Iâd like to thank everyone who read, voted on and sent feedback about my last story, Just Friends. Unlike that one, this is a work of pure fiction. I hope itâs up to standard. All comments welcome, and please vote on it at the end.
Life had been kind to Councillor Simon Jones. He had graduated college, when not many had been able to afford to go. His degree in business gave him a brief stint as a teacher before he was offered a managers job in a local manufacturing firm. He took it, and as the business expanded, so did his wage packet. He had been head-hunted by a number of large, national chains, who had become disconcerted at the local dominance and imminent expansion of Tecton Sheet Metal Inc. But, in spite of large figures being quoted, he was never tempted to leave. His life was taking shape in this small town of his.
From an early age, he had been the sporting type, playing basketball, soccer and rugby, even earning a representative cap for the county soccer team. This led, in turn, to a very active social life. He had met Karen in college, and on graduation, they had married. At the age of twenty-two, he became a father, Karen giving birth to their only child, Fiona. At 35, he finally hung up his boots on a sporting career that always provided much entertainment, not to mention occupied a large chunk of his time. For a number of months, he found it difficult to fill the void that his sporting endeavours had left. His position in the community had not gone unnoticed, and he was approached to stand in the local elections by a number of parties, but eventually agreed to run for a conservative, right wing party. He earned enough votes, just. Scraping home on the fifth count, he took the fourth of five seats in the district. He was now highly respected, had taken his first step on the political ladder, and felt that, with hard work, party backing, and maybe a little luck, election to parliament next time around was not beyond him.
The party agreed. In a few years, his name was put forward for the general election, and opinion polls suggested that he would probably be stuck in a dog-fight with socialist and nationalist candidates for the third of three seats in the constituency. He held a slight advantage over his opponents, but it was a numbers game, delicately balanced, and a couple of votes either way could swing the result. One blunder and the whole campaign would go down the tubes.
He had been on the road for over three weeks. He got home, exhausted and fixed himself a cup of tea. Karen was at a work conference in France, and had been for a number of days. Fiona had been on the road with him, she was done with school, finally. College would be next for her, but she wanted to take a year out and travel the world, work her way across Europe, scuttle through the Middle East, India, China, Hong Kong, and Japan before touring Australia and New Zealand. Sheâd spend a few months then seeing the States. The great road trip from Los Angeles to New York. Then fly to Ireland, hitch-hike from the south-west to Belfast in the North, and catch a ferry back home to Scotland. That was the intention. He thought to himself âthe best laid plansâŚâ He finished his tea, and went to bed. One week till voters go to the polls, a long week it would be.
All in all, the house had been empty for about a week. This had not gone unnoticed by the local petit thieves. Crime was not really an issue in the town of Wellston. It was the kind of place that everybody knew everybody, but there was still the occasional break-in or stolen car. Most jobs were done in the big cities, Glasgow, Edinburgh, after which, these places were ideal to lie low for a while after a job. But Cllr. Jonesâ place was worth the risk. He was rich, he was successful, and more importantly, right now, he was gone. Or so wee Martin McLeish thought when he scurried over the back wall at 3:47 a.m. that Tuesday morning. He was physically not that tall, 5â8â, nor was he that muscular. In fact, he was very slight. His big advantage was that his father had been a locksmith, and had taught him enough that Martin could pick just about any lock in a matter of seconds. He was also smart, and should probably have chosen a less unsociable profession. Right now, though, empty house equals big hit. He still brought his knife, not a huge thing or anything, but big enough to show that he meant business, just in case some slightly more robust thieves had taken on the job ahead of him. Guns for show, knives for a pro. Either way, he was in now, and the place seemed to be deserted. He leafed through a few magazines, strolled through the living room. âNice TVâ he thought, âpity Billy wasnât here with the van. We could have done a proper job on the place, cleared it out.â But he would take what he could, a few antiques, the Discman lying on the table. Nothing that would slow him down in the unlikely event of a hasty get-away.
He started filling his rucksack, silver cutlery, cds, and expensive looking vases. And just for the fuck of it, the remote off the TV, he hated it when his went missing. He opened a cupboard, bingo! He had found a video camera, among other things. In to the bag it went, this could be a very profitable evening after all. In raiding the cupboard, he knocked over a picture. âNothing major,â he thought, âthereâs nobody here.â
Upstairs, Simon awoke. He thought he heard a thud, like something being knocked over. He lay still for a few minutes, straining his ears towards his bedroom door and the rooms beyond. There, footsteps! The wooden floors gave everything away. There was someone definitely downstairs. âMaybe it was just Fiona, fixing herself a drink,â he thought. âBut why would she be in the living room, then? Iâd best go down and make sure.â He grabbed his robe and pulled it on, cautiously making his way through the landing, and tip-toeing down the stairs. His slippers made little noise on the wooden floors on the lower floor of the house. He peered through the doorway, discovering an unfamiliar backside sticking from his drinks cabinet.
âAhem,â Simon coughed loudly. Martin raised his head just in time to see a right fist come flying in his direction. He ducked, saving his nose from imminent redesigning, as Simonâs hand shattered the cabinetâs glass panel. He knew he was in trouble. The hand looked at least twice as big as his, and you could guarantee that its owner would not be a pygmy. Martin dived across the room, feeling his attacker leap full length and grab him by his leg. They wrestled and rolled, Simon trying to employ his rugby skills in an effort to over-power the intruder, Martin looking for anything that would give him the slightest advantage. Lampshades were knocked, vases broken and glasses smashed. They crashed into the bookcase, knocking the radio from its perch. It fell, catching Simon squarely on the small of his back. In an involuntary reaction, he released the young thief from his grasp and his hands went to his lower spine. Martin, realising his freedom, scrambled to the far side of the room and grabbed at his blade, holding it at arms length, pointing it in Simonâs direction.
âStay back, manâ he ordered, in his Scottish accent. âI donât have a problem using it.â
âWhat is it you want?â Simon asked, unable to think of anything better to say. It was blatantly obvious what he wanted. Some quick cash and an easy get-away. At least the second point wasnât on the cards now.
The noise of the fight had woken Fiona in the room above, and she had made her way down to the doorway of the living room.