‘Sorry, can you say that again?’, Jim was sure this customer asked to buy every drone he had in his store. ‘I’d like to buy every drone in your store’, the customer repeated with a disarming smile.

‘Jim’s toys and games’ has been in business for 6 months. Hard months filled with stress and ramen. Those dang noodles made him constipated, adding to his stress. Selling all the drones in his store will help keep the lights on, and buy a pizza or two. And beer! Definitely beer!

Jim knows exactly what he has in stock. ‘I have a total of 43 drones, ranging in size and capability. 15 basic starter drones, 20 middle of the road and the rest are high dollar long range models.‘. The customer smiles again, displaying teeth that are just too perfect to be natural. ‘Veneers!’, Jim thinks as he takes a closer look at the man.

The customer is an older man with grey hair, tanned skin and he appears to be fit. He is well dressed, and his watch seem to be a Rolex. ‘Fake?’, Jim wonders, but then decide it must be real when the man pulls a stack of money from his pocket.

‘Cash is king, and discount its queen’, the customer smiles, and Jim sees steak in his future, and maybe even a ticket to a football game. Both of those things have been out of his reach for too long.

‘I’ll take 10% of the total sir. That will pay for the sales tax at least.’ The customer slams the stack of bills on the counter, ‘Deal!’

***

Jim made more money on the drone deal than he made all of the previous month. The customer bought every drone he had and all the cameras in the store. The proceeds bought bear, pizza, steak and a ticket to see his favorite football team. He had to buy the ticket on the secondary market, but he did it happily. There is no telling when he will be able to do this again. He has a nagging suspicion that starting a toy store was a bad idea in the current economy.

The game is good. The teams are well matched. Jim’s team was just stopped short on fourth down, and they are huddling, probably deciding to go for a field goal.

A small drone flew towards the huddle. Jim noticed it because it had a bright yellow pulsing light. The light was attached to a square taped to the underside of the drone, and a camera was mounted on top. The drone reached the group of athletes just as they broke the huddle and jogged to their positions.

The drone made a lazy turn and then flew towards one of the players, the center of the home team. Other players gestured at the drone and the center turned towards where they were pointing. The drone dove towards him and exploded near his head and chest.

The explosion was deafening. The player was knocked back and his upper body came apart. Other players nearby were knocked down, and some remained motionless. Panic set in 2 seconds later. Jim’s ears were ringing from the blast, but he could hear the screams and cries around him.

The second explosion occurred in front of the announcers box, and it was much larger than the first. People were running and shoving to get away with many falling down the steep stairs, and others simply stepping on them.

Suddenly the air was filled with drones delivering their explosive payloads. The last thing Jim saw before he died was the sticker on the side of the drone that killed him.

It read ‘Jim’s toys and games.’