Story Market Day

[ComCamGuy]

Around the Fire


The group was ecstatic. Everyone was congratulating the happy couple. At one point, Paige was retelling the moment Henrik proposed.

“…and then he slid the ring on my finger. I was crying, he was crying, and all of a sudden, you guys come swooping in like a flock of guardian angels…”

“Wait a minute!” interrupted Veronica. “Are you calling me short and fat! “

Paige started stammering. “No, I just meant…”

“Yeah, I don’t know about this angel thing….” Added Violet.

Andrea chimed in. “Yeah, well with some of the things I’ve done, I don’t see me as an angel.”

Silas, Ivar, Amber and Sofia were laughing. So was Henrik. Everyone was laughing it up so much, most missed Sabine’s input about Angels.

“Lucifer was an angel.”


More Celebration Needed


It was decided by everyone they absolutely must have an engagement party. There was enough space in the house everyone could sleep over since they had the next couple days off. Ivar and Sofia took one of the spare bedrooms on the top floor and Silas and Amber took the other one. Veronica and Violet took a couple of the couches in the main room.

 

[ComCamGuy]

The Next Morning


Amber and Silas woke up to shouting and screaming. Both of them got up and started getting dressed. The sound of glass shattering spurred them on.

From the top of the stairs, they could see Paige, Violet and Veronica in the kitchen now, the curtain on the sliding glass door blowing through the empty frame. They could hear the conversation now.

“Paige, are you ok?” Violet asked as she got close.

“I don’t know!” There was a look of bewilderment, panic and despair on Paige’s face.

Veronica was looking over at Violet and Paige.

“Paige, what’s up with Sabine?”

Paige looked over at Veronica.

“I don’t know! I was talking about how much I love Henrik and Sabine started yelling to be careful about love and promises! Poof! She threw her coffee mug through the door and walked out! What the **** is going on? What did I do wrong?” Paige voice was pleading, distraught and she was obviously on the verge of a breakdown.

Violet put her hand on Paige’s shoulder and gently pulled her into an embrace. Paige all but collapsed into Violet’s strong arms. Moments later, Henrik was there, taking Paige from Violets arms.

Amber and Silas were coming down the stairs along with Andrea. It was time to figure out what the hell was going on.

A rehashing of the events of the last few minutes ensued.

“I was talking to Sabine and when I said I would do anything for him, She screamed at me! And…And …when I asked her what was wrong with that, she yelled again…threw her cup and stormed out!” Paige broke down into sobs in Henrik’s arms.

Paige’s sobbing explanations plus Veronica and Violet’s recollections shifted the focus to trying to figure out what to do about it. Andrea wanted to go after Sabine, thinking she was the best one to talk with her, Veronica figured she could help since she felt a connection with her. The others argued for other solutions. Finally, it was decided to send in the pro at dealing with crazy.

 

[ComCamGuy]

In the Barn


Amber wasn’t sure what she was walking into. Sure, she was trained in all the methods, she even was a qualified hostage negotiator. This was a friend though.

When she entered the barn, she wasn’t sure what she would find. She saw movement above her. There! Sabine was climbing a rope headed towards the rafters. Well, at least this physical outlet wouldn’t destroy anything like the glass door. She was formulating her opening question when Sabine spoke from up on the rope.

“I guess they sent you since you are the professional at talking to crazy people. This is a really bad idea, you are the last person I should talk to right now” Sabine snarled and continued to climb.

Amber was trying to gather as many clues as she could from Sabine’s tone and actions. She was obviously still worked up, but she didn’t know why. Time to get the dialog underway.

“Actually, my professional creds were a secondary issue, come to think of it. Silas argued against me doing this for some reason. The consensus behind the rational was you don’t work for me so it won’t influence how they react to you there. I don’t sleep with you and I am not a housemate. Violet, well, let’s just say more than windows get broke when she gets mad. Veronica looked at us all and just flat out said ‘NO’. Sophia is far too tenderhearted.”

