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.
The plot thickens. Just as everyone is about to move to the shelter of the trees, two police officers show up to question their presence there. What is going on? Is something rotten in the state of Denmark? See what's happening in this week's chapter of Bad Karma and the Family Plan. Don't forget to visit the other Briefers and see what's up with them. Their links follow my tale! Enjoy!
“What are you people doing here?” were the first
words from the newcomer’s lips. The voice was low, a little gravelly. Smoker,
perhaps? The policeman had his thumbs tucked inside his belt, his jaw thrust
forward almost aggressively. Not what I was expecting at all. His attitude
further confirmed that these two were not Anderson-sent.
The policeman’s eyes seemed drawn to Ethan, even as
he spoke, he angled himself toward him. His deputy—or whoever he was—hung back
and remained silent.
“We’ve run into some unexpected car trouble,
officer,” Ethan said coolly. Glancing at him, I could read the tension in his
posture. He clearly didn’t like what was going on here anymore than I did.
“So I see, so I see.” I couldn’t help but notice the
thick Southern accent. “All of you at once? Isn’t that unusual?”
That seemed like a red flag. If these policemen
hadn’t been sent here by our supervisor, how did they know we were here? What,
did they just follow the yellow brick road?
“Not if this was a deliberate act of sabotage,” Ethan
replied in less than polite tones. Another tip-off that he was suspicious of
these two also. “Officer… what did you say your name was?”
He hadn’t, of course.
“Jenkins,” the man replied smoothly. “Officer
Jenkins. And you are?”
“May I see your badge, Officer Jenkins?” Ethan
asked, never answering the question. He took a step forward, closer to the
policeman, who hastily moved backward.
“Of course, of course.” He fumbled for his wallet,
producing it from his front pocket, opened it quickly. All I caught was a flash
of gold before he’d closed it again and replaced it. “There you go, sir. Now,
your name?”
“Ethan Thorne of Roanoke, Virginia.”
“Really? You’re a ways from home, aren’t you,
Mister… Thorne, was it?” The policeman tilted his head, regarding Ethan. Ethan
stared right back at home with a stony expression.
“Indeed,” was all he said.
Enough was enough, and we were getting nowhere fast.
“Look,” I interjected. “Is there some sort of a problem here? I mean, other
than our obvious one.”
Jenkins turned toward me for the first time. I saw
his nostrils flare in what I seemed to be disgust, or distaste…I don’t know.
Something. “Just trying to ascertain the facts of the case, ma’am…I mean sir.”
What the actual fuck? I managed to resist the
impulse to knock those annoying shades off his face, but he’d already turned
away in a very dismissive manner that only served to agitate me all the more.
I hadn’t noticed Troy’s approach, but now I saw that
he stood beside us, and he was looking at the policeman almost inquisitively. I
expected any second to hear the standard words that usually greeted Troy’s
arrival anywhere, but they weren’t forthcoming. Instead, Jenkins seemed to be
avoiding Troy’s gaze. Why would that be?
“Sir, may I speak to you privately?” Jenkins said to
Ethan. I didn’t like the sound of that and was about to protest when Ethan
shook his head slightly at me and I desisted.
“If you wish,” Ethan said stiffly, although he made
no movement. He and the policeman stared one another down until finally the
latter made a motion with one hand.
“Lead on, MacDuff,” he said and directed Ethan away
from the others. I noticed they were headed in the direction of the police
vehicle and alarm bells went off in my head. Something was definitely not right
here. I glanced toward Troy and he wore a troubled and perplexed expression.
Suddenly I heard a metallic click. I jerked my
attention back to Ethan only to find the policeman had handcuffed him!
to be continued
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