Scorched Earth Policy, Part 3

3 – Locked In The Trunk Of A Car Five Days Earlier She ended up meeting Shan at a Tim Horton’s not far from the rec center, after one of his afternoons coaching. His hair was still wet and combed back like he was a villain in an old Miami Vice episode, his face slightly flushed from exertion. It was obvious this gig tired him out and depleted his energy, and yet it was equally clear he got enough joy from it that quitting would rob him of his will to live. Z wondered how long he could keep it up before something had to give. And if you weren’t sitting across from him, where you could see his brain surgery scar peeking out from under his hairline, you’d probably think he was the most normal guy in the universe. He was sitting there, eating a box of sour...

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Scorched Earth Policy, Part 2

2 – Insignificant One Week Earlier This time, the meeting was in a movie theater. It was early on a Tuesday afternoon on a sunny but cool day, and this picture was apparently a flop, which would explain why there was only Sir Randolph Frost sitting in the center of the second topmost row of the otherwise empty theater. Z hadn’t really been expecting to find him eating Junior Mints, but he was. This proved he was an old spymaster: always keep them guessing. She didn’t acknowledge him in any way. She just sat down beside him and put her feet on the seat back in front of her as a loud promo for some network series or another unspooled on the big screen. Never mind that there were only two people in the entire theater, they were going to play this grim...

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Troubleshooter: Scorched Earth Policy, Part 1

(Just a reprint, for those who forgot it.) 1 – Thugs Right now I’m having amnesia and deja vu at the same time. I think I’ve forgotten this before. -Steven Wright Nothing suggested you’d made horrible choices in your life like waking up in the trunk of the car. Z tasted blood in her mouth and her head throbbed like a stubbed toe, and her wrists and ankles ached from where the ties were cutting into her skin. It was stuffy in the trunk, smelled like tires even though they had to take them out to make room for her. She hated that smell; it gave her a headache and a bad taste in the back of her throat. She listened carefully for what seemed like an eternity, but was really just about ten minutes. She didn’t hear anyone, and she guessed...

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A brief interlude – sample chapter from the upcoming “Troubleshooter” story

I will be back to Freefall in no time flat, but as a treat for fans of my first serial, Troubleshooter – all two of you – here’s a sneak preview of what just may be the last Troubleshooter. Untitled at the moment, the Steven Wright quote does have a purpose and reason to be here, I swear. Also, if you’re unfamiliar with Z and Shan, go into the archives and read up on them. (If this makes you at all curious about them and their history.) ****** Right now I’m having amnesia and deja vu at the same time. I think I’ve forgotten this before. -Steven Wright Nothing suggested you’d made horrible choices in your life like waking up in the trunk of the car. Z tasted blood in her mouth and her head throbbed like a stubbed toe, and her...

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