Amber took a drink of coffee from the cup she was holding. It gave her something for her hands to do. She was hoping the pause would let some of this sink in.

“I figured we are some kind of friends since you let me into your house but we don’t know each other that well yet. Most importantly, I get paid to be yelled at by angry people so I have a fairly thick skin.” Amber kept her voice smooth and even. It was like she was describing figuring out what was the best type of paint to use on an outdoor fence. She didn’t want to feed the energy in the room, she wanted to sooth it. Amber continued talking. This next point was important. This was the hook.

“Your friends are worried. You haven’t normally been the type for violent outbursts. Paige said you were even cool as a cucumber when you stared down her attempted murderer in the armory. So, there must be something going on and everyone is puzzled and wants to help.”

“Oh, so I just plop on the couch, we have a cumbia and all is good? Is that the idea? Don’t like it.” Sabine was still hanging on the rope.

It was still early and the sip of coffee wasn’t enough coffee. Amber couldn’t help it. A bit of her temper slipped out.

“Hey, I came out here as the elected friend, not as Doctor. I just want to figure out how we, your friends, can help the situation. And make no mistake, there is a situation. The person who saved Paige’s life goes high order when talking about her love and commitment to her soon to be husband, who by the way, said you were all for him marrying her. You even helped him get the ring sized. So now he is twitchy about your outburst, Paige is beside herself, wondering what she did to make you so angry when she thought you were happy for them. Your friends are worried. I am the elected mouthpiece. What’s going on?”

Amber hoped she got through to her. She didn’t like it when she had her temper sneak out and she didn’t want to sabotage what she had started.

Sabine hung on the rope for a few moments, obviously thinking about what she said. She must have finally made a decision. She slid down the rope and walked up to Amber. She had several inches on her in height, silently looking into Amber’s eyes for a few moments.

Amber wasn’t sure if she was trying to intimidate her or find sincerity. Whatever it was, Amber did not retreat. She had been around far too many professional hunter-killers in her career. Hell, she was married to one. Sabine was an intimidating looking person, but it didn’t work on her.

Suddenly the corner of Sabine’s mouth turned up in a smirk holding no warmth nor humor. Sabine spoke. It was a sideways question she wasn’t expecting.

“Professional question. As long as I don’t reveal a desire to cause harm to myself or others, you are legally bound to reveal absolutely nothing of our conversation if I was your patient, Correct?”

Inside, Amber was startled by this turn of events. She came out here to try and unscrew whatever the hell this was that went down with Sabine and Paige. She liked these four and didn’t want things to blow up unnecessarily between them. These guys were some of the few friends worth a shit around here. Now she was playing professional emotional EOD. She hated having to put her pro hat on with friends. It usually left both parts strained and weakened.

“I didn’t bring my couch, but yes, were you my patient, I would be morally and ethically bound to not reveal any of our conversations held as your doctor.”

“And you hold that to be a very serious duty?” Sabine asked.

“Very.” Now it was Amber’s tone that was flat, forceful and matter of fact. Her duty and her word transcended most things. Sabine just threw down a challenge, even if she didn’t realize it.

“Good. Have a seat Doctor. I will lay down on the metaphorical couch so we can begin. Let’s start. Only the details I want to give for now and my rules. I give the information I feel safe giving you and you stick by your oath. I have had too many of your kind lie to me, twist what I say, use it against me and, to put it simply, ****ed me royally. If you do that, you will have burned all my trust and friendships here and I will vanish. No one will ever see or hear from me again.”

“First I will explain a little about this morning. Then, most importantly, we must try to fix things with my friends. I don’t want to lose them”

Amber knew it! She had sensed Sabine was different than the others. Her body language was different. She was a wolf, trying to hide in a pack of dogs, trying to not be noticed. She tried to fit in, but was always on guard. She was always ready to act, noticing what other were doing and how they were acting. She was a mimic, gathering clues to blend in or looking for threats, poised to fight or flee. She never really trust anyone. Amber had even asked Silas about it on the ride home after their first get together. He successfully deflected her question now she was understanding why. She felt like she was at the beach, looking out at the endless ocean psychologically, seeing the surface, knowing there was no telling how deep it went.

