tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-43032889702055930692024-03-13T23:10:31.443-07:00lake's languishingsDark dystopian writer, gives insights to his creative world.
Well, he tries at least.e a lakehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09281428235580511227noreply@blogger.comBlogger164125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4303288970205593069.post-52015398614068037302020-04-10T08:48:00.000-07:002020-04-10T08:48:14.027-07:00Yes, I had surgery... and right before the Apocalypse struck!<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Health Update (so this could be really boring for some)!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">On March 12th (of this year) I had open heart, double bypass surgery. Yes, me; a 60-year-old, fairly healthy person who walks on average six miles a day, goes to the gym four times a week and eats pretty damned healthy.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">One artery (the LAD, known as the <b><i>widowmaker</i></b>) was 70% blocked. Not good I was told. Worse yet another artery on the right side was 100% blocked. That meant, I was told, somewhere in the recent past I suffered a heart attack.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I never had a symptom with either blockage. No shortness of breath, no unusual sweats, no dizziness, no chest pain, no nothing. But the damage was done and I was scheduled for surgery six days after my second angiogram. If the professionals say you need heart surgery, then so be it. Who am I to argue.</span><br />
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<i><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">(I don't look like I'm suffering too badly)</span></i></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">That was four weeks ago, my friends. I've worked hard at focusing on my recovery and, as such, I've made a lot of progress in those four weeks. I was home only four days after surgery, so my decent recovery began in the hospital.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The day I came home the stuff got real with the Corona Virus. That was March 16th. Since then... well, we all know what's gone down.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Yes, it has been slightly reminiscent of the opening episodes of <i><span style="color: blue;">The Walking Dead</span></i>. If I had a sheriff outfit, I'd be ready. But alas, all I can do is watch and smile like most in my position are doing (I warned you something like this could happen. I warned you!).</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i>(Me without the mask... maybe)</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">So, I'm well on my way to full recovery and all around me the world has come to a screeching halt. Welcome to the new normal, people. And after this, there will be another new normal followed by another and another. Things will change from how they were prior to March of 2020. And a lot of the changes will be permanent.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Okay, so what caused my health issues some will ask. My answer will be blunt and to the point:</span><br />
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<li><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Forty years of smoking</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Type II Diabetic</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I've always dealt with stress badly</span></li>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I'm not going to lecture on any of the above. I knew smoking was bad for me and would eventually catch up (we all know that). I got diabetes when I <b>lost </b>70 pounds. And I'm just crappy when it comes to dealing with stress and anxiety (and I always have).</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I'm lucky, this could have ended really really really bad if it hadn't been caught (quite by accident back on January 16th). My best advice is to take care of your body. It's the only one you get.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">So, I'm back to writing and creating more fodder for my family, friends, and readers. This has caused a set back in the timing for the release of book five in the <b><i><span style="color: #674ea7;"><a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01EVXUV3M" target="_blank">No Where Apocalypse</a></span></i></b>. But don't worry; I'll still get that published before fall. </span></div>
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<b>Until then, everyone take care!</b></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;"><b><i>e a lake</i></b></span></div>
e a lakehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09281428235580511227noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4303288970205593069.post-35908432360377506422020-03-04T10:09:00.000-08:002020-03-04T10:09:08.420-08:00You too can survive the apocalypse...<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;">Here something, thanks to Hillary Dixler, that may help many people survive TEOTWAWKI!</span></div>
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<span style="color: #3b3b3b; font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 13.5pt;">Survive the Apocalypse in Five Easy Steps<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #3b3b3b; font-family: inherit , serif;">Eater combed through FEMA, CDC, and prepper blog survival intel so you don't have to. Now get packing:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="color: #3b3b3b; font-family: inherit , serif;">1. Stock Up on Clean Water</span></b><span style="color: #3b3b3b; font-family: inherit , serif;"><br />It's hard to overstate just how important access to clean drinking water will be to your post-apocalyptic survival chances — and you'll need about a gallon per person per day, which is a lot. Have water at your home or wherever you plan to hunker down. Have water in your vehicle. Study up on where to find safe water (drained water from an undamaged water heater = safe, water from the toilet's bowl and flush tank = unsafe). Do some practice rounds of boiling and oxygenating water.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="color: #3b3b3b; font-family: inherit , serif;">2. Create a Pantry</span></b><span style="color: #3b3b3b; font-family: inherit , serif;"><br />Canned and freeze-dried foods are your new favorites. So are properly-stored whole wheat cereals, nuts, dry pasta, corn, and various other dry edibles. To further build out your pantry, focus on high-energy options like peanut butter, jelly, granola bars, and trail mix. Get some powdered milk, powdered potatoes, and other powdered foods onto the shelf. Whenever possible, stock up on foods that are low in salt, so as to avoid getting unnecessarily thirsty and wasting your precious water. And stock up on canning supplies so that when you encounter fresh fruits and vegetables, you can make them last.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="color: #3b3b3b; font-family: inherit , serif;">3. Don't Forget a Manual Can Opener</span></b><span style="color: #3b3b3b; font-family: inherit , serif;"><br />You might even want to stock a few of these because, let's face it, canned food is now a major part of your life. Do not lose them, or entrust them to someone you think might lose them.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="color: #3b3b3b; font-family: inherit , serif;">4. Break Out the Overalls</span></b><span style="color: #3b3b3b; font-family: inherit , serif;">Someday, your stockpile will run out, so get farming. Plant a diverse survival vegetable garden, and make it as huge as possible. Do be warned your vegetables might be an attractive nuisance, so consider camouflaging it as a "food forest." Raise chickens. Chickens are pretty easy to take care of and will provide you with a valuable source of protein via eggs. Also, raise rabbits if you are down to do butchering and slaughtering.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="color: #3b3b3b; font-family: inherit , serif;">5. Quit Stalling</span></b><span style="color: #3b3b3b; font-family: inherit , serif;"><br />If you really want to survive, start working on your game plan before the world goes totally to shit. Things like tilling a garden, stocking up on food, and learning how to properly can all take time to get right. Might as well get a head start while the power grid still works. Good luck.<br /><i>— Hillary Dixler</i><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">To me, number five is really important. Many, many people I meet say they know they should be even the slightest bit prepared, but then admit they've done nothing. Even in today's climate.</span><br />
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<span style="color: #3b3b3b; font-family: "helvetica";"><b><br /></b></span><span style="font-family: "helvetica";"><b><i><span style="color: blue; font-size: large;">e a lake</span></i></b></span><br />
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e a lakehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09281428235580511227noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4303288970205593069.post-90470655905767343102020-02-28T09:16:00.002-08:002020-02-28T09:16:54.703-08:00What Will You Eat When the World Ends?This post and the next three to follow are taken from an article I found online with the same name as the "Subject Line". They were written by Tove Danovich and posted on 9/16/15. The entire original post can be found here: http://bit.ly/2T8oqu0<br />
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<span style="color: #3b3b3b; font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 13.5pt;">It could happen at any time. Maybe an asteroid will hurtle toward Earth or a storm will cover the world in ice. A bite from a particularly angry monkey could start a viral zombie plague. The Internet could even shut off. Things could go to hell because of monsters or uncomfortably sentient robots, nuclear war or a terrorist attack. The question you should ask yourself is: </span><strong style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: inherit; font-style: inherit; line-height: inherit; text-decoration: inherit; vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="color: #3b3b3b; font-family: inherit , serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">What will you eat and drink when the world ends</span></strong><span style="color: #3b3b3b; font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 13.5pt;">?</span></div>
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<span style="color: #3b3b3b; font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 13.5pt;">The people answering this question aren't scientists, the military, or NASA (though maybe there's a secret apocalypse science division in the government). They're known as "preppers" and are usually everyday folks with normal jobs — teachers or bankers or candlestick makers. The only difference between you and them is that they want to be ready when, in prepper jargon, SHTF because it's TEOTWAWKI ("the end of the world as we know it"). While <a href="http://www.fema.gov/pdf/areyouready/areyouready_full.pdf" style="border-bottom: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #954f72; font-size: inherit; font-style: inherit; line-height: inherit; text-decoration: inherit; transition: color 0.1s ease 0s, background-color 0.1s ease 0s, fill 0.1s ease 0s; vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="color: #e20000; font-family: inherit , serif;">FEMA's guide</span></a> advocates for having a disaster kit consisting of a 72-hour supply of food, water, and clothing packed and ready to go, that's just a baby step for preppers. Come back when you've stored up enough to last you a week, a month, or a year.</span><span style="font-size: small;"></span></div>
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<span style="color: #3b3b3b; font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 13.5pt;">"Hurricane Katrina proved to a lot of people that everything you have can be wiped out very quickly," says Pat Henry, founding editor of <a href="http://www.theprepperjournal.com/" style="border-bottom: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #954f72; font-size: inherit; font-style: inherit; line-height: inherit; text-decoration: inherit; transition: color 0.1s ease 0s, background-color 0.1s ease 0s, fill 0.1s ease 0s; vertical-align: inherit;"><em style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: inherit; line-height: inherit; text-decoration: inherit; vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="color: #e20000; font-family: inherit , serif;">the Prepper Journal</span></em></a>. He explains that everyone has to focus on four categories of survival — food, water, security, and shelter. Since 2008, Henry has been slowly stockpiling backup supplies. He's used rain barrels, water filtration, and bottled water to amass "hundreds of gallons" of H2O. "It sounds hokey, but I had a gut feeling that I needed to take steps to protect my family," he says. While <a href="http://www.dailymail.co.uk/home/moslive/article-2296472/Apocalypse-ready-Are-families-stocking-end-civilisation-crackpots-simply-canny-survivors.html" style="border-bottom: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #954f72; font-size: inherit; font-style: inherit; line-height: inherit; text-decoration: inherit; transition: color 0.1s ease 0s, background-color 0.1s ease 0s, fill 0.1s ease 0s; vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="color: #e20000; font-family: inherit , serif;">one <em style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: inherit; line-height: inherit; text-decoration: inherit; vertical-align: inherit;">Daily Mail UK</em> article</span></a> estimates "there are three million preppers in the U.S. alone," no one knows who estimated that number, and it's unlikely that there are actually solid statistics on the subject — thanks to an inherent secrecy within the prepper community.</span><span style="font-size: small;"></span></div>
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<span style="color: #3b3b3b; font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 13.5pt;">But despite prepping's mysterious exterior, everyone seems to agree on the basic principles of planning, buying, and storing food, water, and cooking utensils one needs to survive a disaster. According to the experts, there are</span><strong style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: inherit; font-style: inherit; line-height: inherit; text-decoration: inherit; vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="color: #3b3b3b; font-family: inherit , serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"> three rules</span></strong><span style="color: #3b3b3b; font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 13.5pt;"> that will help you prepare for the end of the world.</span><span style="font-size: small;"></span></div>
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Until next time,</div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;"><b><i>e a lake</i></b></span></div>
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e a lakehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09281428235580511227noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4303288970205593069.post-62670335589882678982020-02-28T09:16:00.001-08:002020-02-28T09:16:54.624-08:00Rule One: Keep Your Groceries HiddenThis post and the other in this series are taken from an article I found online with the same name as the "Subject Line". They were written by Tove Danovich and posted on 9/16/15. The entire original post can be found here: http://bit.ly/2T8oqu0<br />
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<span style="color: #3b3b3b; font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 13.5pt;">Though preppers are very active behind screen names on the Internet — on groups like the <a href="http://americanpreppersnetwork.com/"><span style="color: #e20000; font-family: inherit , serif;">American Preppers Network</span></a> or websites like <a href="http://survivalblog.com/"><span style="color: #e20000; font-family: inherit , serif;">the Survival Blog</span></a> — they stay under the radar in real life. It's not because they think their hobby is strange, but because when the end of the world comes, they don't want the entire starving neighborhood to know that their house is the one full of potable water, heat, and enough food to last a full calendar year. "The first rule of prep club is you don't talk about prep club," says Lisa Bedford, a mother of two teenagers and a prepper also known as <a href="http://thesurvivalmom.com/"><span style="color: #e20000; font-family: inherit , serif;">the Survival Mom</span></a>. As a result, there's not much in the way of hands-on education. "The community is online because people want to be </span><b><span style="color: #3b3b3b; font-family: inherit , serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">very careful and cautious about who they talk to</span></b><span style="color: #3b3b3b; font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 13.5pt;">," Bedford explains. Bedford says that she has cultivated a small group of neighboring preppers who she could rely on if SHTF ("shit hits the fan," naturally). "But I have no idea how much they actually have."</span><br />
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<span style="color: #3b3b3b; font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 13.5pt;">Overall it seems like the secrecy is directed toward non-preppers: No one wants to get themselves into an <a href="http://www.bartleby.com/17/1/36.html"><span style="color: #e20000; font-family: inherit , serif;">ant-and-grasshopper situation</span></a> where they're sharing supplies with the non-prepared deadweights of the neighborhood. Within the prepper community, however, there are websites like <a href="http://prepperdating.com/"><span style="color: #e20000; font-family: inherit , serif;">Prepper Dating</span></a> and <a href="http://survivalistsingles.com/"><span style="color: #e20000; font-family: inherit , serif;">Survivalist Singles</span></a> (just because it's the end of the world doesn't mean you have to be alone). <a href="http://www.preppergroups.com/"><span style="color: #e20000; font-family: inherit , serif;">Other forums</span></a> facilitate people who want to either connect with neighbors or actually gather enough strangers to fill a home with like-minded survivalists.</span><br />
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<span style="color: #3b3b3b; font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 13.5pt;">Survivalists come in all shapes and sizes. Like any subculture, the people involved fit somewhere on a </span><b><span style="color: #3b3b3b; font-family: inherit , serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">spectrum of intensity</span></b><span style="color: #3b3b3b; font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 13.5pt;">. On the one hand, you might have someone like Bedford, who began prepping as a backup plan if her family lost their primary source of income. On the other end are the types of people who build underground bunkers and whose security plans look like a mini National Guard.</span><br />
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<span style="color: #3b3b3b; font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 13.5pt;">But while outsiders familiar with prepping have a tendency to think survivalists have a streak of insanity, it's actually not all that different from the practice of homesteading. "They call it something different and do it a different way, but the end goal is the same," says Henry. He specifically references the local food movement where many people have taken to knowing their farmer or growing their own produce because they don't feel like they can rely on the government, big food corporations, or other overseers to adequately check the quality of what they're eating. "A large part of both movements is </span><b><span style="color: #3b3b3b; font-family: inherit , serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">the concept of control</span></b><span style="color: #3b3b3b; font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 13.5pt;">," Bedford says. This is one reason why interest in prepping seems to increase after natural disasters, economic crises, or another traumatic event. It allows people to feel like, at least next time, they'll be prepared.</span><br />
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<span style="color: #3b3b3b; font-family: "helvetica";"><i><b>Until we meet again,</b></i></span><br />
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: "helvetica";"><span style="font-size: 18px;"><i><b>e a lake</b></i></span></span><br />
<span style="color: #3b3b3b; font-family: "helvetica";"><span style="font-size: 18px;"><br /></span></span>e a lakehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09281428235580511227noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4303288970205593069.post-90078000180606972102020-02-28T09:16:00.000-08:002020-02-28T09:16:54.664-08:00Rule Two: Don't Store What You Can't EatThis post and the other in this series are taken from an article I found online with the same name as the "Subject Line". They were written by Tove Danovich and posted on 9/16/15. The entire original post can be found here: http://bit.ly/2T8oqu0<br />
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<span style="color: #3b3b3b; font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 13.5pt;">Though tents and bunkers might suffice for backup shelter, storing food and water is a much more involved process. It's not quite as easy as running to the local grocery store the day before a storm and buying up all of the bread and kale left on the shelves. People who are getting into prepping often treat </span><strong style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: inherit; font-style: inherit; line-height: inherit; text-decoration: inherit; vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="color: #3b3b3b; font-family: inherit , serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">food and water storage as the true first step</span></strong><span style="color: #3b3b3b; font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 13.5pt;">. While water can be stocked in the form of water bottles or rainwater-capture systems, food is not as easy as following a pre-made grocery list off the Internet.</span><br />
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<span style="color: #3b3b3b; font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 13.5pt;">When Bedford began preparing for the possibility of economic disaster in 2008, she quickly fell on food storage as a place to focus. She says that a lot of people do their own food storage — particularly homesteaders or people who live so far from the grocery store that it's inconvenient to go more than once a month — but that as a "typical suburban stay-at-home mom" she initially felt out of her depth. "It was a whole new world," she says.</span><br />
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<span style="color: #3b3b3b; font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 13.5pt;">The main issue is that stored food is only as useful as your willingness to eat it. "Food fatigue is a real thing," Bedford explains. If all that's in the pantry is rice and beans, the monotony of the diet would eventually make anyone lose their desire to eat.</span><br />
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<span style="color: #3b3b3b; font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 13.5pt;">To get a varied diet, Bedford advocates a </span><strong style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: inherit; font-style: inherit; line-height: inherit; text-decoration: inherit; vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="color: #3b3b3b; font-family: inherit , serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">three-layer approach to stocking the pantry</span></strong><span style="color: #3b3b3b; font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 13.5pt;">. The first layer takes place at the grocery store — specifically in the canned food aisles. "The reason canned food is so important is that its shelf stable," Bedford says. That said, don't just purchase whatever is on sale. "Focus on things you'll eat and your family members will eat," she adds. And don't forget the spices: Adding new flavors to the same base ingredients is an easy way to combat food fatigue while sticking to a few pantry staples.</span><br />
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<span style="color: #3b3b3b; font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 13.5pt;">Next are the bulk foods which Bedford believes are where most of a prepper's time and money should be spent. Opening a can of ravioli might get you a meal, but there's not much in the way of choice. With freeze-dried meat, shrimp, yogurt, and cheese (almost every food seems to have been freeze-dried) and a healthy stockpile of various pastas, dried beans, and grain, "you can make hundreds of recipes," according to Bedford. For people who don't feel up to DIY recipe development, there are a number of resources to turn to. Many preppers blog and post individual recipes and tips on their websites. </span><br />
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<span style="color: #3b3b3b; font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 13.5pt;">Prepping is also a (small) cookbook genre with titles like</span><em style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: inherit; line-height: inherit; text-decoration: inherit; vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="color: #3b3b3b; font-family: inherit , serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"> </span></em><span style="color: #3b3b3b; font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 13.5pt;"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Survivalist-Cookbook-Recipes-Preppers-ebook/dp/B00C4E1UY0/ref=sr_1_9?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1442338517&sr=1-9&keywords=prepper+cookbook&tag=eater0c-20" style="border-bottom: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; font-size: inherit; font-style: inherit; line-height: inherit; text-decoration: inherit; transition: color 0.1s ease 0s, background-color 0.1s ease 0s, fill 0.1s ease 0s; vertical-align: inherit;" target="_blank"><em style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: inherit; line-height: inherit; text-decoration: inherit; vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="color: #e20000; font-family: inherit , serif;">The Survivalist Cookbook</span></em></a></span><em style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: inherit; line-height: inherit; text-decoration: inherit; vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="color: #3b3b3b; font-family: inherit , serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"> </span></em><span style="color: #3b3b3b; font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 13.5pt;">or <a href="http://www.amazon.com/The-Preppers-Cookbook-Nutritious-Life-Saving/dp/1612431291?tag=eater0c-20" style="border-bottom: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; font-size: inherit; font-style: inherit; line-height: inherit; text-decoration: inherit; transition: color 0.1s ease 0s, background-color 0.1s ease 0s, fill 0.1s ease 0s; vertical-align: inherit;" target="_blank"><em style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: inherit; line-height: inherit; text-decoration: inherit; vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="color: #e20000; font-family: inherit , serif;">The Prepper's Cookbook</span></em></a> that speak directly to their intended audience. Plenty of other cookbooks focus on things like canned soup, jerky, or campfire recipes.</span><br />
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<span style="color: #3b3b3b; font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 13.5pt;">Finally, a good prepper wants to invest in some ready-to-eat meals. They're not all that different from the field rations given to soldiers and, as a result, are not something the average person wants to survive on entirely. "You'll get tired of them pretty quickly," Bedford says. She recommends that the RTE meals comprise </span><strong style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: inherit; font-style: inherit; line-height: inherit; text-decoration: inherit; vertical-align: inherit;"><span style="color: #3b3b3b; font-family: inherit , serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">no more than 20 percent</span></strong><span style="color: #3b3b3b; font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 13.5pt;"> of total food supplies.</span><br />
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<span style="color: #3b3b3b; font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 13.5pt;">But it's important to remember that even long-lasting foods can go bad. Henry doesn't just stock a pantry and forget about it, but rotates through the food during normal, non-emergency meals. "You don't want to find out when the power's out and the grocery store is closed that all your food expired five years ago," he says. "That's another reason why buying things you eat all the time is important." It also would ease the culinary transition into end-of-the-world dining if the family is still eating mom's beef stroganoff but with freeze-dried beef, powdered sour cream, and dehydrated mushrooms.</span><br />
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<span style="color: #3b3b3b; font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 13.5pt;">Bedford stresses that food storage does not have a one-size-fits-all approach. A city dweller simply doesn't have room to store a year's worth of food and water. Others can't afford to buy extra bulk and freeze-dried food — much less expensive gadgets or survival cooking gear. Even if someone could have a flock of goats and chickens doesn't mean they can take on that responsibility. "Not everyone can live that lifestyle and a lot of them don't want to," Bedford says.</span><br />
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<span style="color: #3b3b3b; font-family: "helvetica";"><i><b>One more to go friends,</b></i></span><br />
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: "helvetica";"><span style="font-size: 18px;"><i><b>e a lake</b></i></span></span>e a lakehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09281428235580511227noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4303288970205593069.post-45140670583834943082020-02-28T09:15:00.000-08:002020-02-28T09:16:54.562-08:00Rule Three: Get Out of the PantryThis post and the other in this series are taken from an article I found online with the same name as the "Subject Line". They were written by Tove Danovich and posted on 9/16/15. The entire original post can be found here: http://bit.ly/2T8oqu0<br />
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<span style="color: #3b3b3b; font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 13.5pt;">Unfortunately, even the best-stocked food supply doesn't last forever. Bedford points out that </span><b><span style="color: #3b3b3b; font-family: inherit , serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">food storage doesn't exist in a vacuum</span></b><span style="color: #3b3b3b; font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 13.5pt;">. "You'll open that can of beans and then what?" she says. "The purpose of stored food is to buy you time." In her family's case, the year or so their supply could carry them for would be enough time to connect with other families, work together, barter, and so on. "Right now if there was a massive power grid failure, millions of households would only have a couple weeks of food," she explains. "They have no margin."</span><br />
