Wednesday, January 24, 2018

Wednesday Briefs: The Sheriff #47 (11.5)

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.

Dustin is nervous about what's going to happen, and anxious to get it over with. He has to make sure his cousin isn't around, so he can't get hurt.  Jordan showing up unexpectedly has thrown him for a loop. Find out what's going on in this week's episode of The Sheriff. Don't forget to visit the other Briefers and see what they're up to. Their links follow my tale. Enjoy!

The Sheriff #47 (11.5)

Dustin wished he’d thought to get Roy’s phone number. Then he could at least text him. That would be some measure of comfort. Once they got through this, he’d ask for the number. Assuming Roy still wanted to see him, of course. First things first. Get rid of Jordan. Put him where he couldn’t hurt anyone ever again. Then think about the future.

He thought midnight would never arrive, but of course it did. He gratefully turned the key in the lock and turned the sign to Closed. Now to make sure Denver was gone before Jordan and his trained monkeys arrived.

“You got plans?” he asked his cousin as he strolled as casually back to the counter as he could.

“Yeah. I have a date. With my bed.” Denver laughed. “I was thinking about going to Partners, but I’m too tired, I think.” He yawned widely.

“There’s always tomorrow.”

“That there is,” Denver agreed. “You got anything going on? Or are you coming back to the apartment and get some sleep for a change?”

“I dunno,” Dustin said vaguely. He hated to lie to his cousin, but he couldn’t exactly tell him the truth, for obvious reasons. “I’m supposed to see someone. We’ll see how that works out.”

“Oh yeah. The sexy guy.” Denver grinned. “Guess he couldn’t wait to see you, the way he was acting.”

“You could say that,” Dustin replied vaguely.

“Maybe next time you can introduce us.” Denver yawned again. He pushed a few keys on the cash register. When it opened, he removed most of the cash.

Dustin glanced nervously at the clock. “Why don’t you go on and get some sleep? I can finish up here and lock up. Not much to do tonight, is there?” Dustin didn’t work until close very often, but he figured there wasn’t much involved.


“I would, but I still gotta do the night deposit, so I can drop that off on the way home. You don’t have to wait, if you have plans.”

Shit, how long would that take? “No, I’m good.” Dustin followed Denver into the back room. “I’ll hang out with you until you’re ready.”

“Thanks, man. I appreciate the company.”

Denver flopped into a swivel chair behind the desk, and Dustin grabbed a chair on the other side. He decided not to engage in conversation that might distract his cousin. And he didn’t want to think about what was going to happen. His thoughts turned to Roy, instead, of their own volition. Remembering the feel of Roy’s hands along his body, his lips on Dustin’s...

Bam, bam, bam!

Dustin was shocked out of his reverie by the sound of someone banging on the front door.

“We’re closed, man,” Denver muttered, never looking up from counting cash.

Shit, just what he’d feared. Jordan was getting impatient because Dustin was taking longer than expected. He started to rise, throwing an apprehensive glance toward his cousin.

“They’ll go away soon, don’t worry about it,” Denver said.

“I’ll just make sure,” Dustin said. Not waiting for a response, he left the office, heading for the front door. He spied a dark silhouette which seemed to be peering into the store. As he drew closer, Dustin realized it wasn’t Jordan, as he’d expected.

He unlocked the door and poked his head out, to make sure he couldn’t be heard inside, even though he knew Denver was back in the office, far out of earshot. “Quit banging on the door, Rusty!” he snapped. “Whaddya want?”

“I want to know what the hold-up is,” Rusty snarled. “You’re supposed to let us in that back door. Remember, buddy boy? I want to make sure you’re not double crossing us or anything.”

“Denver’s almost ready to leave. Hold your horses,” Dustin retorted. “Get your ass away from here, and try not to lose what little mind you have.” Dustin closed the door between them, cutting off whatever scathing remark Rusty had been about to make. Without thinking, he flipped the other man off. Let him chew on that awhile. He hurried back to the office. Denver was zipping up a bag emblazoned with the store’s logo.

“That is?” Dustin asked.

“Yep. We had a decent night,” Denver said. “I noticed your friend didn’t buy anything. Didn’t find what he wanted?”

“Guess not,” Dustin said, adding in a burst of honesty, “He’s not really my friend. I broke up with him ‘cause he’s an asshole.”

“Really?” Denver gave him an enigmatic look. “I’m not sure he got the memo, dude.”

“He’s like that,” Dustin muttered. “He’ll get over it. You all ready to go?” He was racking his brain, trying to think of an excuse to stay behind so he could let numbnuts in, so Roy could catch him and arrest him. So far, he hadn’t thought of a thing.

“Yeah, all ready.” Denver stood, even as Dustin began to breathe again. Almost over… almost over…

At the sound of more pounding, his heart skipped a beat in surprise. This was not coming from the front door.

“What the hell? Who’s trying to get in the back door at this time of night?” Denver sounded angry.

“I’ll take care of it, you don’t have to…” Dustin might have saved his breath. Denver was already striding toward the back door and was throwing it up before Dustin could stop him.

Through the open door, Dustin saw Rusty and Lenny. They hadn’t bothered to wear masks, a fact which at first Dustin found annoying. But as the implications began to sink into his brain, he realized the only reason why they weren’t afraid of being seen.

In Rusty’s hand, a big black pistol gleamed. “Evening, guys. Sorry to interrupt your night but this here’s a stick up. Now don’t do anything stupid or I’ll shoot you both.”

Dustin’s worst nightmare had just come true.

to be continued

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