Ding-a-ling!

Mr. Whitaker turned around to see who had entered. Wiping his hands on a nearby towel, he set the milkshake he had been making on the counter. "I'm sorry, I don't believe we've met."

The stranger was wearing a black leather jacket, unzipped, over a white t-shirt and black jeans. Dark sunglasses were over his eyes, but he pushed them up onto his head as he responded, revealing bright green eyes that had a mischievous glint in them. "Oh, I think we have."

"Richard!" Whit came out from behind the counter. "Where have you been? I haven't seen you since that incident with Blackgaard and Applesauce!"

"Oh, yeah… that." Richard absent-mindedly massaged his throat as he muttered to himself, "Climbing claws to the face… Ouch. Anyways… has it really been that long?"

"Yes! What happened to you? You seem to have a habit of disappearing from hospitals."

"Well, um… I came here to tell you something. I thought a lot about what you said, and…" He cleared his throat, "I- Well, I-"

"Here, let's go up to my office. Connie!" Whit called over his shoulder. "Watch the counter for a minute, please."

Whit sat down, then gestured for Richard to do the same. "So, what was it you wanted to talk about? Please tell me you aren't involved with some sort of crime again."

Richard shook his head, "No. At least, not yet."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

He started muttering again, "If the Vs don't give up the guys soon, I'm gonna have to be…" He looked up at Mr. Whitaker. "Sorry. I was just going to say I- Well… I- I would really appreciate it if you…" Richard looked back down at the floor. "If you would… pray for me."

Whit sat back, stunned. Richard had never been interested in religion before. In fact, the last time he had mentioned it, Richard had called it, "That Christian thing". No, not the last time. The last time was when he was being held in the sheriff's office, right before he was let go. And then, I think I may have mentioned it after the trial. But that still didn't make any sense. He would never ask something like this unless he was in big trouble. Or, unless…

"Any particular reason for this request?"

"Sheesh, does a new Christian have to have a reason for being prayed over?"

New… Christian? "You-"

"-are a little upset that you are questioning my request? A little, yes."

Mr. Whitaker shook his head. "No, about what you said… You're… a Christian?"

Richard raised his eyebrows. "Are you really that surprised?"

"Well, I mean, you never really paid any attention when I tried to talk to you about it."

"Evidently, I did."

Richard jumped, then reached for his pocket. He pulled out his cell phone. "Oh, yikes. I didn't realize I was running this late." He stood up, "Thanks for the talk, Mr. Whitaker. I'll see ya around. Maybe." As he turned to leave, he called over his shoulder, "Say hi to Connie for me, will ya?"

"But, Richard, wait-" But he was too late. Richard had already walked out.

Richard stepped out of his car. He breathed in the smell of… rotten eggs? No, that's impossible. And, it's the wrong story. He shook his head. He didn't have time for distractions. He had come here for one reason. One reason only.

"Hey, Richard!"

He turned. There they were. Right on time.

"We were beginning to think you'd ditch us!"

He smiled at the two young tweens that were walking towards him. "Hey, Olivia. Matthew. I couldn't leave two helpless kids to fend for themselves, now could I? Besides, your parents would kill me."

Olivia Parker rolled her eyes. "Oh, they just wanted to make sure that we weren't kidnapped or anything."

He brother, Matthew, nodded. "They've been kinda jumpy ever since that counterfeiting ring. You know how parents are."

Richard laughed. "Yeah. So, what've you guys been up to?" Then, he noticed something behind them. Oh, great. Not him again. Not now! "On second thought, we can talk on the way. Get in the car."

"Why? What's wrong?"

"Uh, nothing. I just want to make sure I get you guys home on time, that's all."

"But, our house is less than a half of a mile away."

"Exactly."

"But-"

"No questions! Get in the car!"

"Alright, alright." Matthew and his sister climbed into the backseat.

"And whatever happens, stay down." Richard turned towards a man; a man he knew all too well.

"Well, well. Casper Wyoming. Fancy seeing you here."

"Richard Maxwell. It's been awhile."

"You know, it's amazing how many people I met in the Detention Center show up afterwards."

Casper raised an eyebrow. "How many have there been?"

"You mean, besides you and your sister? One." Richard noticed Casper's skeptical look. "But, I mean, really, you don't expect to ever see them again. It's just crazy coincidence. And now I see you, like, what, every two weeks? Or is it more like every other day? Sheesh. Being a Cahill has completely messed up my memory. Of course, you Vespers trying to kill all of us isn't helping."

Casper brought his hand to his pocket. "I think you know why I'm here."

Richard nodded excitedly. "Is it because you knew my birthday was this week? Did you bring me a gift? Is it a puppy?"

"No."

"Is it a bicycle? You know, after I got arrested, I sort of lost track of my old one."

"No! Good Guernsey, you're annoying. But I did come here because of you."

Richard's expression changed. "Yeah, I kinda figured that. By the way, when did you start fake cussing with cows?"

Casper's face became confused. "What?"

"Guernsey. It's a type of dairy cow."

"GAAAAAHHH!"

"Yeah… I think you really need to loosen up. Here, let me help you." Richard brought his right fist into contact with Casper's jaw with a huge uppercut. As Casper staggered back, Richard jumped into the car.

"Guys, stay down."

"But- who was that Casper guy?"

"Not important. What is important, is that if you want to get home in one piece, you'll stay down." Suddenly, a gunshot rang out; as if to agree with him. The back windshield cracked, and Olivia let out a scream as the bullet pierced the driver's seat.

"It's okay." Richard told her, trying to calm her down. "The bullet probably got stopped by the padding in the seat's back. I'm fine." The car whizzed down the street until a loud siren sounded.

Richard rolled his eyes. "Oh, great. I get away from an armed gunman, only to be stopped for speeding. Wonderful." He rolled down the window as the officer stepped out of his car. "Hiya, officer. Lovely day."

"Yeah… So why are you speeding through town like a runaway missile?"

Olivia called from the back, "We're trying to get away from this guy!"

Matthew began talking, too. "He had a gun!"

The officer raised his eyebrows at Richard. "A guy carrying a gun?"

Richard grinned. "Yeah. I'm taking these kids home. They have quite the imaginations."

"Sir, I'm going to have to ask you to step out of the vehicle."

Richard nodded. "Of course." Richard opened the door, then pulled his jacket off. It was feeling a little too hot for him right then. Then, he stood up and stepped out onto the street.

Olivia and Matthew both gasped.

"Now, officer, I have a perfectly good explanation for this."

"And I'm waiting to hear it."

Richard cringed. He staggered, then fell facedown onto the ground.

The officer stepped back, staring at Richard's shirt. There was a bullethole, right between his shoulder blades. A dark red stain was clearly visible on his white shirt. The officer ran back to his car, then dialed 911.