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<span style="color: #3b3b3b; font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 13.5pt;">Henry supports the idea of keeping chickens both for meat and eggs as well as investing in the time to learn about technology like aquaponics or even hydroponics, which can both create comparatively large amounts of food in small spaces. Surprisingly, he doesn't advocate relying too much on hunting. "If you're out there looking for food and things are that bad, chances are hundreds and thousands of other people are doing the same thing." There are only so many deer and pheasants to go around. That's why in the process of increasing their food supplies, many preppers also teach themselves how they could grow more.</span><br />
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<span style="color: #3b3b3b; font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 13.5pt;">Prepping is just as much about creating a sustainable source of food as squirreling it away. Because the end of the world doesn't just last a week or month or even a year — it's forever. And we all have to eat to survive.</span><br />
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<span style="color: #3b3b3b; font-family: "helvetica";"><b>Hope you enjoyed the series,</b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica";"><b><i><span style="color: blue; font-size: large;">e a lake</span></i></b></span><br />
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<span style="color: #3b3b3b; font-family: "helvetica";"><br /></span>e a lakehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09281428235580511227noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4303288970205593069.post-11048252263665508712019-03-01T08:39:00.000-08:002019-03-01T08:39:14.181-08:00Margaret Atwood's Classic: "The Handmaid's Tale"This is absolutely one of my all-time favorite novels, dystopian or otherwise. I was very, very interested to see how they would portray this in a mini-series. Very! (Note: I saw the movie back in the early 90s that starred Natasha Richardson... Loved It!).<br />
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Again, just like with The Man in the High Castle I spoke of last time, I know they have to edit some of the book content out and add action in spots where it didn't previously exist. Quite honestly, there are chapters and chapters of Offred's thoughts that had to go. The novel tended to be heavy with exposition.<br />
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But when things go off-book, I start to become concerned. When we start having episodes of flashbacks (they call them backstory) that tells me we're way off-book. At least with Game of Thrones, the series writers just added them like they actually existed in the original novel.<br />
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I knew near the end of season one I was going to have a problem with the off-book subject. I didn't, at that time, know there would be a season two. I don't remember it ever being mentioned that Offred's husband was still alive in the book. (Please correct me if I'm wrong). That was the moment I looked at my wife and said, "crap, they're going to make another season of this for us to sit through."<br />
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Now, that being said, I liked most of season two. I feel like they did a better job of adding onto the novel than a lot of these types of shows do. It's really not that bad and I will probably dabble in season three when it is released.<br />
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<b>Characters</b>: Loved Ann Dowd as Aunt Lydia (sorry to see her go). I thought Joseph Fiennes makes a believable Commander Waterford (my wife hated him, point proven). Alexis Bledel goes above and beyond in her portrayal of Ofglen. Oh, and Yvonne Strahovski as Serena Joy is spectacular.<br />
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Not a huge Elisabeth Moss fan (she's the MC - Offred). Don't know why. Just never felt she's had the part just right.<br />
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All in all, they've done a good job with this classic dystopian novel at Hulu. Like I said, I will certainly give season three a solid try. My interest has been piqued with the season two cliffhanger.<br />
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How about you? Thoughts? Please be sure to let me know. And, is there another one of these you'd like to know my thoughts on? I'll be happy to read and watch almost anything... for a while.<br />
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Until next time,<br />
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<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;"><b><i>e a lake</i></b></span>e a lakehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09281428235580511227noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4303288970205593069.post-91894617101331938452019-02-22T10:09:00.003-08:002019-02-22T10:54:08.652-08:00The Man in the High Castle - A Dystopian TaleAs you know, I love any and all things dystopian. So about three years ago I was excited to see Philip K. Dick's novel turned into a series on Amazon Prime.<br />
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Now, I understand that most novels do not translate perfectly to a "movie" script. I know that the writers of the show will take certain liberties here and there. And, for the most part, all was well in my world -- my reality.<br />
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Let me summarize the first three seasons for you with <i><b><span style="color: blue;">my brief humble opinions</span></b></i>:<br />
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<b>Season 1</b> - Great storyline, marginal acting and probably shot with a dark camera filter at all times. Too dark at times. I really loved several of the characters and the actors portraying them: John Smith, Director Tagomi, and Inspector Kido. The rest -- meh.<br />
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I loved every minute of season one right up to the very last scene. That's where my alternate reality was introduced to a second, parallel, alternate reality. WHA??????<br />
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<b>Season 2</b> - I was lost most of the season. With events occurring in both realities sometimes I found it hard to figure out what I was watching. Great action between Smith and another Nazi officer towards the end, but the rest? Hard to stay as engaged as I was with season 1.<br />
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<b>Season 3</b> - I've watched one episode thus far. Not sure I'll go much further.<br />
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How exactly Juliana Crane (Alexa Davalos - the MC in my mind) went from a mealy-mouthed frightened woman in season 1 to machine gun totting super-woman right at the beginning of season 3 added another mind-boggling reality for me. I was all for her at first; <b>go, Juliana, go! </b>Now, in season 3, nah.<br />
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Again, these are just my thoughts on the show. And it probably has something to do with taking a single book and stretching it further than its original content. Maybe.<br />
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Next time I'll do another popular series: Hulu's <i><b>The Handmaid's Tale</b></i>.<br />
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See you then,<br />
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<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;"><b><i>e a lake</i></b></span><br />
<b><br /></b>e a lakehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09281428235580511227noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4303288970205593069.post-50989485955366547762018-04-25T09:12:00.000-07:002018-04-25T09:15:10.423-07:00The Separation of the USA -- Left and Right<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Unless you live in a cave -- and a very deep one at that -- you know that our two-party system in the United States isn't working so well right now. Heck, it hasn't been working well in a while.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span> <span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">This group hates Trump and Ryan; that group despises Pelosi and Obama. The Clintons are immoral. Nixon was a terrible crook.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span> <span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The left is for the people, all the people. The right stands only for the rich, the uber-rich.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span> <span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Blah, Blah, Blah, Blah!</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span> <span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">There's a problem here, people. Want to know who has a worse approval rating than our current President? All of Congress, that's who.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span> <span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">And I haven't gotten to the worst part yet. The problem is deepening. Even though everyone in politics -- as well as the rest of us -- know there is a huge issue here, what are they doing? Are they playing nice and working on coming back to the table and seeing eye to eye?</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span> <span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Hell no! They're digging in their heels and widening the gap between themselves!</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span> <span style="color: blue; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>We are at an impasse, my friends. Plain and simple. The tipping point is nearing. And that means trouble for us in the United States, big trouble...for every one of us.</b></span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><br /></b></span> <span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Here's what I think (and many agree with me). Our next Civil War will not be over resources, or states rights, or oppression. No, it will be Left vs. Right. Liberals vs. Conservatives. And this will be a war that will rip us apart.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span> <span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I feel this way so strongly that my next series focuses on it. To discover more about those novels <b><a href="http://ealake.com/" target="_blank">click here</a></b>. I think you'll find it an interesting read.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span> <span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I don't have a timeframe in mind and I pray such a war never comes. But as I watch the news each morning I can't help but see the writing on the wall. Forboding words that shake me to my core: <b><i>This 200+ year experiment is no longer working!</i></b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><i><br /></i></b></span> <span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><i><br /></i></b></span> <span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">That's all for now,</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><i><br /></i></b></span>
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<span style="color: #3d85c6; font-size: large;"><b><i>e a lake</i></b></span></div>
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e a lakehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09281428235580511227noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4303288970205593069.post-13510345689012545802018-03-26T07:30:00.000-07:002018-04-18T04:43:22.594-07:00When are you an adult? 18 or 21? Make up you mind, America!<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Just so we're straight on this, I'm 58. None of what I'm about to spew out applies to me. But it does matter to me and gives me a pause with concern.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br />
</span> <span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Right now, today, if a young person is 18 they are considered an adult...sort of.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br />
</span> <span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">They can: drive a car, vote, get married, have a child in or out of wedlock, enter into a legally binding contract and so on and so on and so on. Okay, got it?</span><br />
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</span> <span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">They can also join one of our armed forces and serve (and potentially die) for their country. Kind of a biggie in my mind.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br />
</span> <span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Now, they <b>cannot</b> legally buy or consume alcohol (though they can die for their country...kind of odd, but okay)! They still drink (some/most of them) and they still drive cars so I can see where you'd want them a little more mature before you give them access to liquor stores...sort of.</span><br />
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</span> <span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">They <b>cannot</b> buy handguns and soon (if some people have their way) they will not be able to purchase certain other weapons until the age of 21. Some stores have already "self" implemented these policies.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br />
</span> <span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">But we still allow them to vote? Huh!</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br />
</span> <span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><span style="color: blue;">What is the age of majority</span></b> in this country of ours (the USA)? Can someone <b>please</b> explain to me this sliding scale in a way that makes any sense?</span><br />
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</span> <span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Teens and 3,000# vehicles have always been a bad mix. Teens and alcohol can lead to trouble in a lot of settings. We all know what happens when angry or depressed teens get their hands on guns. And let's face it, most 18 year-olds understand as much about legal contracts as I do about using Pinterest (and that ain't much)!</span><br />
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</span> <span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">However, the problem should be obvious to all: If an 18-year-old is an adult, then they're an adult. If you want them to be 21 before they have access to all these great things that we adults get to have, then make it 21. But this odd mixture has to go!</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br />
</span> <span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">If they can enter the military then these people deserve to drink, and the right to buy whatever firearms are legal for the rest of us to purchase. I do not believe it's fair to give them <b>some rights</b>, but not <b>all rights</b>.</span><br />
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</span> <span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I believe our legislators need our help in solving this issue. Our children deserve a clean, uncluttered path to adulthood. Quite frankly I don't care what age is chosen (my youngest is 30 and served 8 years in the USMC). Just give them everything they deserve and don't keep certain parts of adulthood hidden from them behind "curtain #3" until they turn some other magical age.</span><br />
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</span> <span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">What do you think? I want to hear from you on this! Please comment below.</span><br />
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</span> <span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Until next time,</span><br />
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<div style="font-family: times;">
<span style="color: #3d85c6; font-size: large;"><b><i>e a lake</i></b></span></div>
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<a class="rcptr" data-raflid="806b62d92" data-template="" data-theme="classic" href="http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/806b62d92/" id="rcwidget_adu9r56s" rel="nofollow">a Rafflecopter giveaway</a><br />
<script src="https://widget-prime.rafflecopter.com/launch.js"></script><br />e a lakehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09281428235580511227noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4303288970205593069.post-67263372140703596762018-03-02T10:20:00.000-08:002018-04-25T09:08:16.524-07:00Big Brother 2<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">This example of <b><span style="color: blue;">Big Brother</span></b> meddling in your lives borders on stupidity! And the worst part is that people are doing it willingly.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span> <span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The other day my wife was buying a bottle of wine at the liquor store. The clerk told her that as of January 1, 2018 they had to scan ID's on all liquor sales. Okay, seemed reasonable. I mean it's an easy solution to the store's liability in underage sales to minors. I get it.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span> <span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">But wait -- the punchline is coming.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span> <span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I asked the clerk how fast the database they were creating got transferred to the State of Minnesota. She shrugged it away and made some kind of comment about why would the State want to look at their database. As far as she knew it went into some great void that was never touched again.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span> <span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Really?</span><br />
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<span style="color: #38761d; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Really?</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span> <span style="color: red; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: x-large;"><i>REALLY?!</i></span><br />
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<a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Tr9TmZScuCc/VhVV1PfGfSI/AAAAAAAACBI/Kcf6ZK9kL6k6lPyivmi1G2bnsiwNmFCaQCPcBGAYYCw/s1600/small_caliber_ammunition1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="315" data-original-width="600" height="105" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Tr9TmZScuCc/VhVV1PfGfSI/AAAAAAAACBI/Kcf6ZK9kL6k6lPyivmi1G2bnsiwNmFCaQCPcBGAYYCw/s200/small_caliber_ammunition1.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Let's not be stupid, people. If they've said ID's need to be collected on all liquor sales you can be darn sure the State has interest in that information. I mean, why else would they be collecting it?</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span> <span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Maybe liquor is the first of many steps. I can envision some time in the future going to buy a box of shells for my deer rifle and being asked for my ID so it can be scanned. Such a thing would help create a database of all of my weapons, submitted willingly by me each time I buy a different box of ammunition.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span> <span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Starting to see the problem? Yeah!</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span> <span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Gun registration has its pitfalls. I can always buy a gun from a neighbor willing to part with one. I can inherit them from my family. And what about people who might steal my guns? None of these examples fall under the current gun registration laws.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span> <span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">You register your vehicles, your boats, your cell phones, your internet and now your alcohol purchases. Your pets are registered; even your children and yourself are all in some humungous government database.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span> <span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">And you've done it all willingly; never batting an eye or raising any concern as you did so. Thus, when they start asking for your ID to buy ammunition, don't be surprised. Just be a good sheeple and hand them your government issued ID. They'll thank you for your cooperation -- one way or another.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span> <span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Do you have thoughts on this subject? If so, please comment on this post. I love hearing from free thinking people.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span> <span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span> <span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Until next time,</span><br />
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<div style="font-family: times;">
<span style="color: #3d85c6; font-size: large;"><b><i>e a lake</i></b></span></div>
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e a lakehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09281428235580511227noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4303288970205593069.post-68518296194131217272018-02-20T14:43:00.001-08:002018-02-20T14:43:50.127-08:00Have you heard??? I'm at it again!<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I'll make this short and sweet; I've written another series. And while only two of the three books have been released at this point, I wanted to fill you in on this one.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It's called "<i>The Indiana Apocalypse</i>" and it takes place in... you guessed it, Indiana (the southern part to be precise).</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">But that's not the best part. No, the best part is the angle I've approached this one from.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Here's part of the hook:</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i><b><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333;">What could be worse than coming to with no memory of your past?</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333;">Quinn Reynolds regains consciousness on a couch surrounded by four strange women. He wonders where he is, what he's doing, and most importantly who he is. When he finds out the world is in its sixth year of darkness, his mind is totally blown.</span></b></i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333;"><br /></span></i></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333;"><br /></span></i></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Here's the cover for the first book:</span><br />
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<a href="https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0786NJNL4" target="_blank"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1000" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/--gcDTHsvd0M/WaGCwTF3xkI/AAAAAAAADik/8Z7-8hBHQewQqdKpbUo9kE5NcjWpvpGJwCPcBGAYYCw/s320/The%2BIndiana%2BApocalypse%2Bbook%2B1%2Bebook.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It's available on Amazon right now. You can get your copy by either <a href="http://it%27s%20called%20%22the%20indiana%20apocalypse%22%20and%20it%20takes%20place%20in...%20you%20guessed%20it%2C%20indiana%20%28the%20so/" target="_blank">clicking right </a><a class="" href="http://it%27s%20called%20%22the%20indiana%20apocalypse%22%20and%20it%20takes%20place%20in...%20you%20guessed%20it%2C%20indiana%20%28the%20so/" target="_blank">here</a> or by clicking on the picture above. Your choice! And remember, if you're a Kindle Unlimited reader you can get it for <b><i><span style="color: blue;">FREE!</span></i></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I hope you enjoy the story and if you do I hope you'll consider purchasing Book Two <i><b><a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B079J4CRCR" target="_blank">Found</a></b>.</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">That's all for this time. Until March, have fun and thanks for reading!</span></div>
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<br />e a lakehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09281428235580511227noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4303288970205593069.post-27257175486983504572017-10-03T07:56:00.000-07:002017-10-03T07:56:02.609-07:00Big Brother 1<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Here's a sign I saw in the Twin Cities a few days ago. It made me shake my head.</span><br />
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<a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-CgexVYgQUKc/WbrfoUHzogI/AAAAAAAADk0/o-8BlQV4CGoKBPincDcmFONpoT2BcU_6wCLcBGAs/s1600/Billboard.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="646" data-original-width="1186" height="347" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-CgexVYgQUKc/WbrfoUHzogI/AAAAAAAADk0/o-8BlQV4CGoKBPincDcmFONpoT2BcU_6wCLcBGAs/s640/Billboard.png" width="640" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span> <span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span> <span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span> <span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Was the State of Minnesota really telling me when to put gas in my car? And were they saying this so poor, old, stupid me wouldn't be out in the smog that I could clearly see? Or were they saying it because it was best for the environment? Or was there some other reason at play?</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span> <span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I appreciate the government worrying about my health (though it really is none of their business). I also appreciate them helping to remind citizens that the air was bad that day.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span> <span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">However, the role of government is not -- and never has been -- to tell me when I can and can't put gas in my car... or go outside ... or drive... or anything else that infringes on my personal liberties.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span> <span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">It's like the signs you see sometimes on the side of the road reminding you not to text. You know the ones; they usually have some clever slogan on them.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span> <span style="color: red; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">"Don't drive distracted."</span><br />
<span style="color: #351c75; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">"Drop the phone because I said so - Mom."</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">And my favorite...</span><br />
<span style="color: #741b47; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">"Texting and driving... It can wait!"</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span> <span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">All they really need to say is something like what I saw in Wisconsin this past summer.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span> <span style="color: #274e13; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>"Texting while driving is a $300 fine."</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span> <span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">There, isn't that nice and to the point? Don't waste your time on snappy slogans ("<i><span style="color: blue;">this is your brain on drugs</span></i>" was a huge failure); just give it to us straight. Trust me, we can handle the truth.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span> <span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">What are your feelings on the subject? I'd really like to hear from you. Am I over-reacting? Or am I simply pointing out another case of the government acting like Orwell's Big Brother? </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span> <span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">You all know where I stand!</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span> <span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span> <span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Later people,</span><br />
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e a lakehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09281428235580511227noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4303288970205593069.post-36964221691799456442017-09-19T12:27:00.000-07:002020-02-28T09:26:45.005-08:00WWIV - The Last Great War<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The first novel I ever published was <i><a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00JASCIB2" target="_blank"><b>WWIV - In The Beginning</b></a></i>. That was more than three years and 120 reviews ago. Since then I've added three more novels to the series:</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span> <span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00O07M598" target="_blank"><i><b>WWIV - Hope in the Darkness</b></i></a></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span> <span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01BX25E2W" target="_blank"><b><i>WWIV - Basiin of Secrets</i></b></a></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><i><br /></i></b></span> <span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B072LTWKN9" target="_blank"><b><i>WWIV - The Last Finders</i></b></a></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span> <span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Here are the covers for all of them (just in case you've never read the series).</span><br />
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<a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B071P8HQ24" target="_blank"><img border="0" data-original-height="512" data-original-width="1024" height="200" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-jNWeZYbzfFw/Wbp4YzosV0I/AAAAAAAADkY/r3Nig2-samEibotrVrs7JbzqI7PrE_ajwCLcBGAs/s400/WWIV%2BSeries.png" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; text-align: center;">Each book is a standalone novel. New characters and new surroundings are found throughout. </span><i style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; text-align: center;">In the Beginning</i><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; text-align: center;"> starts in St. Paul, MN and works its way into western Wisconsin. </span><i style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; text-align: center;">Hope in the Darkness</i><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; text-align: center;"> takes place just outside of Portage (WI). </span><i style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; text-align: center;">Basin of Secrets</i><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; text-align: center;"> is set in Salt Lake City. And </span><i style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; text-align: center;">The Last Finders</i><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; text-align: center;"> is near Eau Claire (WI).</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Book one features Bill and Brit. Book two focuses on Hunter and Sister Thersa. Book three zeros in on Cara, Betsy and a man named Willem Tarlisch (my favorite antagonist to date). Book four deals with four friends (Wilson, Tiny, Judy, and Sharon). It also has a great antagonist that goes by the name of Captain Wayne.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">So, <i>WWIV</i> is a series but not a serial. I know that some readers prefer it that way. If you haven't dipped your toe into the <i>WWIV</i> water, maybe now is a good time to start. They are all available on Amazon and Book One is always free.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Until next time - <i><span style="color: red;">Read Like There's No Tomorrow</span></i> (because if WWIV does come, there won't be one).</span><br />
