Danger Money by John Van Stry Page B

guess he hadn't noticed the gun yet. But then he was on my left.
    "Why not?" I whispered back and kept moving.
    "Because you are not divine creations of the Lord!" He whispered back upset.
    I was three quarters of the way there.
    "What makes you so sure that you are?" I quietly growled.
    "Because the bible says .... HEY!" He yelped as I grabbed him and shoved him in front of me.
    "Shhh!" I whispered holding my gun up in front of my face. "Quiet! You're in a church you know!" And I smiled wickedly showing lots of teeth.
    He inhaled, so I triggered the smoke bombs. I came even with the first guard just as the guy in the aisle with me screamed and the smoke bombs went off. I shot the first guard as he tried to shoot me. The second guard was still turning as I shot him and all his shots went wide. My target just closed his eyes and crossed himself as I had seen so many others do here today. Out of respect I waited till he was done before I shot him too.
    It was pretty noisy by now, a lot of the people were screaming. I think the second bodyguard had shot a few bystanders when he went down. The guy I had been holding was limp as well. He had stopped the bullets from the first guard and didn't look well at all. I let him fall to the ground as I sprinted to the rear exit. A couple of shots into the air cleared the crowd away, and I triggered the two pepper gas bombs, which were both in the back of the church by my exit.
    I dashed through it a second later and dove into the back window of the waiting car. It took off down the street and around the corner. As I hid under a blanket they slowed and drove slowly for another minute, then pulled into a garage.
    "Okay Jotun," Rieselle said. I got out and Shotoon had a full tub in a corner.
    "Keep your eyes closed tight, this stuff burns," he warned.
    I stripped quickly and climbed in dunking myself. My eyes did fine but my nose and genitals burned, and a few other spots as well.
    "Damn!" I growled loudly as I surfaced and got out. "What is that stuff?"
    "Solvent. Keep your eyes closed and hold still."
    He hosed me down with water next, then the two of them started in with towels. When they were finished they threw the towels in the tub and handed me fresh coveralls. I looked myself over quickly and was pleased to see all the dye was gone. Then I dressed and we went out a rear exit, Rieselle locking the door behind us.
    "Bombs set?" I asked.
    "Yes, both of them," She replied.
    "And I double checked," He added.
    "Okay, let's go!"
    The bombs were firebombs, set to destroy any and all the evidence left behind. They'd go off in half an hour, unless somebody tried to force their way in. Then they'd go off instantly. We walked down an alley and crossed a street. Shotoon split off to get the van we had stashed.
    You could hear the police sirens as they converged on the church. People were all starting to look out of their windows and businesses. Rieselle and I emerged from the alley carrying toolboxes as Shotoon showed up in a utility van. We got in and he drove off heading for the country.
    "That was too damn easy!" I growled.
    "So? I'd think you would be happy about it!" Rieselle said looking at me concerned.
    "That's not what bothers me! Anybody could have done this Job. Why'd they insist on me?"
    "I don't know about that. A lot of people would have went inside that house or tried sniping him in the street."
    "Yeah and where'd all that blood on you come from?" Added Shotoon, "You were covered! It couldn't have been that easy."
    I told them about the guy I had grabbed and the rest of it then.
    "How many people would have thought of that?" he said when I finished. "You weren't wearing much in the way of body armor either. That could have been you on the floor instead of that guy who played shield."
    "Yeah, I guess your right." I grumped. I grabbed Rieselle then and dragged her into the back of the van. "Well my part's done," I smiled kissing her as I pulled her coverall off. "So come here."
    She