by Drew Gummerson

Ivan Ivanovich killed Vronski Vronovich with a club. The argument was over a game of cards, a bottle of wine, a bar in Sevastopol, a thick woollen blanket covering its door to keep out the cold, a bundle of gold coins, a watching hazel-eyed woman with a husband in Siberia, a former government minister with a penchant for opium, an overcoat with deep dusty pockets and wide secretive sleeves, a tiny unmade bed fresh from lovemaking, a flat with windows overlooking the raging Black Sea, a skiff waiting to take the winner of the game of cards to a new life in Honolulu, a beach hut, an alcoholic drink, a pair of racy trunks, the woman in the bar now in a bathing costume.

It was the usual kind of thing.

Just another story.

Like all the others.

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Drew Gummerson is the author of The Lodger and Me and Mickie James. He is a Lambda Award finalist. His short fiction has featured on BBC Radio 4. Find him @drewgum.