Free Execution of Innocence by Christopher Pike Page A

started to slap him. Hannah caught her hand midflight.
    “Why are you so interested in her body, anyway?” Hannah asked her brother, putting Mary’s hand back in its proper place, or almost.
    Dick eyed her and it seemed a familiar inspection. “For the same reasons you are, sis.”
    Mary blinked. “Am I missing something?” She realized right then that she was. Her hand was on Hannah’s knee. She quickly took it off.
    Hannah didn't care. “You take care of your end and I’m sure Mary will take care of hers.”
    “Where did you get the gun?” Mary asked Dick.
    Dick was looking out the window. “Does it matter? I have one, a revolver, and I have blanks as well.”
    “Are you absolutely sure they’re blanks?” Mary asked for the second time. She had no idea where Dick or anyone could possibly buy such things.
    Dick stared out the window and contemplated the external darkness. “They're blanks,” he finally answered. “They won’t even scratch your pretty boy.”
    “We assume you tested them on yourself,” Hannah said.
    Dick burped. “That’s right.”
    Mary shook her head. “This plan is no plan at all. It is totally unsophisticated. I'm supposed to meet Charlie in the woods and then you're going to jump out from behind a tree and start shooting. I mean, what the hell kind of plan is that?”
    “I'm not going to sit out there in the cold and wait for you guys,” Dick said. “I'm going to drive up shooting.”
    Mary was disgusted. “That’s even worse. That really won’t work.”
    “We're not planning a bank robbery,” Hannah said. “We want Charlie to piss his pants. It’s better to keep it simple and stupid. Believe me, when Dick starts firing Charlie will start running.”
    “Then what?” Mary asked.
    Hannah stubbed out her cigarette in the cold crust. “Then you can start laughing your head off, who cares? Then you tell Charlie he's been an asshole and you make love and make up.”
    “In that order?” Mary asked.
    “What are you bitching about?” Hannah asked. “I’m doing you a favor. You said you wanted to kill the guy.”
    “I think we should kill him,” Dick muttered.
    Mary put her hand to her head and groaned. “I feel like I'm getting in over my head.”
    Hannah lit another cigarette, holding it in her left hand. “You're a lightweight, this is nothing.”
    Dick was suddenly concerned. “Charlie could go to the police and report me.”
    Hannah waved her hand. “He’ll be too embarrassed when he realizes they were just blanks.”
    “Charlie is no fan of the police,” Mary muttered. “You don’t have to worry about that.”
    “Do I have to worry about the terms of collection?” Dick asked.
    Mary fidgeted. “You’re despicable.”
    Dick was happy again. “You can close your eyes and pretend it's Charlie.”
    Mary growled. “Scaring Charlie is secondary to getting me into Stanford.”
    “Then you can pay me back on the installment plan,” Dick said.
    Mary stared at him and realized with sudden clarity that she would never sleep with him, no matter what he did for her. Of course, once she was accepted at Stanford it would be hard for them to un-accept her. Dick wanted her so bad that he didn’t know how stupid he was being.
    “Payment is only made upon full delivery,” she said to him.
    He looked at her as if he knew what she was thinking. Maybe he did; maybe he didn’t care. He stood suddenly and thrust his hands deep in his coat pockets. Something was buried in there, maybe it was the gun. Again she wondered where he would have bought blanks.
    “I'm going to the movies,” Dick said abruptly.
    Hannah was annoyed. “You don’t have time for a movie. You have to be at the Crossroads at exactly twelve-ten.”
    “The movie is over at twenty to twelve,” he said. “I checked.”
    “What movie?” Hannah demanded. “ Ashes of Agony? It started ten minutes ago. You can’t go; it's not fair.”
    “I'm going; it's Friday night,” Dick said, and walked