terrifying

tonight i have had the most terrifying experience of my life so far. i was driving home, minding my own business, when the car 2 cars ahead of me started driving very slowly, and a bit erratically. the car in front of me slowed down too, and i began to get a bit irritated. suddenly the car behind me pulled out across the road. i thought he was overtaking me because the car in front was hesitating, but instead he slewed across the road onto the opposite pavement. at exactly the same moment 2 blokes got out of the car in front of me, one of them with a gun. he started yelling "stop, police", and at that moment i saw a young guy running away on the opposite side of the road. within seconds 8-10 armed plain-clothes policemen had jumped out of 5 cars all around me - the one in front, the one behind and the one two cars ahead, as well as a couple that had been coming in the opposite direction. as soon as i saw the gun, my instinct was to duck below the dashboard. i was terrified. i honestly don't think i have ever seen a real gun so close before. within 5 seconds the police had caught the guy, and the tension evaporated. i looked up and saw a couple of the police officers smiling, and i was so confused. had it all been a prank? but then one of them waved me forwards (to drive on) and i saw the young guy face down on the road with two police officers holding him. i was totally and utterly shaken up. i have been reflecting on this since. i guess i should be so pleased that we have police officers who are prepared to do this stuff. perhaps the young guy was armed. i suppose it took a lot of police intelligence to know where he'd be, and to get 5 car loads of undercover police officers in the right place at the right time. just wish i hadn't been there in the middle of it all. the "what ifs" are truly terrifying.