The Long Con
It's just fiction, Boss, based on real people... Boss? Who are you calling? Boss?
I thought it was the perfect setup.
Get him to like me. Show my competence. Work for him for years, demonstrating my trustworthiness over and over.
Boss had had a stroke. His associate had brain damage from an assassination attempt. The co-owner was a blackout drunk. Another associate was on serious painkillers. His daughter, I swear, was a kender in disguise; luckily we knew where her "secret stash" was and cleaned it out periodically. Things went missing all the time.
I made my move only after most of a decade of exemplary service, observing their habits.
Things went missing. A ring here, a necklace there.
I picked high quality, but not the priciest.
I only did it when there were others in the same cases that day, ever mindful of the cameras. Things passed hand to hand. The shuffle was perfect.
I swallowed them. I cleaned them later.
Other things went missing. On days when I didn't work. Perfect cover.
So why am I the only one in jail?
Because everyone else was stealing from him too.
Including himself. He raked in the money from insurance, blaming it on all of us.
They set me up to take the fall.
About the Creator
Meredith Harmon
Mix equal parts anthropologist, biologist, geologist, and artisan, stir and heat in the heart of Pennsylvania Dutch country, sprinkle with a heaping pile of odd life experiences. Half-baked.
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Outstanding
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Excellent storytelling
Original narrative & well developed characters
Easy to read and follow
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Compelling and original writing
Creative use of language & vocab
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Zero grammar & spelling mistakes
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Writing reflected the title & theme
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Comments (36)
Imaginative and fun with a twist! Congratulations on the well deserved win!
loved all the misdirection!!! Excellent job and congrats!
Awesome job…captivating
Great work! Lots of fun, and that fabulous twist to end with! Congratulations! Well-deserved win; look forward to reading more!
Great work! Lots of fun, and that fabulous twist to end with! Congratulations! Well-deserved win; look forward to reading more!
Ooh, nice!! Very creative. 🌹 Congrats.
Wow, great story and congrats on your win! I couldn't believe it when I got to the end, I kept wanting more!
What a twist! Well deserved win!
Congratulations on this! And so nicely done! It was like an entire heist movie in such truncated form. So amazingly and succinctly told!
Congratulations, nice one, little twists throughout
Great concept! Congratulations on your win!
Really liked this all the planning but forgot to make sure they weren’t setting you up for the fall Congratulations on the win
Congrats on your win. Excellent storytelling.
Very short and interesting I would like to know what happened after being set up?..
Everyone at every company is stealing something: free time, snacks, overtime pay, stationary. Reminds me of a lesson in Flowers for Algernon. Nice story, and a real heist, not the she stole my heart variety, yay! Fun read.
Haha! great micro! Temptation was in full effect. I loved all the moving parts you created with such a miniscule word limit. Congrats on placing first!
Well, oof. Love the language you used in this; the voice of the narrator was perfect, with a bit of slime to him and smoothness that the reader quickly assumes will lead him to victory. Marvelous reveal and such a great winding plot in this short story. You rocked this! Congratulations on your win!
Fantastic micro, Meredith! Lots of story in this little piece! Congrats on first place! Wonderful job!
Such a compelling narrator! Love the strong voice, the matter-of-fact speech, the short, percussive sentences...Just wonderful storytelling all around. It felt so real, and so intriguing! You set it up perfectly, and that last line is just sublime. Well-deserved win! Many congratulations! 💖👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻😱🎉🥳
LOL damn! This would make a hilarious heist comedy! Congrats on winning the grand prize!!!
Easy to read and great ending! congrats!
there's only one dutch country. it's called "the netherlands".
Love it! Great ending. Well done and congratulations.
🏅✨😊👍🏆
Awesome ✨ Congratulations 🎉 🎉😉📝💖❗❗❗