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e a lakehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09281428235580511227noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4303288970205593069.post-24252959567113663912017-09-07T07:30:00.000-07:002017-09-07T07:30:01.117-07:00The No Where Apocalypse<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Alone and drunk, Bob Reiniger awakens in a remote cabin in northern Michigan. He's on a break from his stressful life and job. A week of drinking, followed by another week of sobering up, is just what he needs. At least that's his plan.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span> <span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Little does he know that he'll never again return to his life and his young wife in Joilett, IL. <b><i><span style="color: blue;">The end of the world as we know</span><span style="color: blue;"> it</span></i></b> has arrived while he slept. And it traps him in the absolute center of <b><i class="">NO WHERE</i></b>!</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span> <span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">With limited supplies and zero knowledge of how to survive on his own, Bob is forced to seek help from others. Even if that means meeting a strange cast of northern characters that each lives miles away from his grandfather's musty old cabin. Miles that must be traveled on foot. Back and forth, back and forth, back and forth.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span> <span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Wolves, road bandits, and weather become his new adversaries. Even getting water from his well with a hand pump proves difficult. He worries that winter will kill him. If he only knew that several men would try to end his life before that, his worries could have been saved.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span> <span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Come meet Bob. Come meet his neighbors: Dizzy, Lettie, Frank, Marge, Nate, and Violet. New people will enter his life. Some will be good and kind: Daisy, Libbie, Jean, Thaddeus Wilson and his sons. Others will be the scum of the Earth, looking to take all that is his.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span> <span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">In the end, Bob must either survive and protect his possessions and his friends, or give in and go the way of the former world!</span><br />
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<a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01N0D5KXI" target="_blank"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1000" height="200" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-AvpMyPhMXOk/VyIK5eITgBI/AAAAAAAACxQ/_Y74Q2XBposcnq957Jgr2qQNbhHtpLfIgCPcBGAYYCw/s200/EA%2B1.jpg" width="125" /></a> <a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01N0D5KXI" target="_blank"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1000" height="200" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Hil_XfyunIY/V0R27DbeprI/AAAAAAAACzw/QNnsxn-m-N0pdu2dXzyDxFpGRWfhv9mhwCPcBGAYYCw/s200/Surviving%2BNo%2BWhere%2BKindle.jpg" width="125" /></a> <a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01N0D5KXI" target="_blank"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1003" height="200" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-WcEwIBsJu64/V5jwAwM5GTI/AAAAAAAAC4M/NtHB9EBj-BMYVH-2Lb2Z2NiP2CNqzWnIgCPcBGAYYCw/s200/Defending%2BNo%2BWhere%2BKindle%2BFinal.jpg" width="125" /></a> <a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01N0D5KXI" target="_blank"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1003" height="200" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-amOkUldcEWk/WAaAK9kOLKI/AAAAAAAAC_o/15FmptOVzdYCul9ZEiBEgX3-f9e7UlXiACPcBGAYYCw/s200/Searching%2BNo%2BWhere%2BKindle.jpg" width="125" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">If you are seeking a character driven, post-apocalyptic series for your fall reading -- these are the books for you. With over 300 four and five star ratings many have enjoyed Bob's tales. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">And, if you are a member of <i><b>Kindle Unlimited</b></i> you can read them all for free.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Check out book one of <i><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Stranded-No-Where-Apocalypse-Book-ebook/dp/B01EVXUV3M" target="_blank">The No Where Apocalypse</a> </i>today.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Thank you for being a reader,</span></div>
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e a lakehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09281428235580511227noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4303288970205593069.post-55359633469873007452017-08-26T07:25:00.000-07:002017-08-26T07:25:47.812-07:00Cover Reveal - Coming in October 2017<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It's been a while since my last release. So I'm happy to have a new post-apocalyptic series coming this fall. Here is the cover of book one:</span><br />
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<a href="http://www.ealake.com/" target="_blank"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1000" height="400" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/--gcDTHsvd0M/WaGCwTF3xkI/AAAAAAAADig/w5xkEZ_A4T0EcMimMtOh_7itrhSZ_C5OwCLcBGAs/s400/The%2BIndiana%2BApocalypse%2Bbook%2B1%2Bebook.jpg" width="250" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I believe I've put on interesting spin on the apocalypse for you. To read more about this upcoming novel <a href="http://www.ealake.com/" target="_blank">click here</a> for a brief synopsis.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I promise to keep you updated as I get closer to publication.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Have a great week now,</span></div>
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<br />e a lakehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09281428235580511227noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4303288970205593069.post-69239223688890176722017-08-10T10:09:00.000-07:002017-08-10T10:09:37.388-07:00Catching up again!<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I know, I know...it's been a while.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Sorry; I've been busy creating new novels and new ideas to be released in the next twelve months. I think you're going to like them. So stay tuned!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Here's what you might have missed while I've been on hiatus:</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">My latest release (from about a month ago) was <i>The Remnants of Antietam</i>. It's post-apocalyptic and involves a little more fighting and weaponry than my usual stuff, but follows much of the same vein you've grown to like.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Set in Sharpsburg, MD (near the Antietam Battlefield) a small community of preppers finds themselves thrown into the world they thought they were ready for. But is anyone ever truly prepared for the end of times?</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">You can get it by clicking on the picture/cover below:</span><br />
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<a href="https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0739QMTLP" target="_blank"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="500" height="320" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-nYs18DbPR-M/WYyRLD_64PI/AAAAAAAADfo/o3DxToB9ipYkIXby1UB1rqX9JtpePnt-QCLcBGAs/s320/TheRemnantsofAntietam.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Also, if you were following the online novel <i>Glitched</i>, it's available in ebook and paperback as well now:</span></div>
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<a href="https://www.amazon.com/Glitched-e-lake-ebook/dp/B071V5JDHF" target="_blank"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1003" height="320" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-rZ9D6Gbkmw8/WYyR_-hw2KI/AAAAAAAADfw/3sGeNGsnZec0FK_xv7Ewg4-4tzV35bOSgCLcBGAs/s320/Glitched.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I'll have more to tell you in a few days. I'll catch you up to speed on what I'm writing and an exciting series that will be released in 2018.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Until then, have a great week.</span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Thanks</span><span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"> for reading,</span></b><br />
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<span style="color: #3d85c6; font-size: large;"><b><i>e a lake</i></b></span></div>
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<a href="http://eepurl.com/bQVkeD" style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;" target="_blank"><img border="0" height="160" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-irR2X6ZWD4w/Vs80wAv9xjI/AAAAAAAACq8/4AuxYa4qhC0/s320/Unjust%2Bfor%2BBlog.png" width="320" /></a></div>
e a lakehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09281428235580511227noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4303288970205593069.post-82986810828134793412017-03-26T08:08:00.000-07:002017-03-26T08:08:32.447-07:00New Release Announcement<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="color: #134f5c; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><i><u><a href="https://www.amazon.com/dp/B06XRY14JW" target="_blank">Seasons - A Year in the Apocalypse</a></u></i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I enjoyed writing this novel, though at times I became somewhat depressed with the situations I put the characters through. In the end, I think it's a good post-apocalyptic tale of survival that the reader will enjoy.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">So sit back and let me introduce you to Abigail Turner (our main character), Sunshine Jones (Abby's best - and perhaps only - friend), Rickard Hulton (a nearby wealthy rancher who oversees the area), and Jeremy Lasky (Hulton's right-hand man, who is certainly no friend of Abby's).</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The apocalypse has been 22 years in the making. Each year has become more and more difficult. The only question that remains is will Abby survive to see a 23rd?</span><br />
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<a href="https://www.amazon.com/dp/B06XRY14JW" target="_blank"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-GcssWCVxjoQ/WNfYDlpRTjI/AAAAAAAADKQ/9uTYsIVju0U9sYZC8PtkURiD_Hz7_cxBwCLcB/s320/SEASONS%2BKindle.jpg" width="211" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Now available on Amazon. Get your copy today.</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Thanks for reading,</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><br /></b></span></div>
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<span style="color: #3d85c6; font-size: large;"><b><i>e a lake</i></b></span></div>
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<span style="color: #3d85c6; font-size: large;"><b><i><br /></i></b></span><span style="color: #3d85c6; font-size: large;"><b><i><br /></i></b></span><span style="color: #3d85c6; font-size: large;"> <a href="http://eepurl.com/bQVkeD" style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: medium; text-align: center;" target="_blank"><img border="0" height="160" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-irR2X6ZWD4w/Vs80wAv9xjI/AAAAAAAACq8/4AuxYa4qhC0/s320/Unjust%2Bfor%2BBlog.png" width="320" /></a></span></div>
e a lakehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09281428235580511227noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4303288970205593069.post-11378785711687790262017-03-24T05:59:00.000-07:002017-03-24T05:59:00.168-07:00"Glitched" - Chapters 17 & 18<b style="color: blue; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><i>Click on the chapter numbers below to read prior publishings:</i></b><br />
<b style="color: blue; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><i><br /></i></b><b style="color: blue; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><i><a href="http://ealake.blogspot.com/2017/01/glitched-chapters-1-2.html" target="_blank">1&2 </a> <a href="http://ealake.blogspot.com/2017/02/glitched-chapters-3-4.html" target="_blank">3&4</a> <a href="http://ealake.blogspot.com/2017/02/glitched-chapters-5-6.html" target="_blank">5&6</a> <a href="http://ealake.blogspot.com/2017/02/glitched-chapters-7-8.html" target="_blank">7&8</a> </i></b><b style="color: blue; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><i><a href="http://ealake.blogspot.com/2017/02/glitched-chapters-9-10.html" target="_blank">9&10</a> <a href="http://ealake.blogspot.com/2017/03/glitched-chapters-11-12.html" target="_blank">11&12</a> <a href="http://ealake.blogspot.com/2017/03/glitched-chapters-13-14.html" target="_blank">13&14</a> <a href="http://ealake.blogspot.com/2017/03/glitched-chapters-15-16.html" target="_blank">15&16</a></i></b><br />
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<u><span style="font-family: "calibri"; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><b><i><span style="color: blue;">Chapter 17</span></i></b><o:p></o:p></span></u></div>
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<span style="font-family: "calibri"; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">I called Gareth to see if they had started on Lucy. Fortunately, he told me they hadn’t. But 16:00 was drawing nearer and time, as well as her luck, was running out.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "calibri"; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">“What did Anuk have to say?” Gareth asked. I heard him clicking on his keyboard in the background.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "calibri"; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">“She wasn’t home, but I ran into a nark who wants me to help her find someone.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "calibri"; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">When he didn’t reply, I assumed our call had been cut off. That would be like Gar, dropping my call on purpose. I <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">was</i> using the wrong cell I guess.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "calibri"; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">“She wants me to find—”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "calibri"; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">“I’m reading her report right now,” he replied hastily. “Do those people have any clue as to what goes on in the world? Why would she ask a low-level glitch like you for help in finding someone like him? Just how stupid are they?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "calibri"; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">His confidence in my abilities was touching. “I’m not that low-level, Frankenstein.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "calibri"; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">“No offense, buddy. But how do they figure you can help find a guy that no one has ever met? As far as I’m aware no one has, right?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "calibri"; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">That was the truth. And that, amongst a myriad of other reasons was why I had no intention of helping sexy Cassie, much less our tyrannical government in the least. Although Cassie was good looking enough to string along for a while. That could be fun, I mused.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "calibri"; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">It bothered me that Collins had given her my name for help. He knew better than that. I was barely a decent glitch; how in the devil did he expect me to locate someone who’d been on the lamb for years. But, that was the thought process of our country’s best.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "calibri"; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">The problem with most government employees was that they were generally lazy. Aside from sitting on their computers all day – researching God only knew what – they might leave their desk for meals, or meetings. I had always heard they held plenty of meetings at the various stations throughout the Cities. Both scheduled and impromptu.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "calibri"; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">But a man like Collins was the classic government type. Jerk someone else’s chain if they needed something done…make that anything done. I wondered if they even signed their own paperwork, or did they have some low-level lackey take care of that for them as well. No need in exerting yourself when there were hundreds of people willing to do your bidding, I supposed.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "calibri"; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">“Holy shit,” Gareth shouted into the phone. “Holy shit, Trent!”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "calibri"; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">“What?! What?!”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "calibri"; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">“I mean holy shit on a sherbet cone, dude.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "calibri"; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">What had he discovered? Did the government know where Nithiw was? Was Lucy already dead? Were they sending a kill squad to find me that minute?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "calibri"; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">“Did you notice what a level 10 hottie Cassandra Lundt was?” Oh, that. Duh.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "calibri"; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">“I met her in person, you moron,” I replied, starting the walk back to Ma’s place to grab my black phone. “Trust me, it was a little hard to miss. A blind man would have noticed her downright hotness.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "calibri"; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">“Wow, she is uber hot,” he continued. “She could come and interrogate me anytime she wanted to. Wowzer, dude.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "calibri"; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Since Gareth’s idea of dating revolved around online anonymous chatrooms, where he hid his identity, I scoffed at his words. “You’d just stutter and stammer until she called in the kill squad, man. She could stand in front of you in her birthday suit and you wouldn’t know what to do.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "calibri"; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">The silence told me I had nailed him, right through the heart. I felt a smile grow as I waited on his clever response, the one that didn’t seem to be coming anytime soon.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "calibri"; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">“You still there, Gar?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "calibri"; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">“Yeah,” he moaned. “Just checking security at one. It seems they have an eye on our area right now. But, and this goes without saying, they don’t seem to know what they’re looking for.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "calibri"; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Cassie had already told me that, so it wasn’t news to me. It wasn’t unusual for the State to be focused on one area or another from time to time. I just figured it was hot, in their eyes at least, because of Lucy’s arrest earlier.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "calibri"; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">“Are you completely dark?” I asked, pausing for a moment on my walk. I needed the break anyway. If I made one more lap of our area, I’d be ready for the marathon by nightfall.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "calibri"; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">“Two is looking at cyber activity right now,” he replied casually. “They have been all morning. Though the bright ones down there think they’re getting phished by a bunch of hackers from the north side at this moment.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "calibri"; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">I knew there were several smaller cells in the north. But I couldn’t recall if they had much hacking capability among the group.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "calibri"; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">“It’s me,” he admitted, sounding pleased with himself. “So to answer your question, yes, I am completely dark. And just so you know, it’s getting close to 15:00. Clock is ticking for Lucy, bud.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "calibri"; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Sighing first, I glanced at my surroundings. The gray day made the dismal neighborhood between Anuk’s place and Ma’s even more depressing. Besides the dilapidated buildings and roads, there were no signs of life save a single barking dog.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "calibri"; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">“Where the hell is he?!” I heard shouted from Gareth’s end of the call. “Well?” I thought I recognized the voice.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "calibri"; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">“Your girlfriend is here,” Gareth chuckled.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "calibri"; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">“Screw you, brainless,” the feminine voice replied. “If you’re talking to him right now, tell him to get his skinny ass over here. Now!”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "calibri"; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Well, Anuk certainly sounded in a good mood. “Tell her I’ll be there in five minutes, Gar. And maybe give her a drink or something. She needs to chill.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "calibri"; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">I clicked off before he, or she, could respond. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "calibri"; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Now what? I wondered, taking the next right to return to Gareth’s.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<u><span style="font-family: "calibri"; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><b><i><span style="color: blue;">Chapter 18</span></i></b><o:p></o:p></span></u></div>
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<span style="font-family: "calibri"; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">When I walked through Gareth’s front door I found Anuk standing in the middle of the room waiting for me. I expected her to be pissed; she had sounded that way on the phone. Instead I found a smiling young woman, approaching me with open arms. She wanted a hug.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "calibri"; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">“Hi, sweetie,” she said in a voice I’d never heard from her before. She squeezed me tightly with her arms. “I’m glad you’re here safe and sound.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "calibri"; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">There probably, in hindsight, were multiple signals coming from the tiny one that it was all a ploy. She wanted something else. But stupid me didn’t think it through. Instead, I wrapped my arms around her tiny body.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "calibri"; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">I enjoyed the closeness, the smell of her hair, her fingers massaging my back. Though unusual from Anuk, I had to say I liked it.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "calibri"; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Until…<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "calibri"; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Her knee rose so fast I had no time to react. One minute I was hugging a woman whom I believed was showing me real affection. The next thing I knew I was on the floor in the fetal positions, clutching my aching balls.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "calibri"; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">“What the—” I managed to moan after a few painful seconds. That’s when the toe of her right boot found my sternum.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "calibri"; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">“You met Margo Hanks, in public no less?” she screamed. “How many ways of stupid are you?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "calibri"; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">A response wasn’t coming anytime soon, not from me at least. I was too busy protecting myself from further attacks to my sensitive areas. That, and the fact I still hadn’t caught my breath from the initial attack.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "calibri"; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">“What if they have you on tape, you idiot?” Her rant continued, though her foot had let up. “What if they were listening in? We don’t know shit about her. She could be one of them.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "calibri"; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Okay, maybe meeting with Margo wasn’t the best idea I’d had in a while. In my defense, however, I didn’t know who I was meeting until I got there. And, nothing important had been said.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "calibri"; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">“Ease up, Anuk,” Gareth said, coming to my rescue. “Let him get up so he can defend himself.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "calibri"; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Anuk went behind the couch and began to pace. Seeing I had a good 10 feet of safety zone between us, I rose. When she made a move to come at me again, I shook a finger at her.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "calibri"; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">“Don’t,” I stammered. “Don’t make me hurt you.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "calibri"; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">That brought a grin to her otherwise sour-puss face. The grin was followed by a snort. Gareth joined the fun with laughter.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "calibri"; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">“You couldn’t hurt anyone, much less me,” Anuk replied. “You’re just lucky Margo didn’t pull a knife out and slit your scrawny throat.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "calibri"; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">“She’s not that type.” I had enough breath to finally defend myself, if only in words.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "calibri"; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Anuk threw her hands my direction and spun to face Gareth.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "calibri"; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">“And how in the hell would he know anything about her?” she shrieked. “Did you brief him before this meeting, dimwit? Or did he just walk in dark like he did earlier at the Repository?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "calibri"; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Gareth seemed to take no offense to her rant and found his spot in his special chair. Picking up the keyboard, his attention focused on the monitor on the wall.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "calibri"; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">“He knew enough,” Gareth replied. Good, at least he was on my side. “And he knew enough to leave her alone. We don’t need any more problems right now, but Trent always plays by his own set of rules.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "calibri"; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">“Et tu, dickless?” I shot at my best friend. Someone had to defend me, and who better than me.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "calibri"; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">“I believe the phrase was leave her alone.” Anuk was back at me. “Which head rules your day, Trent? And don’t bother with an answer; we all know.” Why was she shouting again? I was standing in the same room as her.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "calibri"; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">I raised my hand in surrender. “Okay, admittedly it wasn’t one of my smartest moves. But she was worried about her friend.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "calibri"; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Anuk charged me. “She’s with the government stupid.” A hard jab reached my sternum, damn her. “She’s one of them!”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "calibri"; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">I didn’t think so. If anything Margo was one us of or at least a peeb sympathizer. She was far too passionate about getting Lucy out of station one.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "calibri"; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">“Jury’s still out on that one, Anuk,” I replied, softening my voice and stance. “She’s on our side. That’s what my gut tells me.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "calibri"; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Taking a quick right at my stomach, I easily deflected Anuk’s blow. “You gut is going to get us all killed someday. And soon if you don’t start acting a little more cautiously. I had another email. He wants this thing all sewn up by 18:00. I think he feels that two hours of interrogation and your girlfriend will crack.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "calibri"; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">A thought came to me. Closing my eyes, I considered it all the way through.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "calibri"; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">“Gar, how close do the people in the government check interoffice requests?” I asked.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "calibri"; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">He opened his arms, signaling he needed a clearer picture of what I was asking.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "calibri"; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">“If we send a request to the interrogation team to hold off for a couple of hours, say until 18:00, will they think twice about it?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "calibri"; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">“If it’s from an anonymous source?” He wasn’t following; I had left out the important part.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "calibri"; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">“Send a note from Collins to the team,” I continued. “Tell them he’s tracking down a hot lead on Selmo’s whereabouts. Maybe his gang can bring him in so Lucy can ID him. Think they’d check up on it, maybe call Collins himself?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "calibri"; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">His grin spoke volumes as his finger flew across the keyboard. “They’re so lazy down there; they don’t check shit.” He made an exaggerated key strike and tossed his tool aside. “Done!”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "calibri"; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">I looked at Anuk, placing a hand on each of her shoulders. “Okay, we just bought another two hours. I’ve got an idea. Hear me out.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "calibri"; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Her tightened expression told me she was skeptical. But since she remained silent, I had my opening.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<i>All material is the intellectual property of e a lake. Please don't steal it, but feel free to share this with anyone you might think will enjoy it. Also -- and this is a biggie -- if you have any input on the grammar, or content, or ideas for upcoming chapters, please make a comment. Let's create this novel together. And with your help, it can only become better.</i></div>
