Flippin' Switches

Flippin’ Switches


Flipping the switch had no effect. Nothing happened.

“Huh…” I muttered.

Flipping the switch a number of times again had no effect.

“No kidding…” I muttered.

I got ready to flip the switch again when John grabbed my hand.

“Don’t do it. Don’t even think about it.”

“I need to flip this switch at noon. Now it’s past noon. I need to flip this switch.”

“I just got orders. Harry, you are not to flip that switch.”

Well, now, this never happened before. Orders to not flip this switch had never been given before.

“On whose authority were those orders given, John?” I looked him square in the eyes. I needed to be sure he was telling the truth. The fate of the whole mission hung in the flipping of that one switch. Or so I’d been led to believe.

John stared back. “Mike the milkman gave me the order. He’s the one that said ‘Don’t flip the switch.’ Obey him.”

I let out a chuckle then a giggle then full blown laughter. “You’ve got to be kidding me. Mike. Mike the milk man? Crazy old Mike? What does he have to do with the mission? He can’t even keep the expiration dates straight on the milk cartons!”

“I’m just the message bearer. Don’t kill the messenger.”

“Yeah, well, I’m flipping the switch.” I flipped the switch.

A huge bang! A kaboom! The sound of metal crushing, sirens blaring…then silence.

I looked at John, he looked at me. “You flipped the switch. I told you not to.”

“Why would Mike tell me not to? What does he know about all this?”

“Mike knows code, such as the codes on those milk boxes are secret military codes, not expiration dates. He knows things. Like why you shouldn’t flip that switch.”

W/C 300