Two Eggs, Over Easy by Scott MacLeod
Helix had a clean kill on the big Bulgarian. He thought that was the end of it. Then biology took over. Family ties. The Bulgarian clan did not take it well.
Helix knew the drill. The stash house was perfectly habitable. This time of the year in St. Paul it was better to be inside anyway. He would work on his core and catch up on old movies. No Netflix in the safe house but they had a bunch of old DVDs. Gemini Man. Dead Ringer. The Parent Trap.
A week later he surfaced briefly for an update from his handler. They met at Chuckie Cheese. Suspicious to the overprotective moms but invisible to anyone who might matter. Helix half thought he would rather get caught if it meant going somewhere with better pizza.
The handler had some news.
“The Bulgarian had a sibling, a twin. Names are all unpronounceable. Apparently goes by Sonny. Will be gunning for you.”
“Should be easy to spot,” said Helix. “That kind of ugly stands out. We’re sure that’s who they’re sending over?”
“Yup.”
Helix stayed under for another week. When he surfaced, he insisted they meet at Shake Shack. He couldn’t hide forever. He really wanted to go to a ballgame, maybe a twin-bill, but the Twinkies were on the road.
“The eagle has landed,” said his handler as they unwrapped their burgers. “Be on the lookout.”
“What, I can’t spot a giant Slavic bear coming at me? Don’t worry about me. Your work here is done.”
On his walk from the meet-up, Helix noticed coming his way a statuesque blonde woman in thigh high boots and a clingy sweater dress that stopped just below the speed limit.
He was congratulating himself on his evolved decision to keep walking past her when he felt the blast from the Glock she pulled from behind her back.
Suddenly he was staring up at the sky, and it was darkening quickly.
“Should have paid more attention in biology class, dumbass,” she snarled. “Not all twins are identical. I’m Sunny. With a ‘u’. Nice to meet you.”
Scott MacLeod is a father of two who writes in Central Florida. His work has appeared in Punk Noir, Every Day Fiction, Bristol Noir, Coffin Bell, Frontier Tales, The Yard: Crime Blog, Short-story.me and Gumshoe Review, with more forthcoming. He can be found at http://www.facebook.com/scott.Macleod.334
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Fun, well-written story. My favorite line: “…he would rather get caught if it meant going somewhere with better pizza.”