The Things I Do For Gertie - Flash Dystopian Fiction 500 Entry
This is my entry for the #chronocrypto-dystopian Flash Dystopian Fiction 500 Contest.
The Things I Do For Gertie
"Meat is murder."
The woman is staring daggers at me and my pastrami sandwich.
Gotta love those vegan types.
"Lady", I tell her between two large bites, "murder is what I do for a living. Can I get back to my sandwich now?"
She looks at me as if I spoke something unintelligible. They always do; they'd rather convince themselves they misheard or something. Gotta love the power of denial, too.
I bite a large piece of deli meat and chew it with my mouth wide open, just to piss her off. She gives me the finger and walks away, grumbling.
I chuckle and check my watch. T minus two minutes. Crap, I'm running late.
I wolf down the rest of my sandwich, almost choking in the process. I take out a can of Omnifabric and spray dark grey fabric all over me, neck to toes. Water soluble spandex-in-a-can. I look ridiculous. On the bright side, it affords me anonymity.
I put on a full face helmet and hop onto my Yamaha MT-12. I say "my", but it's, of course, stolen. As if I could afford such an expensive bike. No, I'll be driving home in my old station wagon once this is over.
I step on it and thunder through the lunch break traffic. It's T minus one now, I'm cutting it too close.
The target is going to be at Vic's. Fat lady, early fifties, bombastic hairdo. I've dubbed her Vera. It's as good a name as any. She's probably going to be waiting in line for her daily dose of quintessential New York street food, wishing her lunch break was longer.
Well, I can help with that. In fact, she won't be going back to her office anytime soon. Or, like, ever.
I can see Vic's. I slow down and scan the crowd of office people. There's Vera, holding a dirty water dog in each hand and waiting to cross the street.
It's show time.
I activate my wired reflexes and the world slows down almost to a halt. I pull out my handgun, carefully point it at Vera's head, and pull the trigger twice. Pop, pop. Goodbye Vera, it was nice not knowing you.
I don't even wait to see her fall. I know I shot straight, so what's the point? I got a getaway to make.
I speed up and zigzag through traffic, running red light after red light. At some point, I toss my handgun in a small park fountain. It's a 3D-printed water-soluble disposable. It goes up in thousands of bubbles, like an effervescent tablet.
As I ride away, a notification pops up on my HUD: the funds just got transferred to my account.
Good.
I feel kind of bad for Vera, I do. But then I picture Gertie giving me her lopsided smile, showing off the new braces Vera's money are going to buy her, and it all goes away.
I look out for my kid. So sue me.
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well this is all like twenty years away.
Why am I cheering for this?!?
It may sound like banter, but it's (intended to be) one of the most important lines of the piece.
The theme is dystopia, after all, but I thought I'd do away with the usual doom and gloom and write something more subtle.
oh no, i meant i enjoyed that line then questioned myself for rooting for the killer. i enjoyed your story
Thank you, it means a lot!
Cool, like this piece :). I love the idea of a water soluble 3D print gun, really innovative!
Thanks, I really had fun writing it!