Flash Fiction Challenge: Moscow, Idaho

“Been a hard winter,” Preacher Ned was saying. “Likely to be a late spring. But I digress.”

The diner was empty save for a waitress cleaning up down front and a cook in the kitchen. The opening bars of Come Go With Me drifted from the jukebox.

Ned pushed the salt and pepper shakers toward Joey. “You’ve got two men,” he said. “For the sake of argument, let’s call one ‘A,’ the other ‘B.’”

Joey snorted, bored with the weak analogies, bored with the company. He took a long drag on his cigarette and looked out the window at the bleak Idaho landscape. It was snowing again in Moscow. No surprise.

He looked at Ned. “Got a lot of Reds here?”

It was a joke, of course, but Preacher looked offended. “Only God-fearing people here. Good Christian people.”

“Except for Mr. Pepper.”

Ned tapped the pepper shaker. “A cancer that needs to be excised. A cancer that cannot be allowed to spread.”

Ned passed him his fee in a paper bag under the table. Joey did a quick inspection.

“You’re short.” A note of warning crept into his voice.

“In lieu of the, ah, down payment, I thought you’d appreciate this,” said Ned, quickly handing him a set of keys.

Preacher gestured with his pinky at a ‘58 T-bird in the parking lot. Light blue. Brand new.

“Don’t worry, you’ll get the rest. I have need of, shall we say, ‘an avenging angel?’”

“God’s will be done,” Joey said dryly.

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The rules for this week's Flash Fiction Challenge #4 from Grimace at Diminished Fifth were:

1. Maximum length: 250 words.
2. The setting is: Moscow, USSR
3. The year is: 1958.
4. Within the story, you must use this text: for the sake.

If you prefer, you can set it in Moscow, Idaho. In fact, that might ultimately prove much cooler.