My coffee had grown cold since morning. Four hours I’d been staring at these monitors with no action at all. That’s what I hated most about weekday mornings; there usually wasn’t much going on.

“Security scan zone 4. Security scan zone 4,” said a woman’s voice over the P.A.

I rolled my eyes and flipped the monitor to show zone 4, intimate apparel. What in the world could be happening there? I wondered. Probably just another paranoid employee who spotted someone she deemed suspicious. I made the camera slowly scan the perimeter, nothing out of the ordinary. Out of sheer boredom I let the camera zoom in as far as it could into the dressing room.

Just like I suspected, nothing. I zoomed back out and scanned my favorite section, the young men’s department. It was time for a little eye candy. I scanned slowly stopping on a young man in a pair of jeans that were a couple of sizes too big for his slim figure. In his hand he held a pair of jeans and a couple of tees.

He’s just my type, I thought as I leaned back against my chair. His eyes shifted in every direction. Was he up to something? I wondered. From one corner of the store to the next he surveyed the ceiling. He was looking for my camera, but couldn’t find it. “Amateur,” I muttered under my breath.

I zoomed in as close as I could and pulled myself up until my nose was inches from the monitor. Yeah, he was definitely up to no good. He walked to the corner of the department and stuffed the jeans and the tee shirts into his pants. I sprung out of my seat. I had a live one.

I watched as the young teen walked toward the exit. The quicker he got to the door the quicker his pace.

“Come on, come on,” I said to myself.

I needed him to set one hand on the door in order for it to be intentional; otherwise I had no case against him. He looked around the register. The bored cashier turned her head the other way; she was too busy focusing on her boredom. The teen took that as his way out and ran for the door. I pushed away from my chair and out of my office I ran.

“Hey there!” I screamed. “Stop!”

He glanced back long enough for me to see the smug look on his face. Little bastard, I thought. He wasn’t getting away from me. I burst through the doors and chased him down the empty parking lot. A few onlookers with nothing better to do pointed to him as if I wasn’t aware of his location.

He zig zagged between the cars and ran into the back alley. I was only a few steps behind, but when I turned the corner he was out of site. I slowed to a stop and looked around.

“Come out from where you are. You have no where to go, just give up the merchandise and I might go easy on you.”

I kicked the trash compactor and heard a rustle. From behind it a pair of bright green eyes peeked out at me. Slowly he emerged. He was a tall kid, 6 ft at least; he had messy blonde hair that fell seductively over his eyes. He took my breath away, and for a second I forgot he was a thief.

I approached him, looking him up and