The Mission

'Once the assignment is complete, you will be escorted to the airport, where you will board a jet that will fly you to an as-yet undisclosed location.' Barry, my handler, is serious. Softly-spoken, measured. I am terrified. This is my first real mission and it involves a large serving of femme fatale. Honestly, I don't…

In the Taxi

After a series of health concerns, Bob decided it was time to see a doctor. Oh, he loathed visiting the GP. The clinic smelled of antiseptic and old people and pee. The doctor was usually patronising or arrogant. The waiting room stifling; the heater turned up too high in an attempt to quell the distasteful…

Self-Improvement

Despite the gnawing doubts in the back of his mind, Nick knows this is the only way. Sure, if all goes sideways, there could serious ramifications. Disfigurement for example. Missy sits in the passenger seat, staring out the window as Nick drives on. He's pretty certain she's weeping silently. She disagrees with his decision, of…

The Fire

'Here! This way,' Mike yells. We're in our home, flames tearing up the walls. I'm not sure how we'll survive this; it's raging out of control. The sound is deafening; I can't believe the noise a fire generates. I'm coughing, my lungs full, constricted. Weak. Dazed. A wall of heat and smoke separates me and…

Goodbye

'OK, then. That's me,' Henry says to his mother. The woman from the airline company's ground crew has announced boarding for his flight. Jane visibly frets and fidgets. Henry is her only son, and at nineteen, she knows he's old enough to galavant across Europe for the northern hemisphere's summer, but in her mind's eye,…