a chat with one of my students with whom I was supposed to have an appointment this afternoon. Oh shit, I've got to apologize. I'm really sorry, I can't think of anything else," says William.

"I see. Well, thank you for your time. We'll let you know how the investigation goes," said the inspector before leaving.

William then picked up his phone to notice 15 missed calls from the same person. Of course she knew. Gathering his courage, he decided to call her back.

"Are you all right?" he heard on the other end of the line.

"Yes, I'm fine," he replied summarily.

"Good, because I'm going to kill you as soon as I'm done here. If I hadn't heard from the police I think I'd have already come and skinned you in half." said the woman at the other end of the line.

It was Anna all over again.

"It wasn't my fault. I just had bad luck," William said in defense.

"I think that's the worst plea I've heard all day, and God knows I've heard some bad ones. You were completely stupid to gamble your life for information with your phone." said Anna.

Of course she knew that. How could a city judge not know about this?

"It seemed like a good idea at the time," said William.

Anna sighed at the other end of the wire.

"I'm going to get her convicted. But in the meantime, you rest. I'll see if I have time to come and see you. And don't risk getting killed again," said Anna before hanging up without even saying goodbye.

She must have been busy and on edge, after all, she was the youngest major crimes judge in the city's history, and a gun attack fell into that category.

William looked up. Really, this day was crazy. He should have told the policewoman that the whole day had been unusual. He wanted to close his eyes and rest, but heard a voice beside him on his left.

"May I ask you a few questions?"

Surprisingly, it wasn't the policewoman standing there, but a young woman of African descent with a notepad and pencil. Her profession was obvious.

_"The press already? I'd think you'd wait until the morning," _said William.

"I'll take that as a yes. Why did you try to add your phone to the bags of stolen items?" asked the young woman.

"You know it's customary to introduce yourself before asking a question of someone you've just met. But to answer your question, I thought it was a good idea and would help people find their belongings more easily." said William.

"I see. And my name is Iris Brown. Last question: do you think the robber had another objective in this case?" asked the journalist.

Another objective? But it was just a robbery. An absurd robbery, of course, but nothing other than a robbery.

_"It's a robbery, that's all," _replied William.

"I see. Thank you for your answers," Iris replied and hurried off.

Frankly, it had been a long day and William decided to go to sleep before any more disturbances came his way.