Dressed To Kill
04.16.10
“Here’s the equipment for tonight, babe.” He placed a box at her feet. Her eyes were immediately drawn to the large gun nestled among the clothing and other items in the box, all of them black or near enough.
“Is that an AK-47?” She raised her eyebrows at him and her brow furrowed.
“Sure is, babe.” He grinned at her, but his usual charm did nothing to allay the worry in her look.
“But I haven’t ever…”
“It’s dead easy, babe. Here, I’ll show you”, he said, picking up the gun and slotting in an empty magazine. “All you need to do now is cock it like this, make sure the safety is off and pull the trigger.” He handed her the weapon; she took it, looking less worried, but he could see a little doubt still lingering in her eyes. He took hold of her by the shoulders and lowered his head so that his face was level with hers.
“It’s big money tonight, babe. You’re not going to flake out on me, are you?”
She took a deep breath and stood up straight. Lifting her chin, she looked straight into his eyes.
“I’m fine”, she said, a new determination in her voice. He smiled at her, his gaze still locked with hers.
“That’s my girl.” She returned his smile, hating herself for the butterflies that always danced in her belly when he looked at her like that. She took a step back, away from him.
“Now leave me be, I need to get the rest of this gear on and I need some peace and quiet to collect my thoughts.”
“Sure, babe. Ten minutes, right?” She nodded and he walked out of the room.
She turned to look at herself in the full length mirror, the crack in it only just grazing the top of her head. The light from the naked bulb overhead was not flattering, but for once it was not this that she noticed. Instead she smiled at the incongruity of her reflection — the tatty bathrobe she wore and the great big gun slung over her shoulder made strange bedfellows. She put the gun down, then removed the robe and threw it to the far corner of the room. Naked, she walked up to the box he had brought and rummaged around until she found the black combat trousers. Talk about going commando, she thought while putting them on, and had to stifle a giggle. If he heard her, he’d be back in the room like a shot and that was the last thing she needed.
The next item she picked out of the box was a knife holster, its weapon inside it. She fastened it around her thigh, then pulled on the black t-shirt provided; finally she put on the vest and packed its pockets with fully loaded magazines for the AK-47. She sat down on a rickety chair to lace up her boots, staring at the gun as she did so, as if expecting it to move on its own. She walked up to it and picked it up, getting a feel for its weight. She peered at it from all sides, unloaded the empty magazine, then loaded it with a full one as he had shown her. He had been right – it was dead easy. She turned to face the mirror and watched herself as she handled the gun, tried out a few poses. I look pretty damn cool, she thought, what a waste of a good outfit.
Laying the gun aside, she practiced a few moves of unholstering the knife, then stood and held it in front of her eyes. The dull metal of the blade gave her a softer reflection than the big mirror, and she watched herself get smaller and more distorted in it as she lowered it from her face. She gently wrapped her free hand around the blade and ran her thumb along its sharp edge. It had been well sharpened — she hadn’t noticed that she’d cut herself until a small drop of blood trickled out of her thumb. She suckled on it for a few moments to stop the blood, then sheathed the knife and stood looking at herself in the mirror.
A sharp rap on the door brought her out of her reverie and she took a deep breath. It was time to go. She picked up the gun again and stopped to take one last look at herself in full killing machine regalia. She sighed. In a few minutes she would be taking it all off again, slowly, for an audience wielding fat cigars and fatter wallets.
“Hey, babe”, she whispered to the AK-47. “I think we’d both be happier if these were live rounds.”
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Tags: AK-47, Flash Fiction, fridayflash, knife holster, Writing
What, no virgins today? 🙂
Nice bit of misdirection here, from heist to stripper. I hope they’re blanks…
Dynamic, ballistic fiction. This one has a kick, Mazzz. She may only have blanks but she’s still got a very sharp knife and I’ll bet she knows how to use it…
Simon.
Oh Maria, you got me good! I just knew she was going to kill him. What a great twisted ending – superb job!
Wow, you got me with this. Great switch at the end.
