As soon as I stepped out of the car without my gun, the joker, who was the victim I intended to kill, l seemingly beamed down out of nowhere like in Star Trek.

Standing directly in front of me, about ten yards away, he pointed his automatic at my chest. This deadly set-up went into slow motion as the barrel of his gun became larger than life.

My entire life flashed through my mind as the prayers of the church mothers in Macedonia came to me. At that moment, in the face of death, I heard Ma Jennie's voice saying clearly, "Lord, don't let that devil kill my boy."

The next voice I heard was the fool with the gun saying, "I am going to kill both of you." My last plea was, "Lord, please don't let this negro pull the trigger. I don't want to die like this."

I was so focused on the fool with the gun that I didn't see his reinforcement posted thirty yards away with an AK-47 assault rifle pointed down at Marvin and me ...