IDLE HANDS By Christopher Grant

IDLE HANDS

Have you ever been out of work? Laid off, CEOs and politicians call it. Fucking fired is what they really mean. They ain't never bringing you back.

Back in the '30s, Grandpa felt the slice of that knife, coupled with the aftermath of the Stock Market Crash and, as a result, the Depression. The stories he told me were like something from another planet, unimaginable.

He let me in on a secret, too. When it got tough, he robbed a bank. He mugged old ladies and rich men and anyone else he could. He broke into and robbed corner stores and houses that had anything of worth inside.

The criminal activity lost its cachet after a time and, gradually, the economy got back on its feet and Grandpa was back earning an honest living, instead of a necessary one.

He told me that, with luck and planning, it wouldn't be necessary for me to repeat history.

I've had idle hands for a year now, unable to find work, unable to impress these suits and ties with my résumé. I'd saved up for this kind of thing, the proverbial rainy day. I'm down to my last couple thousand dollars and it's rapidly deserting my account. I'm going to have to do something soon.

I need to have a chat with Grandpa.

BIO: Christopher Grant is the editor and owner of A Twist Of Noir. He's had crime fiction published on the now-defunct DZ Allen's Muzzle Flash and currently has fiction at Powder Burn Flash, The Flash Fiction Offensive and here at Thrillers, Killers 'N' Chillers.