“In national news today, federal officials investigating last week’s suicide Dr. Gerald Dean, prominent genetic researcher, say they may have a link between millions of embezzled grant dollars and Dean’s gambling addiction…”

“Comair flight 449 for the Bahamas now boarding at Gate C.”  The announcement rang throughout the terminal. A man with a clean shaven head and a full beard lingered at the television a little longer, while other travelers grabbed their carry ons and started for Gate C. The bald man was starting to feel confident and almost euphoric. It looked like his plan was working. His picture had been in the news a lot in the past week, but now he had shaved his head, applied a fake beard, and added some girth by ingeniously taping the money to his body. All the while, no one seemed to give him a second look.

He then picked up his shoulder tote and moved towards the gate himself. Feeling lifted by the success of his grand scheme, he began to whistle.

“Gerald Dean?” The question made him instinctively look to where it had come from and stopped him in his tracks. When he turned to see who had said his name his high mood plummeted. Two men, who looked to be identical twins, in dark suits stood not six feet from him, one showing him an open bi-fold that identified him as F.B.I., and the other stepping forward asking the bald man to come with them.

As the three men walked towards the airport security office, Doctor Dean couldn’t help asking, “What tipped you guys off?”

One of the twins answered, “ Outside of an anonymous tip, it was dental records. You see, Dr. Dean, your clone had perfect teeth, while you on the other hand, have fillings.”

Standing just outside the departure gate cue area, a man wearing a pony-tailed blonde wig, watched as the two bookends escorted the bald man away. He began to smile as he watched his plan unfold. Gerald Dean knew that the arrest of the bald man would buy him enough time to land in Persia, where the promise of unlimited funding, uninhibited research, and more wealth than he could imagine awaited him.



© 2010, Alex Crabtree. All rights reserved.

Years ago I started writing Flash Fiction for just the sheer enjoyment of writing, and now it has turned into a full blown addiction. I can't quit the horse, man! Another dirty little secret about me is my ability to write all kinds of web content. SEO content, articles, blog posts, manifests; you name it, I'll write it. Looking for some help? My gun hangs at r.alex.crabtree@gmail.com

Alex Crabtree

View all posts by Alex Crabtree
Alexs website

Tags: alex, creative writing, Fiction, flash

This entry was posted on June 1, 2010 at 12:00 pm and is filed under Alex, Authors Corner. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.