Crime Upon Arrival

Eva and I picked up Ben at the airport Monday. The first thing we noticed was that his face was sunburnt and he forgot his luggage. We met Eva's friend Laura and headed down to the Cancha. Along the way, Ben exchanged twenty dollars with a street changer. A block later, at an intersection with a lot of foot traffic, I ran ahead to Eva and Laura to ask if oro meant gold. As soon as Ben was alone, a guy stopped in front of him and two others blocked his sides. One of them spit in his ear. Instinctively he raised his hand to his ear. Before he realized it, they stole his wallet out of his front pocket which was previously occupied by his hand. He spun around with the reflexes of a mongoose and grabbed a guy, but everything was a blur and he didn't know whether this guy was involved or not. It was too late; all was lost. All being his license, $110, credit and debit cards, and what most distressed him, his Starbucks gift card. All this happened in the two seconds that Eva told me that oro does indeed mean gold. So at least I was right.