She glanced at her watch again, then out the window at the black sky. From the street below they could hear the crowd counting down.
The man tried to shout through the tape over his mouth, jerking his body on the chair he was tied to.
3…2…1… Midnight struck. The first firework soared into the sky from the castle overlooking the city. As the first bang filled the air, she shot him. The noise from the gun was lost amidst the fireworks.
She sat at the window and watched the rest of the display. One less bomb-maker in the world. Not a bad way to start the new year.
Written as part of the Friday Fictioneers challenge hosted by Rochelle Wisoff-Fields (more details HERE). The idea is to write a short story of 100 words based on the photo prompt (above, thanks to Vijaya for the photo).
For more stories, visit the INLINKZ GROUP
Iain Kelly 
66 responses to “HAPPY NEW YEAR”
It looks as though a violent theme will run through this week’s submissions. Great take on the prompt, mixing celebration with rough justice.
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Yes, I noticed that Sandra. What does it say about us all that we see a photo of a firework and all see war and death!?! Thanks for reading and commenting.
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I think everyone wanted to avoid the obvious, a feel good story.
I like your story perfect movie scene.
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Thanks, I can see it as part of a spy thriller!
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My thoughts exactly.
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Chilling. Perhaps she’ll develop a taste for vigilante justice
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Grimly glorious, Iain. Often thought how perfect nights such as New Years Eve and the UK’s Bonfire Night would be for prospective gun weilders – who would realise anything had happened until way after the shooter had escaped? Great tale
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That was a twist. From victim to terrorist. Great story Iain.
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Many thanks.
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Dear Iain,
I felt sorry for him until the last line. Good for her. Well done.
Shalom,
Rochelle
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One man’s terrorist, m’lady, you know the rest…
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A grim and unexpected twist right off the bat. Well done!
Oh, and my name is spelled Vijaya, not Vijayay! 🙂
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Apologies Vijaya. Thanks for reading and the prompt.
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Way tae go Iain. That last line was amazing. Nothing like a spot of rough justice.
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Thanks Shehanne, she’s definitely a character I could write more about.
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You have my attention Iain……
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My minds ticking over on a much longer story for her, maybe novel-size – so you might have to wait a while…!
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That’s ok. These things don’t write in a day. But I think you have someone there you sure could write about . You have an excellent scenario too for starters.
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Great take on the prompt.
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Thanks Clare.
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VERY well executed! (Pardon the pun… 😀 )
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Haha, very good punning! Thanks for reading.
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Great misdirection and twist here. Well done. And you’re right, explosions seem to give writers violent thoughts. 😀
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Powerful with a brilliant twist 🙂
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Thanks Morgan
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Justice has been served. Interesting story.
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Thanks Graham.
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Whoa! Great twist on the fireworks! Love that you tied with a bomb-maker being killed. It just seems so fitting in a poetically justified kinda way. Nice job Iain 🙂
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Thanks Jade. Enjoyed writing this one.
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One less bomb maker is a good start into the new year. I enjoyed this post.
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Many thanks, glad you enjoyed!
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But he might have been making bombs to kill the bad guys? 🙂 who ever they might be.🙂
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Very true Michael, we don’t know his story at all!
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As much as I hate terrorist, I always prefer a courtroom justice… but I really liked how you turned the tables…
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Great story! Really.
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Maybe not an actual terrorist. Maybe a CEO from a major corporation supplying WMD’s to the world. An arbiter of war. An anti-peace purveyor.
Nice work.
Randy
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Very true. Thanks for reading.
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She’s a very cool customer, I’m guessing this isn’t her first execution. Great story, loved the atmosphere you portrayed both inside and outside the room.
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Timing is everything. I hope she didn’t have to wait for weeks for the fireworks display. 🙂
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Who knows how long she had kept him there….!
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Ha-HA! Yes! You nailed it! Very clever and well-crafted.
Five out of five Roman Candles.
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I like what you did with this prompt. Nicely done!
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Many thanks Caerlynn
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Great take and brilliant twist. I think there was an Agatha Christie where the killer used fireworks to disguise gunfire, ideal really. I presume the coroner will be able to be dead accurate about time of death.
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Ahhh a great disguise for the sound. A good purpose. Well told
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Thanks Laurie.
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Love the story.
And I find it interesting that every comment above assumes the victim is the bad guy.
So you got folk thinking, well done.
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Yes, interesting that without any back story most people accept her view that he was definitely a bad man or some kind of terrorist. Might be a good one to develop the story more in the future.
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And just like that…BOOM! 😉
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Absolutely fabulous!!!
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This seems like something that would happen in Vegas. When I used to live there, we as the locals always made jokes about not wanting to go out because something always crazy happens in Vegas. One time, there was this whole, real life Mission Impossible scene, in which two guys (pimps) shot at eachother, flipped over their cars, ran over people, blew up taxi’s while at war with one another. 😐
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Ha, that would make a great story. Definitely could see this happening in Vegas. Thanks for reading.
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Great action and pace. I love that your MC is female. Go get him, girl! 😉
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She’s an intriguing character. Your story makes me wonder who she is and how she got into that situation. She’s obviously not a novice executioner. Much food for thought – or a longer story.
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Thanks Margaret, since writing I have been thinking there is a longer story in here… we’ll see!
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Interesting. Nice job building tension. I’m not used to imagining a character who’s a vigilante going after bomb-makers–I like trying to imagine her backstory–and his.
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How calmly she accepts the execution. It makes me wonder what she’s been through. Good writing, Iain. —- Suzanne
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There’s definitely an interesting back story to be written. Many thanks.
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Hi there would you mind stating which blog platform you’re using?
I’m planning to start my own blog in the near future but I’m having a difficult time choosing between BlogEngine/Wordpress/B2evolution and Drupal.
The reason I ask is because your design and style seems different then most blogs and I’m looking for something
completely unique. P.S My apologies for getting off-topic but I
had to ask!
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Hi Jack, I use wordpress and the design is one of the free ones available to use. If it helps you, I have no complaints about wordpress, really enjoy using it. Good luck, Iain
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Reblogged this on Iain Kelly and commented:
Originally written and posted in August, it seemed a good idea to reblog it now that it’s more appropriate for the time of year. Happy New Year everyone and all the best for 2017.
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[…] Although this stands alone as a piece of intrigue, in my mind it is a sort of sequel to a previous Friday Fictioneers story which you can find here: HAPPY NEW YEAR. […]
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The last two lines changed the story. well done Iain K.
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[…] Assassin: At the start of the first book, the character of Gabriella Marino is introduced. At this moment she is an assassin for hire. The character of a female assassin, and the opening image of the novel, were actually originally in a short 100-word story I wrote for a prompt on my blog. At the time I had no thought of fleshing this character out and expanding on her, but unbeknown to me, with that story the seeds of the entire trilogy began. You can read the original short story on my blog HERE […]
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Wow! this is impactful.
The assassin lingers on.
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She certainly did in my mind. Thank you
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