Life
Is Good
Text ?003 Roger E. Moore
(roger70129@aol.com)
Daria and associated
characters are ?003 MTV Networks
Feedback (good, bad, indifferent,
just want to bother me, whatever) is appreciated. Please write to:
roger70129@aol.com
Synopsis: A very short tale of an
evil Daria and a sympathetic Tom. Sort of.
Author抯
Notes: This
short-short story was written in response to two Iron Chef challenges on PPMB.
One, from Ranger Thorne in June 2003, asked for Daria to be made the 揵ad guy?of the story. The other, from Martin Pollard in September 2003, wanted a fanfic
that portrayed Tom Sloane in a sympathetic light. This story attempts to do
both梥ort of.
Acknowledgements: Thank you, Ranger Thorne
and Martin Pollard!
牋牋牋牋牋?Daria Sloane could not wait for Tom
to die. Jittery, she watched the webcam image on her computer monitor. In
minutes, her husband would die, Sandi Griffin would be charged, and Daria would
inherit her Tom抯 financial empire. Trent Lane, her soon-to-be lover, would
comfort her in imaginative ways after the funeral. Life would be good.
牋牋牋牋牋?The webcam showed Sandi抯 bedroom,
with off-pink walls, a painting of a schooner, a door, and a bed with red satin
sheets. Sandi抯 computer and webcam sat to the side of the bed, activated by
Daria after she had entered Sandi抯 apartment four hours earlier, using a copy
of the key she抎 found in Tom抯 leather jacket. Weeks before that, she had
found the link to Sandi抯 webcam in her husband抯 desktop computer. Tom hadn抰
erased his Internet browser抯 history. It was child抯 play to imagine the live
bedroom scenes she had shown him, child抯 play to uncover his faithlessness.
牋牋牋牋牋?And it was child抯 play to put a
half-kilo of plastic explosive in Sandi抯 CPU tower, wired to the keyboard.
Daria was careful, a first-rate schemer. Tom would enter the bedroom carrying a
forged invitation from Sandi, inviting him over for a lunchtime tryst. He would
see the computer, get curious梩hen decorate those off-pink walls with his flesh
and blood. The handwritten note by the keyboard棑Type: S-U-R-P-R-I-S-E!敆ensured
it.
牋牋牋牋牋?The bedroom door opened. Daria
leaned forward and stopped breathing.
牋牋牋牋牋?Trent peered into the room, saw the
computer and webcam, and ambled over.
牋牋牋牋牋?Trent? TRENT? What the hell?
牋牋牋牋牋?Trent抯 blue jeans filled the
screen. He picked up the handwritten note by the keyboard and studied it.
牋牋牋牋牋?After a moment, his finger tapped a
key.
牋牋牋牋牋?IMAGE CANNOT BE FOUND, said the
black print on the white screen where the webcam image used to be.
牋牋牋牋牋?揘o!?gasped Daria. She pushed the Power button on the CPU tower, getting up to run and see if?o:p>
牋牋牋牋牋?The Power button clicked twice
instead of the usual once. Damn it! she thought, damn it, damn it,
da?/i>
牋牋牋牋牋?IMAGE CANNOT BE FOUND, said the
webcam screen on a computer monitor in a Miami motel. A better-than-first-rate
schemer put his laptop away. He would drop it over the side of the schooner on
the way to the Bahamas, with the pen he抎 used to write the note to Trent. He
was a widower now, but once on the schooner, Sandi would comfort him in
imaginative ways.
牋牋牋牋牋?Life was good. It was very, very
good.
Original:
9/21/03
Shipper
(Tom/Sandi), murder thriller
FINIS