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Paper or Plastic

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Other customers in the market barely noticed when a man passed through the checkout line, transacted his business, then left the store carrying a bulging brown paper bag.

Later it transpired that he'd come through the line, waited quietly for the customer ahead of him to finish, and only then spoken equally quietly to the checker, instructing, "Give me all your money."

If the checker felt panic, she didn't show it.

She simply asked two questions, and got two answers.

The first query: "Is this a robbery?"

The answer was short and direct: "Yes."

So she asked her second question: "Paper or plastic?"