I turned back toward them and walked over again, this time with a slower and more deliberate pace, as if I had genuinely reconsidered something important instead of deciding to rob them in a slightly more creative way.
They stiffened the moment I got close, and I could see the hesitation in their eyes now. A few minutes ago they had been confident enough to threaten me. Now they were trying to figure out why I had come back at all.
"Relax," I said, raising a hand slightly. "If I wanted to hit you again, I would not bother talking first."
That seemed to calm them down a little, though not completely. The leader still looked at me like he was expecting a trick, which was fair because there was definitely a trick.
"I thought about it," I continued, letting my voice settle into something more serious. "And I realized I handled that badly."
"Handled what badly?" the one with the knife asked, still sounding irritated.
