Happy Easter Monday!
Didn’t want to send a short story on Good Friday, so waited until today to send “Take 2” of Coast is Clear - a flash fiction from two perspectives. If you missed part 1, find it on my Substack page or email me and I’ll send you the whole thing. It’s kind of an experiment in POV. Anyway, hope you enjoy a bit of criminal suspense.
Also, this will be my last #FreeFictionFriday (even though today is Monday!) for a while. Probably until this fall. We are in the frenetic flurry of selling our house and moving to Puerto Rico! So almost everything else is taking a back seat to offloading all of our belongings (except for 2 suitcases) and transitioning to island life.
In the meantime, if you want to keep up with some of our travels and adventures, drop in at Boom Travel & Wellness blog, which my wife is hosting. I’ve posted a updates on the why and how and what of moving to Puerto Rico. The link is:
Until next time (later this summer or fall), happy reading! - Lyn
Coast is Clear by Lyndon Perry
Take Two
“Coast is clear,” I told Michael as I ducked back down from the grimy window. I could hear him hyperventilating behind me. As I turned to my partner-in-crime, I could see sweat on his brow. We’d barely escaped into an abandoned warehouse after the heist.
“Cops are heading north.” I started piling stacked tens and twenties into his bag. “Take your stash and make a run for it.”
Michael just stared at me.
“This is where we part company, Mikey ol’ pal.”
I could tell by the way he glanced at my overstuffed canvas bag that he wasn’t happy with his half empty one.
“Maybe we should count it first,” he said, fidgeting.
“What? Don’t you trust me, Mikey boy?”
We didn’t have time for this. The police would circle back around at any moment.
Michael swallowed. “Look, Justin, our agreement was—”
“Our agreement was one more job and not get caught,” I interrupted. “Cops will make another sweep soon and I, for one, do not plan on introducing myself.”
I sighed and reached into my bag. I pulled out one more stack of twenties and tossed it at my former partner who fumbled with it like the loser I knew he was.
“Fair’s fair,” I acknowledged and nodded to him grimly as I grabbed my belongings and dodged out the back door. I left my former partner there with his mouth open.
“Fair is fair,” I muttered as I walked quickly along the brick building. “Hell, I planned this hit. I did the leg work. I grabbed the cash. All he did was stand there with a gun trying not to pee his pants. Fair is sixty-forty at best.”
I tested the weight of my bag and smiled. I figured seventy-thirty was better.
“Wait.” I heard Michael calling from inside the warehouse. “Wait for me.”
Idiot! He’ll get us both caught.
Just when I contemplated losing myself in the maze of alleys that twisted through the old warehouse district, Michael spotted me and ran to catch up.
“What the hell do you think you’re doing?” I snapped. “Job’s done. Money’s divvied up. It’s each man for himself from this point on.”
“I want my share of the take.” I could see him squirm. Probably nervous as hell.
“You gotta complaint? Call the Better Business Bureau.”
Michael reached into his bag. “I think I’ll handle it myself.”
“What are you talking about?” But just then I found myself staring down the barrel of a wavering .357. “Whoa, whoa, now. Hold on there.”
“I figure we have about five minutes to work this out like gentlemen before the police arrive.” Michael checked his watch, twitchy as all get out. “You want to reconsider our agreement?”
“Damn it to hell!” I hacked up a load of phlegm and spat it at his feet, shaking my head in disgust. “Sure, Michael, sure. Just take it easy, okay? I’m going to set the bag down and you take what you want, all right?”
He wants me to reconsider our agreement? Damn right, I’m reconsidering our agreement. More than he could know. Because no matter what happened in the next five minutes, I’d make sure Michael Bailey, former friend, sometimes partner, and loser little brother would end up a dead man.
Now that was an agreement I knew I could definitely keep when the time came.
The End
Coast is Clear © 2017 by Lyndon Perry
For more to read, visit Tule Fog Press. www.TuleFogPress.com
Thanks for reading, and see you this fall! And have a great Easter Season. - Lyn Perry