Hole Punch by Simmons, Garth (the dot read aloud TXT) 📕

drugs and they pretended to be happy. The sound system stopped and the lights turned on. The thirty to fifty year old kids all looked up, baffled, to fix their eyes on him. He stood there in his cowboy boots, tight jeans, leather jacket and shades. Holding up the plug of the sound system in his rugged hand. His hair slicked back.

“Jack's back bitches!” said Jack.

Before anyone could respond, Jack kicked the sound system to the floor.

“I got an announcement to make!”

Jack clipped over the broken sound system.

“I got some unfinished business round here!”

Mouths gaped open in shock. Is he's back? He can't be? Can he? Is Jack actually back?

Jack chewed on a cocktail stick.

“I got a score to settle at City Hall! Is any one of you punks going to get in my way this time?”

No one said a word.

“What about you?” said Jack, pointing at Phil Marsden.

“No. No. No sir. I mean. I don't-”

“Don't what?”

“I'm not going to stand against you this time sir.”

“This time?” Jack squared up to Phil Marsden. “So you're saying you stood against me last time?”

“No. No. No sir I-”

A second later, Phil Marsden was unconscious on the floor.

“You ingrates better call the police,” said Jack. “By the time I'm done here there's gonna be some serious bodily harm on all your faces. I'll give you all three seconds to get your phones out. ONE! TWO! THREE!”

* * *

It was not going to be a normal day at work for Bertie Borngate. Not just another day of selling house insurance. Bertie had heard about the party. He'd heard that Jack was back. He knew that Jack would be coming to see him.

The door opened and there was Jack: cowboy boots, sunglasses, cocktail stick in his mouth and his hair slicked back. Jack hadn't aged a day.

“Nice to see you Jack,” said Bertie.

“Nice to see you too old pal,” said Jack.

“Hey, do you want a coffee or something?”

“Can't stay long buddy, I got business to settle at City Hall.”

Jack smiled and surveyed the insurance shop.

“Got yourself a steady, little job here.”

“Thanks Jack, it's my own business.”

“Come with me buddy, lets go take down City Hall.”

“I can't Jack, my wife-”

“Come on buddy! It'll be like the old days! Me and you! Butch and Cassidy! Burke and Caffrey! Batman and Robin!”

“I'm sorry Jack.”

Jack spat on the floor and snarled.

“Well that's loyalty for you.”

Jack clipped aggressively out through the door.

Bertie picked up the phone and called his wife.

“Jack's back, he wants me to help him take down City Hall.”

* * *

At City Hall, in his office, Mayor Lester Green slunk back in his leather chair and looked through an ancient grimoire.

“I'm the Mayor! Since getting rid of Jack, I can do whatever I like!”

His secretary burst through the door.

“Mayor Green!”

“Call me Lester, baby.”

“Jack's back Mayor Green!”

Mayor Lester Green got to his feet and fluttered in panic.

“How?!”

“He's downstairs! He's beating up security! Then he says he's coming up here to beat up you!”

* * *

The meanest of the security men had Jack in a headlock.

"You're finished Jack!" said the security man.

A sledgehammer clunked on the security man's head. He fell to the floor with a fractured skull.

Jack turned around and saw Bertie stood there, holding his sledgehammer, just like in the old days.

“You know what they say Jack,” said Bertie. “The bigger they are, the harder they fall.”

Jack smiled.

"I couldn't do this without you buddy," said Jack.

"Let's beat up the Mayor!"

* * *

"When I told my wife you were back," said Bertie. "She told me I should do what I thought was right."

"Women," smiled Jack. "You gotta love them."

Jack kissed the secretary and pressed his boot down harder on the Mayor's screaming head.

"Happy New Year baby," said Jack, with lipstick smeared down his chin.

TRAVEL

Holly had always wanted to travel. She loved travel documentaries ever since she was a little girl. She wanted to see Egypt and its pyramids, France and its tower, Berlin and its wall.

She thought all her chances of travel were over when her spine was broken after being pushed down some stairs at school. But then on her eighteenth birthday, her mother bought her a green screen to sit in front of.

With the power of her imagination (and some basic digital arts skills) she was able to visit Egypt and its pyramids, France and its tower, Berlin and its wall, London and its bridge.

WHY NOT WALTER?

“I need some incentive to get out of bed,” she said to Walter on the phone.

“I’ll be your incentive.” said Walter, with his keen, puppy dog voice. “Come on, get up! It’s a lovely day outside. We can go for a walk.”

“Sorry, but I’m still not over what happened with Dave.”

Walter’s lip wobbed. What about me? He thought. Why does she never think about me!?

“Dave’s a real piece of work isn’t he?” said Walter. “You should be over him by now, I mean, you never really liked him anyway. Come on! Rise and shine! I’ll cheer you up!”

“Sorry Walt, but I don’t think I can make it out. I’ll see you later in the week though? At a party?”

Walter's hand tensed on the phone. He hated being called Walt.

“Okay then, don’t worry, it’s okay.”

“Are you sure you’re alright Walt?”

“Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes I’m fine!”

MAKE HIM LOOK

It was weird to see him again in college. She remembered when he used to walk her home from school. It was so obvious that he fancied her. His best mate Simon had told her.

“He told me he fancied you,” Simon said with two fingers arched inside her.

It was weird seeing him again in college. His hair was still greasy but he’d styled it into an art-school side-parting. His hair looked even worse now. When she passed him in the corridor she liked to make sexy poses with her bum. Tease him. Make him look. She wasn’t a little