Mime

Then he took a bow.

The two thugs shared a look. 

“Yeah, that’s right,” Pauli said suspiciously.  “Lexi’s swimming with the fishes.”

“Hey, Pauli, while we’re strolling down memory lane, you remember Tanner?”  Mouse glanced around, then nodded upward at a nearby fire escape.  “Might be a good night for remembering Tanner, eh?”

“Yeah, might not be a bad idea.”

The mime held the tail of his scarf aloft and dropped his head, hanging dead, just like Tanner.  The next instant he was smiling casually again, pointing at himself and shaking his head: You don’t want to hang me like that.

“You’re pretty fucking smart for a homeless circus freak,” Mouse growled. 

“Think he’s a cop?”

“Nah.  This ain’t no cop style.  Maybe some wiseass thinks he’s got money coming.  That it?  You keep up the silent treatment if you get paid, is that what you think?”

The mime rolled his eyes at such a ridiculous idea. 

Pauli leaned in close.  “No, wait.  You know who this guy really reminds me of?  Whitey Brown.”  He gave the obligatory chuckle at the name.  “Remember that albino fuck?  Looks a lot like him.”

“Except Brown’s dead.”

“Yeah,” Pauli said, not quite sure. 

The mime nodded in agreement and drew another invisible line across his throat.

The thugs’ eyes met and decided on action. 

Mouse seized their victim, twisted his arms to the rear and kicked the back of one knee.  The mime dropped into a kneeling position.  

Pauli pulled a switchblade.  “Fun’s over, Smiley.  You should know, I fucking hate mimes.”  He popped the knife and let the lamp light play on its edge.  “Hey, Mouse, you know the best thing about killing a mime?  No one hears him scream.” 

Pauli gave a humorless laugh and jerked the red scarf out of the way.  Underneath, a fine bloodless slit gaped in the mime’s throat.  The clown’s eyes burned with new fire and a smile flashed on his face as a straight razor flashed in his hand.

No one heard Pauli or Mouse scream.

* * THE END**

More fiction from J. D. Brink:

A Long Walk Down a Dark Alley

A trio of dark tales told with a sharp noir edge.  They feature wise guys and private eyes, black magic, future tech, and the feminine wiles of inhuman beauties.  It’s sex and violence from that dark corner of your imagination you dare not share with anyone else.

Tarnish

When his village is attacked by creatures from Blood Marsh, Billy Cole volunteers to find help. But it’ll take more than a sword and the inspiring tales of his heroic idols to survive the harsh world beyond Redfield. Taking the name Wil Thunderstrike, he sets off to save his home and begin his own heroic legacy. On Fate’s fickle course, however, Wil may have to become both a hero and a villain...

The Prince of Luster and Decay

Sergeant Jacob Knox leads the Head Knockers, a unit of scout-saboteurs fighting a war against sorcery and tyranny. After an ambush by shape-shifters kills half the squad and their company, Knox and his boys are sent on a final mission. But waiting for them beneath an empty town is the Prince of Luster and Decay—the demonic embodiment of greed—and they’ll need both steel and heart to defeat it.

The Thorne Legacy

Corporal Cranston Thorne is the black sheep of the family and is about to be kicked out of System Guard for his selfish and reckless behavior. His father, Captain Thanos Thorne, would like nothing more than to see that happen, but unfortunately he can’t stay for the court-martial; a remote outpost has gone silent and he must take the fleet out to face a possible attack.  But in the fleet’s absence, it’s the planet that is attacked and it’s up to Corporal Thorne, who’s never cared about anyone but himself, to save planet Giger and restore the family name.

A Writers of the Future Contest finalist.

Puppet Theatre

In MesaCity, there’s one hero you can count on to defend justice. Okay, two: the mysterious Shadow Puppet and that show-off, Mr. Wonderful. After his last tragic encounter with the villainess Kitty Kat, the Shadow Puppet is thought to be dead. And the man behind the mask would almost prefer that, but can’t let the Mr. Wonderfuls of the world get the best of him. Tonight he returns from the grave!