The traveling salesman was alone in the train compartment, still shaken from what he had seen. Why had she done it?

     "May I join you?"

     Not waiting for a reply, the man in black sat down across from the salesman, but did not introduce himself. In fact, he turned his head to look ...

“I give up! It’s all shit!”

“Pardon?”

“I said that out loud, didn’t I?” The burly, bearded man knocks back the last slug of the cheap whiskey, motions at the bartender for another, and swivels on the bar stool, eyes bleary.

“Of what do you speak?” The small man with the fantastic mustaches ...

Looking into my reflective surface, she whispers:

"Mirror, Mirror. Who is fairest of them all?"

I always answer:

"Your majesty, you are fairest of all."

... and then I show her the very best social images of herself, the ones that are curated (by me) for the combination of most views and h...

   "It's not your fault." Court put his naked arm around her naked shoulders, kissed the soft skin on her long, naked neck.

     Really, Windsor thought, watching them through his electronic peephole, not your fault, then who's is it? Not mine, that's for damn sure, looking down at his wife a...

"Sweetie, look, this was just delivered. It's from ...," my wife reads the card while unboxing the birthday present, peeling off red gift wrapping, "... your Aunt Salomé."

"That's nice — wait, Aunt Salomé? But — "

The red gift wrapping blooms into an orange fireball.

The shockwave pushes me, s...

1567
Edinburgh

“I’ll gie ye a skelpit lug!”

His father followed through on his promise, landing a slap on Brod’s ear so hard it made the inside of the young boy’s head ring like a great bell.

Brod began keening, tears running down his soot-smudged cheeks.

“Haud yer wheesht, and stop y...

Gunshots, then a loud crash, then the doors to the casino flew open, a man ran out, gun in hand, three men in pursuit, then more gunshots, the man crumbling into a shivering heap on the wet pavement under the yellow streetlight, rain mixing with dark blood, then the heap stopped shivering, and...

     "Stay down. Face on the floor, hands on the back of your head. You're doing good. Be smart, and nobody dies today."

      Sal makes a fist, pumps it up and down rapidly, military tactical hand signal: Time to go. Hurry up.

     Rhett — carrying two large, black, ballistic-nylon duffle bags st...