It’s A Setup! [FICTOID]

The acrobat balked at the gregarious old man’s suggestion.

“I don’t like it,” he blurted.

“You liked it yesterday when we planned it,” said the old man with a smile like that of a wise old tortoise.  “What changed your mind?”

“You said it would be easy -- “

“It will.”

“ -- but there are security cameras everywhere!”

“That’s why I told you to wear a dark costume,” said the old man, gesturing to the acrobat’s persimmon colored leotard.  “You’ll be in and out before they know it.”

The acrobat frowned, realizing there was nothing to do but follow through on the plan.

And so he did, in an intricate series of maneuvers that would take more space than we have to describe.

Long story short:
He got the jewels out of the vault, then met the old man on the roof to hand them over.

“Now my share,” said the acrobat.  “You said you’d pay me as soon as I got them, I wouldn’t have to wait until you fenced them.”

“So I did,” said the old man, drawing a taser and zapping the acrobat.

The acrobat gasped and twitched spasmodically, the old man booting him off the roof.

In the last seconds of his life -- as he plunged faster and faster towards the roof of the little deli next to the big skyscraper -- he realized the old man’s plan had gone perfectly, letting him take the jewels and the acrobat literally taking the fall.

In his last split second of life the acrobat realized it had all been a set -- 

© Buzz Dixon