Friday, April 8, 2011

Friday Flash Fiction: Fiasco on the Ice

Kevin slowly climbed down from the truck, his jaw slack, his eyes wide. What the hell was happening? Nothing was going as planned. And it was such a simple plan, too. How could everything have gone so wrong in such a short time?

All he wanted to do was get off the ice. This fucking ice. He had come to McMurdo Station six years ago, and regretted it ever since. It was a miserable experience out here, where the biggest attraction was the fucking Wells Fargo ATM machine. His only solace was his girlfriend, Sally, who wanted off the ice just as badly.

At first, their plan was pretty boring. Work hard to save enough money to take advantage of the buy out clause in their contracts. But here it was, six years later, and they were still here. That’s when they heard the news.

There was a man coming in to McMurdo, a government man from Washington, with some transfer orders, recalling people back to America. The rumors had it that the orders were for Kevin’s boss, Tony Dravin, that asshole, and his wife. The plan came to Kevin almost immediately. It was simplicity it self. Sally and Kevin would get some fake transfer orders, with their names on them. Then, Sally would user her ample feminine assets to seduce and distract the Washington man, so that Kevin could steal his briefcase with the orders in them, and then switch them out with the fake orders.

And presto, they would be transferred off the ice. Simplicity.

Somehow, things had all gone south. First, it turned out that the damn Government man was queer as a two-dollar bill, so he and Sally switched roles. Then, fucking Tony wouldn’t leave the guys side. So, Kevin came up with a back up plan. He set fire to the warehouse so Tony would have something to occupy his time with while he got Mr. Government Man alone. And away from his briefcase. Which worked, too, because they got the fake papers in the briefcase. Of course, it meant that Kevin had to actually go through with bedding the guy, but that was a small indignity when taken into context of the last six years, really.

But the fire was really out of control, and it burned town the warehouse and two others besides. One that held explosives for use in the ice. The resulting blast killed Tony. Kevin was rocked by that whole thing. Tony was dead, and he had fucked another man. Things were out of control, and he wanted out. But Sally wasn’t about to let him ditch her now, not when the plan was this close to being finished.

That’s when things got really out of hand. With Tony dead, an investigation was launched into the fire, which made Kevin nervous, as there could be evidence that he was guilty. Beyond that, the investigation put the release of the transfer orders on hold, which drove Sally bonkers. At gun point, she took Kevin and the government man out onto the ice in one of those big rigs used to run supplies around. She informed the man from Washington that he was going to release those documents so that she and Kevin could get out of this fucking place. When he refused, she threatened to shoot him. Kevin freaked and tried to get the gun from her, and in the struggle, the gun went off. She fell out of the truck, blood pouring out of her stomach, staining the otherwise pure white snow.

He had shot his girlfriend. The only thing out here that he actually loved. He spilled his guts to the government man. Everything, turning himself in. The man nodded grimly as the story was related, stating that Kevin would have to be arrested and put on trial. He patted Kevin on the shoulder, and Kevin almost laughed.

Trial. That would have to take place back in America. Looks like he was getting off the fucking ice after all.

The End

No comments:

Post a Comment