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<span style="color: #3d85c6; font-size: large;"><b><i>e a lake</i></b></span><br />
<span style="color: #3d85c6; font-size: large;"><b><i><br /></i></b></span><span style="color: #3d85c6; font-size: large;"><b><i><br /></i></b></span><span style="color: #3d85c6; font-size: large;"> <a href="http://eepurl.com/bQVkeD" style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: medium; text-align: center;" target="_blank"><img border="0" height="160" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-irR2X6ZWD4w/Vs80wAv9xjI/AAAAAAAACq8/4AuxYa4qhC0/s320/Unjust%2Bfor%2BBlog.png" width="320" /></a></span></div>
e a lakehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09281428235580511227noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4303288970205593069.post-52960343819978592112017-03-17T05:00:00.000-07:002017-03-17T05:00:01.327-07:00"Glitched" - Chapters 15 & 16<b style="color: blue; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><i>Click on the chapter numbers below to read prior publishings:</i></b><br />
<b style="color: blue; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><i><br /></i></b><b style="color: blue; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><i><a href="http://ealake.blogspot.com/2017/01/glitched-chapters-1-2.html" target="_blank">1&2 </a> <a href="http://ealake.blogspot.com/2017/02/glitched-chapters-3-4.html" target="_blank">3&4</a> <a href="http://ealake.blogspot.com/2017/02/glitched-chapters-5-6.html" target="_blank">5&6</a> <a href="http://ealake.blogspot.com/2017/02/glitched-chapters-7-8.html" target="_blank">7&8</a> </i></b><b style="color: blue; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><i><a href="http://ealake.blogspot.com/2017/02/glitched-chapters-9-10.html" target="_blank">9&10</a> <a href="http://ealake.blogspot.com/2017/03/glitched-chapters-11-12.html" target="_blank">11&12</a> <a href="http://ealake.blogspot.com/2017/03/glitched-chapters-13-14.html" target="_blank">13&14</a></i></b><br />
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<u><span style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><b><i><span style="color: blue;">Chapter 15<o:p></o:p></span></i></b></span></u></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Running, well trotting I suppose, it took me 15 minutes to get to Anuk’s place. But there was a surprise for me when I arrived. Her front door was locked and from the looks of things she wasn’t home.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">I knew she couldn’t have gone far. I mean how much distance could she make with those short legs. Turning for the sidewalk, I scoured the area in case she was nearby. Instead of Anuk, I found trouble.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">It was the gray raincoat that gave her away. The one cinched at her waist so tight I wondered if her legs were getting any blood. If nothing else the tightened belt showed off her tiny waist. And those two nylon coverage legs that stood below the bottom of the coat were pretty noticeable as well.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">“Hello there,” she said in a voice that was far too friendly for who she was, what she represented. “Would you happen to be Trent Slate?” she asked, her beautifully full, red-painted lips pursing into a smile.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">She knew exactly who I was. She knew everything about me; my birthdate, my ma’s name, my shoe size…everything. Hell, she probably knew what my favorite color of underwear was.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">I knew I couldn’t avoid her, or run away, so I gave her what she wanted. “I don’t know Miss Government nark,” I replied with a grin. “Do you have a name?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">She extended a demur hand my way, her nails painted a color that matched her lips. Staring at it for a moment first, I finally shook it. It wasn’t like she was going to bite, right?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">“My name is Cassandra Lundt,” she replied in the friendliest of voices. That caused me to smile.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">First off, it probably wasn’t her actual name. These government types that chased glitches around were notorious for having fake names. Next, there was the fact she wanted something. No one treated me like a human, much less ever smiled at me. Her over the top happy do-dah attitude was lost on me.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Lastly, and this one was a biggie in my mind, no one in the world was that happy any more. Absolutely, positively no one. If you worked for the government, you most likely hated your job. If you were a supplementary worker, or a glitch like me, you hated your life. If you were a peeb you spent most of your time avoiding people… people who all hated you and wanted you dead.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Thus, Cassandra Lundt was a fraud.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">“What can I do for you, Ms. Lundt?” I replied, nowhere near as happily as she spoke.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">She snaked an arm through one of mine and turned me down the sidewalk, walking and patting my arm with her free hand. “Oh, why don’t you call me Cassie? I’d so like it if we could think of each other as friends.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">I couldn’t help but grin. How stupid did she think I was? “Okay, Cassie. What do you want? You know, if my girlfriend sees us arm-in-arm, she may get jealous.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Giggling at something I said, Cassie pulled me onward. “First of all, I don’t think either Lucy or Riley are actually your girlfriend. And if you must know, you can do so much better than either of those two.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">I shook my head as we continued our stroll. I had only tossed out the girlfriend comment to see how she would respond; at her reply spoke volumes. This Cassie, or whoever she was, had been talking to someone, and that someone was most likely Captain Collins.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">“I’m looking for a man,” she continued, only softer and less jovial.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">“Well, I could free up some time for you, if you’re into guys like me,” I replied, fighting back laughter. I knew that wasn’t what she meant, but Cassie wasn’t getting crap from me.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">“Not like that,” she said, slapping playfully at my arm. “I’m looking for a particular man and I’m told that of all the people in the city, you just might be able to help me find him.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">I grinned. It was the one and only Captain Kumquat who had sent her to search me out. Now, who was she looking for? I needed to play her slow. Maybe the dumb angle would work, since it came so easy for me.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">“I’m just a lowly glitch, Cassie,” I said, shrugging softly. “I barely get my quota each month. I hope you’re not looking for someone too difficult to find.” I flashed her my sad eyes. “I’d hate to let you down.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">“Oh Trent,” she cooed. “I have it on good authority that if anyone can help me it’s you.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Man, was she overselling it. She had to be desperate to find the special someone.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">“Who you looking for?” I finally asked, hoping to get this lovefest over with.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Checking all around us first, she glanced back at me with pursed lips. “There’s been a lot of chatter today and it’s all revolved around one person…a man.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Her pause made me sigh. Why had everyone I talked to today decided to hide everything so close to their chests?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">“This will be easier with a name,” I replied. “Otherwise, I’ll just be wandering around looking for a guy without a description.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">She rubbed my arm and leaned in for what looked like a kiss. However, her lips slid past my face and close to my right ear.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">“Selmo Nithiw,” she whispered.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">I let out a loud throaty snort. Her and everyone else in the government were looking for this guy. Most of the peebs were looking for him as well, for a very different reason of course. If she thought I could help with this task, she needed a new job.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">“You want me…” I poked a finger into my chest, “…to help you find the mythical leader of the peebs? A guy we aren’t sure even exists. A guy who, as far as I know, no one has ever met. A guy we’re not even sure is a guy; he could be a woman for all I know.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">She shot me a beautiful smile and nodded two or three times. “That’s right. Can you help me?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Lady, I thought, you don’t need my help. This guy is unfindable as far as I’m concerned.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="List Continue"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="List Continue 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="List Continue 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="List Continue 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="List Continue 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Message Header"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="11" QFormat="true" Name="Subtitle"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Salutation"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Date"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Body Text First Indent"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Body Text First Indent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Note Heading"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Body Text 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Body Text 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Body Text Indent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Body Text Indent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Block Text"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Hyperlink"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="FollowedHyperlink"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="22" QFormat="true" Name="Strong"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="20" QFormat="true" Name="Emphasis"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Document Map"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Plain Text"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="E-mail Signature"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Top of Form"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Bottom of Form"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Normal (Web)"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Acronym"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Address"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Cite"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Code"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Definition"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Keyboard"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Preformatted"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Sample"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Typewriter"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Variable"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Normal Table"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="annotation subject"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="No List"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Outline List 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Outline List 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Outline List 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Simple 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Simple 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Simple 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Classic 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Classic 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Classic 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Classic 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Colorful 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Colorful 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Colorful 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Columns 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Columns 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Columns 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Columns 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Columns 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Grid 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Grid 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Grid 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Grid 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Grid 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Grid 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Grid 7"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Grid 8"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table List 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table List 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table List 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table List 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table List 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table List 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table List 7"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table List 8"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table 3D effects 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table 3D effects 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table 3D effects 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Contemporary"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Elegant"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Professional"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Subtle 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Subtle 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Web 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Web 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Web 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Balloon Text"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="Table Grid"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Theme"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Note Level 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Note Level 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Note Level 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Note Level 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Note Level 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Note Level 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Note Level 7"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Note Level 8"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Note Level 9"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" Name="Placeholder Text"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="1" QFormat="true" Name="No Spacing"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" Name="Light Shading"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" Name="Light List"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" Name="Light Grid"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" Name="Medium Shading 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" Name="Medium Shading 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" Name="Medium List 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" Name="Medium List 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" Name="Medium Grid 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" Name="Medium Grid 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" Name="Medium Grid 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" Name="Dark List"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" Name="Colorful Shading"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" Name="Colorful List"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" Name="Colorful Grid"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" Name="Light Shading Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" Name="Light List Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" Name="Light Grid Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" Name="Revision"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="34" QFormat="true"
Name="List Paragraph"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="29" QFormat="true" Name="Quote"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="30" QFormat="true"
Name="Intense Quote"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" Name="Dark List Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" Name="Colorful List Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" Name="Light Shading Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" Name="Light List Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" Name="Light Grid Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" Name="Dark List Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" Name="Colorful List Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" Name="Light Shading Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" Name="Light List Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" Name="Light Grid Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" Name="Dark List Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" Name="Colorful List Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" Name="Light Shading Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" Name="Light List Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" Name="Light Grid Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" Name="Dark List Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" Name="Colorful List Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" Name="Light Shading Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" Name="Light List Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" Name="Light Grid Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" Name="Dark List Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" Name="Colorful List Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" Name="Light Shading Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" Name="Light List Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" Name="Light Grid Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" Name="Dark List Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" Name="Colorful List Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="19" QFormat="true"
Name="Subtle Emphasis"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="21" QFormat="true"
Name="Intense Emphasis"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="31" QFormat="true"
Name="Subtle Reference"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="32" QFormat="true"
Name="Intense Reference"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="33" QFormat="true" Name="Book Title"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="37" SemiHidden="true"
UnhideWhenUsed="true" Name="Bibliography"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" SemiHidden="true"
UnhideWhenUsed="true" QFormat="true" Name="TOC Heading"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="41" Name="Plain Table 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="42" Name="Plain Table 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="43" Name="Plain Table 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="44" Name="Plain Table 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="45" Name="Plain Table 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="40" Name="Grid Table Light"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="46" Name="Grid Table 1 Light"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="47" Name="Grid Table 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="48" Name="Grid Table 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="49" Name="Grid Table 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="50" Name="Grid Table 5 Dark"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="51" Name="Grid Table 6 Colorful"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="52" Name="Grid Table 7 Colorful"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="46"
Name="Grid Table 1 Light Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="47" Name="Grid Table 2 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="48" Name="Grid Table 3 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="49" Name="Grid Table 4 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="50" Name="Grid Table 5 Dark Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="51"
Name="Grid Table 6 Colorful Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="52"
Name="Grid Table 7 Colorful Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="46"
Name="Grid Table 1 Light Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="47" Name="Grid Table 2 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="48" Name="Grid Table 3 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="49" Name="Grid Table 4 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="50" Name="Grid Table 5 Dark Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="51"
Name="Grid Table 6 Colorful Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="52"
Name="Grid Table 7 Colorful Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="46"
Name="Grid Table 1 Light Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="47" Name="Grid Table 2 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="48" Name="Grid Table 3 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="49" Name="Grid Table 4 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="50" Name="Grid Table 5 Dark Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="51"
Name="Grid Table 6 Colorful Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="52"
Name="Grid Table 7 Colorful Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="46"
Name="Grid Table 1 Light Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="47" Name="Grid Table 2 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="48" Name="Grid Table 3 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="49" Name="Grid Table 4 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="50" Name="Grid Table 5 Dark Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="51"
Name="Grid Table 6 Colorful Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="52"
Name="Grid Table 7 Colorful Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="46"
Name="Grid Table 1 Light Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="47" Name="Grid Table 2 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="48" Name="Grid Table 3 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="49" Name="Grid Table 4 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="50" Name="Grid Table 5 Dark Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="51"
Name="Grid Table 6 Colorful Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="52"
Name="Grid Table 7 Colorful Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="46"
Name="Grid Table 1 Light Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="47" Name="Grid Table 2 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="48" Name="Grid Table 3 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="49" Name="Grid Table 4 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="50" Name="Grid Table 5 Dark Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="51"
Name="Grid Table 6 Colorful Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="52"
Name="Grid Table 7 Colorful Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="46" Name="List Table 1 Light"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="47" Name="List Table 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="48" Name="List Table 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="49" Name="List Table 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="50" Name="List Table 5 Dark"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="51" Name="List Table 6 Colorful"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="52" Name="List Table 7 Colorful"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="46"
Name="List Table 1 Light Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="47" Name="List Table 2 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="48" Name="List Table 3 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="49" Name="List Table 4 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="50" Name="List Table 5 Dark Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="51"
Name="List Table 6 Colorful Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="52"
Name="List Table 7 Colorful Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="46"
Name="List Table 1 Light Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="47" Name="List Table 2 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="48" Name="List Table 3 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="49" Name="List Table 4 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="50" Name="List Table 5 Dark Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="51"
Name="List Table 6 Colorful Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="52"
Name="List Table 7 Colorful Accent 2"/>
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<u><span style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><b><i><span style="color: blue;">Chapter 16</span></i></b><o:p></o:p></span></u></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">I shoved my hands in my pockets and shot her my best “you’ve got to be kidding me” look. But even that didn’t slow old Cassie down…not that she was that old.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">“Someone’s been filling you full of shit, lady,” I replied. “I wouldn’t even know where to start looking for him. This is a pretty big city; he could be anywhere.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">I had to hand it to her, she didn’t look like she was going to give up easy. “He has to be somewhere near here today. We’re picking up a lot of chatter from this area. I have it on good accord that he’s keeping an eye on the Lucy Tringle situation.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">I shrugged and backed away. “I don’t know anything about any of that.” Sure, it was a lie, and she probably knew I was lying. Two words: plausible deniability.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">“But you know all about poor Lucy, Trent,” Cassie countered. “You must have seen her taken away this—”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">“I mean I don’t know nothing about this Selmo guy having an interest in it.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Her face lit up. “Oh, but he does. We believe she can give us a name. And that name will eventually lead us right to the man himself.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">I acted as uninterested as I could. “Then grill her and get the name. Everyone knows you guys are good at getting people to spill their guts. I mean, after all, isn’t that the whole purpose of the government nowadays? Getting the poor citizens of this country to squeal on other citizens, regardless of their innocence or guilt?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">“Oh, Trent,” she purred. “If you help out maybe we can save poor Lucy some of the anguish she’ll have to go through otherwise. Do you really want her to have to suffer like that?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">I’d had enough of her bull. It was time for me and Ms. Government-information-persuader to part ways.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">“Don’t you have puppies to torture somewhere?” That failed to elicit any sort of response from Cassie so I hit her head on. “I’m sure Lucy doesn’t know shit. So go ahead and torture her for all I care. She’s going to give you some false name just so you can end your crap and put a bullet in her head. Good luck.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">I turned to leave when I felt Cassie grab my arm from behind.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">“I’ve got a deal for you,” she whined. “And it’s a really good deal, Trent.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">That I doubted very much. But what the hell, I wasn’t too busy to run off and not hear what she had to say.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">“If you help us track down Selmo Nithiw, you’ll be placed on easy street.” She made it sound like a happy place, this easy street. I doubted it, but stared at her. “No more glitching. No more monthly quota. You and your mother will be taken care of for life.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Cassie had my attention. Well, besides her tiny body, beautiful face, and delightful personality, her words had me interested.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">“Go on,” I droned.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">“You’ll be given the same rations as the government workers get,” she continued. “No more questionable meats. No, Trent; you and your mother will be eating the very best beef and pork available. Your fruits and vegetables will be flavorful and abundant.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">“I think I can even talk the Housing Authority into moving you out somewhere on the west side of Lake Calhoun. You know those are much larger and newer homes. You might even have your own wing, if you play it right. And perhaps a car could be in your future. A new car. Would you like that, Trent?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">My puny brain was still back on the decent food. A few months back most of the meat Ma and I had gotten was rancid by the second week of the month. I hadn’t had a decent piece of fruit in years; not since I was a kid and we took a field trip to an apple orchard way out on the east side of St. Paul.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">A bigger house was a nice enticement, but a car? Holy shit. That was a wet dream as far as I was concerned. I think I knew one person who had a car. Well, a legal car. One that wasn’t stolen or pieced together like some kid’s toy.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">“And all you have to do, Trent, is help us find Selmo Nithiw.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">And then reality slapped me sober.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">“You want me to find you a ghost, is what you’re saying,” I replied as my face went sour. “Find a guy that no one has any idea what he looks like. Yeah, I think I’ll go back to real life here, sister. Because I ain’t so sure I can help you find what you’re looking for.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">She stared at me with those beautiful baby blues and I felt my heart melt. “But you can try, can’t you, Trent? You’ll try…” she inched closer, pressing parts of her body against mine. “…for me, won’t you, Trent?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">I’d say she drove a hard bargain, but that wasn’t what was hard at that moment.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">“I’ve got a little free time today,” I said. “I could make some inquiries.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Cassie’s face lit up like a Halloween pumpkin. “I just knew I could count on you.” She raised up on her toes and gave me a peck on the cheek. “Now here’s my card. Call me the minute you know anything.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">As fast as she came into my life, she turned and headed down the sidewalk. When she got to her car, Cassie turned and gave me one last marvelous smile and a dainty wave.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Three things were apparent to me. First, I wasn’t wasting my time looking for Selmo Nithiw. He didn’t want to be found. Let sleeping mongrels lie, my ma always said. Second, something big was going down inside of the government. Maybe they believed they were about to have the lead they needed to hunt Nithiw down themselves. As if…<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Third, and most important in my mind, Lucy was in trouble. They were going to interrogate her and if she didn’t give them what she wanted the torture would begin. Fun and games Collins had once called it. But I knew for a fact that if anyone thought for a second there was any fun when the blood started to flow, well that person was a masochist.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">I needed a plan. A good plan. Perhaps my best plan ever. But I had no idea where to begin.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<i>All material is the intellectual property of e a lake. Please don't steal it, but feel free to share this with anyone you might think will enjoy it. Also -- and this is a biggie -- if you have any input on the grammar, or content, or ideas for upcoming chapters, please make a comment. Let's create this novel together. And with your help, it can only become better.</i></div>