Sabine reminded her of some of her earlier patients. Amber was used to working with Special Operations types who had done multiple tours, through multiple decades doing things they wanted to forget before they even did them and seeing things they hope would go away but ending up burning themselves forever into a part of their souls. These memories would rear their ugly heads at the most inopportune time. She always told them ‘you can’t chose when emotions come out’. For some reason this seemed like it might be as big of an issue as these guys were having, but it had a much different feel to it.

She got into the business to help people specializing in people who couldn’t tell people what they had seen or done. Some days she wondered why and she thought to herself today was going to be one of those. So she reminded herself the mystery was part of it but it was more, like watching her father struggle with the things he saw and did when he was in the service. His closed off little community of friends who had all been there, done that were the only ones he was able to partially relax around.

Her doctoral thesis and specialty was PTSD with service people; military, fire, police, EMS. She had honed and specialized her focus after meeting Silas and getting to know the special people like him.

She knew in her gut that Sabine needed help. She also knew she had to want help. It was a big challenge. The door was opening a little so she had to take the opening. She would help her as much as Sabine allowed her to. She had to say yes.

“OK, your rules. What’s next?”

“Are you religious?”

“Kind of a sideways question, but OK. I grew up Lutheran. And I take it this has bearing?” Amber was a little confused.

“OK, Lutheran works. Catholic Light. You should have a little knowledge of the Catholic religion since your leader was the ultimate rebel monk. You might understand some then. I am Catholic. Many years ago, I made deliberate solemn vows to God, and then I basically destroyed myself and allowed others to destroy me, all in an attempt to not betray those vows. In the end, I was too weak to endure and keep one vow. I broke a vow to God while trying to keep another one to Him and am quite possibly damned to hell for it, depending upon the perspective and theological point of view. I never want someone I care about to face such a thing. I was too weak to stay true and too strong to just die with my vow intact.”

Amber could hear all the contradictions within Sabine’s statements. Deep ocean indeed! What hell she must have gone through to get this way! She couldn’t even talk to Silas about it. She knew Sabine had invoked the ‘Doctor’ clause for that very reason.

“I don’t know if I can understand enough without details, but suffice to say, you are a bit leery of promises I take it.” Amber was grasping but thought she saw the thread of where they were going now.

Sabine just nodded. Amber now had a direction to head, a focus to work with.

“Well we need to figure a way to convey that it was your concern for Paige that brought about your sudden fit of temper, or something.”

“I might have an idea, if she will talk to me.” Sabine said in a sad voice.

 

[Texican]

I Sabine) broke a vow to God while trying to keep another one to Him and am quite possibly damned to hell for it, depending upon the perspective and theological point of view.

This could be multitudes for vows. What will ccg reveal or will he?

Now ccg,

In a little less than two months, you have been writing "Market Day" for the enjoyment and pleasure of the moar hounds and undoubtedly for your enjoyment and pleasure for it shows in your writings.

Which we appreciate.

Regards,

Texican....

 

[ComCamGuy]

In a little less than two months, you have been writing "Market Day" for the enjoyment and pleasure of the moar hounds and undoubtedly for your enjoyment and pleasure for it shows in your writings.

Which we appreciate.

Regards,

Texican....

Actually the end of July will be three years.
Dang!

Who would have thought a little 3k short story would have gotten this far?

 

[txs]

#6843, par 25, sen 2, way should be was, thanks you Sir.

 

[ComCamGuy]

Back in the House

Amber was almost mobbed when she came back into the house from the barn.

“What’s up with her? Is she OK? What happened?” All the questions bombarded into her at once so she could barely tell who was asking what.

“Enough!” Everyone went silent, looking at her expectantly. Amber wasn’t sure what all to say, but she knew she had to defuse this mob. She knew everyone wanted answers but maybe if she emphasized the whole ‘delay’ instead of ‘don’t ask’ it might work.

