General Baron Anton Çela hadn’t personally put a noose around my brother’s neck but that didn’t mean he wasn’t responsible. Çela was provincial governor and ruthlessly carried out The Leader’s policies. So he’d pay with his own life, tomorrow morning if all went well.
There was a knock at the door, three quick taps followed by a pause and then a forceful thud. I opened it.
“I wasn’t able to get actual Semtex but Bashkim assured me that this knock-off is just as effective.”
Bran came in and rambled on for a while, describing its chemical properties as if I had any idea what he was talking about. I let it slide, he’d earned the right to ramble. The man knew explosives the way I knew firearms. We all have our role to play. Finally I’d had enough though.
“But did you get the right amount for the job? And will it fit into the crevice under the arch?”
“Come on Jimmy, I know what I’m doing and so does Bashkim. It’ll work.”
“Okay, okay. I trust you both. Çela follows his routine like clockwork. You could set a timer for 8:27 and be all but certain of success but I don’t want to risk that some grandmother is crossing the bridge at the same time on her way to market. Use a remote control instead and we’ll set it off manually.”
“Sure Jimmy. Let’s drink to his death.”
I opened the bottle and poured the last of my brother’s favorite apricot brandy into two glasses.
Written for this prompt.
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