Changing the Guard, Flash Fiction (c) Jane Risdon 2013

 Canadian Voice-Over Actor Elijah Lucien

recently recorded my 191 word Flash Fiction story

Changing The Guard

which I managed to listen to on YouTube recently.

It was such a thrill hearing it read by a professional actor,

I thought I’d share Elijah’s reading here:

https://youtu.be/UVCEvmgJuGM

 I wrote the story in 2013

I recall being inspired, having been shown a photo of some people sitting around a long white clothed table  and being reminded of a scene from Some Like It Hot,

and various News items around that time, regarding a Mafia Don who’d just been arrested and was about to stand trial in Italy.

Suddenly Changing The Guard appeared vividly, in pictures, in my head,

and I had to run to get it down before I forgot it.

Morgen Bailey originally featured the story on her Writing Blog and Pod-cast it later in the year.

Here is how she presented it:

Welcome to Flash Fiction Friday and the one hundred and eleventh piece in this series.

This week’s is a 191-worder by Jane Risdon.

This story will be read by Morgen in a podcast: episode 35 (with two other stories and some 6-worders) on Sunday 29th December.

*

And here is my story:

Changing the Guard

Sam ‘The Stiletto,’ Musso waited until the noise died down before clearing his throat and looking up from his notes.

‘We are agreed. No more discussion, no more voting.  Sonny Versace is toast.’ Hands and cutlery thudded on the white clothed tables as the various Families showed their approval.

‘Don Giacanni, ‘The South-side Chapter,’ has elected to make the arrangements.  He has given the honour of ‘retiring’ Sonny to his trusty foot-soldier, ‘Arturo, ‘I invoke the Fifth’ Giovanni.’

Cheering and more table banging followed as Sam smiled at the white-haired Don sitting at the table opposite.

The only female Don watched carefully as her fellow Dons made their way out of the dining room.

They suspected nothing.

Those sitting with her began discussing who would have the largest slice of Sonny’s part of the city. 

She waited, silent, amused.

Without warning Sam fell forward on to the table, as dead as he could be. 

Before the others could react, they too fell forward; dead.

Sophia, ‘The Nurse,’ sat quietly, listening to the sounds of gunfire and screams coming from outside.

Her foot-soldiers had succeeded, and she was now undisputed Don of Dons.

*

Morgen asked me what prompted this piece and here’s my reply:

This short story was written for one of my writing group competitions which had a maximum word count of 200 words.  I enjoy a challenge.

Anyone who has read anything I’ve written, or seen interviews with me, will know I’ve spent most of my life in the Music Business, and you will have noticed a number of references to ‘certain’ people who’ve crossed my path during those years;

I suppose my love of crime, mystery, and espionage has to come out somehow, and mixing my experience of ‘certain’ people, with one or other of these much-loved themes, proved too good to miss.

I’d also heard of a Mafia trial in Italy, on the News, and I guess it must have sparked my imagination.

Talk was of who would take the place of the Don, now held in custody, and suddenly I thought about a female Don.

I’ve no idea if they exist, or could exist, in such a male dominated world, but what a thought!

One of my all time favourite movies is ‘Some Like it Hot,’ – the birthday party scene came to mind; machine gunner emerging from the cake as they all celebrated at the long table.

(c) Jane Risdon 2013

**

I loved it (as always). Thank you, Jane.  Morgen.

Morgen’s Pod-cast of my story links:

https://janerisdon.wordpress.com/2013/11/01/changing-the-guard-flash-fiction-story-191-words-live-link-1st-november-2013/

 This episode contained: fourth batch of 6-word stories (by including William Bortz, Caroline Cannons, Laura Rittenhouse, Ken Magee, Mark Morris, Kimberly Sperling, Karen Bate, and yours truly), then longer flash fictions: Changing the Guard by Jane Risdon, Old Norse by Jade Kennedy, and The Third Rail by Christopher Farley.

*See the links above to read the stories… or hear Morgen’s dulcet tones on the podcast.

The podcast is available via Google’s Feedburner (final item), iTunes (first item), Podbean (when it catches up), Podcasters (which takes even longer) or Podcast Alley (which doesn’t list the episodes but will let you subscribe).

https://morgenbailey.wordpress.com/?s=Jane+Risdon

You will also find some of my other Flash Fiction stories, and Pod-casts of them, on the above links.

I hope you enjoy hearing Elijah’s reading of my story and also my written version.  Let me know.