Style, you
either have it or you
don't. And if you have it, you have it
all the time.The Rogue's Gambit
by Tux Toledo
Page 13
James knew a shortcut and we intercepted Nancy near the dove shooting
station.
"Nance, what are you doing here?" Ted whispered.
"Rigger's up to something," she said. "I aim to find out what
it is."
"I think you're about to find out," I said.
James led us into a clearing where we found Rigger rummaging through
the foliage and breaking apart undamaged clay pigeons. James'
flashlight shed some light on the scene.
"Looking for something?" I said.
Rigger jumped like a startled quail. "What?" he
yelped. "Who are you?"
"It's me, Churchill," I said.
"Churchill? Churchill! I should have
known. It's all your fault, you know. I was
supposed to pick up those clay pigeons. But you had to
interfere, didn't you? You ruined everything. Now
they're gone, those precious, valuable, irreplaceable..."
"You mean the Peruvian antiquities?"
He stared at me, surprised at first, then confused, then
angry. "You mean you knew the antiquities were in the clay
pigeons?" he screamed. "And you let them be shot to
pieces? Oh, how could you? You're
inhuman!" Rigger fell to his knees.
"Don't worry," I said. "I took the liberty of substituting
ordinary clay pigeons for those that contained the
antiquities. You didn't really think I'd let those priceless
artifacts be destroyed, did you?"
"What?" he looked up at me. "Then where are they?"
"On their way back to where they belong. And now you're going
to where you belong."
"You can't send me to jail. I have friends in high
places. You can't prove anything."
"Jail? I'm not sending you to jail. I'm sending you
to the Peace Corps."
"The Peace Corps?"
"Well, something like the Peace Corps," I said.
Two men silently emerged from the shadows and stood next to Rigger.
"It's time for you to repay your debt to society," I said.
"These men will escort you."
They lifted Rigger to his feet and led him away.
"Addios," James said.
"Addios, amigo," one of the men replied.
"Winston, what's going on?" Ted asked. The poor boy was a bit
confused.
"Those clay pigeons you imported from Mexico contained stolen Peruvian
antiquities that Rigger was smuggling into the country. His
Latin American clients molded some very old and very valuable gold and
turquoise necklaces into the clay pigeons. They fit
perfectly. Rigger planned to intercept the pigeons when they
arrived on the Azul Pacific and substitute ordinary ones in their
place. James, of course, beat him to it."
"So throughout the tournament Rigger thought we were shooting at the
antiquities-laden clay pigeons," Nancy said.
"Correct," I said.
"No wonder he shot so poorly," she said. "He thought he was
seeing a fortune disintegrate with every shot. I told you
Rigger was trouble," she said to Ted, slapping his arm.
© 2008 David Biagini