“Sabine is sorry for her outburst and embarrassed at it as well. She asked me to ask you guys to please set it aside for now. She doesn’t want to talk about it right now. She needs to come in, shower and wants to go get the supplies for the party this afternoon, and another door. She asked for Paige to accompany her on the shopping trip so she could talk and clear up some things. Any objections from the peanut gallery?” Amber looked around the room, she had her firm work face on now. She didn’t want any push back on this. She coud see Violet and Veronica recognized the glare, Ivar, Sofia and Silas too. Good. She should be able to count on their support at least. All heads nodded acceptance of the plan.

Amber stepped outside and motioned Sabine in. Sabine walked quickly, not making eye contact as she pressed through the crowd on her way to the stairs. Andrea started to follow her, but Amber laid a hand on her shoulder, holding her back. She knew this was the most volatile one at this moment. Love can be either the biggest help or the biggest powderkeg.

After Sabine was upstairs, Amber turned to the rest of the people. She knew it would be better to put them to work doing other things instead of standing there clucking away on the event. She looked at her accomplices, this time Sofia to start with.

“Guys, we have a party to set up.”

Sofia took the cue and started towards the kitchen with Andrea in tow.

“Alright, we have some cooking to do.”

‘Got to love Sofia, always the happy homemaker when she needed to be’ thought Amber. As the rest started to move off to their tasks, Amber caught Paige’s arm, holding her in place for a moment as everyone moved along. Now to lay the groundwork for Sabine’s explanation.

“Paige, Sabine wanted you to know, her outburst was protective, not anger at anyone other than herself. She said she would try to explain some, if you would be willing to listen. That’s the reason she wants you to go with her.”

Amber looked at Paige’s face as she spoke. She was looking for her reaction, her acceptance of the situation. What she didn’t want to see was anger. That was the emotion she was most fearful of taking root. Fortunately it was confusion not anger in Paige’s expression and words.

“I’ll listen. It was just so sudden. I didn’t see it coming. She has been acting strange since the attack. If you have a moment, I have something to show you.” Paige took Amber to the master bedroom downstairs to see the imagery of Sabine in the Arms Room.

Amber thought she was starting to understand a few things about Sabine as she saw the look in Sabine’s eyes as she held the pistol out. It was as if she had done this before or wished she had done it a thousand times before in her mind. It was not just Frickel she was shooting.

Amber had seen it before in rape victims, an attitude of ‘this ****er will never do that to me or someone I love again’. It is a kind of controlled rage, an ice-cold fury. The person becomes cold, calculating and most of all, does not trust anyone, especially if she went through any kind of court trial. Sabine said she was screwed over by psychiatrists before. This wasn’t good. She wasn’t sure what happened before to Sabine but it obviously must have been horrendous, at least from Sabine’s perspective.

She saw the brutality of the attack on Paige as Paige was fast forwarding through it to get to the point she wanted Amber to see. Amber wasn’t sure if Paige realize how much she saw. It was enough to know Sabine was not the only one who needed help. She had to find a way to help them both. It was obviously each one was willing to kill or die for each other. Something so pure was a horrible thing to throw away.

Sabine. Childhood trauma? Domestic assault or abuse? Maybe a rape victim? Amber thought she might be putting a puzzle together but Sabine was nowhere near that simple. Damn! Silas share the pieces! She started thinking. In her mind, Amber was standing on the beach again staring out at the endless ocean. Deep water indeed.

 

[ComCamGuy]

Later at the House


Amber was headed to the house from the firepit when she saw Paige pull up and get out. Alone. This set off warning bells in Amber’s head. She knew she had to investigate.

“Where’s Sabine?” Amber asked Paige with no preamble, no lead in or anything.Paige was obviously caught off guard and she struggled for the answer.

“She stayed behind at the office to take care of some things and to ‘get her head back on straight’ were the words she used. One of us needs to go back down there in a little while and get her.” Paige replied as she started unloading the groceries.

