Suspicions on Planet Stuttgart

[farmerman]

"Oh, it is so wonderful to have all this money," Johann Kaufmann said aloud. "I'm glad I managed to rise above the rest of the farmers here on Planet Stuttgart."

"Dear, are you talking to yourself again?" he wife asked him.

"Maybe a bit, yes," he replied, "but it's a good feeling."

"Having stolen your way to riches?" she asked.

"The ends justify the means, my dear," came the reply, "It's better to feel a little dirty than to live in the dirt. Or something along those lines."

"I disagree," came a voice.

"Who is there?" Johann asked, suddenly frightened.

A young man entered the house with a twisted grin on his face. Two others followed him. They seemed desperate. Angry. They scowled and moved toward Johann.

Stepping in front of his wife, he took a defensive position. "Who are you?" he asked again, his voice quivering.

"We're here for retribution," the man in the front said. "I'm Erik. I used to live here on Planet Stuttgart just like you, but I didn't take any of the dirty money."

"It was my only choice!" he cried out.

"It wasn't a very good one," one of the men with Erik replied.

Erik chuckled and nodded. Then he turned to the two men and pointed. Quickly they began soaking the floor with what seemed to be a very combustible liquid. Johann of course moved to protest but was met with a quick shot squarely in the leg from the Daumann Devastator Erik carried; Johann collapsed with a cry of pain.

A third accomplice, this one a woman, carried in an ominous box as she joined the others. "Is that the explosive?" Erik asked as he saw Johann's eyes widen in shock. The woman nodded.

Erik smiled his twisted grin once more. "You have two minutes, Herr Kaufmann. I suggest you beg for divine forgiveness, as you certainly won't get any from us." With that the quartet quickly exited, hopped into their Starthresher, and left.

Johann could only hope this was all a hoax. The pain flared from his knee with each heartbeat, which happened more and more as the time passed. Two minutes later, he felt a sigh of relief, thinking it would not go off. Erik had, however, actually set the explosive for several extra seconds, which Johann would soon find out. Unfortunately for him, he would never be able to tell anyone else as the blast tore through his home. A vast fire broke out and the WVS supporting fire crews, knowing that Johann had been taking money from Synth Foods, were amazingly slow to respond.

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