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Thank you,</div>
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<span style="color: #3d85c6; font-size: large;"><b><i>e a lake</i></b></span><br />
<span style="color: #3d85c6; font-size: large;"><b><i><br /></i></b></span><span style="color: #3d85c6; font-size: large;"><b><i><br /></i></b></span><span style="color: #3d85c6; font-size: large;"> <a href="http://eepurl.com/bQVkeD" style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: medium; text-align: center;" target="_blank"><img border="0" height="160" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-irR2X6ZWD4w/Vs80wAv9xjI/AAAAAAAACq8/4AuxYa4qhC0/s320/Unjust%2Bfor%2BBlog.png" width="320" /></a></span></div>
e a lakehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09281428235580511227noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4303288970205593069.post-66204426122171627552017-03-10T08:00:00.000-08:002017-03-14T05:27:51.663-07:00"Glitched" - Chapters 13 & 14<b style="color: blue; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><i>Click on the chapter numbers below to read prior publishings:</i></b><br />
<b style="color: blue; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><i><br /></i></b><b style="color: blue; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><i><a href="http://ealake.blogspot.com/2017/01/glitched-chapters-1-2.html" target="_blank">1&2 </a> <a href="http://ealake.blogspot.com/2017/02/glitched-chapters-3-4.html" target="_blank">3&4</a> <a href="http://ealake.blogspot.com/2017/02/glitched-chapters-5-6.html" target="_blank">5&6</a> <a href="http://ealake.blogspot.com/2017/02/glitched-chapters-7-8.html" target="_blank">7&8</a> </i></b><b style="color: blue; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><i><a href="http://ealake.blogspot.com/2017/02/glitched-chapters-9-10.html" target="_blank">9&10</a> <a href="http://ealake.blogspot.com/2017/03/glitched-chapters-11-12.html" target="_blank">11&12</a></i></b><br />
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Somewhere in the middle of my walk to Anuk’s one of my phones began to ring. Withdrawing it from my pocket, I recognized the initials of the caller. While I would have rather ignored it, I knew the phone would just keep ringing if I did.<o:p></o:p></div>
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“Hey, what’s up?” I answered.<o:p></o:p></div>
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“Is that any way to greet your Mother?” Ma screeched. “Like I’m one of your degenerate friends? I raised you better than that.”<o:p></o:p></div>
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Like I had time for her crap at that point. I was already chastising myself for not turning the phone off instead of answering.<o:p></o:p></div>
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“I’m kind of busy, Ma. If you got something to tell me, could you just spit it out…please?”<o:p></o:p></div>
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Instead of talking I heard her ragged breaths. She was pouting, no doubt. While I should have cared, I had more important stuff on my mind.<o:p></o:p></div>
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“There was a woman here,” she replied. I heard a match strike in the receiver and figured she was lighting up another heater. Maybe if I was lucky she was burning the house to the ground, with herself strapped in a chair.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Again, I was faced with another caller who provided limited information. If I didn’t know any better, Ma and Riley had to be mother and daughter.<o:p></o:p></div>
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“Need a little more information than that, MA,” I replied, slapping my forehead. “Like did she leave a name? Or mention what she wanted?”<o:p></o:p></div>
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The silence on the other end of the phone told me that Ma was either trying to recall the conversation…or maybe had finally left the Earth.<o:p></o:p></div>
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“I don’t think so, Trent,” she stated in a very unconvincing manner.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
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“Did you recognize her? Maybe it was Riley perhaps?”<o:p></o:p></div>
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Again, a long pause of mind numbing silence followed. I’d be dead before she ever gave me the whole story.<o:p></o:p></div>
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“Um, no…I don’t think so.”<o:p></o:p></div>
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My eyes squeezed shut and I felt my left hand ball into a fist. “Can you at least describe her for me?” I begged. “Can you do that, Ma?”<o:p></o:p></div>
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“She left a note for you,” Ma exclaimed, the shrillness coming back to life in her voice. She seemed so proud I didn’t want to burst her bubble and ask why she hadn’t said that first thing.<o:p></o:p></div>
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But Ma was Ma, and she made me ask the obvious. “What does the note say, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Mother</i>?”<o:p></o:p></div>
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I heard the paper rustle as she drew it close to her face to read. “Painter Park; 13:00.”<o:p></o:p></div>
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One piece of the puzzle had been solved. Someone wanted to talk to me, nearby and within the next half hour. Now, if I could just extract a hint at the who my anxiety might have been manageable.<o:p></o:p></div>
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“Describe the woman, Ma.”<o:p></o:p></div>
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“She was short, kind of like Lucy,” she began. “Not as short as that cute sweetie that stops by once in a while—”<o:p></o:p></div>
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“Riley?”<o:p></o:p></div>
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“Yeah,” she squawked. “What a sweetie pie she is. You should think about becoming more serious with that one, Trent. She’d be a good wife and mother I bet.”<o:p></o:p></div>
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I had begun to head in the direction of Painter Park. Ma’s ramblings caused me to stop and lean against a rawd iron fence, searching for breath.<o:p></o:p></div>
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“Back to the other one, Ma,” I muttered, fighting back the urge to race home and give her a piece of my mind. No good would have to from that; all it would have accomplished was making her crying.<o:p></o:p></div>
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“Probably mid-20s, kind of soft spoken, not really pretty but not what I would call ugly. Maybe a little homely.”<o:p></o:p></div>
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Good, I thought. That narrowed it down to about a half a million people. For all I knew the Governor’s daughter was looking for me.<o:p></o:p></div>
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“She had on an interesting scarf,” Ma continued. “It was a real funny looking green.”<o:p></o:p></div>
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“Chartreuse,” I whispered, recalling it from earlier in the day.<o:p></o:p></div>
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“Yeah, that’s it,” Ma screeched. “she said the color was chartreuse. You know her?”<o:p></o:p></div>
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I knew her alright. But I wasn’t sure I wanted to meet with her. Not in public, all out in the open and all.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<u><b><i><span style="color: blue;">Chapter 14</span></i></b><o:p></o:p></u></div>
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I cased out the park carefully for a full 10 minutes before committing to the meeting. It was fairly open with limited trees for people to hid behind, enabling them to leap out and grab me. Surrounded mostly by residential housing, I surmised the coast was clear.<o:p></o:p></div>
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I spotted Margo on a bench beside the vacant basketball court. Fort her part she looked nervous, extremely nervous. But she’d looked the same when I saw her a few hours back; so as far as I knew that was her normal demeanor.<o:p></o:p></div>
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I’d made it almost to her before she spotted me and leaped from her spot. Racing towards me, the woman made me want to turn and run away as fast as I could. But something in her face, a terribly frightened, look told me to stay.<o:p></o:p></div>
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She when got to me Margo threw her short arms around my chest and hugged tightly. “Thank God you came,” she cried. “I was so worried you wouldn’t.”<o:p></o:p></div>
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I let her go on for a few seconds as I surveyed our surroundings. No one was paying attention to us – good. Likewise, no government vehicles had stopped on the road, unloading a dozen or more black jackets – very good. Except for the weeping woman hanging onto me like I was the last life jacket on the titanic, there was nothing usual about us being here – excellent.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Pushing her away from my person space, I held Margo’s shoulder at arm’s length. The water works were still in full gear, but she seemed to be able to talk.<o:p></o:p></div>
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“I know,” she whispered. “And they know too.”<o:p></o:p></div>
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I chuckled once and rolled my eyes, looking away from Margo. “You don’t know shit, lady. And they know even less. Whoever they is.”<o:p></o:p></div>
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Her head shook in small fits. “Trent,” she begged, pulling on my open jacket. “I know everything. She told me.”<o:p></o:p></div>
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She knew something, that much was obvious. But I doubt she knew anything of importance. And if the <i>they</i> she was speaking about was the same they that made my life difficult, she didn’t know the first thing about anything.<o:p></o:p></div>
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I took her by the arm and steered her back to the bench. First, I needed to determine how she knew my name. Then I could sort the rest of her rantings out one by one.<o:p></o:p></div>
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“How do you know my name?” I asked, watching her withdraw a cigarette from a silver case. She shook so much when she tried to light it I had to take the lighter and help her out. She offered me a smoke; who was I to pass up something for free.<o:p></o:p></div>
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I watched her take a couple of ragged drags before she looked at me to answer. “I’m friends with Lucy, you know that. At least you should.”<o:p></o:p></div>
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“So?” I played it cool, making her stay on the answering end of the questions.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Margo shrugged and went back to her smoke. “She’s told me everything about you. How you met, where you live, that you’re a glitch.” She peeked at me to see if I was offended, which I wasn’t. Almost everyone I knew, knew what I did to survive.<o:p></o:p></div>
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“She told me about how sweet you are,” Margo went on. “Told me how you proposed to her right here in this same park. That’s why I thought it best we meet here.”<o:p></o:p></div>
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My mind shut down after the word proposed. I heard her speaking still but nothing she said after that made any sense.<o:p></o:p></div>
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“Hang on there a second, sunshine,” I interrupted. “Did you say proposed, as in engaged to be married?”<o:p></o:p></div>
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Her head bobbed stupidly up and down. This was certainly news to me.<o:p></o:p></div>
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“Did she ever show you a ring or anything?” I asked, somewhere between laughing and shouting.<o:p></o:p></div>
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“No,” she answered plainly. “She said you were saving for one, sometime in the near future.”<o:p></o:p></div>
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Taking a drag from the nearly spent cigarette, I glanced away. Lucy and I were acquaintances, at best. I had always thought she viewed me as some type of creepy stalker type. When she did speak to me she usually kept her eyes focused on her shoes. I never really got much of a happy couple kind of vibe from her.<o:p></o:p></div>
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“I hate to tell you this, Margo,” I said, exhaling the last of my smoke. “Lucy’s been pulling your leg. Her and I are barely friends, much less lovers.”<o:p></o:p></div>
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Margo’s expression turned to that shock. “But you kissed her, right here on this bench.”<o:p></o:p></div>
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I shook my head and shrugged. “Never happened.”<o:p></o:p></div>
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“You made love down at Calhoun beach one night last summer, in the dark.” Her tone was getting a little excited, so I moved closer.<o:p></o:p></div>
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“I might have groped her a little,” I admitted. “She didn’t seem to mind. Wasn’t very romantic, though.”<o:p></o:p></div>
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Margo looked almost as confused as I felt. Sure, I was flattered that Lucy exaggerated our relationship. I mean, come on; I could do a lot worse than Lucy Tringle. But I wasn’t really the marrying type. So the rest of whatever happened between us was more fun and games than something that began to resemble love.<o:p></o:p></div>
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“I know Lucy,” Margo stated in a defensive tone. “She wouldn’t lie to me. And now that she’s in trouble, you need to help her.”<o:p></o:p></div>
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I threw my hands in the air. “I didn’t do anything, Margo. Lucy ain’t in trouble because I glitched on her. She’s in trouble because she was caught on tape passing a sensitive document to some unknown.”<o:p></o:p></div>
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If anything I had said shocked Margo, she hid it well. Actually, she looked more defiant than scared.<o:p></o:p></div>
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“She knows who <i>he </i>is,” Margo said, staring at my chest. “They’ll get a name from her, you know they will.”<o:p></o:p></div>
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I couldn’t help but grin at the naïve girl sitting beside me. I reached for her cigarette case and lit myself another.<o:p></o:p></div>
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“No one knows who<i> he</i> is,” I replied. “You probably don’t even know him by any other name than <i>him </i>or <i>he</i>.”<o:p></o:p></div>
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She slid next to me, as in hips touching next to me. “Before the end of the day the government is going to arrest Selmo Nithiw. Then the whole world is going to know who <i>he</i> is.”<o:p></o:p></div>
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I maintained my calm and reached for one of her shaky hands. “Trust me, Margo. When I tell you this, I mean it.” Her eyes narrowed. “You, Lucy, them; none of you know anything. You’re so stupid that you think I’m engaged to Lucy. The government is four times that dense. Lucy’s somewhere in the middle. They couldn’t catch Selmo if we sat him in one of their interrogation rooms. So don’t worry your semi-pretty little head about it.”<o:p></o:p></div>
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I got up to leave without so much as a goodbye. Quite honestly, Margo didn’t deserve one.<o:p></o:p></div>
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“Are you going to try and help Lucy? Are you, Trent?”<o:p></o:p></div>
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“Already working on it,” I answered, still walking away. I doubt Margo heard me since she began to cry again.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<i>All material is the intellectual property of e a lake. Please don't steal it, but feel free to share this with anyone you might think will enjoy it. Also -- and this is a biggie -- if you have any input on the grammar, or content, or ideas for upcoming chapters, please make a comment. Let's create this novel together. And with your help, it can only become better.</i></div>
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Thank you,</div>
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<span style="color: #3d85c6; font-size: large;"><b><i>e a lake</i></b></span><br />
<span style="color: #3d85c6; font-size: large;"><b><i><br /></i></b></span><span style="color: #3d85c6; font-size: large;"><b><i><br /></i></b></span><span style="color: #3d85c6; font-size: large;"> <a href="http://eepurl.com/bQVkeD" style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: medium; text-align: center;" target="_blank"><img border="0" height="160" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-irR2X6ZWD4w/Vs80wAv9xjI/AAAAAAAACq8/4AuxYa4qhC0/s320/Unjust%2Bfor%2BBlog.png" width="320" /></a></span></div>
e a lakehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09281428235580511227noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4303288970205593069.post-82372970998861110842017-03-03T04:37:00.000-08:002017-03-03T04:37:45.771-08:00"Glitched" - Chapters 11 & 12<b style="color: blue; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><i>Click on the chapter numbers below to read prior publishings:</i></b><br />
<b style="color: blue; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><i><br /></i></b><b style="color: blue; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><i><a href="http://ealake.blogspot.com/2017/01/glitched-chapters-1-2.html" target="_blank">1&2 </a> <a href="http://ealake.blogspot.com/2017/02/glitched-chapters-3-4.html" target="_blank">3&4</a> <a href="http://ealake.blogspot.com/2017/02/glitched-chapters-5-6.html" target="_blank">5&6</a> <a href="http://ealake.blogspot.com/2017/02/glitched-chapters-7-8.html" target="_blank">7&8</a> </i></b><b style="color: blue; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><i><a href="http://ealake.blogspot.com/2017/02/glitched-chapters-9-10.html" target="_blank">9&10</a></i></b><br />
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<u><b><i><span style="color: blue;">Chapter 11</span></i></b><o:p></o:p></u></div>
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What we discovered wasn’t all that unexpected. We knew Lucy’s eventual fate. And now in front of us, in black and white, we read what the government had in store for her. Whether she deserved any of it or not.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Beginning at 16:00 Lucy was to be interrogated. According to the report Gareth had up on his monitor, she had been assigned to room B12H, deep in the bowels of station one. I guess people on the upper floors didn’t want to have to listen to the screaming when it began.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Two interrogators and three assistants had been assigned to the case. I didn’t recognize any of the names, but I was sure they all had plenty of experience. If Lucy was lucky, she’d be dead before 17:00. If not, the torture she’d have to endure would most likely be beyond brutal.<o:p></o:p></div>
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I’d heard rumors of what happened in the basements of stations one and two. If someone though the government wasted time making idle threats and snapping a few fingers, they were sadly mistaken. Unless a suspect gave up information immediately they were rarely able to be buried in an opened casket service.<o:p></o:p></div>
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A shrill whistle came from Gareth as he leaned forward in his chair. “You see the name of the second brute there?”<o:p></o:p></div>
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I glanced back up at the screen. “Fred Calhoun. Doesn’t ring any bells with me.”<o:p></o:p></div>
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Staring at me as if I should know, he shook his head. “Remember Wyatt Calhoun, from school?”<o:p></o:p></div>
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The name sounded vaguely familiar, but not enough where I could picture a face. “Wyatt, Calhoun.” I gave it a little more thought. “I don’t think so, buddy.”<o:p></o:p></div>
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“Short guy, looked like a ferret,” Gareth replied. “Maybe five-six, skinny and even more slouched than you are.”<o:p></o:p></div>
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I chuckled and wandered into his kitchen, looking for something to eat. “You just described half the guys we went to school with, man. Gotta do better than that.”<o:p></o:p></div>
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“One of the last years in school, he started the toilet paper in the bathroom on fire.” Gareth was shouting and I could still hear his quick ticks on the keyboard.<o:p></o:p></div>
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“That was Chuck Nordeen, idiot boy. Remember? He got expelled and arrested all in the same 10-minute span.” I remembered that much, at least.<o:p></o:p></div>
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I found some kind of cookies in a rusty tin on the back of Gareth’s stove. Giving them a sniff, I decided they appeared edible. I grabbed a couple for myself and an extra one for Gareth.<o:p></o:p></div>
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I found my friend deep in thought when I returned to the living room. He didn’t even thank me for bringing him a treat, though it was from his kitchen. Closing his eyes, I watched as his mouth dropped open. Whatever he had for me was bound to be good.<o:p></o:p></div>
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“He hung out with that blonde bitch; the one who thought she was cooler than ice.” A quick peek at me should have told him I had no idea who he meant. But he kept nodding like I was close to knowing…which I wasn’t.<o:p></o:p></div>
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A finger jabbed at the air several times as Gareth searched for a name, or maybe a more accurate description. He snapped once but didn’t speak. Squeezing his lips into a tight line, he looked away.<o:p></o:p></div>
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“Penny..” he moaned. “Penny…shit, I don’t remember her last name.”<o:p></o:p></div>
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“Penny Lease?” I replied, mumbling because of the cookie in my mouth. Whoever had made them must have used twice as much sugar as the recipe called for. Still, I took another bite.<o:p></o:p></div>
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He snapped once more and pointed at me. “That’s it!” he exclaimed.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Getting more comfortable on the couch, I grinned at him. “First off, Penny Lease had red hair, not blonde.” That comment only made him shrug.<o:p></o:p></div>
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“Secondly, she never hung out with Wyatt Calhoun,” I continued, recalling the face and person from some years back. “She was way too hot for the likes of him.”<o:p></o:p></div>
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“So you do remember Wyatt, then?”<o:p></o:p></div>
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I nodded and smiled. “It came to me with the sugar rush just now. He was a real puke. I don’t recall him having an older brother, though.”<o:p></o:p></div>
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Gareth grinned and resumed surfing the government files. “Younger brother, brainiac. Wyatt had two older sisters, and one younger brother.”<o:p></o:p></div>
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I searched my memories for a Fred Calhoun but came up with nothing.<o:p></o:p></div>
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“The kid that dressed all in black and blew up frogs,” Gareth added.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Like a bolt of lightning, the memory struck me. “Shit,” I said, disgusted with the images floating through my head. “He got in trouble for torturing feral cats and dogs too, if I remember correctly.”<o:p></o:p></div>
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Gareth simply nodded. “He was branded a sadist, and from what I can tell from his file he’s only gotten better at it while employed as an interrogator for the past five years. He’s gruesome, dude. One of the worst; though, they call him one of their best.”<o:p></o:p></div>
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Scanning the large monitor on the wall, I felt my stomach twist. It wasn’t light reading; it wasn’t even something meant to intimidate anyone. The report of his duties and conduct stated the facts as if they were reporting the weather.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Broken fingers, broken toes, rocks crushed into forearms, heavy angle-iron brought down on thighs and backs. And that wasn’t even the good stuff. Mutilation was one of Fred’s specialties, I noticed. Most of the information before me made me want to hurl.<o:p></o:p></div>
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“That is one sick human being,” I whispered as Gareth mercifully switched screens. “He starts lopping off the ends of Lucy’s fingers and toes, she’s gonna tell him whatever he wants to know. Whether it’s the truth or not.”<o:p></o:p></div>
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Gareth looked pale, stroking his thick face. “I wouldn’t worry about <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">those</i> body parts. Some of the stuff they mentioned should only be done by a surgeon. Not some sadistic shit like Freddy Calhoun.”<o:p></o:p></div>
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We were quiet for a while, each lost in some nightmare that Lucy was about to go through. Or maybe we were worried that Fred Calhoun would be our integrator. If he did half of what his file showed he was proficient at to me, I’d have to find a way to force him to kill me before I squealed.<o:p></o:p></div>
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“We've got to do something for Lucy,” Gareth mumbled. ”Otherwise…” He let his words hang between us.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="List"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="List Bullet"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="List Number"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="List 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="List 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="List 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="List 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="List Bullet 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="List Bullet 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="List Bullet 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="List Bullet 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="List Number 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="List Number 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="List Number 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="List Number 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="10" QFormat="true" Name="Title"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Closing"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Signature"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="1" SemiHidden="true"
