“…for the Fall of Charleston is the fall of Satan’s Kingdom.”– Asst. Navy Secretary Gustavus Fox to Admiral Samuel F. DuPont, June 3, 1862 SOLITARY UNIVERSE I:THE SUI GENERIS July 5th, 1876 Arizona Territory Old age has made me idle. I’d much rather spend my twilight reading and painting. Books by Dickens. Marx. Voltaire. Painting […]
The AARP bumper sticker told Bobby all he needed to know, that and the goofy “proud grandparents” yard sign. Old folks, easy pickings. Ready to believe anything if you’re clean looking and can show some credentials. He fingered his city employee ID badge, fresh from the printer, now laminated and clipped to his breast pocket, […]
They shuffle in their shiny shoes, gazing at the sidewalk. Standing apart, as if to hide from each other. “The password,” I say. The boy mumbles something. I tell him to speak louder. “Red dragon,” he says. I open the door all the way and they dive past me, seeking out the refuge of shadow. […]
The drugs, the drugs are what I did. But when I find myself at three in the morning standing outside a gas station, contemplating suicide, homicide, and armed robbery, now that’s the kicker. That’s the byproduct of being so close to the streets for so long. You know it’s getting close to the end, when […]
Elmer is covered in cocaine, one hand covering his eye, the other on the wheel. Trying to force the pedal through the floor. Doing reasonably well at keeping his old Chevy from doing it’s best impression of a pinball. Needs to get to the radio station. Where Raleene will almost certainly put a knife under […]
Isabelle told the man with the porkpie hat that she had only stopped off at the bar for a couple of drinks to drown her sorrows and that it really wasn’t the sort of establishment that she usually frequented. ‘My father’s funeral, you know?’ she croaked, eyes down, as if she were playing bingo. Since […]
The tiny austere interrogation room was congested, its air rife with tension. It mimicked in this way the stricken city outdoors, burning in its sixth straight week of a record-breaking heat wave, in its season of great disquiet. “We don’t have all day, Daniel,” said the grizzled detective in a calculatedly even tone, the refined […]
“The money or your life,” he said. It was a foolproof sales pitch—especially with an M1911 in his hand. The liquor store owner eyed the gun with the patience of a saint. There was a name tag on the collar of his navy cardigan—‘Frank’, it said. Frank raised his hands half-hearted and cocked his head […]
The heist had gone off easier than I thought and Craig had a gym bag full of money in the back seat, so I was shocked when the bastard pulled his Sig Sauer and cocked the hammer, aiming it at my head. “Keep driving, you son of a bitch,” he said. There was enough money […]
My buddy—let’s call him Juan, loves to drive. I mean he’s a real speed demon; buys these fast ass cars like you and me buy new shoes. He’s loaded up from screwing people over with phony investment deals: Glengarry Glen Ross-type shit. So he comes around with a new Porsche Carrera GT red as the […]
The editors of The Big Adios would like to thank everyone for a successful submission cycle. Our first cycle concluded yesterday, April 14th. A lot of good stories that should fill our first two issues. We do apologize for delays in responding to submissions, but we don’t want to make any quick decisions and we […]
I don’t like being the middleman, but if there are favours owed and money on the table, I’ll make the appropriate introductions, arrange a meeting between talent and client, make sure everybody is playing nice. Then I get the hell out of the way and let the deal happen or not. Robbie needed a job […]