The bells were louder now, like that damn dive klaxon Silas had for a ring tone years ago. Paige came back without Sabine. Sabine told her to leave her at the shop. Alone. Amber’s brain was running a thousand miles a minute as she replayed the earlier conversation she had with Sabine.


“Wait. She had you leave her there? Tell me what she told you in the car. It could be important.” A hint of panic creeping into Amber’s voice.


Paige knew Sabine had talked to Amber earlier when she didn’t talk to anyone else. She decided to tell her. She recounted the meat of the conversation they had on the ride to the base. About how she was happy they were getting married, About how she was reminded of someone she used to know. Someone who made an unbreakable promise and went insane and destroyed herself trying to keep her promise and how it eventually killed her.

And about how she never wanted to watch someone else fgoe through it again, and how when she said she would do anything for Henrik, it just struck that old wound and scared her, bringing it all to the surface again.

Amber listened intently, filing away all the bits for further analysis. She knew this ‘friend’ she told Paige about had to be Sabine. So many pieces to put together. God! She needed to grab a stack of index cards and start laying out the ‘murder board’ so she could diagram what she thought and segregate it from what she knew! When Paige was finished, there was silence in the barn. Finally, Amber knew what she had to do.

“I’ll go down and get her.” The gears were spinning in Amber’s head. She had to go tell Silas she was heading down to get Sabine, but if what she feared was happening, she would already be far too late. Ten minutes one way or another wouldn’t make a difference and she didn’t want to panic the rest. Brave face Amber, she thought to herself.

Amber helped Paige carry stuff to the kitchen, working around Andrea who had the whole place in shambles as she cooked. Paige and Amber both deflected and sidestepped questions about Sabine as they moved groceries. Amber knew why she was deflecting, but Paige must be doing it from instinct.

Once all the groceries were all in, both Paige and Amber went looking for Silas.

“Let me go first so I can head out to get Sabine.” Amber told Paige as the found him.

“Hey, I have to run down to the base and pick up Sabine. She stayed behind to do some work.”

Silas saw the look on his wife’s face. It was the same one she had when she was working with a difficult patient. One she was worried about. He was worried about Sabine too after the outburst this morning, but could think of no one better to help her than Amber. Amber had a twitch about her that said she was in a hurry and no time to explain. Twenty plus years of marriage, you develop those kinds of observations.

“Take whatever time you need. We have plenty to do here. The workmen just called and will be here soon to replace the door.” After a quick kiss and a knowing look, Amber grabbed her shoulder bag and left, leaving Paige to talk to Silas next.

 

[ComCamGuy]

Amber drove towards the base. She tried to focus on her driving but her mind kept going towards her patient. She kept seeing the ocean stretching out before her. It was her own visualization technique to get her mind focused. Everyone only sees the surface unless they really work at it, but the deeper you go, the less perspective you get on the big picture, some parts so deep you can never reach or see them. In her head, Sabine’s mind was a storm-tossed sea; powerful, violent and unpredictable.

She remembered what Sabine told her about how, if need be, if she felt threatened or abandoned, she would just up and vanish, never to be seen again. She was honestly expecting to arrive at the base to find Sabine was gone, nowhere to be found, poof into thin air. This kind of escape wasn’t that unusual among some with emotional trauma too tough to face, but it usually isn’t a deliberate measured thing like Sabine was hinting at. She sounded like it was a well thought out plan, maybe even one she had employed before. Unfortunately there were downsides to the vanish and start over concept.

She knew Silas could fix it so Sabine would not be a deserter but that was not the problem Amber worried about. Psychologically Sabine would be lost forever. Once running away was an option, especially one used successfully, it can become the default solution, always running and never being herself again.

Damnit! Stop it, Amber! She had to stop thinking like that and pray she was there. Something she had not done enough of in a long time.

Amber was surprised when she saw Sabine standing in the parking lot, waiting for her. She didn’t know if it was the prayers or if she was just overreacting earlier. She rolled down the window as she pulled up next to her.