UnhideWhenUsed="true" Name="Default Paragraph Font"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Body Text"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Body Text Indent"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="List Continue"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="List Continue 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="List Continue 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="List Continue 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="List Continue 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Message Header"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="11" QFormat="true" Name="Subtitle"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Salutation"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Date"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Body Text First Indent"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Body Text First Indent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Note Heading"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Body Text 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Body Text 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Body Text Indent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Body Text Indent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Block Text"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Hyperlink"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="FollowedHyperlink"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="22" QFormat="true" Name="Strong"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="20" QFormat="true" Name="Emphasis"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Document Map"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Plain Text"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="E-mail Signature"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Top of Form"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Bottom of Form"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Normal (Web)"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Acronym"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Address"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Cite"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Code"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Definition"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Keyboard"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Preformatted"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Sample"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Typewriter"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Variable"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Normal Table"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="annotation subject"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="No List"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Outline List 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Outline List 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Outline List 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Simple 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Simple 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Simple 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Classic 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Classic 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Classic 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Classic 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Colorful 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Colorful 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Colorful 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Columns 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Columns 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Columns 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Columns 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Columns 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Grid 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Grid 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Grid 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Grid 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Grid 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Grid 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Grid 7"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Grid 8"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table List 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table List 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table List 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table List 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table List 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table List 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table List 7"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table List 8"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table 3D effects 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table 3D effects 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table 3D effects 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Contemporary"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Elegant"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Professional"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Subtle 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Subtle 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Web 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Web 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Web 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Balloon Text"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="Table Grid"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Theme"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Note Level 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Note Level 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Note Level 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Note Level 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Note Level 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Note Level 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Note Level 7"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Note Level 8"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Note Level 9"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" Name="Placeholder Text"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="1" QFormat="true" Name="No Spacing"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" Name="Light Shading"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" Name="Light List"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" Name="Light Grid"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" Name="Medium Shading 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" Name="Medium Shading 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" Name="Medium List 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" Name="Medium List 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" Name="Medium Grid 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" Name="Medium Grid 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" Name="Medium Grid 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" Name="Dark List"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" Name="Colorful Shading"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" Name="Colorful List"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" Name="Colorful Grid"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" Name="Light Shading Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" Name="Light List Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" Name="Light Grid Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" Name="Revision"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="34" QFormat="true"
Name="List Paragraph"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="29" QFormat="true" Name="Quote"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="30" QFormat="true"
Name="Intense Quote"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" Name="Dark List Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" Name="Colorful List Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" Name="Light Shading Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" Name="Light List Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" Name="Light Grid Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" Name="Dark List Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" Name="Colorful List Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" Name="Light Shading Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" Name="Light List Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" Name="Light Grid Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" Name="Dark List Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" Name="Colorful List Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" Name="Light Shading Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" Name="Light List Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" Name="Light Grid Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" Name="Dark List Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" Name="Colorful List Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" Name="Light Shading Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" Name="Light List Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" Name="Light Grid Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" Name="Dark List Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" Name="Colorful List Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" Name="Light Shading Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" Name="Light List Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" Name="Light Grid Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" Name="Dark List Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" Name="Colorful List Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="19" QFormat="true"
Name="Subtle Emphasis"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="21" QFormat="true"
Name="Intense Emphasis"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="31" QFormat="true"
Name="Subtle Reference"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="32" QFormat="true"
Name="Intense Reference"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="33" QFormat="true" Name="Book Title"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="37" SemiHidden="true"
UnhideWhenUsed="true" Name="Bibliography"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" SemiHidden="true"
UnhideWhenUsed="true" QFormat="true" Name="TOC Heading"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="41" Name="Plain Table 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="42" Name="Plain Table 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="43" Name="Plain Table 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="44" Name="Plain Table 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="45" Name="Plain Table 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="40" Name="Grid Table Light"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="46" Name="Grid Table 1 Light"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="47" Name="Grid Table 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="48" Name="Grid Table 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="49" Name="Grid Table 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="50" Name="Grid Table 5 Dark"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="51" Name="Grid Table 6 Colorful"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="52" Name="Grid Table 7 Colorful"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="46"
Name="Grid Table 1 Light Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="47" Name="Grid Table 2 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="48" Name="Grid Table 3 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="49" Name="Grid Table 4 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="50" Name="Grid Table 5 Dark Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="51"
Name="Grid Table 6 Colorful Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="52"
Name="Grid Table 7 Colorful Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="46"
Name="Grid Table 1 Light Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="47" Name="Grid Table 2 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="48" Name="Grid Table 3 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="49" Name="Grid Table 4 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="50" Name="Grid Table 5 Dark Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="51"
Name="Grid Table 6 Colorful Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="52"
Name="Grid Table 7 Colorful Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="46"
Name="Grid Table 1 Light Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="47" Name="Grid Table 2 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="48" Name="Grid Table 3 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="49" Name="Grid Table 4 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="50" Name="Grid Table 5 Dark Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="51"
Name="Grid Table 6 Colorful Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="52"
Name="Grid Table 7 Colorful Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="46"
Name="Grid Table 1 Light Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="47" Name="Grid Table 2 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="48" Name="Grid Table 3 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="49" Name="Grid Table 4 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="50" Name="Grid Table 5 Dark Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="51"
Name="Grid Table 6 Colorful Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="52"
Name="Grid Table 7 Colorful Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="46"
Name="Grid Table 1 Light Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="47" Name="Grid Table 2 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="48" Name="Grid Table 3 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="49" Name="Grid Table 4 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="50" Name="Grid Table 5 Dark Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="51"
Name="Grid Table 6 Colorful Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="52"
Name="Grid Table 7 Colorful Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="46"
Name="Grid Table 1 Light Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="47" Name="Grid Table 2 Accent 6"/>
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<u><b><i><span style="color: blue;">Chapter 12</span></i></b><o:p></o:p></u></div>
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Per the clock on Gareth’s wall, we still had an hour and a half before Lucy’s interrogation was set to begin. If we remained frozen in place, the time would go quickly. Coming up with some sort of plan would take a while, I knew. At least it would give us something to do, other than imagining Lucy all mutilated before our eyes.<o:p></o:p></div>
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“He wants the building taken care of,” Gareth said after a long break. “If things look bad with Lucy, we need to get the codes to Riley so she can forward them to Stevie.”<o:p></o:p></div>
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I gawked at Gareth with my palms turned skyward. “How many steps does all of this take? Who dreams up this crap?”<o:p></o:p></div>
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He looked away as if he were pouting. If I had pissed him off, too bad.<o:p></o:p></div>
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“He does,” Gareth replied, “you know that. There’s layers to everything. Nothing could ever be traced back to him. The government may catch the last person in the chain, but the others are always safe this way.”<o:p></o:p></div>
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Thus were the dealings with the great and powerful Selmo Nithiw. Everything mired in three levels of mystery, wrapped in 20 pounds of shit. The last man standing in this war, the way I saw it, would be him…and only him.<o:p></o:p></div>
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“We need to come up with a plan to get Lucy out of there,” I said, pushing off the couch and wandering to a side window. Outside drizzle had begun, covering everything in a fine layer of moisture as if the world was covered in ice.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Behind me, I heard Gareth tap his foot on the floor. He was nervous, and I knew why. “We need to let it play out,” he replied.<o:p></o:p></div>
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I grinned, if only to myself. “You mean <i>you</i> need to let this play out…” I turned and faced him. “Don’t you?”<o:p></o:p></div>
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For some reason, he refused to look at me, and that meant I’d hit the exact nerve I was looking for. If he had been staring blankly at me, I would have known he’d never made the contact he’d been asked to. But since he wasn’t, well, I had my answer.<o:p></o:p></div>
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“She shouldn’t know enough of anything to make a difference,” he sighed, finally glancing my direction. “I gave her a message on the street one day; it came to me from Anuk. Whatever document she passed to the guy in the tape – and we don’t know for sure that’s him – was requested by someone up the food chain.”<o:p></o:p></div>
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“I guess I need to go and talk to Anuk then if I want any help.” I hoped to push my buddy one way or another; either help me or don’t. But please don’t stonewall me.<o:p></o:p></div>
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He rose and approached, his gangly robe-covered arms spread wide. “We can’t touch this, Trent. We got orders to wait and watch. No one is supposed to interfere. Just let it play out.”<o:p></o:p></div>
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“Orders from who?”<o:p></o:p></div>
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He shook his head and looked away. “You know who. Don’t play dumb, buddy.”<o:p></o:p></div>
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I began to laugh and reached out to give him a fake jab to the gut. “I didn’t hear anything from <i>you know who</i>. I bet you can’t show me an email or a note stating what you claim is true, do you?”<o:p></o:p></div>
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“We’re supposed to leave it alone, Trent.” For a weak-minded computer hack, he’d sure developed a spine lately.<o:p></o:p></div>
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“I’ll just go talk to Anuk,” I replied, making my way to the front door. “She’s the one who seems to have all the information I need. Maybe she even has an idea on how to get Lucy out of this fine mess <i>we </i>got her into.”<o:p></o:p></div>
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I felt a hand grab the back of my collar and I turned to push Gareth away. Given that he had 60 pounds and 10 inches on me, I didn’t accomplish what I’d hope to. Instead, I was more like a child trying to get at the cookies way up high on the top shelf.<o:p></o:p></div>
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“Lucy’s not getting out,” Gareth stated as serious as I’d ever heard him. “We’re supposed to let this play out. We aren’t supposed to get involved.”<o:p></o:p></div>
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I felt my lips draw into a tight line and my eyes narrow. “That’s not a plan,” I spewed. “That’s a lack of a plan. And you know it, Gar.”<o:p></o:p></div>
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His angry face didn’t change. Instead, he shook his head in tiny jerks. “You know it’s not your call. Only Selmo can save her now. It doesn’t work any other way, Trent. If we all start doing whatever we want, all of us could be dead within a month.”<o:p></o:p></div>
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I reached for the doorknob and looked back as I opened the screen. “If I don’t do something now, Lucy’s dead by tonight. If she squeals, because we all sat on our hands, you and I could join her by tomorrow night.<o:p></o:p></div>
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“We all have blood on our hands, Gareth. None of us are clean; not even close.” I thought about cutting off my diatribe at that point, but paused for another thought. “When they come to get me, are you just gonna sit on your stupid ass? Or will you do something? I’d like to think I’d move Heaven and Earth to save you. But the real question is, will you do the same for me…the same for Lucy?”<o:p></o:p></div>
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I was outside and halfway down the walk when he called out for me. If he thought I was coming back to debate the subject any further, well, I guess Gareth wasn’t all that bright after all.<o:p></o:p></div>
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“Trent,” he shouted. “Think about what you’re doing. If <i>he</i> finds out you’ve gone behind his back, you could be next. You don’t want that, buddy. Trust me on this one. Think of your friends, think of your mother…think of me, man.”<o:p></o:p></div>
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Turning slowly, I stared at his body – still covered in a ratty old bathrobe – standing in the entry way. He didn’t appear to be mad, or hurt, or even concerned. No, in his mind everything was factual, black and white.<o:p></o:p></div>
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“Doing nothing is the same as giving up, Gar. I’m not ready to give up on Lucy, even if you are.”<o:p></o:p></div>
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He didn’t reply and I didn’t hang around to listen for such. I needed to get to Anuk’s.<o:p></o:p></div>
<b style="color: blue; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"> <!--EndFragment--></b> <b style="color: blue; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></b> <b style="color: blue; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></b> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------<br />
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<i>All material is the intellectual property of e a lake. Please don't steal it, but feel free to share this with anyone you might think will enjoy it. Also -- and this is a biggie -- if you have any input on the grammar, or content, or ideas for upcoming chapters, please make a comment. Let's create this novel together. And with your help, it can only become better.</i></div>
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Thank you,</div>
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<span style="color: #3d85c6; font-size: large;"><b><i>e a lake</i></b></span><br />
<span style="color: #3d85c6; font-size: large;"><b><i><br /></i></b></span><span style="color: #3d85c6; font-size: large;"><b><i><br /></i></b></span><span style="color: #3d85c6; font-size: large;"> <a href="http://eepurl.com/bQVkeD" style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: medium; text-align: center;" target="_blank"><img border="0" height="160" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-irR2X6ZWD4w/Vs80wAv9xjI/AAAAAAAACq8/4AuxYa4qhC0/s320/Unjust%2Bfor%2BBlog.png" width="320" /></a></span></div>
e a lakehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09281428235580511227noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4303288970205593069.post-20194252592767564332017-02-24T08:00:00.000-08:002017-02-24T08:00:07.073-08:00"Glitched" - Chapters 9 & 10<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-outline-level: 1;">
<b style="color: blue; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><i>Click on the chapter numbers below to read prior publishings:</i></b><br />
<b style="color: blue; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><i><br /></i></b> <b style="color: blue; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><i><a href="http://ealake.blogspot.com/2017/01/glitched-chapters-1-2.html" target="_blank">1&2 </a> <a href="http://ealake.blogspot.com/2017/02/glitched-chapters-3-4.html" target="_blank">3&4</a> <a href="http://ealake.blogspot.com/2017/02/glitched-chapters-5-6.html" target="_blank">5&6</a> <a href="http://ealake.blogspot.com/2017/02/glitched-chapters-7-8.html" target="_blank">7&8</a></i></b></div>
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<u><b><i><span style="color: blue; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Chapter 9</span></i></b><o:p></o:p></u></div>
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I was out of breath by the time I walked into Gareth’s trash heap again. Shocking, but he hadn’t bothered to clean up in the two or three hours I’d been gone. Not that I ever knew him to cleaning up anything in the past 12 years or so.<o:p></o:p></div>
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“So they changed the glitch to <i>internal investigation</i>,” Gareth reported, scraping spaghetti into his mouth from a plate. Of course, he was using a knife instead of a fork. I’m sure all the forks in his place hadn’t been washed in years.<o:p></o:p></div>
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“We knew that already,” I replied, taking a spot on a worn dull brown easy chair. “Tell me something I don’t already know.”<o:p></o:p></div>
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“Margo sent an email to her superior about three minutes after your visit,” he added, a hint of glee mixed in with chomping. “Some creepy guy was demanding information from her, so she claims.”<o:p></o:p></div>
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That didn’t make any sense. Somehow, still unknown to me, that gal knew my name. Why hadn’t she reported me? Why wasn’t a government vehicle out front right now, scouring the neighborhood for me?<o:p></o:p></div>
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“She didn’t use my name?”<o:p></o:p></div>
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Gareth shook his mass of hair back and forth, tossing his plate onto the floor. The rats would have something to clean up later.<o:p></o:p></div>
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“Nah,” he grunted. “Just some creeper who made her sort of scared. Her super asked if she wanted it investigated and Margo the Meekly replied no. Not even sure why she bothered to make a report.”<o:p></o:p></div>
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We stared at each other for a moment before I knew what he was thinking. “I know, I know. You warned me. Said I should leave it alone. My bad. Anyone looking at the footage?”<br />
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Gareth laughed and sat back stretching. Fortunately, he had put on a mismatched sweatshirt and pants, so I didn’t have to gawk at his opened robe anymore.<o:p></o:p></div>
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“The cameras at the Information Repository of the Government of the States are currently down for maintenance,” he replied, sounding as if he were reading it from an official memorandum. “They have been for the past two weeks and probably will be for another two. They don’t have the best techs in the city, you know. I read a report that the tech fried half the cameras trying to take them off-line. The cretin.”<o:p></o:p></div>
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“But they have the footage from whatever Lucy did, right?”<o:p></o:p></div>
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“Yes sir,” he replied, picking up his keyboard. “And they have it stored safely on a drive with triple level protection, so it’s virtually untouchable.”<o:p></o:p></div>
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Damn it. That didn’t help. We needed to see what they saw; we needed to know what they knew.<o:p></o:p></div>
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“So we can’t get at it—”<o:p></o:p></div>
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“Untouchable for the average moron,” he continued. “Their security is pathetic. Two of the three passwords are the same. It’s harder hacking into Anuk’s hard drive than it is to get into anything in station two.”<o:p></o:p></div>
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He pulled up the grainy footage and we both leaned forward to watch the short clip.<o:p></o:p></div>
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“Fellow walks in here,” Gareth said, pointing at the screen, “and goes right for Lucy. If she knows the guy she’s acting like she doesn’t recognize him.”<o:p></o:p></div>
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Thus far all I’d seen was the back of a medium height guy wearing a dark green or blue hoodie. Not only had I not seen his face, he hadn’t even taken his hands out of his pockets.<o:p></o:p></div>
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“Want to get to the part where he shows his face, Gar. This is pretty boring so far.”<o:p></o:p></div>
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“Doesn’t happen,” he replied while focused on the screen. “I’ve watched this three times and you never see his face from any angle. He knew where the cameras were. He was no dummy.”<o:p></o:p></div>
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Lucy reappeared in the shot and slid a piece of paper across the counter. Finally, his right hand came from the pocket and he shoved the paper back in the same pocket. He turned away from the camera and disappeared from view.<o:p></o:p></div>
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“That’s it?” I cried. “Some medium sized white dude gets a paper from Lucy and she’s hauled in?”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
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“That, brother, is it.” Gareth went back to playing some online game and acted as if I were already gone.<o:p></o:p></div>
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“They think that’s the big kahuna? With nothing to go on, they think Lucy passed State’s secrets to someone that could have been you or me?”<o:p></o:p></div>
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Gareth glanced at me, grinning. “Too short to be me, and way too good of posture to be you. And before you ask, no, I don’t have any idea what the document was. It was upside down the entire time.”<o:p></o:p></div>
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Rubbing my forehead, I fell back in the chair. “These guys are getting desperate. They’re pulling people in for shit like this. God, no one’s safe anymore.”<o:p></o:p></div>
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“They think it was Selmo,” Gareth stated. I noticed he had paused his game and was staring blankly at the front door. His face told me he was concerned.<o:p></o:p></div>
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I slid forward on the chair. “Do you think it was Selmo?” I asked, watching his expression carefully.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Slowly his head rotated until he was staring at me. “I’ve never met the man. Just gotten some emails when he wants shit done. I don’t know anyone who’s ever met him.”<o:p></o:p></div>
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He was an enigma, Selmo Nithiw was. I’d made it clear to my friends, multiple times, that I had never once received anything from the man…if he really was a man. They all had, most of them at least. But like them, I’d never ran across him in person either.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Anytime something went wrong in the city, the government and their online news bureau always claimed it was the work of Selmo. If they, the government, were to be believed he was the leader of the peebs. The scourge of the Twin Cities. The only thing keeping them from making our lives better.<o:p></o:p></div>
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The truth, of course, was the opposite. If not for Selmo Nithiw the peebs would have no organization. Instead of a unified force going up against the nearly immovable power of the government, there would be small rogue groups here and there fighting the machine. If that were the case, the government would hunt each group down, one at a time, until no hope was left for the ordinary citizen.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Thank God for Selmo – whoever he was.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<u><b><i><span style="color: blue; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Chapter 10</span></i></b></u><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span></div>
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I hung at Gareth’s place for a few extra minutes while he did a quick search on Lucy’s interrogation. As far as I knew she’d be dead before the end of the day. That was the government’s work ethic at its best: bring in a peeb in the morning and we’ll have them ready for their funeral by nightfall.<o:p></o:p></div>
