Gary, the de facto leader of this little trip, pushed his large cart to the elevator and punched the button. He’d have the second floor while Toot had the first. The more he thought about it, the more he was convinced that maybe he should be taking care of the first floor. If these packages weren’t placed correctly, nothing would happen the way it should. He pushed the cart and pressed the call button, then turned to take another look. He really should be the one to do this floor.

But then, he’d have to worry about the second floor. Either way. With a sigh, he pushed the cleaning cart onto the elevator and pressed the button for the second floor.

Toot was a whiz at making the devices; surely, he’d know how and where to place them. Gary made it his goal to check when he got back down. Before they left. They could always move the bombs if they needed to. As long as they weren’t armed; and that wouldn’t happen until they set the timers. Maximum destruction with minimum effort. Work smarter, not harder. Yeah, he’d check the placement before they left. As long as Toot put ‘em in the right places.

Second floor was for the executive offices. He was going to take ‘em out while they sat doing Satan’s work. Brother Jordan said they were the demons of Satan’s army, these moneylenders. Giving money to abortion clinics. False prophets who ran multibillion dollar corporations that kept the middle class firmly ground under their heels. Anything to corrupt God’s work. Satan’s children, every one of them. Brother Jordan was right. This den of iniquity had to be destroyed and the rest would fall like dominoes. It was God’s will.

He wheeled his cart into the Bank President’s office. A real swank place. Gary could almost bet this guy made more in a year than most people made in ten. That was just not right. Sitting around, pushing papers, and he got paid six figures. Gary worked. He had a real job, using his hands and getting dirty. This Pharisee sat on his ass and wore a suit. It was going to be a joy sending this son of a bitch straight to the Hell he deserved. Gary made sure one bomb was hidden in the desk, and the other behind a couple of boxes that held papers of some kind.

The next office was another easy one. He put the largest one inside of a glass case of trophies. The shrapnel alone would take care of the hypocrite. One should do it. Gary looked around the office before he left. He’d wanted this kind of a job. Went to school to train for it. Had to leave because his girlfriend—now his wife—got pregnant before either of them could graduate college. He wasn’t upset about the decision. Maybe he didn’t make that much money, but he was in a damn good paying job. He made almost sixty grand as a plumber. Put both of his children through a good Christian private school. And they’d be going to good Christian colleges too.

He had five bombs in total. He would save the big one for the basement. Once he’d found the heating unit for the offices, he would plant the last one there. The building would go up in a conflagration not seen since Sodom and Gomorrah. He felt good about what he was doing. Teach these false prophets a thing or two. Teach them that this was not the right way. That following the Lord’s path was the right way. The way to righteousness. And to think, it would be him. A lowly plumber.

He finished his work and saw that it was good. He did a little dusting as well, emptying the wastebaskets and making sure the offices were straightened and neat. Even though it would be reduced to rubble in the morning, he still had a compulsion to do the job right the first time. So, the fake cleaning crew was going to clean. He took the elevator back down to the first floor and left his cleaning cart on it. First, to check on Toot.

Turned out that Toot got it right. One bomb at the guard’s station in the vestibule—and that would stop them from trying to get out. One was set by the bank of teller posts. The last two were set where they would do the most damage, in the potted plants inside the lobby. Toot set everything according to the schematics that Brother Jordan gave them, and even got the timers right. Gary smiled and clapped Toot on the back. Told him, job well done. They had one last task and that was to go down to the basement. He helped get Toot’s cart on the elevator with his and they rode it all the way down.

The gas main ran directly down the middle of the floor. This might be a bit tricky, but once again, Brother Jordan had come through. The carts had the C4, to really rain down the fire and brimstone. One of the carts was set near the meter to release the gas into the basement, flooding it. The second cart was set near the center of the floor and would ignite the gas into one giant fireball. The smaller bombs would create the shrapnel and panic; the big ones in the basement would destroy the building and anyone in it.

Gary set the timers for the smaller explosions to start at 12:15 pm the next afternoon. The larger bombs would go off five minutes after that. When the building would be filled with customers. When they could get the most carnage out of this little show.

“You ready, Toot?”

“Yeah, let’s go. Your baby’s birthday. And I’m gonna watch the game. Let’s blow.”

God’s will be done.

‍ ‍By Jess Austen

Book Three — Chapter Excerpt