“Kinda surprised to see you still here. The way you talked earlier, I thought you might be doing an Amelia Earhart on us.” Amber quipped, hoping the humor would take the worry out of her tone.

“It was tempting. You have no idea how easy it would have been.” Sabine said.

Amber noticed Sabine’s speech, her patterns and accent were different. This sent the hackles on the back of her neck back up. It was almost like this wasn’t Sabine but she kept talking.

“But I decided I didn’t want to give up on having friends. Paige says they love me for me, even though they don’t know anyone other than the Sabine they met and have lived with. I need to be that person for them and I need to be that person for me. To do that, I need to nail the lid down on all the rest of my baggage. I thought I had but apparently the sliding glass door is evidence otherwise. I need help, otherwise I’ll just have to keep running, never getting close to anyone.”

This statement seemed to take a lot of energy for Sabine to say. Amber knew such realizations were hard to accept, harder to acknowledge and brutal to actually verbalize. She was still trying to process the new speech patterns and other different elements of this Sabine. She worked with some split personalities before years ago, but this didn’t feel like that. Now the big question.

“So, are you saying you want my help?”

“Yes. I can’t do this alone. I’ve tried. Look at the mess I made of it” She paused for a moment, once again appearing unsure or hesitant. “Look, can I drive? I need the distraction.”

“Sure.” Amber got out of the driver’s seat and went around to the passenger side. Once she climbed in, Sabine started forward and was talking again. This was a good thing. Sabine already knew what she was talking about and with her driving, Amber could focus on everything Sabine was saying. She also knew most people would talk more when they had something to distract part of their mind. She put her whole focus on Sabine’s words now.

“To help me put the lid back on, unfortunately you will need to know everything. I don’t want to tell it to you, I don’t really want to discuss it in depth, dissect the details and so forth. Been there done that, got the tee shirt with the long sleeves that buckled in the back. Spent time trying to glue macaroni to a paper plate while wearing it. I am looking for help with things to help keep it peacefully slumbering whether with a large dose of sleeping potion, driving a stake through its heart, shooting it with a silver bullet whatever it takes so it doesn’t pop up and ruin someone’s wedding or bar mitzvah.”

Now Amber was confused and intrigued. She was sure Sabine had a solution.

“So how am I supposed to know all of this without you telling it to me?”

Sabine held up a thumb drive. “With this.”

“What is ‘this’?” Amber took the thumb drive.

“This is one of three copies outside of Federal evidence. This is everything. I’m not even supposed to have it. When you see what’s on here, you will understand. Don’t show it to anyone. Here’s the other thing. Silas knows some of what’s on here second hand, but not much. I give you, my doctor, permission to discuss it with him, but please don’t show the contents to him. I don’t want the ‘me’ in there to change how he looks at me, how he thinks of me. That’s the person I’m trying to close the door on and move forward.”

Amber looked at the thumb drive. Her hand was shaking. She knew in her heart this was a huge Pandora’s Box. Once opened, who knew what would come out? She also knew this was a massive element of trust from Sabine. Amber could feel her eyes tearing up. She knew this was no impulsive thing Sabine was doing. She had to ask.

“Are you sure?” Amber’s voice quavered a little. Gone was the detached professional voice. Here was someone giving her everything. Regardless of what’s on the thumb-drive, she could tell it was everything in Sabine’s eyes.

Sabine’s eyes didn’t leave the road as she replied.

“Absolutely not, but I have no one else in the world to talk to who knew me before the horror, and the only one I trust that knew me when it was happening isn’t here. Besides, he has already done so much, but he is on the other side of the country. I would love to go back to the ‘me’ before all of it happened, but that will never be. Instead, I have to focus on only being ‘Sabine.’ There’s a gravestone in a cemetery in New England with Jeanne’s name on it. I need her to stay there buried so people think she is dead. They must never find me or I really will be dead. Are you still willing to help me?”

Damn! She was right! She has already been someone else before! Federal evidence? Witness Protection maybe? How much does Silas know, really know? Shoot, she really might have been able to vanish at the drop of a hat.