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But I couldn’t let that happen to Lucy. Not with all the people I knew with the connections they had. There had to be a way.<o:p></o:p></div>
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“Can you get a message to him?” I asked, watching Gareth work through a maze of screens trying to get the latest information on my friend.<o:p></o:p></div>
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“Him who?” he grunted, not bothering to even so much as peek my way.<o:p></o:p></div>
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“You know…”<o:p></o:p></div>
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“Nope,” he replied curtly. “It doesn’t work that way. You never contact him, he contacts you.” I saw him wink at me. “Unless you’re some lowly glitch; then you probably never hear from him at all.”<o:p></o:p></div>
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I gave him a grunt and glanced back at the screen. “I’ve gotten stuff from him before,” I answered, defending my wounded pride. “Maybe not as much as the rest of you, but a little.”<o:p></o:p></div>
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“You’re an errand boy, Trent. But fear not, we can’t all be the clean-up hitter on this team. Some of us have to play other positions. Others,” he nodded at me, “get to warm the bench.”<o:p></o:p></div>
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Yeah, same old crap. We’d been over this a thousand times. The problem was that I had no marketable skills. Gareth was a first-rate computer geek. Ever since I’d known him, he was always on a computer. His ability to hack into any system thrown his way made him a god…even if just in the eyes of his friends.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Anuk managed people. I guess she was what they called a people-person. Everyone liked her and she had a way getting anyone to do what needed to be done. Even in the face of a crisis, she performed her duties as if she were a conductor of the world’s most dysfunctional orchestra.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Our friend Stevie could get into any building in the world. Stealing was more of a hobby than a vocation for him. If anyone needed anything, Stevie had a knack to made it happen. Somehow, he never got caught. It must have been those boyish good looks and charmed he possessed.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Riley was our secret weapon. Acting mostly as a go-between for Selmo and our gang, she also had access to people none of the rest of us could ever get near. At five-three, weighing maybe 100 pounds, her slim figure and beautiful smile made people open up. She couldn’t hurt a fly, but the information she received from others gave us the opportunity to do all the hurting the government could take.<o:p></o:p></div>
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That left little room for me: Trent the glitch. A skinny, slouched over, unemployable nearly 30-year-old moron. I knew most of the names that Gareth gave me came somehow from Selmo himself. It didn’t bother me I didn’t have to work for my prey. If the man wanted them glitched, who was I to argue.<o:p></o:p></div>
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As far as the rest of my gang was concerned, I’d never received or accomplished, an important task in my adult life. I was a mindless, wandering little bitch that did whatever the grand puppet master told me to do. But my day was coming. I could feel it in my soul. Wouldn’t they all be surprised if I managed to pull off something big…with little to no help from them.<o:p></o:p></div>
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“You’re daydreaming again, dude,” Gareth said, bringing me back to the present. “You always get that stupid smirk on your face. Like you just won the Olympics of jerking off or something.”<o:p></o:p></div>
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“Collins had a folder with four names he claimed they were watching,” I said. Staring at Gareth, my face tightened. “You were one of them.”<o:p></o:p></div>
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“BFD, buddy,” he replied. “We planted that initial hack attempt from a bogus URL so they’d keep busy watching in the wrong place. And that was two months ago. How clever are they if they’re just bringing it up now?”<o:p></o:p></div>
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I simply shrugged and looked away. That had been the plan all along. Give the government a bone, see if they’d bite, and fake them into watching for a breach. It worked fine.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Gareth knew they were watching him all along. Whether they ran electronic or backdoor surveillance, he always spotted them. So, he and Anuk and I decided to give them what they wanted. That way someone somewhere in station two would spend hours watching for an attack that was never coming. At least not from the spot they watched.<o:p></o:p></div>
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“Who else was on the list?” Gareth asked, setting down his keyboard and leaving the room. “Anuk, Riley, Stevie?”<o:p></o:p></div>
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I recalled the names instantly – something I was actually good at. “Nah, well yeah. Trevor and that old creepy woman Shelia. But your and Riley’s names were on the list too.”<o:p></o:p></div>
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Gareth reappeared sporting a broad grin and a bottle of water for me. “I hear that’s who Selmo sleeps with, Shelia. Thinks it’s true?”<o:p></o:p></div>
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Now it was my turn to laugh. “I don’t know how old Selmo is, but Shelia’s got to be 50. I don’t think so, Gar.”<o:p></o:p></div>
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He flopped back into his comfortable spot. “Everybody needs a MILF. What has Trevor been up to? I haven’t seen that creep in a while.”<o:p></o:p></div>
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Taking a sip of water, I thought about Trevor Stiles. He was a troublemaker, plain and simple. If I did pointless errands for the cause, his job was a complete mindless task.<o:p></o:p></div>
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“Trevor led that protest last month up on the north side,” I replied. “Didn’t get very far, but it was quite a mess while it lasted.”<o:p></o:p></div>
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Gareth lit up like a child at Christmas. “Oh, the one where they poured gallons and gallons of animal blood on those riot police from the overpass? That was so cool. I saved the government feed from that shit show. It was righteous, man.”<o:p></o:p></div>
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Righteous didn’t describe the treatment the protestors received from the State’s finest military enforcers. Rumors were 47 people were taken in that day. Though the government never said a peep because the government never acknowledged the protest ever happened.<o:p></o:p></div>
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“Trevor and some others got away,” I whispered. “Twelve protestors met their fate at the zoo the following week.” I glanced somberly at Gareth. “Message received I guess: don’t screw with the government.”<o:p></o:p></div>
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“Yeah,” Gareth replied quietly. “Lions and tigers got to eat too, I suppose. But that’s why we stay at them. They can’t run our lives like they try to do. We have to break them, Trent. Victory or death.”<o:p></o:p></div>
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True, but how many more had to die before our side won? One hundred, one thousand, more? Was that our fate eventually? Getting caught in a trap we should have easily spotted, but were too caught up with ourselves to realize it until it was too late?<o:p></o:p></div>
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Slapping the keyboard back on his lap, Gareth’s long skinny fingers sailed across the keys. “What do you say we see what’s new with Lucy?”<o:p></o:p></div>
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Staring at the TV, I nodded absentmindedly. <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Yeah</i>, I thought. <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Let’s see what her day looks like. Maybe her last day of this hell</i>.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<i>All material is the intellectual property of e a lake. Please don't steal it, but feel free to share this with anyone you might think will enjoy it. Also -- and this is a biggie -- if you have any input on the grammar, or content, or ideas for upcoming chapters, please make a comment. Let's create this novel together. And with your help, it can only become better.</i></div>
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<span style="color: #3d85c6; font-size: large;"><b><i>e a lake</i></b></span><br />
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e a lakehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09281428235580511227noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4303288970205593069.post-32890858493804934742017-02-17T08:00:00.000-08:002017-02-17T08:00:00.190-08:00"Glitched" - Chapters 7 & 8<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-outline-level: 1;">
<b style="color: blue; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><i><a href="http://ealake.blogspot.com/2017/01/glitched-chapters-1-2.html" target="_blank">To read Chapters 1 & 2: Click Here</a> </i></b><b style="color: blue; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><a href="http://ealake.blogspot.com/2017/02/glitched-chapters-3-4.html" target="_blank">3 & 4 can be found here</a> <a href="http://ealake.blogspot.com/2017/02/glitched-chapters-5-6.html" target="_blank">5&6 are right here</a></b></div>
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<u><b><span style="color: blue;"><br /></span></b></u></div>
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<u><b><span style="color: blue;">Chapter 7</span></b><o:p></o:p></u></div>
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<o:p> </o:p><span style="font-size: 12pt;">“We don’t say that name because we don’t think it’s real,” Collins continued. “The gang upstairs thinks it’s an alias. I mean what kind of name is Selmo anyway? How stupid does that sound.”</span></div>
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Craning my head forward, I tried to get a peek of the screen. “Who glitched her?”<o:p></o:p></div>
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He shrugged and closed the current view. “Says it was the boys and girls from surveillance that noticed it. They were reviewing tapes of secured locations – like they always do, what a great job. No one yapping in your ear all day. No stupid meetings with idiot glitches.”<o:p></o:p></div>
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We shared a strange stare before he picked up on his story. “So, anyway; they spotted her making a copy of a classified document and giving it to an unknown. Some guy in an orange hoodie. They didn’t get a good look, but they’re pretty sure it’s our boy.<o:p></o:p></div>
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“They’ll be interrogating her for a while. At least until she squeals. I bet you a month’s pay she knows who he really is. They’ll beat it out of her if they have to.”<o:p></o:p></div>
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I was lost on a previous point. “So no one glitched? Like none of her co-workers.<o:p></o:p></div>
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He brought up another screen and stared at it for a while. “The only person she works close enough with is some Margo lady.” He chuckled as he read about her. “Man, she’s even duller than that Lucy chick. I bet she’s got 20 cats at home. Probably knows them all by name.”<o:p></o:p></div>
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I didn’t know much of anything about Margo. But it seemed she hadn’t been the glitch as Gareth had first discovered.<o:p></o:p></div>
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“Was she your second name?” Collins asked sarcastically. “Were you about to glitch on a friend? Don’t you have any honor, Trent?”<o:p></o:p></div>
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Caught off guard by the new revelation, I slumped in the chair. “I’m just surprised, that’s all.”<o:p></o:p></div>
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“Surprised that a friend got busted?” he chortled. “Or surprised that we can actually do our jobs? You know, we catch more peebs than you glitches could ever bring us. We’re actually pretty good at what we do, protecting the country from anarchy and all.”<o:p></o:p></div>
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“You work for an oppressive employer,” I shot back. “The peebs just want their freedom. And you just want to keep people down and out, living without a speck of hope.”<o:p></o:p></div>
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Collins grinned at me in an evil way. “You know how many babies are born in this city every day? Hundreds, I tell you, hundreds. And half of them are gonna grow up to be peebs, all pissed off at the rest of us because of people like this Selmo shit.”<o:p></o:p></div>
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“It the haves and the have-nots,” I replied, refusing to even peek at his smug self-righteous expression I knew he wore.<o:p></o:p></div>
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“Every time we bring in a suspect, some gal pops another one out,” he continued. “It’s a zero-sum game, I tell you. It’s been going on for over 50 years now. And I don’t see no end in sight.”<o:p></o:p></div>
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I glanced at him; his expression had softened to that of reflective. “You don’t have to be part of them, you know.”<o:p></o:p></div>
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He waggled his head back and forth a couple of times. “I need a job, kid. I ain’t a young man. Cleaning up after others doesn’t sound all that glamorous to me. I got little choice in the matter. I am who I am.”<o:p></o:p></div>
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And that summed up the life of Allan Peter Collins, Captain in the Twin Cities Army. He was a lifer who went through his day giving little to no thought about his actions. As far as soldiers went, he was adequate. His tasks were performed without questioning their need or actual necessity. If someone above his current rank ever told him to jump into the Mississippi River, he’d never knew what killed him.<o:p></o:p></div>
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“Think they’ll kill my friend?” I asked, knowing that our meeting was almost complete.<o:p></o:p></div>
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He simply nodded and returned his gaze to his monitor.<o:p></o:p></div>
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“Be sure I get credit for being here and giving you a name,” I said, standing and stretching my back. I really needed to have better posture when sitting. All this slouching I did was killing my lower back.<o:p></o:p></div>
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“Done and done,” he said, pointing a finger at the open door. “Now get out of here before the smell becomes permanent.”<o:p></o:p></div>
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I buried my hands in my pockets and made my way to the stairwell. My task was done here; they had the name they wanted – bullshit or not. But I had work to do once I was free of this place. I needed to get a plan together. One that would perhaps spring Lucy from an almost certain death.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Halfway down to the ground floor I felt a vibration in my coat pocket. Pulling one of the two I carried out I noticed its blank screen. Yet the buzzing continued. Retrieving the second phone I noticed the blue background with a white circle in the middle. The initial G appeared centered in the circle.<o:p></o:p></div>
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“What’s up, Gar?” I said as I continued my downward trot.<o:p></o:p></div>
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“Just wondering where you are. You said you’d call me back after your meeting with Kumquat.”<o:p></o:p></div>
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“Just got done,” I replied, stopping to catch my breath. Who knew going down 10 flights of stairs was almost as much work as going up. “And it was enlightening, might I add.”<o:p></o:p></div>
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“Well, I got some enlightening news for you, buddy. They switched the glitch on Lucy’s case. Now it says that— “<o:p></o:p></div>
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“I know, I know,” I said. “They say they caught it on an internal review of the work tapes. Collins told me.”<o:p></o:p></div>
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“Did he mention who she is suspected of passing intel to?” I’m sure Gareth thought I hadn’t received the whole story, but he was wrong – again.<o:p></o:p></div>
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“He mentioned it,” I replied, watching pigeons fly by the chicken-wired third-story stairwell window. “But he says they don’t know for sure. He couldn’t pull up any of the footage though. You think you can get us access to it? It’d be nice to know what they already know.”<o:p></o:p></div>
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“On it, dick bag. It is my specialty, you know.”<o:p></o:p></div>
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They low gray sky cast a black and white feel to the day outside. That and the fact they government had Lucy. Maybe more of the second than the first in all reality.<o:p></o:p></div>
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“Hey, Gar,” I said. “Be kind of careful when you’re in there. Collins says they have you on a watch list. Don’t want you getting caught. That would kind of turd up the whole day.”<o:p></o:p></div>
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He laughed loudly before a coughing fit took over. “If I came down there and sat at one of their desks, in my robe no less, they couldn’t catch me. I could ask for some numb-nuts password and they couldn’t catch me.”<o:p></o:p></div>
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“They might be watching you,” I added quietly. “Just use a little caution, okay?”<o:p></o:p></div>
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“Got it, super weirdo.” I heard the click of his keyboard as I tried to recall what else I needed from him.<o:p></o:p></div>
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“You need to call Riley,” he said before I could think of it. “She’s called twice. Says it’s important.”<o:p></o:p></div>
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Good god, what did that freak want? “Okay. Will do. I’m on my way to your place. Hopefully you have something for me to look at when I get there.”<o:p></o:p></div>
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I clicked off and found myself on the ground floor of station one. Once outside I’d give Riley the Raven a call. After all, she was the second name on Collins’ list.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Message Header"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="11" QFormat="true" Name="Subtitle"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Salutation"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Date"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Body Text First Indent"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Body Text First Indent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Note Heading"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Body Text 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Body Text 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Body Text Indent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Body Text Indent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Block Text"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Hyperlink"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="FollowedHyperlink"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="22" QFormat="true" Name="Strong"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="20" QFormat="true" Name="Emphasis"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Document Map"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Plain Text"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="E-mail Signature"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Top of Form"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Bottom of Form"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Normal (Web)"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Acronym"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Address"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Cite"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Code"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Definition"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Keyboard"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Preformatted"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Sample"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Typewriter"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Variable"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Normal Table"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="annotation subject"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="No List"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Outline List 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Outline List 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Outline List 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Simple 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Simple 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Simple 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Classic 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Classic 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Classic 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Classic 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Colorful 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Colorful 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Colorful 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Columns 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Columns 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Columns 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Columns 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Columns 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Grid 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Grid 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Grid 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Grid 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Grid 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Grid 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Grid 7"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Grid 8"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table List 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table List 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table List 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table List 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table List 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table List 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table List 7"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table List 8"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table 3D effects 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table 3D effects 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table 3D effects 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Contemporary"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Elegant"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Professional"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Subtle 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Subtle 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Web 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Web 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Web 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Balloon Text"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="Table Grid"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Theme"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Note Level 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Note Level 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Note Level 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Note Level 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Note Level 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Note Level 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Note Level 7"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Note Level 8"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Note Level 9"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" Name="Placeholder Text"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="1" QFormat="true" Name="No Spacing"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" Name="Light Shading"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" Name="Light List"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" Name="Light Grid"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" Name="Medium Shading 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" Name="Medium Shading 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" Name="Medium List 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" Name="Medium List 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" Name="Medium Grid 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" Name="Medium Grid 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" Name="Medium Grid 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" Name="Dark List"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" Name="Colorful Shading"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" Name="Colorful List"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" Name="Colorful Grid"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" Name="Light Shading Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" Name="Light List Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" Name="Light Grid Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" Name="Revision"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="34" QFormat="true"
Name="List Paragraph"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="29" QFormat="true" Name="Quote"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="30" QFormat="true"
Name="Intense Quote"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" Name="Dark List Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" Name="Colorful List Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" Name="Light Shading Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" Name="Light List Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" Name="Light Grid Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" Name="Dark List Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" Name="Colorful List Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" Name="Light Shading Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" Name="Light List Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" Name="Light Grid Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" Name="Dark List Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" Name="Colorful List Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" Name="Light Shading Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" Name="Light List Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" Name="Light Grid Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" Name="Dark List Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" Name="Colorful List Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" Name="Light Shading Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" Name="Light List Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" Name="Light Grid Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" Name="Dark List Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" Name="Colorful List Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" Name="Light Shading Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" Name="Light List Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" Name="Light Grid Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" Name="Dark List Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" Name="Colorful List Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="19" QFormat="true"
Name="Subtle Emphasis"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="21" QFormat="true"
Name="Intense Emphasis"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="31" QFormat="true"
Name="Subtle Reference"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="32" QFormat="true"
Name="Intense Reference"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="33" QFormat="true" Name="Book Title"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="37" SemiHidden="true"
UnhideWhenUsed="true" Name="Bibliography"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" SemiHidden="true"
UnhideWhenUsed="true" QFormat="true" Name="TOC Heading"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="41" Name="Plain Table 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="42" Name="Plain Table 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="43" Name="Plain Table 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="44" Name="Plain Table 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="45" Name="Plain Table 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="40" Name="Grid Table Light"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="46" Name="Grid Table 1 Light"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="47" Name="Grid Table 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="48" Name="Grid Table 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="49" Name="Grid Table 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="50" Name="Grid Table 5 Dark"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="51" Name="Grid Table 6 Colorful"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="52" Name="Grid Table 7 Colorful"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="46"
Name="Grid Table 1 Light Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="47" Name="Grid Table 2 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="48" Name="Grid Table 3 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="49" Name="Grid Table 4 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="50" Name="Grid Table 5 Dark Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="51"
Name="Grid Table 6 Colorful Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="52"
Name="Grid Table 7 Colorful Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="46"
Name="Grid Table 1 Light Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="47" Name="Grid Table 2 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="48" Name="Grid Table 3 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="49" Name="Grid Table 4 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="50" Name="Grid Table 5 Dark Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="51"
Name="Grid Table 6 Colorful Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="52"
Name="Grid Table 7 Colorful Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="46"
Name="Grid Table 1 Light Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="47" Name="Grid Table 2 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="48" Name="Grid Table 3 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="49" Name="Grid Table 4 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="50" Name="Grid Table 5 Dark Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="51"
