By Austin Grisham
“We risked going to prison for a flashlight?” Big Ricky’s voice dropped to a deadly whisper. Meager light from a flickering yellow streetlamp outlined the alley’s brick wall and a dumpster off to the side. A brisk September breeze swept past them as Ricky and Jimmy crept down the alley. You wouldn’t have guessed the old brownstone building housed a secret government lab.
“Big Boss,” said Jimmy, “this ain’t no flashlight. I swear!” As he spoke, he handed the long metal tube to Ricky.
“It better not be.” Ricky’s eyes bored into Jimmy. “I certainly spent plenty on that hacker kid.” He dug out the USB drive from his pocket.
“It’s for real boss, you know my cousin who works there—”
“The janitor.” Ricky interrupted.
“Yeah, he told me all about this.” Jimmy pointed at the metal tube. “It can be programmed to put a picture in people’s minds. You can use it to strike fear into anybody. You’re going to be the most powerful boss in the world.”
Ricky studied the canister before inserting the drive into a port on the bottom of the device. “This better work,” he muttered.
For two heartbeats, the canister stayed dark, then a blue light at the top came on. Ricky’s eyes narrowed as he winced at the light.
“It’s working,” Jimmy whispered.
Ricky grumbled to him. “I seem any more intimidating to you?”
“Boss, it’s hard for me to say. You’re the grand poo-bah, the big shot, the nastiest dog in the pound. I’m always intimidated by you.”
“Of course, I was just testing you.” Ricky grinned. “Let’s find somebody else.” He pointed toward the street.
Ricky took a few steps, then paused. “What’s that?”
A mix of puttering sounds and squeaks echoed from the dark recesses of the alley.
“Big boss—” Jimmy pointed down the alley. “Look.”
The dim yellow streetlamp caught hundreds of tiny reflections. The ground darkened, and moments later, it seemed to move. The reflections were tiny eyes, and as the darkness drew near, it was clear who they belonged to—thousands of mice.
“Agghh!” Ricky’s voice became a high piercing tone. He tried to sidestep one of the rodents lunging at his feet. More mice came after him. They crawled up Ricky’s legs, and he danced about, shaking them off.
“Big Kahuna, don’t you worry.” Jimmy reached for his gun in the inside pocket of his jacket. “I’ll make short work of those rodents.”
“What are you doing, moron? There are too many of them.”
Ricky bolted for a fire escape, Jimmy right behind. The two clambered their way up the metal stairs a couple floors to the top of the building.
They panted for breath as mice swarmed around the building.
“That thing is malfunctioning, you need to get rid of it, boss.”
“Maybe it’s working wrong on purpose. Sal hired that kid?”
“Sure did, boss; you don’t think he tried to betray you, do you?”
“I know he’d like to be me.” Ricky pointed at his chest. “He’s always trying to copy my style. I bet he’s at the hideout playing cards right now.” Ricky’s eyes still managed to glint in the dark. “We got to get out of here first.”
Their car was only a few blocks away, but Ricky knew those mice would be all over him the second he stepped back onto the street. He tried fidgeting with the device but couldn’t figure out how to turn it off.
“First time you ever wished the cops would show up, eh boss?”
“No way; too many of them know my face. We gotta move fast.” Ricky looked around the rooftop in desperation.
A curious “meow” sounded from the other side of the building.
Ricky lowered himself down. Perching at a precarious angle, he could make out the stenciled glass sign below—Pete’s Pets. Twenty cats waited in the view case, their faces firmly pressed against the glass ready to join the fray below.
“Come on, you first.” Ricky pointed to a nearby open dumpster overflowing with trash.
“But boss—”
The low angry growl Ricky emitted destroyed any reservations Jimmy might have had.
Seeing him land in one piece, Ricky followed suit, his feet tearing into the bags as they broke his fall.
He reached for his piece and then swung against the glass like a hammer, the handle breaking the glass of the pet shop.
Cats scampered to the ground, their eyes enchanted with the feast before them. Brring, the burglar alarm blared in the background.
The mice ran away in a mad dash.
“Come on.” Ricky motioned Jimmy to follow. They hurried to Ricky’s car a couple blocks away and headed back to their hideout.
“Sal,” Ricky said, seeing him at the card table as he ran into the hideout on Eighth Street. He couldn’t wait to pull Sal aside. “You must have some real cajones thinking I wouldn’t find you.”
Grabbing him by his shirt collar, Ricky lifted him off his chair with one hand.
“What you mean boss?” Sal’s voice quivered.
“Why’d you mess this up,” Ricky said, holding up the metal tube. “What’d you tell that hacker kid?”
“Big boss, I didn’t do nothing. I just told him that you wanted everybody’s respect. You know what I always say, that you’re the big cheese.”
“The what?”
“The big cheese.”
Sal was about to lose a couple of teeth. But before Ricky could throw his punch, he lost his balance. Two mice nibbled at his ankles.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Ha! Fun ending!
Thanks RJ!
A bunch of bowlers burst through the wall and started throwing bowling balls at him too, all trying to knock down the kingpin.
Got the sequel right there!
Loved the ending! I liked your mix of modern with noir!
Haha I loved this! Especially the ending!