An Unexpected Adventure
ONE summer afternoon Jean and Clothilde Lestarquit, an elderly
couple, visited their daughter at her home in Lille, France. A few minutes
before six o'clock, the Lestarquits decided to leave. They said goodbye to
their daughter, walked to their car, and got in. They expected a quiet,
uneventful ride home. The ride, however, was anything but quiet and
uneventful.
Mr. Lestarquit was about to start the car when a gunman jumped up
from the back seat. He held a gun to Mr. Lestarquit's head. "Drive me to
Paris!" he demanded.
"All right," Mr. Lestarquit replied. "I'll drive you anywhere you want to
go. But first let my wife out of the car. "The gunman agreed to let Mrs.
Lestarquit go. After she was safely out of the car, Mr. Lestarquit started the
engine, pulled away from the curb, and drove down the street. He was
driving slowly, but his mind was racing. Unarmed and 81 years old, he
knew he could not fight the gunman. He knew he needed help. Where were
the police? As he drove through each intersection, he looked up and down
the side streets, hoping to spot a police car. There was none in sight. "Just
my luck," he thought. "If I were speeding, there would be a police car on
every corner."
Suddenly Mr. Lestarquit realized how he could attract the attention of
the police. He pushed his foot down on the accelerator of his Mercedes,
and the car sped forward. "What are you doing?" shouted the gunman.
"Avoiding the police," Mr. Lestarquit lied. "I thought I saw a police car back
there."
Mr. Lestarquit began driving like a madman. He drove 60 miles an
hour on side streets, ran red lights and drove the wrong way on one-way
streets. On two way streets he drove on the wrong side of the road. Not
one police officer saw him.
Obviously, Mr. Lestarquit's plan was not working so needed a new
plan. But what? Suddenly he remembered that the Lille police station was
only a few blocks away. "All right," he thought. "If I can't bring the police my
car, I'll bring my car to the police."
He turned a corner and saw the police station ahead. Immediately
his heart sank. There was a courtyard front of the police station, and the
two large do that led to the courtyard were closed. Mr. Lestarc hesitated for
a moment. Then he pushed the accelera to the floor and steered straight
for the doors.
The car crashed through the doors and stopped in the courtyard. Mr.
Lestarquit yelled, "Help! He's going to kill me!" Then he reached back to
grab the man's gun. Just as he grabbed it, the gunman pulled the trigger.
The bullet grazed Mr. Lestarquit's hand went through the windshield.
Before the gunman could pull the trigger again, Mr. Lestarquit opened the
door and fell to the ground. Officers from the police station, who had come
running when they heard the crash, quickly captured the gunman. It was
6:30 P.M, exactly 35 minutes since the Lestarquits had left their daughter's
house on a quiet street in Lille.
It seemed to Jeani Lestarquit that for those 35 minutes he had
stepped out of reality and into an action movie. There were so many things
action movies have: gunman, a hero, a speeding car, and a car crash.
Fortunately for Jean Lestarquit, there was one main thing most action
movies have: a happy ending.