“Still your rules?”

“Yup.”

That voice was short, demanding and final. Amber knew she couldn’t move it unless Sabine allowed her to.

“How will Silas know he can talk to me about this?” Amber wasn’t sure what she would talk with him about her, but he may have some insight depending on what she found on the thumb-drive.

“Show him the dog tag attached to the thumb drive. Once he sees it, he will know it was from me. After he sees the tag, I want the tag back. It’s the one I got issued when I first came into the military and I’m still attached to it after all these years.”

Amber held the thumb-drive and felt the dog tag, the ridges under her fingers reminding her of Silas’ tags she played with so often lying next to him in bed. Now she was reminded of their terrible purpose of identifying the wounded and the dead. This tag in her hands represented someone Sabine wanted to remain hidden, but would reveal her identity. She reached into the back seat and retrieved her small laptop. In for a penny, in for a pound. Once she had it opened up and the thumb-drive plugged in, she made a new folder on the desktop and titled it ‘Alice’.

“Ok, Sabine, Down the rabbit hole I go. I’m in.” She looked up from the laptop to Sabine and was startled by her expression and the reply.

“I don’t know how to thank you, and I’m sorry.” The smile on her face was both heartfelt and sad.

 

[Cohickman]

You are spoiling us!!

 

[ComCamGuy]

A Window into Hell and Torment


Amber started skimming the lists of files. There were a lot more than she expected. Then again, she wasn’t sure what she was expecting anyway. At first glance, these were evidentially a full set of court records of multiple Federal trials, well over a dozen or more, it looked like.

Several of the family names on the defendant side and most on the prosecutors she recognized. They were fairly prominent old money families. She didn’t remember anything in the news about trials of any of these people. That’s awful strange in this day and age where social media report on the littlest detail of anyone famous.

Damn, there was a shitload of files! Amber had to start somewhere. She figured better to start at the beginning. She looked for the oldest file. Turns out, the oldest one had Jeanne as the defendant. Opening the file she skimmed the contents. Turns out these were master files. There were a host of nested subfolders. She scanned the titles; Prosecution evidence, Defense evidence, Testimony transcripts, Video testimonies, autopsy reports! Holy Shit!

Amber pulled up the Prosecution case. On first glance, Jeanne was accused of murdering seven people, one of which was her husband, in a particularly heinous way. Holy Shit! Seven? Why wasn’t she in prison? She skipped over to the defense side to see their take on it. If murder was a shock to her, the defense floored her.

Amber had to look again. Physical and psychological torture, sexual exploitation and torment were the kindest clinical terms she saw. And it looked like it went on for years! Rabbit hole indeed!

She skipped ahead. It looks like she was acquitted, primarily based on video evidence from the torture, torment and such, which was filmed by the perpetrators. Jeanne’s narration on the stand of the events in question line by line, scene by scene in graphic yet clinical detail ensured she was the star witness against the others involved in the horrors inflicted upon her leading up to the killing as well as almost countless earlier events and times by others.

For a moment, Amber felt so unprepared for this. This was so far out of her league. She specialized in a different type of psychological trauma. She felt like an intern with her first schizophrenic teenager all over again.

The experienced shrink in herfought back. This was her friend, and a willing paitent who needed her help. She had to rise to the challenge. She would help her nail the box shut. After seeing the barest glimpse inside, she knew she could not walk away without helping her. She looked up at Sabine.

“I’ll help you. We will find a way to make it work.”

Amber’s stubborn streak and professional anger kicked in.

“I will not walk away from you. I am on your side, not like the shrinks before. The institution they put you in for evaluation sucked and those shrinks were out to show how superior they were. They aren’t there to help patients. I hate assholes like that. They are the bane of my profession. I won’t treat you like a product on a shelf in a warehouse like they did. In this, I work for you, not the prosecution or defense like they did.”

Those jackasses institutionalized her and tried to make it all her fault! Chemical cocktails and professional psycho-manipulation all trying to make her the badguy in this story! Then again, she also killed seven people and was found covered in their blood. She hated those manipulative pricks!

