Readers, thanks for coming back to read the second part of my story! I can’t wait to hear y’all’s feedback. If you missed Part One, make sure to read it to catch up!
Part Three: The Dubious Hero
We were all flabbergasted. In awe. And I was immediately cautious, naturally. Why? Because a minute after the police man revealed who he was a man walked up to him and explained that he was one of his partners. But the strange thing was, I recognized this man. Before all of this happened, I noticed the partner standing near us waiting for the metro and hadn’t trusted him even then. He looked pretty normal with his scruffy short beard and headphones casually over his shoulders. What had caught my eye was the tough, hard look he had on his face.
So at this point, I was not trusting a word these men said. I did not understand anything they were saying to one another in French and my first thought was, how would I be able to identify the French police? Would I even know what a real French police badge would look like?
The police man informed us that he would need to take a statement before Julia could get her phone back. She was compliant–who wouldn’t be? She just wanted her phone back. However, I was extremely skeptical.
He began to ask Julia what her name, address, phone number, etc was. As Julia began to give up the information, I stopped her and told the (fake?) police that we would happily give that information at a police station.
The police man and his partner began talking back and forth in French, pointing and looking at us as they talked.
He then told us that they could no longer take the statement in the underground and that we would have to take a car with them to the police station.
He began to make excuses when we told him that we would walk or take the metro there to meet them. We even suggested riding the metro with them. He insisted that we would have to identify the man if we wanted him locked up and that we had to do it within the hour or they would have to let him go.
There was NO WAY I was getting in a car with this strange man and his “partners.”
There was no way I was letting Julia either, even though she was so exhausted and just wanted to get her phone back that she was prepared to go. I absolutely believed that this was a big scam and that if we got into a car with these strangers that we would end up in a sex trafficking ring.
After about 10 minutes of arguing, and the three of us desperately attempting to recollect the numbers to call to let an adult know what was happening, the men finally agreed to take the statement there. I presume they finally understood that we would not get in a car with several strange men for a phone. We found a spot out in the open where patrons buy metro tickets and the original man began to take Julia’s statement.
Part Four: Pickpockets, Pickpockets Everywhere
As the “police officer” filled out what looked like a very official statement report (not sure why he had just then brought it out) we stood off to the side talking with his partner. The partner, let’s call him John, began to tell us about how serious the metro thievery truly is. He talked about how they cannot get the pickpocketing under control and how often it really happens. We joked that maybe now we will become undercover cops and be heroes of the city. His face immediately dropped, as a gloomy expression made its way across his then furrowed eyebrows. With pain, he explained to us that we could do that anywhere but Paris. He went on to talk about how there is no justice, how it will never end, and how it is a very arduous and defeating job.
As he ended that conversation, all of a sudden his face turned dark and a knowing look crept into his eyes. He calmly said, “Keep talking to me, like we are having a conversation,” and at this point, I was thinking, this is it, this is the moment we die, “And don’t look, but there is another one behind us”.
This is the point at which I begin to believe that they are real cops.
We one by one casually glanced over our shoulders and there was a man, clearly watching the tourists and their belongings. Our cop made up fake conversations with us, pretending to give us directions so that he can casually turn and watch the thief. The thief suddenly hopped the gate where you insert your ticket to access the metro station. Our cop turned to us and said, “See you guys later”, with a foreboding look, slipped his headphones on, and casually began tailing this thief through the metro.
My friends and I were a bit dazed and had a million questions. I was just about ready to drop out of school to become a cop.
We continued talking between the three of us and John casually walked back up a couple minutes later. He informed us that he couldn’t get the guy because he didn’t actually see him steal anything.
Five minutes later, the same exact same thing happens again with another thief. This time, all of the sudden the thief took off running out of the station and John quickly jumped into action and sneakily chased him out. He slyly pretended he was just in a rush to get somewhere, a look of ultimate focus upon his face. We did not see John again.
We finished the statements, Julia got her phone back, and we shook hands with the cops that I now truly believed.
Sometimes we have to learn the hard way. Learn from our mistakes!
While we had a crazy night, it ended on a good note. We were all so grateful that this happened to us. We had become complacent and that almost cost us a phone. Everything had happened exactly as God wanted it to. If we hadn’t decided to head home early that night things might have been much different. If the police had not decided to tail this particular thief, we would have never seen Julia’s phone again. It is crazy how so many things fell together and created a moment that I know I will never forget about.
I promise I still loved Paris and will visit again one day. Just maybe after a couple years of working when I have enough money to stay in the finer parts and can take a taxi everywhere!
That was my rough Paris experience. Have you ever been in a situation like this, even in your own hometown? Would you have trusted the “police” right off the bat? Was I crazy for doubting them the whole time?
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With love,
Mattie
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