"There Is Small Point in Denying Your Calling"

"Gun for Hire."
By Mack Reynolds (1917-83).
First appearance: Analog Science Fact-Fiction, December 1960.

Reprints page (HERE).

Short story (14 pages as a PDF).
Online at Project Gutenberg (HERE).

     "A gun is an interesting weapon; it can be hired, of course, and naturally doesn't care who hires it. Something much the same can be said of the gunman, too. . . ."

Some jobs absolutely require a specialist . . .

Characters:
~ Joe Prantera:
  ". . . pressed the trigger. And at that moment, the universe caved inward upon Joseph Marie Prantera."
~ Lawrence Reston-Farrell:
  "The bacterium of hate—a new strain—has found the human race unprotected from its disease."
~ Warren Brett-James:
  "The moment after you have accomplished your mission, we plan to turn ourselves over to the nearest institution . . ."
~ Howard Temple-Tracy:
  "In the near future, I may well need an assistant knowledgeable in the field of violence."

Resources:
- Probably more than you'll ever need to know about Dallas McCord Reynolds is (HERE), (HERE), (HERE; audios), and (HERE).
- Our last encounter with Mack Reynolds had him co-authoring a Solar Pons adventure (HERE).

The bottom line:

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