My brother's night out almost turned into my night out in a body bag

This happened in June 2018 in Stevenson Ranch, CA.<br><br>My little brother (19) was in a bit of a funk after a bad breakup. So I told him to hop in the passenger seat and I'd drive him around while he played Spotify on my car stereo. I'm female, 30, so I'm older than him by 11 years and we're close. <br><br>I know some towns where a young out-of-towner in a beater Honda won't exactly fit in, so I always make sure to cut through the more tenderloin parts of town to help him get a real feel for the area. <br><br>After a few hours of driving, a car pops up behind us. I noticed because their high beams are on and they're close enough to be a threat.<br><br>I immediately switch roles and start asking my brother if he sees the plates or any identifying features. We both just see the shape of a person in the driver's seat and someone in the passenger seat, but I can't make out features. They seemed to be following us, cruising at about the same speed, for about 2 miles, but then they pull up to the passenger side of my brother and match my speed to be right at our level, maybe a foot between us. That's when I see the guy in the passenger seat throws on huge sunglasses and starts pushing his fingers up through his nostrils, closing his left eye and sniffing that nostril, no joke like that. It was so messed up that I didn't even realize what he was doing right away. I was confused and had to ask my brother, "What the hell is he doing???"<br><br>Then this guy, what turned out to be the driver, rolled down his window and started yelling some stupid shit like "You see this? This motherfucker owes me money. I'm telling you, he owes me money." My brother starts to panic. He turned and starts saying shit back, and I realize that I still couldn't see any of their fucking faces.<br><br>We were a few miles from my house, so I drove us towards home and slowed down enough for the guys to get in front of us, then speed up a little. We pass them. My brother says "I knew he couldn't see the plates. The one driving didn't even wear his sunglasses when I shook my head." I told him to get the address of the house we passed, which the guys went back to. This guy came out on the driveway and started throwing us the kiss, pointing at us and kissing his middle finger.<br><br>We drove back to my house and I call the cops, gave them the description and gave them a brief rundown. The cop comes by the house, and I tell him the guys were right in front of us while their high beams were on, and the look on their faces when they rolled down their windows told him I definitely did see something.<br><br>The cop goes back to the house and the guy admitted that he had a little bag of meth and a pipe in his room. When the cop asked if he could see it, he acted cagey. The cop had just enough reasonable suspicion to search his room, and he had a semi with a stock on it.<br><br>The cop came by my house to ask me how comfortable I was with pressing charges. I told him that I was totally unsure. I didn't think the kiss was a big deal and my brother's 19. I was terrified that if I pressed charges, I would cut off his path to a real college. So I told the cop, "I'm probably not going to press charges, but he did have a semi. Can you get the gun? He'll still be free to fuck up his life."<br><br>The cop comes by my house a few days later to tell me that they got the gun, and in rodent-holing the gun, they found a cut 9mm that was made out of a Ruger. I don't know what guns do what but I think it's a .45. He told me that it's basically made for penetrative capability, it travels faster than a typical .45 and the tip tapers off for long distances.<br><br>The cop told me he radio'd dispatch after he searched the guy's room, and in the time it took for the police car to get there, the guy in the passenger seat took off and ran away. He acted cagey, telling the cop that he had never been to the house, didn't know why they were there or who the owner of the gun was. He started acting like the drug addict that he is. <br><br>Holy. Shit. At this point, I start reasoning that it's unlikely they were going to shoot us both and leave us right there. But there is one thing that we're sure about. My brother put on a shirt with a band's name on it. The. Clash. Those guys are super against the establishment, so they're fucking with authority, and poking fun at it because my brother put on black makeup and black skinny jeans. He looks punk rock, and he dresses fucking punk.<br><br>So when this punk looks at the guy who's driving while he's got sunglasses on and snorting meth right in front of my car, I realize he saw the faces of two girls, the description of a Honda Civic with a specific radio antenna, and my brother and his Clash shirt. I realize these guys weren't trying to scare us, they were scoping us.<br><br>So I'm extremely terrified. The cop says, "These shitheads were looking to fuck someone up. Mr. sand-nose was fixing a bullet to shoot into the Caddy, and if he was going 90mph and he shoots me, he'll cut 90mph right through me. You and your brother were one car length away from me when he was going to eat a bullet. If he shoots the Caddy and misses the passenger, he's going to cut right through the driver's side door, and you're doing 40mph maybe trying to talk to him, so he's still going to cut me, and I have to shoot you just to get in a position to see the driver."<br><br>If we were going 40-50mph and this guy was shooting at me in the driver's side, the bullet would cut right through my door and my brother's face. I was in the driver's seat. I'm the reason my little brother didn't get shot in the face tonight. <br><br>So I never called the police before. I wasn't sure what I was more afraid of, getting the description wrong or the guys coming after my brother and me. I wouldn't call the cops again. But I'm glad they didn't get their carjacking fix that night, and I'm glad my brother's still alive.<br><br>Let's not meet. I don't want to be the reason they're in a body bag.