Flash Fiction Friday, Week 9 - Picture Perfect

The prompt this week was words. We were given a list of 16 words, and we were to include 8 of them in our story. I used the site to get my words randomly, and what a list! The 8 words I got were: confess, desk, second, popcorn, ready, noisy, fool, and railway. It was a real challenge to come up with a story that included them all, but it finally came together. I hope you enjoy.

I'm back this morning doing a quick edit - highlighting the 8 words. Forgot to do that the first time through!

Picture Perfect

“Come on in, Sal. I’m almost done with this call. You’ll never believe who I’m…Yes, I can be there at 2. Suite number? Okay. My name is Jimbo. Listen, one of my clients just came into my office, so I need to go, but I’ll be there at 2. Thanks for your time.”

“One of your clients? Since when? As if I would even touch that smut you publish with a stick.”

“You’re a great friend, Sal, always so supportive.”

“Whatever. You ready to eat? They’ve got great burgers at that new place on Filmore. Wait a second. Dare we walk the streets or do we need to have lunch delivered? I heard about what went down with Jo Jo. You owe him more than I make in a year, and he’s got to be out gunning for you.”

“You would think. Well, you’re not going to believe this, but I convinced Jo Jo to give me until Friday noon.”

“Why would he give you extra time? He’s not exactly known for his patience.”

“I guaranteed I would pay him what I borrowed, the obscene interest he always charges, plus a big bonus. It took some convincing, but you know Jo Jo. He loves cold hard cash even more than breaking legs.”

“A bonus? You can’t even afford bus fare. How are you going to come up with that much cash?”

“From a Congressman.”

“Oh. Okay. That makes sense. What is wrong with you? Why would some politician give you a dime?”

“You know I deal in pictures, Sal. I Confess is a mag full of pictures of folks doing the naughty. Well, I’ve got pictures of Congressman Miller doing the super naughty in the projection room with the popcorn girl at Ace’s Cineplex. Check them out. They’re here on my desk.”

“Wow! That’s Congressman Miller, for sure. What is he going to do to her with that… How in the world did you…”

“Long story, not important. Point is, I’ve got them, and as soon as he sees them, he’ll be ready to pay. Let’s go eat. I’m meeting Miller at 2.”

*

“No, Congressman. I’m not going to wait three weeks until you get back into town. You’re leaving Friday morning, and I will be at the railway station to see you off. I’ll hand you a briefcase with the pictures inside, and you’ll hand me a briefcase full of our agreed upon number of hundred-dollar bills. This is not negotiable. It has to be done this way because the station is crowded and noisy, and nobody will be able to pull any funny business. Are we clear?”

“We are clear, Mr…uh, Jimbo. I take it that the negatives will also be in the briefcase?”

“Maybe. I haven’t decided yet. You never can tell when I might need some quick cash in the future, Congressman. Negatives or no negatives? Let’s just say that when you open the briefcase, you’ll be surprised. See you Friday morning.”

*

“Thanks for breakfast, Sal. I’ve got to head to the station soon. I can’t wait to get my hands on all that green. Did I tell you I asked for triple what I need? That way, I’ll have plenty left over. I’m thinking of taking a trip with that girl I’ve been doing in the storeroom at Donny’s Market. You know which one, that little blond. You should have seen me with Miller. As soon as he saw the picture, he turned red as a beet. I’ll bet his blood pressure went sky-high. He had the nerve to ask me if the negatives would be included, and I told him I’d think about that. I told him to consider it a surprise that was waiting for him inside the briefcase. Ha!”

“Jimbo, I don’t know about all this. Miller’s no fool. He’s not just going to hand over thousands of dollars to you with no guarantee you won’t come back on him for more. It says in the paper that he’s thinking of running for the Senate. You think he wants some smut peddler like you out there waiting to empty his bank account? Maybe you should rethink this whole affair.”

“Sal, what choice do I have? If I don’t pay off Jo Jo in full by noon today, there will be pieces of me floating in the river by 12:30. I can get by on what I make from my magazine, but that’s small potatoes compared with what I owe him. Okay, so I never should have gone to him in the first place, but the race was a sure-thing. If that horse would have won, I’d be laying on a beach in Rio right now. But the horse collapsed and died halfway around the track, and I can’t find the clown that gave me the tip. Hopefully, pieces of him are floating in the river as we speak. Hey, time for me to go. By the way, Sal, I did put the negatives in. I don’t want Miller coming after me either. I’ll call you when it’s over.”

“Watch yourself, Jimbo. Call me.”

*

“I’ve got it, Sal. No, I’m back in my office. I’m going to take out my share and put it in my safe, and then head over to Jo Jo’s with his share. I’ve never seen this much money before up close, you know? I’m opening the briefcase now. This is so…what the…”

“What’s wrong, Jimbo?”

“There’s no money in here. There’s just an envelope. I’m opening it. There’s a picture in there of me and the cashier doing the naughty at Donny’s, along with a note. What the…”

“What does the note say?”

“It says Cute girl, Jimbo. Very photogenic. Enjoy the photo. I know her father will enjoy the copy I sent him. She’s his pride and joy. They have different last names because he doesn’t want her associated with his business. I believe you know him by his street name: Jo Jo. Surprise.”