Name="Grid Table 6 Colorful Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="52"
Name="Grid Table 7 Colorful Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="46"
Name="Grid Table 1 Light Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="47" Name="Grid Table 2 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="48" Name="Grid Table 3 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="49" Name="Grid Table 4 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="50" Name="Grid Table 5 Dark Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="51"
Name="Grid Table 6 Colorful Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="52"
Name="Grid Table 7 Colorful Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="46"
Name="Grid Table 1 Light Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="47" Name="Grid Table 2 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="48" Name="Grid Table 3 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="49" Name="Grid Table 4 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="50" Name="Grid Table 5 Dark Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="51"
Name="Grid Table 6 Colorful Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="52"
Name="Grid Table 7 Colorful Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="46"
Name="Grid Table 1 Light Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="47" Name="Grid Table 2 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="48" Name="Grid Table 3 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="49" Name="Grid Table 4 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="50" Name="Grid Table 5 Dark Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="51"
Name="Grid Table 6 Colorful Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="52"
Name="Grid Table 7 Colorful Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="46" Name="List Table 1 Light"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="47" Name="List Table 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="48" Name="List Table 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="49" Name="List Table 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="50" Name="List Table 5 Dark"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="51" Name="List Table 6 Colorful"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="52" Name="List Table 7 Colorful"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="46"
Name="List Table 1 Light Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="47" Name="List Table 2 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="48" Name="List Table 3 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="49" Name="List Table 4 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="50" Name="List Table 5 Dark Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="51"
Name="List Table 6 Colorful Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="52"
Name="List Table 7 Colorful Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="46"
Name="List Table 1 Light Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="47" Name="List Table 2 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="48" Name="List Table 3 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="49" Name="List Table 4 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="50" Name="List Table 5 Dark Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="51"
Name="List Table 6 Colorful Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="52"
Name="List Table 7 Colorful Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="46"
Name="List Table 1 Light Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="47" Name="List Table 2 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="48" Name="List Table 3 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="49" Name="List Table 4 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="50" Name="List Table 5 Dark Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="51"
Name="List Table 6 Colorful Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="52"
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<u><b><span style="color: blue;">Chapter 8</span></b><o:p></o:p></u></div>
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Riley didn’t answer when I called but my blue phone rang minutes after that. The initial R told me she was ready to talk.<o:p></o:p></div>
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“Black phone, dumbass!” she screamed into the device. I held it away from my ear as her diatribe continued. “Who the hell has three phones and leaves the most important one home with his mommy? And don’t bother answering, because I only know one moron stupid enough to do something like that.”<o:p></o:p></div>
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She was in one of her better moods I decided. Maybe a little playful banter was in order.<o:p></o:p></div>
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“You know what has a little skinny waist, a hot ass, two big jugs and acts like a bitch all the time?” There, I bet she’d lighten up after that.<o:p></o:p></div>
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“Do you know how irritating your mother’s voice is?” she ranted. “I talked to her three times this morning. And never once did she tell me where you were. She claimed you out on a date or something.”<o:p></o:p></div>
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I felt a grin grow. “She doesn’t like horny women showing up at the house trying to bang me all the time. She knows your voice, Riley. She knows you’re a woman of low morals.” Man, I was on a roll.<o:p></o:p></div>
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“I had a message a couple hours ago?” she whispered, all of the vitriol gone from her voice.<o:p></o:p></div>
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“And?”<o:p></o:p></div>
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“He wanted to know if buildings one and two were ready.” she said.<o:p></o:p></div>
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“And?” Man, couldn’t she take a hint? Just finish a complete sentence, Riley.<o:p></o:p></div>
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A long pause followed. “They are, not that it’s any of your business.”<o:p></o:p></div>
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“Then why are you busting my balls, Riley? I mean geez, I got better things to do today than get bitched out by you.”<o:p></o:p></div>
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She was quiet again; that meant she was chewing on her hair – perhaps the only habit she possessed that was anything short of beautiful. Well, except her bright blue hair. And her propensity for complaining.<o:p></o:p></div>
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“I just want to know what you know, sweetie. That’s all. I figured maybe you knew if something big was up.”<o:p></o:p></div>
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Ah, the sweetie card had been played. Riley was hot, super-hot. If Anuk was a 10, that made Riley a 35. She could have anything she wanted from life. But she refused to use her beauty to obtain her goals. Anytime she ever felt she was getting somewhere in a job, or a relationship, or just plain life because of her looks, she ended the stint.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Riley knew if she called me – or any of my degenerate friends – sweetie, or cutie, or cuddle buns we’d open up like a cheap hooker. But not this time, <i>sweetie</i>. Not today.<o:p></o:p></div>
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“If I recall, <i>sweetie</i>,” I replied, “you said I was a low-level glitch with the morals of a less humane Stalin-type the last time I talked to you. So, putting one and one together why would you ever think I knew anything about anything that goes on? People like me get told what to do. We don’t have any free will. Someone else jerks our cord all the live long frickin’ day.”<o:p></o:p></div>
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She was quiet for a moment. Maybe I was too hard on her. “You haven’t been asked to do anything special in the last 48 hours?”<o:p></o:p></div>
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Man, she didn’t get it…ever. “Ma told me to take a shower last night. Said I needed a shave this morning. Other than that, no.”<o:p></o:p></div>
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I heard something on her end I couldn’t make out. When she spoke again I realized she had put me on speaker. “So he hasn’t contacted you?”<o:p></o:p></div>
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“<i>He</i> has never contacted me,” I huffed. “I’m not one of the enlightened ones like you all are. You, and Anuk, and Gareth, and Stevie. I don’t ever hear from him.”<o:p></o:p></div>
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When she didn’t reply, I became confused.<o:p></o:p></div>
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“What are you doing, Riley? Do I hear water?”<o:p></o:p></div>
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“I’m taking a bath, silly,” she replied in a playful voice. “Unlike you, I clean up every day. However, since my showerhead is busted and I can’t get any of my dimwitted friends to come look at it, I have to do it the old-fashioned way.”<o:p></o:p></div>
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The image in my head of Riley bathing stopped me in my tracks. We’d been frisky once or twice in the past, usually when she felt sorry for me. Not that I ever saw any skin.<o:p></o:p></div>
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“I’m, ah,” I stammered. “I’m on my way to Gareth’s right now. It wouldn’t be a problem for me to swing by and give it a peek, I guess.”<o:p></o:p></div>
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She chuckled and I heard water splashing. “I think you mean give <i>me</i> a peek, you pervert. And you know I’m not like that. We’re friends, Trent. But not in that way.”<o:p></o:p></div>
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Her naked image faded from my mind. Damn.<o:p></o:p></div>
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“Plus, you need to go find out what they’re doing to your girlfriend,” she sadly added. “I’m sorry they pinched her. Really, I am.”<o:p></o:p></div>
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“Lucy’s not my girlfriend, per say,” I replied, checking a nearly deserted street as I jogged across. “But thanks for the concern. Hopefully we can figure out a way to spring her.”<o:p></o:p></div>
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I heard more splashing only this time closer to the phone. “I’ve got to run, Trent. I just got another email. Chat later.”<o:p></o:p></div>
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Riley clicked off and I continued my path to Gareth’s place. With any luck, he’d have some answers for me. Maybe he’d even cracked into the government’s files so we could take a peek at what they had on Lucy. She couldn’t have passed along anything too incriminating, could she?<o:p></o:p></div>
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<i>All material is the intellectual property of e a lake. Please don't steal it, but feel free to share this with anyone you might think will enjoy it. Also -- and this is a biggie -- if you have any input on the grammar, or content, or ideas for upcoming chapters, please make a comment. Let's create this novel together. And with your help, it can only become better.</i></div>
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Thank you,</div>
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<span style="color: #3d85c6; font-size: large;"><b><i>e a lake</i></b></span><br />
<span style="color: #3d85c6; font-size: large;"><b><i><br /></i></b></span><span style="color: #3d85c6; font-size: large;"><b><i><br /></i></b></span><span style="color: #3d85c6; font-size: large;"> <a href="http://eepurl.com/bQVkeD" style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: medium; text-align: center;" target="_blank"><img border="0" height="160" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-irR2X6ZWD4w/Vs80wAv9xjI/AAAAAAAACq8/4AuxYa4qhC0/s320/Unjust%2Bfor%2BBlog.png" width="320" /></a></span></div>
e a lakehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09281428235580511227noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4303288970205593069.post-1204632673957060202017-02-10T08:00:00.000-08:002017-02-14T18:39:51.128-08:00"Glitched" - Chapters 5 & 6<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-outline-level: 1;">
<b style="color: blue; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><i><a href="http://ealake.blogspot.com/2017/01/glitched-chapters-1-2.html" target="_blank">To read Chapters 1 & 2: Click Here</a></i></b></div>
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<b style="color: blue; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><br /></b></div>
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<b style="color: blue; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><a href="http://ealake.blogspot.com/2017/02/glitched-chapters-3-4.html" target="_blank">Chapters 3 & 4 can be found here</a></b></div>
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<u><span style="color: blue; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>Chapter 5</b></span><o:p></o:p></u></div>
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Inside the single-story small dull white dwelling was much neater than anyone could have expected to find, especially in this neighborhood. As always, I found everything in its place and a place for everything. That’s the way Ma said most Orientals lived. Whether Anuk had any such ancestry, I’d never asked.<o:p></o:p></div>
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“What’s up midge,” I said, flopping onto her floral couch. Man, those cushions were so soft. A guy could take a nap on something that comfortable.<o:p></o:p></div>
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I glanced up to discover her glaring at me. “Oh, I always forgot how clever you white guys are.” She wasn’t really pissed; it was just our usual game.<o:p></o:p></div>
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“Well, you are a shrimp,” I replied, giving her a half-smile.<o:p></o:p></div>
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“I’m petite, you asshole,” she rebutted, lacking any sort of disdain in her voice.<o:p></o:p></div>
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“About the size of a 10-year-old girl.” Man, I was on fire. Though she didn’t seem to find me all that funny.<o:p></o:p></div>
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“Where the hell is your burner?” she vented. “I’ve been trying to get ahold of you for the past hour.”<o:p></o:p></div>
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I flipped a hand at her concern. “I think I left it at home this morning. No biggie.”<o:p></o:p></div>
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With tiny steps, she approached me. Standing directly in front of me, albeit eye-to-eye because of her stature, she tried to stare me down.<o:p></o:p></div>
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“You are supposed to have it on you at all times,” she seethed.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Man, was her breath fresh. I wondered if she brushed her teeth every hour or if she had just chewed on a hunk of mint she grew in the window garden in her kitchen.<o:p></o:p></div>
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I grinned, wondering if I could sneak a quick smooch with her standing that close. A palm plant to my forehead, delivered by Anuk no less, gave me a quick answer.<o:p></o:p></div>
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“We got business to attend to,” she said, walking away from me. “And in don’t mean monkey business.”<o:p></o:p></div>
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Anuk was by far the hottest member of my small group of friends. Even though she always acted like I wasn’t worthy of her presence, that never deterred me from making my best moves on her.<o:p></o:p></div>
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There was just something about her size, her perfectly formed body, her short black hair that stirred the demon inside my soul. Someday she’d see there was more to me than just friendship, I figured. When that day came maybe I’d move in with her here and away from my overbearing mother. Someday…maybe.<o:p></o:p></div>
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“What’s up,” I asked.<o:p></o:p></div>
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She spun and faced me from 10 feet away. “Had an email this morning, from him. Trouble’s brewing. We need to be careful he claims.”<o:p></o:p></div>
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I laughed at her seriousness. “The mythical him has spoken and all of his pathetic underlings are expected to jump into action. Great, just great.”<o:p></o:p></div>
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“They know,” she stated.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Snorting my disdain, I pushed off the couch. “They, don’t know shit. They’ve never known shit. We could hand them a bag full of shit and watch the examine it and they still would be clueless.”<o:p></o:p></div>
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“They’re close to breaking the code,” she said, speaking softer as if this was some big deal. “If they break the code, they’ll break the people. If they break the people, we’re all dead. If they find out what we do, Trent, they’ll kill us. They won’t even interrogate us. They won’t have to.”<o:p></o:p></div>
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I’d heard the rhetoric before. False logic I called it. A mythical him against the mythical they. Even if both parties were real, they would never figure it out.<o:p></o:p></div>
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“And Selmo said this? To you? In an email?” Anuk nodded at my questions.<o:p></o:p></div>
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“And I’ve already destroyed the message,” she replied, sounding sad. “I don’t want to die, Trent. And I don’t want anything to happen to you, or Gareth, or anyone else. Maybe we should just lay low for a while. Stay off their radar.”<o:p></o:p></div>
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It had to be misinformation, planted by the ever-meddling government. It just had to be.<o:p></o:p></div>
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“Bad timing, shrimp,” I replied, turning my head to the door.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“They pinched my friend this morning. I’ve got to get to Collins and see if I can’t figure something out.”<o:p></o:p></div>
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Her gaze fell to the floor. “Gareth already told me that. He also said they’re going to start interrogating her soon. That could mean trouble he said.” <o:p></o:p></div>
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Her small dark eyes moved upward and found mine. “What does she know, Trent?”<o:p></o:p></div>
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“Nothing,” I answered as if it were reflexive. “She knows less than them, and that means no one knows anything.”<o:p></o:p></div>
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“You can’t glitch on Margo,” Anuk stated, sounding as if she meant to beg me out of something. “If they make a connection between you and Lucy and Margo and Selmo…”<o:p></o:p></div>
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“They won’t. They don’t have the capability to do so.” I began to pace. “Most of those government types only work for a paycheck. They don’t have the heart to turn against their neighbors and friends. They’d just as soon ignore things as understand them. Hell, as far as we know, most in the government have sympathy for the peebs. If the peebs win, maybe they’ll finally be free to live like people are supposed to.”<o:p></o:p></div>
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“Leave it alone, please?” That time she begged.<o:p></o:p></div>
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“Lucy’s my friend, I owe it to her.” I could feel the fire beginning to burn in my soul.<o:p></o:p></div>
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“You’re not supposed to have friends,” she countered. “Not like that. It’s not supposed to work that way. If she doesn’t know anything, they’ll let her go.”<o:p></o:p></div>
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<div class="MsoNormal">
Unable to suppress my anger any longer, I walked over and hovered above Anuk. She was a go-between and nothing more. Selmo sent her messages, and she reported them to their intended target. Her feelings were never to come into play.<o:p></o:p></div>
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“They’ll torture her until she talks,” I spit. “And if she doesn’t talk they’ll torture her until she gives up and dies. Once you’re in their clutches, there’s no leaving. You know that.”<o:p></o:p></div>
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She looked up and I noticed for the first time her eyes filled with tears. “She’s not worth it, Trent. There’s too much risk. Selmo knew she was going to be grabbed today. That’s why he sent me that warning. You need to let it be. Don’t be stupid.”<o:p></o:p></div>
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I grinned broadly and turned for the door. Stupid as one of my specialties. Stupid was my secret weapon. One I was about to deploy on the own personal idiot – Captain Kumquat.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<u><span style="color: blue; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>Chapter 6<o:p></o:p></b></span></u></div>
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The idiot kept me waiting in a crowded hall just down from his office door. I listened for two hours as he conducted other government business that took priority over my needs. <o:p></o:p></div>
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The first hour was okay, it gave me time to touch base with Gareth and have him send me another name in place of Margo’s on my glitch list. Though I’d never heard of Wyatt Chelsey, Gar assured me he was on the government watch list. His infraction? Buying liquor on an unqualified day. The nerve of that bastard.<o:p></o:p></div>
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By the end of the second hour I’d used the bathroom three times and stared into Collins’ office several other times. He wasn’t even busy with another glitch like I had assumed. No, he was on the phone, and it sounded like a personal conversation with his wife to my ears.<o:p></o:p></div>
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When the fat man finally came to get me, I gave him the earful he deserved.<o:p></o:p></div>
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“It got things to get done today,” I quipped. “Waiting while you and the missus go over your grocery list ain’t one of them.”<o:p></o:p></div>
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For the most part he ignored me as he reached into a desk drawer and pulled a folder out. A quick glance at the name on the red dog-eared folder revealed my own name.<o:p></o:p></div>
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“Putz’s like you deserve to wait, Trent,” he replied with a chuckle. “I should have made you wait another hour. Would have served your sorry ass right.”<o:p></o:p></div>
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I glanced at him, sneering as I did. “What did I ever do to get treated like this by some government hack like you?”<o:p></o:p></div>
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He typed a series of passcodes into his ancient desktop unit. Closing the folder, he pointed at the screen.<o:p></o:p></div>
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“The last three peebs you turned over weren’t even peebs,” he ranted. “We had to let one guy go when his old man – some level three – showed up, screaming for his release.”<o:p></o:p></div>
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“I got my names,” I replied, trying to sound as insulted as I could. “They were all peebs, even the level three’s kid. You’re all just too stupid to figure anything out.”<o:p></o:p></div>
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Folding his hands together, he glared at me. “I need a name, Trent. And a decent name this time.” He leaned nearer. “Otherwise you and your poor old mother may be hungry before the end of next month.”<o:p></o:p></div>
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I considered jumping out of the chair and storming from his small cluttered office. This guy had the same tidiness as Gareth. Add to that he weighed three times what I did and I was sure I could outrun him easily.<o:p></o:p></div>
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“Bronson Pickerel,” I replied. I had lowered my voice so it sounded as if I was ashamed to give up a fellow citizen. That couldn’t have been any further from the truth though.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Collins’ sausage fingers typed the name into his computer. When he struck the enter key, he leaned closer to the screen.<o:p></o:p></div>
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“Hummm,” he droned. “He’s got several infractions against him. Looks like the boys over at two have had their eyes on him for a while. You’re the first to glitch on him though.”<o:p></o:p></div>
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“I saw him last month,” I replied, “meeting with known peeb sympathizers. People I assumed you’ve either let go or just haven’t been proven to be working against this great government of ours yet.”<o:p></o:p></div>
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He tapped a pen on his desk for several long quiet seconds. “You sure about this one, Trent? We’re not going to waste our time any more on some misguided non-peeb just so you and your mother can eat for another month. Tell me I’m not wasting my time here.”<o:p></o:p></div>
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Staring at my hands folded in my lap, I nodded. “He’s the real deal.”<o:p></o:p></div>
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“Look at me when you say that, you worthless glitch.”<o:p></o:p></div>
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Slowly, I raised my eyes and focused on his fat face. “He’s legit. I swear it.”<o:p></o:p></div>
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Rocking forward, I tried to stand. However, one of Collins’ massive paws halted my rise.<o:p></o:p></div>
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“I got some names for you too,” he said, taking another folder from his desk drawer. “People I need checked out.” He slapped the manila folder into my chest. “You know any of these people?”<o:p></o:p></div>
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I quickly scanned the names; I knew them all. The one that really jumped out at me caused an uneasy feeling in my stomach. Gareth Hightower.<o:p></o:p></div>
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“I don’t see any names I recognize.” I lied, not that he would know.<o:p></o:p></div>
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His maniacal laughter caught me off-guard. “Oh come on, boy. Hightower is your best friend…maybe your only friend.”<o:p></o:p></div>
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“So what?”<o:p></o:p></div>
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He withdrew the folder from my shaky hands and replaced it in its spot. “The boys upstairs said he tried to hack into our system a couple months ago. He didn’t get anywhere. Not that you’d expect a flunky like him to able to get through our security.”<o:p></o:p></div>
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“So he likes computers, big whoop.”<o:p></o:p></div>
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Collins’s face reddened. “Listen to me, Trent. I need you to find out if that ass wipe has any plans to try and breach our security. Are you getting me?”<o:p></o:p></div>
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I guffawed at the suggestion. “I ain’t gonna glitch on a friend. You know that.”<o:p></o:p></div>
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Sitting straighter in his chair, he scowled at me. “You’ll do what I tell you to do. Got it?”<o:p></o:p></div>
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I held off any acknowledgement as long as I could but eventually caved with a shrug. He got what he wanted, sort of. Now it was my turn.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Anuk’s voice rang in my head, <i>just leave it alone, Trent</i>. However, my feelings for Lucy won out.<o:p></o:p></div>
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“Can you tell me something?” I asked humbly. “If I ask real nice?”<o:p></o:p></div>
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Collins remained stone-faced. “I don’t do favors for glitches. Not my style.”<o:p></o:p></div>
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“Come on, man,” I begged. “I might have another name for you.”<o:p></o:p></div>
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I watched his lips pucker as he considered the deal. Rarely did a glitch give two names in a single setting. You didn’t get double rations, so why give two names was most likely his reasoning.<o:p></o:p></div>
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I took his continued silence as approval. “What can you tell me about Lucy Tringle? Punch something in your computer there and tell me what she did wrong.”<o:p></o:p></div>
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“Who the hell is Lucy Tringle?” Collins replied, giving me a sharp look.<o:p></o:p></div>
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“A friend. Just see what you got.”<o:p></o:p></div>
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Rotating slowly on his chair, the wasn’t fit enough to do anything fast, he banged on his keyboard. After striking the enter key, a hand rose to his chin.<o:p></o:p></div>
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“Lucy Anne Tringle, age 25. Works at the Information Repository, has for three years now. Clean record until a month ago when she was found to be passing classified information to a known subversive.” His eyes opened wide.<o:p></o:p></div>
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“What?” I asked after a lengthy pause.<o:p></o:p></div>
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“Might have been the man himself,” Collins replied, typing away again. “The name we don’t speak around here.”<o:p></o:p></div>
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“Selmo Nithiw?”<o:p></o:p></div>
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He glanced at me tight lipped and shook his head. “What part of not saying it was so hard for you to understand?”<o:p></o:p></div>
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I raised my hands trying to show no offense had been intended. His gaze went back to the flickering monitor. So, they thought Lucy had met the mythical leader of the peebs. Now that was news.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<i>All material is the intellectual property of e a lake. Please don't steal it, but feel free to share this with anyone you might think will enjoy it. Also -- and this is a biggie -- if you have any input on the grammar, or content, or ideas for upcoming chapters, please make a comment. Let's create this novel together. And with your help, it can only become better.</i></div>
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