Brilliant deviation from where I thought it was headed!
After reading it, I laughed at her commando line earlier in story.
Just wonderful, Maria.
A stripper with a real blade? That’s an episode of ER just waiting to happen!
I almost wish for her sake that they WERE real bullets – but I think she can probably look after herself quite well enough without!! Excellent story :–)
Good twist at the end. Nice job!
Haha! Poor girl. That’s one of the funniest twists I’ve read in quite some time.
Crackles with that rat-tat-tat of coolness. This babe is the real deal, mazz.
Very actiongirls.com! (NSFW!!!)
Funny twist! I was thinking in all different directions.
Ah yes, the AK47, when you absolutely, positively want to shoot holes in the ceiling.
Funny, I thought she might be a strippergram. Didn’t spoil it for me though. It’s a great idea, with all that phallic imagery of guns and knives and camo is in this season isn’t it?
marc nash
Terrific stuff! The twist was so much better than I imagined. Nice sleight of hand throughout and a great voice.
Take care,
Jess
Excellent bit of misdirection. Live rounds would certainly give this one another twist.:)
Very nice switch at the end, I was expecting a bad ending to a bank heist, not a stripper. Very well done .
Great misdirection, you totally got me.
PERFECT. I was waiting for the zombies or aliens or creatures to come. . . you got me. And the story was AWESOME.
Jim
Nice twist at the end! Somehow, these two professions seem to lend themselves to what you pulled off here.
Ooh, clever twist. I knew there was something creepy about that guy.
HA! This was great! I was waiting to see who she was ready to assassinate! What a job! Well done.
Ah, great twist! It might not be bank robbery money, but I’m guessing in that getup she’s going to make some pretty good cash tonight. Well told!
I loved the twist at the end. I was already for it to end in a rain of bullets.
Got me with that ending. I thought she was going to blow him away. I love getting fooled like that! Good story.
I bet there will be big money. Guys seem to like a girl who’s packing.
Nicely done. I wasn’t expecting a stripper, either. Well played.
you got me! Fun read again.
Great read!
Great read. I loved it!
Going commando and a waste of an outfit had me guessing, but I guessed wrong! Excellent twisty flash 🙂
Hey, you could put someone’s eye out with that thing!
I really loved the descriptions on this one. Great work.
(And I always like stories with strippers in them- I practically put a few through college back during my bachelor days!)
I like her closing line. Nice way that you set up the twist.
The misdirection is nice and the hints carry it. Her hesitation, the commando comment, and more interest in looks than killing point to the fulfilling end.
Adds new meaning to the old phrase, “Knock ’em dead, kid.” Did not see that coming. Hope they are really blanks or it’s going to be one bloody show. 😮
~jon
I think you should know that Born to be Wild became stuck in my head after reading this. But it was great. There is a muscularity to it which contrasts with the femininity perfectly. Also, what Marc said. 😉
Awesome setup – looking at the gun as if it would move on its own, the phrase “dead easy”. Then the way the last sentence recasts everything into a completely different light – a sad one. From the power of an assassin to a stripper being told how to perform.
Superb writing, one of your best, I think.
I didn’t see that coming!
Well-written flash. 🙂
Oh, I like this! Excellent twist and great movement throughout. This was quite the fun read!
Nice! I was in the group who thought she’d kill him. You totally got me on this one, lol!
Applause! Applause!
WELL DONE!
I just loved this story! Go Mazzz!
I just came from Marisa’s story. Is it fetish week?
Nice misdirection at the beginning. 🙂
CD
Wow! You are the master of surprise endings – loved it! Excellent writing all the way through – never a wasted word in your stories.
“What a waste of a good outfit” had me confused as it went by. What *was* she going to do? And to whom?
The end was perfect, left me smiling.
I loved the pacing of this. The slow build and then the reveal, not unlike…well, um, y’know… 😮
Very well done.
Excellent twist at the end… I was waiting for it and waiting for it, and still didn’t see it coming.
I love it – I was looking for the twist also. I thought on the way to the heist she would off the guy 😉