Warning! The following may contain bad spelling, grammar, punctuation, cardboard characters, cheesy plots, offensive NSFW material, and / or puns.
Reader discretion is advised.
Freddie made it back to the car where Tom was waiting.
“I saw a patrol car pull in to the parking lot. How’d things go?”
“Piece of cake, getting into the apartment. Getting out was a little trickier.”
“Find anything useful?”
“No, the apartment was pretty clean. It almost looked like the guy didn’t live there. Which makes sense if he was out doing sports all the time.”
“All of which leaves us with a big fat nothing. Let’s head back to the office and see if we can get anything from the other people who were at the scene.”
Meanwhile across town, a friendly game of football in the park is heating up.
One team is lined up at the scrimmage line, while the others are in a huddle discussing the next play.
“OK, we’ve got this.” Les, the team’s quarterback, was calling the shots.
“Benny, go long. I’ll hit you near the goal line. Ted, Alan, work on the blocking. I don’t need to get sacked again.” Les wiped sweat off his brow.
“Hey, Les, you gonna make it through this play, man? You’re sweating like a pig.”
“Yeah, I’ll be fine. After this play we can take a break. We ready? OK, hike on three. Break.”
The players broke from the huddle and distributed themselves along the scrimmage line facing off against the other team.
Les got ready. He wiped more seat off his brow. “Ready? Set. Hike hike hike!”
The ball was snapped and Les grabbed it, taking a few steps back. Players from both sides smashed into each other. Benny took off down the field. Les dodged an attempt to tackle him keeping an eye on Benny. Just as one of the players from the other team broke the line and charged Les, he launched the ball toward Benny. The flight was true and landed squarely in Benny’s hands, who carried it across the goal line. A cheer went up from Les’s team.
Les picked himself up off the field where he’d been slammed down by the other team. He wiped more sweat off his brow but it did little good. The rest of him was covered in sweat too.
He stumbled forward a few steps as Ted, Benny and Alan were coming over to congratulate him. They stopped when they saw the look of anguish on his face.
Les looked at his friends and screamed as he caught on fire and exploded.