Good morning and Happy Hump Day ! If it's Wednesday, then it must be time for more flash fiction from the Wednesday Briefers! We're a group of authors who bring you our finest flash fiction every week, 500 to 1000 words, inspired by one of our prompts.
Ethan and Vinnie are learning what led up to where they are now, in a hotel room with Ethan's Uncle Benny. See what's happening in this week's chapter of Rose and Thorne 6. Don't forget to visit the other Briefers and see what's up with them. Their links follow my tale! Enjoy!
“Jewelry,” Benny replied. “He became obsessed with
stealing some of the jewels he heard were on display. In particular, he was
obsessed with something called the Blue Heart Diamond. Said it reminded him of
the movie Titanic.” Benny shrugged
while Ethan and I shared shocked glances. What kind of idiot was this guy?
“Out of curiosity, how did he plan to get into the
Smithsonian without being caught?” Ethan asked. “I mean, they must have
extensive security systems in place.” I’d been wondering the same thing myself.
“You would think so, wouldn’t you?” Benny snorted in
obvious derision. “He got the idea from an ex security guard he met and seduced
in some bar in San Francisco. Probably the same one where he ran into me, I
don’t know. But this guy, Jeff, was bragging to Connor about how he used to
work at the Smithsonian and how important he’d been there. He described these
beautiful collections of jewels they had on display and how valuable they were,
and how it had been his job to personally keep them safe and sound. And how
sorry they all were when he left. He was probably trying to make himself look
like a big man, but all Connor saw were dollar signs. And doing what he loved
to do best—steal. Except on a whole new level. I’m sure Jeff never knew what
hit him. By the time Connor was through with him, the poor sap probably didn’t
know up from down.”
A moment of silence passed. I couldn’t help but
think Benny was referring to himself as well as the other guy. Despite his
outwardly calm demeanor, I had to believe he was furious on the inside at what
he’d allowed himself to get into all those years ago.
“Let me guess,” Ethan spoke up. “This Jeff guy still
knew people who worked there and was sure he could get one of them to let them
in after hours.”
Ethan’s hypothesis brought a smile to Benny’s lips. “That
was pretty much his scheme, yes. I guess he never thought about the internal
security measures that must be in place that would have to be bypassed as
well.”
“So what did you do then?” Ethan asked. He seemed to
be hanging on his uncle’s every word. I could tell how much he’d missed the
man, and I couldn’t help but be glad they’d been reunited. Too bad it had to be
under these circumstances.
“At first I wasn’t sure what exactly to do,” Benny
admitted. He smoothed down his fuzzy red moustache, first one side then the
other, before continuing. “I knew I wasn’t going to help Connor do anything much less anything so stupid
and illegal, but I wanted to be sure I was turning him in to the right agency
too. I finally ended up calling an eight hundred number and they put me through
to some anonymous agent, who took down some basic information and told me
someone would be in touch. So I just waited, hoping they didn’t take too long
to get back to me. Not long after that,
I finally got a call from a different agent, and we arranged to meet. I told
him Connor’s whole stupid plan. By that time, the date of the robbery was only
a couple of weeks away. I had to admit, I was on pins and needles, wondering if
I was about to get myself into another huge mess, an even bigger one than the
first one. I knew I wasn’t going to get off so easy the second time, and I was quite
frankly getting worried. But everything went surprisingly well. Connor and Jeff
and I all flew to DC, and on the appointed night, we went to the Smithsonian
and we were all apprehended in the act.”
“Wow,” Ethan exclaimed. “That is so… amazing. I’m
glad everything worked out well, Benny, and you didn’t get in trouble, and I’m
so happy to see you again.” It warmed my heart to hear the love in Ethan’s
voice for his uncle. Ethan was more about family than I was, I had to admit.
Although I did like his mother and sister, I still wasn’t used to the concept
of family outside of my own mother. It was nice to see the bond that obviously
existed between uncle and nephew.
“There’s still something I don’t understand, though,”
Ethan said. “How did you end up getting
Vinnie and me as security? That can’t be a coincidence, surely? I mean, of all
the agents in the country, how were we assigned to you?”
“You can thank your boss for that,” Benny said.
“Apparently when I was in the process of being transferred here, he got a hold
of my file and recognized my name and somehow made the connection between us.
He met me at the airport and brought me here. That’s when I found out that you
were one of his agents. Your mom had
mentioned you were in law enforcement. We just hadn’t had a chance to go into
the details. I am so proud of you,
Ethan. I always knew you’d do well, and you certainly have.”
I knew Ethan was blushing even before I glanced his
way. The next moment, Benny was hugging us again, before taking his seat once
more.
“And I mean both professionally and personally.”
Now it was my turn to blush. “Ethan’s the best thing
to ever happen to me,” I blurted out without thinking. Well, it was true, even
if it took me a long time to realize it.
Ethan took my hand and squeezed it. “That goes for
me too,” he said.
Of course our mutual declaration resulted in another
round of Guinness. I promised myself it would be the last. Not that I expected
anything bad might happen, but we did need to be on guard at all times. Ethan
must have read my mind.
“Last call,” he said.
to be continued
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