accepts an offer from his boss to go to Tucson to work on a business merger between two rival companies. He sleeps with a woman named Shirley whom he meets in a bar, and visits a sporting goods shop, where he purchases a .32 Smith & Wesson revolver and smuggles it back into New York along with a large stash of ammunition. Jack calls his father-in-law, revealing that Carol's condition has deteriorated to the point where she can no longer feed, wash, or take care of herself; Paul reluctantly signs off on Jack's plan to have her placed in a mental institution; he then purchases a jacket, hat, and gloves and starts looking for criminals, deliberately presenting himself as a harmless, affluent old man in order to attract attention. After initially finding no good targets, Paul is held up by a junkie, and shoots him three times. Over the next few weeks, Paul keeps up the pretense of being his usual self by going to work and attending social events while discreetly continuing his vigilante activities; he shoots another mugger and a man he catches burglarizing an apartment. He also tries more sophisticated tactics, renting a car and leaving it unoccupied with a sign reading "Out of Gas" on the windshield. When two thieves show up to strip the car for parts, Paul shoots them both. Paul's actions lead to him being dubbed "the vigilante" in the press, and divides the public over whether his killings are justified. The police declare him a menace, and a magazine runs an article where a psychiatrist accurately describes Paul's motivations and personal history, and states that if he is insane, it's because he's acting against social norms that prevent ordinary people from acting on their base desires for revenge. One night, Paul shoots at a group of young men and women throwing bricks and rocks at a subway train. While hunting for his quarry, a beat cop stumbles onto the scene and recognizes Paul as the vigilante. Unwilling to commit suicide, Paul is about to surrender when the cop suddenly tips his hat and walks away. The story then ends with Paul finishing his work and quietly heading home. Characters Paul Benjamin – The protagonist. An aging accountant and "bleeding-heart" liberal, Paul slowly begins to turn to vigilantism after his family is brutally mugged. Having served in World War II as a clerk-typist,