That sale and many others like it went remarkably well

................................................................................................................................................................................

That sale and many others like it went remarkably well.
I unloaded all of my junk for a very good price. That set a pattern. When I accumulated too much "stuff” Jenny would find a buyer and arrange a meet. I’d exchange it for cash, or swipe his card on my new portable card reader and everyone left happy. It worked out well for months. Unfortunately someone must have noticed a cash sale.

One day, I had just concluded a sale for quite a large amount of cash, real folding money not a credit card sale, and was coasting along on the smart-wheel, fat dumb and happy, returning to the apartment.

...............when someone shot me in the back.

It really hurt.

It didn’t wound me though. Like I said earlier I’d sewn Kevlar panels inside the trench coat. Do you have ANY IDEA how hard it is to sew kevlar? Well it’s pretty hard, let me tell yew. I had more than kevlar too. I also had ceramic inserts made from floor tiles.The coat was heavy, but it stopped the bullets so I guess it was worth the additional weight. The impact left a mark, I imagine, but that was better than being punctured. Still it caused me to lose my balance and I fell ass end over teakettle, off my monwheel...

THAT pissed me off.

More bullets, a regular fusillade, many of them missed. I got hit once or twice but at a poor angle and they mostly bounced off my kevlar.

Mostly.

I was...however...PISSED off even more!

I played dead and waited for who ever it was that shot me to approach. It wasn’t like I had much choice.

“You think that this guy has any money?” one of them said.

“Well I hope so.” another one answered "ain’t that the reason we killed him? Now shut your mouth and turn him over so I can...Oh Fudge!!”

One of them HAD turned me over. I helped. I rolled over faster than he expected and stuck my push dagger into his throat.

I’d had the push dagger up my sleeve. It was made of some sort of plastic I think. Jenny had printed it for me using the latest machine. My granddaddy always said ‘don’t look a gift horse in the mouth’ so I had not asked any questions. It wasn’t a very large blade, but it was large ENOUGH..... AND it was very sharp. The would be robber pawed at it, gurgled, and fell down....served him right.

Did I see smoke coming from between his fingers? Naw...couldn’t be.

I kept rolling. I entangled another thug’s feet with my staff, tripped him, and poked him pretty hard with the staff in his solar plexus when he fell. I stood up intending to hit him again. It was much harder standing up than I expected it would be. I felt weak. I was too slow. The thug stood up too. It was a face off, he and I. Being punched in the belly with a staff hadn’t help his sweet and cheerful disposition one bit. He was pissed. He had a gun and looked like he intended to use it. I had a stick.

Never bring a stick to a gunfight I thought.

“POLICE. FREEZE!” I heard a shout from behind. "DROP YOUR WEAPON”.

I guess the cop was referring to my wooden stick, my staff. I did that. I dropped it like it was hot and reached for the sky. The thug pointed his gun at someone behind me and off to one side. He let off a shot.

“Bang”

The cops returned the favor.

“Bang”...the thug’s head snapped back as if it had been hit by a hammer. The cops were a better shot than the , now deceased, thug. He fall down go boom.

The cops kept shooting.

“BANG....Bang-bang-bang-bang” NO FAIR I thought. Why shoot me? I was doing exactly as the police said.

No impact. I felt no impact. I didn’t feel any bullet’s hit me.

The cops shot the rest of the gang that had attacked me. The other stupid fools must have pointed their guns at the police like the one I had faced off with. Bad move. Suicide actually.

“Sir” the nice policeman said "you can lower your arms now.”

I turned and looked at him. I lowered my arms...and collapsed.

I guess they got me after all. I fall down go boom too.

Lights out.

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