Flash Fiction
J.A. Waters
505 Words
I fingertip nudge my glasses. “Hey, Greg, check this out.”
He spins in his chair and wheels across the hall. The door squeaks wider as he uses it to boost to my desk. “What’s up?”
“Fifth and Jackson. Monitor four.” I point at the television wall.
His head swivels up and left to find the point of interest. His eyes widen. “The hell? That’s quite the crowd.”
“They’ve been showing up for half an hour. Been a pretty steady stream of people.” I tap my keyboard and take control. “Maybe just a party? ”
The screen flickers with static as I pan and zoom. Amplified-light colors streak as the camera struggles to refocus. Then splotchy red and white become the crisp outline of an expensive car. Its exhaust curls up thick into the cool night air.
Greg leans back and kicks his feet up on the control panel. His black boots narrowly miss a flashing switch.
“Hey, man! Careful. You almost hit the alarm!” I slap his shoulder. “Off!”
He relents with rolling eyes and heels snapping to the floor. “At least let me enjoy the show.”
“Well-” I start, but then I get distracted.
There’s commotion from the crowd milling about on screen. They split and part like a staff-directed sea. Another car, sleek, red, creeps into view. I imagine rumbling from the engine as it pushes through.
“Ooh, sweet! They’re totally gonna play chicken!”
“Not good.” I shake my head and reach for the phone. “We should probably call the cops.”
“What harm’s it gonna do? Let them have their fun.”
My eyes shift to meet his. “We’re traffic controllers. Not traffic watchers. And someone could get hurt.”
“Yeah?” He winks. “Means we could totally sell the vid.”
“You’re terrible,” I mutter, but my hand slips from the receiver’s handle.
“I know, but what’s it matter? These are rich punks doing stupid things. They wouldn’t get in trouble if someone caught them anyway.” He leans forward and puts his hand on my knee. “How much did we make off that potato gun incident?”
The screen fills with the fog of showoffs spinning tires. Both drivers are busy making donuts of a rubber variety.
I push his hand off my knee. “That guy was out on highway twenty. This is different. There are houses on Jackson Street. What if they wake someone up?”
“Then it’s even better! How cool would it be if some grandpa storms out in his bathrobe?”
My head sweeps from Greg, to the screen, and then to the phone. “They could hurt someone in that crowd too.” The cars have stopped spinning. Now they’re lining up.
“Hey! Come on…”
I pick up and listen to the dial tone. A laminated sheet of numbers hangs on the wall. The black and white list goes blurry as my glasses are yanked away. “Greg!”
He jumps up with a barking laugh and his chair shimmy-wobbles.
I resist the urge to give chase and dial a nine and two ones.