© Yinglan Z.
George looked admiringly at the shoes on his wife’s delicate feet. This was the finest shoe store in Hong Kong.
“What do you think?” She turned her ankle, modeling the heels.
“They look lovely. Another wedding gift, Edith?” He smiled at her as only a newlywed can.
“Would you?” She clapped her hands and laughed.
George turned to the salesman. “We’ll take these as well. Can you have our purchases sent to our hotel? A dozen pair would be a little difficult for us to carry.”
The salesman stood and bowed. “Of course, Sir. We would be glad to be of service, but since I am the last person in the store this evening, they won’t arrive until tomorrow.” He internally scoffed at the American tourists. Frivolous fools. They could never suspect he was an intelligence analyst for the Communists. His cover was perfect.
Edith and George gave each other knowing looks. The two American agents were there to kidnap and interrogate their adversary. By dawn, they’d know everything about China’s complement of nuclear weapons.
I wrote this for the 176th FFfAW Photo Challenge hosted by Priceless Joy. The idea is to use the image above as a prompt for crafting a piece of flash fiction between 100 and 175 words long. My word count is 175.
I forgot about the word count and was over 300 words into writing my spy thriller when I remembered, so I had to edit it down quite a bit. Now it feels somewhat forced and hurried, but I hope I got my idea across successfully. Never trust appearances.
To read other stories based on the prompt, visit InLinkz.com.
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oh yes! Good one James.
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Thanks. There’s nothing like being a married pair of spies.
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Excellent cover!
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I thought so, too.
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Enjoyed this read.
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Thanks, yarnspinnerr.
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Reminded me of le Carre’s The Tailor of Panama with the shoe fitter character.
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Not familiar with Le Carre’s work.
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Really? You are in for a treat! Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy is his most famous work but he has written about 20 novels, the best spy fiction I have read.
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Oh, I’ve heard of him, but I don’t read that many spy novels. So many books, so little time.
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You won’t regret it if you give him a try.
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I think this conveyed the idea quite well indeed. But, with a few hundred more words this could have turned into a proper cat and mouse game.
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True enough. Thanks.
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Awesome story, James! I like how the tables turn at the end.
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I wish I could have made it a little longer, but I guess it worked out. Thanks.
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Yes, it worked out well!
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Spy’s I sack them all. Interesting read James
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Thanks, Michael.
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This sounds like it could be developed into a full-fledged story. Loved the tale of spies.
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Thanks, Sonia.
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