https://pixabay.com/en/police-security-safety-protection-869216/

Title: On Guard
Source: FLASH FICTION FOR THE PURPOSEFUL PRACTITIONER- 2017 WEEK #13
Word count: 200 words

John didn’t know why he did it, really. He hadn’t ever given it much thought. When pressured for an answer, he said it was genetic. He liked most of the people he met. And he met every kind, the best and the worst of humanity each of them searching.

He stayed with the police department ten years after he was eligible for retirement. When off duty, he took side jobs, working as a security guard at the bank, the jewelry store and sporting events at the high school. It wasn’t a job. Nothing like how his friends described their jobs. He enjoyed his work, and he did it well. The years had taught him to recognize trouble at a glance; he knew the smell of trouble as any well-trained fox hound knew the fox.

John watched the group standing at the coffee kiosk, his gaze concentrated on one man. John felt the old familiar feeling deep in his gut. The group moved. John followed, hanging back to avoid being seen, making mental notes of their features, their cloths the way they moved. He rode down the escalator as they disappeared around the corner. John would be there when trouble started.

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Keep on writing.

Jo Hawk The Writer