Gilly was ambidextrous. I know this because what happened that night in Belgrade, the one where terrorists blew up the barge and killed a bunch of tourists from the Netherlands. Gilly and I, happily sated on great food and fine wine, sat on the grassy banks of the Danube enjoying an unseasonably warm evening. Our shadows, cast by the light from the kafanas behind us, extended across the lawn to the water.
Suddenly, our reverie was interrupted by shouts. I looked up. Several young monks were running across the lawn, waving what looked to be kebabs. Bits of onion and savory meat flew into the air as they ran. One of them, with a full head of hair--obviously a neophyte--broke from the pack and came right at us. He fell to the ground, gurgled and died. Dark blood seeped from a small hole in the back of his habit.
"Stop!" Gilly's voice, above me. I looked up in time to see what appeared to be three nuns chasing after the monks. Only they weren't nuns; as they ran, below their habits I saw shiny black oxfords and gabardine trousers. Men in black! One of them, alerted by Gilly's shout skidded to a stop, turned and started toward us. In his hand, a 9-mm CZ aimed at Gilly's chest.
I started to rise, but Gilly shoved me aside, grabbed a kebab skewer from each of the dead monk's hands and from her crouch, flicked them toward the oncoming man. The gun went off and I was sprayed by bits of turf and dirt. The man staggered, the whites of his eyes bright, and as he clutched at his throat, he fell face down on the grass. Almost like earrings, the skewers projected from either side of his neck, little trickles of blood dribbling onto the white cowl of the nun's habit.
I looked at Gilly, amazed. "Wow," I said. "How'd you learn to do that?"
"Oh, there are lots of things you don't know about me." She wiped kebab grease off her fingers in the dewy grass and grinned. "Yet."
"I guess not. But I'm glad of them. Like now." I nodded to the bodies on the grass beside us. Sirens wailed; the cops would be here soon. "Come on. We really don't need to be here when the Politzei show up."
Later, walking arm-in-arm through a park, I couldn't help thinking that Gilly had one hell of a talent. What a way to pacify an attacking nun.
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