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177 pounds
I am not particularly satisfied with the quality of my little Flash Fiction story.
But here it is, anyway.
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Road Rage - Present Day
When he was about 15 miles from home after his first vacation in 12 years, Drago Scheidler quickly changed lanes, then braked and settled into the old familiar snail's pace of D.C.'s late afternoon traffic gridlock. It would be good to get back to work tomorrow, back in uniform and back in the patrol car.
A loud bang to his left caused Drago to swing his head to face the car's window. Outside, looking in, a huge gorilla of a man stood brandishing a dull black handgun.
Drago thumbed the window open, and then could hear the intruder who was ranting, "Ass hole! You cut me off."
"Calm down, sir," Drago said. His hand moved stealthily into the unzipped travel bag beside him on the seat, then reemerged holding his service pistol, which he held concealed by his side.
"Calm down, shit!" The man screamed. Who's gonna pay for the damage."
Just then another man appeared and he too was waving a gun in the air, a chrome-plated long-barreled six shooter. "Que pasa cabrones, what's happening?" he called out.
"This asshole cut me off," said the first man. "And he's not going to get away with it."
The second man swung his attention to Drago and said, "Hey! -- You insured, Man? You be paying for the damages to the brutha's ride, Man?"
"What damages?" Drago enquired softly.
The first man said, "Not to my car, Dude, damage to my nerves. And for downright disrespect. White mothuhfucka. Got no business..."
Drago, speaking clearly and slowly in a low register said, "The two of you need to calm down."
Both of the men standing amongst the lanes of stalled city traffic turned toward Drago, their weapons coming up to point directly at his face.
Whereupon Drago lifted his service pistol and squeezed its trigger twice, gently and without jerking, as he had been trained to do.
A small hole appeared between the eyes of the first man, who dropped his gun and sank to the street's surface.
The second man also released his grip on his weapon as he grabbed for his smashed nose through which the bullet had entered his brain. He too fell flat on his face.
"Oh Christ," Drago said. "Wouldn't you know it. Just back home and right away a ton of paperwork."
Copyright 2014
Gene Chambers
All Rights Reserved
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Did You Know . . .?
In Flash Fiction, both the story and the title should have meaning and pack a punch.
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HISTORICAL EVENT
In 1967, Venera 4 succeeded where Venera 3 failed, successfully ejecting several scientific instruments, including a thermometer, a barometer, an atmospheric density gauge, and gas analyzers, into Venus' atmosphere. Then, in 1970, Venera 7 became the first spacecraft created by humans to soft-land on Venus, successfully sending back images and data for 23 minutes before succumbing to the extremely high temperature and atmospheric pressure found on the planet's surface.
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WORD FOR TODAY
amenable [uh-MEEN- uh-buhl or uh-MEHN- uh-buhl]
adjective
1. Responsive to advice, authority, or suggestion; willing.
2. Responsible to higher authority; accountable.
3. Susceptible or open, as to testing or criticism.
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CELEBRITY BIRTHDAYS
(born March 1, 1954)
Ron Howard is an American film director, producer and actor. He came to prominence playing Opie Taylor in the sitcom The Andy Griffith Show for eight years, and later the teenaged Richie Cunningham in the sitcom Happy Days for six years. He appeared in the films The Music Man in 1962, American Graffiti in 1973, and The Shootist in 1976.
(born March 1, 1954)
Catherine Bach is an American actress. She is known for playing Daisy Duke in the television series The Dukes of Hazzard and Margo Dutton in African Skies. In 2012, she joined the cast of the CBS soap opera The Young and the Restless as Anita Lawson.
(born March 1, 1947)
Alan Thicke is a Canadian actor, songwriter, and game and talk show host. He is best known for his role as Jason Seaver, the father on the ABC television series Growing Pains. He is the father of actor Brennan Thicke and singer Robin Thicke.
(born March 1, 1946)
Lana Wood is an American actress and producer born to Russian parents, Nikolai and Maria Zakharenko. Her sister was the late actress Natalie Wood.
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"Old or new, fiction can be minimalist in any or all of several ways."
--John Barth
NASA TV
