Cassius, or Clay as most people called him panted as sweat poured down his face. He felt on fire today which could be considered ironic since his suit probably resembled the shade his cheeks should be about now, red as the proverbial flames of hell. Not only had his deeds gone virtually unnoticed today,but, this time he considered this job enough of a payback of sorts. You see, it all began with one phrase...
"Clay, we just have one too many Santa's today.. I am sorry, but, you'll have to just pick up your paycheck and leave."
That prick, Sanford Lee Bradford had been the last straw in the worst day in the history of his life. First, the tires on his pickup had gone flat, then, once at work, the brats in line had been whimpering, simpering, and worst of all, he had been peed on! After finally settling down to his work, the "company" had
decided to cut back for Christmas Eve, and he would be the unlucky recipient of the "company's" greed.
For that reason alone, was why he stood here in the mall at this time of night, doing his good deed for the day, a present that would last a lifetime. Once they came in the next day, they would see what he thought of their tightwad ways.
Clay cursed, his knuckles flaming now, from the sting of his heavy duty hammer.He had missed on his last swing and now he had a swollen thumb to go along with his otherwise crappy day.
"Well, hell!" Clay said to himself.
Then, he found out that his day could be much worse, for only a moment's warning alerted him a presence behind him, then, he swung around, only to find a two hundred pound guard, with a gun in his hand, a real one, and not a stun gun.
"Freeze, punk!"
Clay froze, raising his hands, as well as the hammer at the same time.
The guard obviously took offense, for he shouted, "Drop your weapon at once!"
A few seconds passed before Clay realized what he meant, and he dropped the hammer, which happened to land straight on his toe, and he yelped in pain. The guard, came forward shining a flashlight in his face, then, he swung the light toward
where Clay had left his present.
The guard a once fierce foe, began laughing, and lowering his gun. "I believe you have suffered enough Mister."
Clay did not understand what could be so funny, then he did a double take as he realized what he had done. The sign he wanted to deface, the one he rearranged in the dark ended up saying the most ridiculous thing...
Instead of the sign saying, "Go to hell, you cheap bastards!, the sign proclaimed,that no matter how pressed you are for Christmas shopping these days, you will find that there are people to guide you on your way.. And, honest people don't hide their deeds."

Note: this story had to be 500 words only. The quote for this story is in Italics. And, the bottom is the imprint for the page where this story is stored at http://www.writesight.com/writers/angel251977/index.php#bio.