(Page 1 of 2) Payback by Federico Patané
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SUMMARY: Flash fiction contest entry for July 2008.Payback
Jake walked through the mall parking lot congratulating himself for the plan he had made and was about to execute. It was a practical joke he had been thinking over for some time. He had chose his friend Peter as the victim and he thought it was perfect in every sense. The prank was very simple really, he had opened the case of an old pen drive and replaced the circuitry with a small bomb that should make a lot of noise and startle the hell out of Peter. But no plan would be complete without making a fool out of him in front of a woman he cared for.
Peter was already waiting for him inside the mall on the food court. Jake had told him to meet there to hang around and to give him something, but he had not told him what. Peter saw Jake arrive in his slick stile and his usual grin.
"Hi!" Jake saluted first. "I am glad you are here. You know I hate when people make me wait."
"Hello," Peter said ignoring the hedonistic remark.
"Here," Jake said handing him a small bag.
Peter took the bag and opened it. Inside was a CD and a Pen Drive. He took both out and looked for any inscription that would signal what that content was but they where both unmarked.
"What is this?" Peter asked.
"What does it look like?" Jake replied mockingly. "A CD and a Pen drive." Then he realized that Peter wasn't laughing and continued. "In the CD are the videos I talked about the other day, remember? And in the Pen drive the codecs to see them – I ran out of CDs to burn them. By the way, I will be wanting the pen drive back."
"Thanks," Peter said placing both things in the left pocket of his jeans. "So, what's new?"
"Not much," Jake said as they walked lazily through the mall. "I was just bored at home, that is why I called you to come here."
Peter couldn't think of anything nice to say, so he kept silent. They had walked the mall many times before and they knew every store in it, but they liked to go there when there was nothing better to do. After all, it was better here than outside in the cold.
They took the escalator to the first floor and they spotted Carla looking at a store window. She was a gorgeous brunet who had many times flirted with Peter but never actually accepted any of his invitations. Instead she had gone out several times with his friend Jake.
"Carla!" Jake called from the distance.
She waved and went to meet with them on the top of the stairs. Jake gave her a little kiss on the lips. She was right on time. She had been waiting for them as requested by Jake and played along as if she knew nothing.
The three walked through the mall wandering with no particular direction when out of a sudden a really big explosion occurred. Jake turned to see Peter and laughed as he saw him laying on the floor looking white and scared. But the laughter didn't last long. It was interrupted by the panic screams of Carla. She was looking at fire on Peter's leg and his own screams of desperation.
The security guards came running at full speed, one of them with a fire extinguisher in his hands.
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