“First let’s fix things with you friends. All of you were effected by Paige’s attack and it is time you guys suck it up and admit it. You were the whipping boy and the strength at the same time. You had the worst it because you literally held Paige’s very life in your hands. Your skill and passion stood between her and death! Then, at least in your head, you killed for her. You sat with her for hours when no one else could, watching, not knowing whether she would live or die and you stood alone defending her against everyone. Henrik lashing out at you. You girlfriend angry at you and turning on you when you needed her support. Blaming you for things you were not doing and not trusting you. Exhausting yourself, pouring yourself out drop by drop into helping everyone without taking care of yourself. Then, as everything is calming down, with your reserves spent, needing desperately to recharge, Bam! Somebody throws open the lid, you get hit with mental and verbal parallels, flashbacks and panic. Of course, you had a bit of a meltdown.”

“Now as for you, I just barely put my toes in the water. I need to get my wetsuit and tanks to start getting the full story. The ocean is deep and cold Sabine but I am willing and ready if you still are.”

She had to help her. Even just knowing the little she did now, she could dedicate the rest of her whole professional career and probably just make a dent.

“I still get to control the pace?” Sabine’s voice sounded a little more confident, a little more positive. It still had the different accent and pattern though.

“Of course, remember, it’s your rules.”

“OK, can we make it appear casual and not a formal ‘hi, I’m seeing the shrink’ kind of thing, at least around the guys?” Sabine sounded worried all over again.

“What formal? We are just talking. Two medical people talking about things the other guys don’t understand or would bore them. They sure as hell haven’t been providing you the friendly ear you need. Nothing says you can’t have a friend outside the house. Besides, ****‘em. You can have another friend and talk with them if you want.”

Amber knew she had to make sure Sabine knew she was on her side, no matter what. She has been screwed over so many times by so many people…

“With just the little I saw when I skimmed, you have to be one of the strongest people I have ever met. Everyone needs to take a break or get some help every now and then. I’m in your corner on this. Silas will be too.”

Sabine had a small grin on her face now. Amber took it as a good sign, even if she didn’t understand it.

“He better be, otherwise, his sister will kick his ass!”

Amber was momentarily confused until she connected the dots. Holy Shit!

“Your why Bill was stressing out a couple years ago and retired earlier than he originally planned to! He was your Master Chief! Beth cried on my shoulder a few times because she didn’t know how to help and he couldn’t tell her why. He was finally able to tell her enough when it was over, I guess. Now it makes more sense!”

Sabine’s voice was wistful. “I miss Bill and Beth. She was always nice to me. She always made these fabulous bunt cakes he would bring to the shop.”

“Sabine, Bill thought so much of you, and he is an excellent judge of character. We will help you. You were family long before now.”

Amber wasn’t sure what else to say or do so she went back to skimming the files.

They were five minutes from the house. Amber’s curiosity got the best of her. She broke the silence again.

“Can I ask a question?”

Sabine’s face froze and she visibly tightened her grip on the steering wheel. Belatedly, Amber figured Sabine’s mind must be conjuring all the questions she was afraid to hear again.

“OK” Her voice was soft, wooden.

“Are you still a Catholic?” Amber had to know.

This was obviously not one of the questions Sabine was expecting.

“Yes.”

“Why?” it wasn’t confused or accusatory. Amber just wondered.

“It’s hard to explain. If I quit now, then everything I endured was a waste, was all for nothing. If I was going to abandon the church, I should have done it before everything went bad. If I had, then I would have had a dozen easy ways out. Divorce, flee, or even death. There were a thousand times I prayed to die, but suicide’s a mortal sin, you see. Too weak to die, too strong to live, too strong to die, too weak to live. Whether I agree with all of it, to walk away would …..” Sabine seemed to run out of steam.

Amber sat there. Part of her could make sense of it but it still boggled her mind. She was broken out of her thought train by Sabine.

“Put your couch away, its game time.”

 

[Lake Lili]

Superbly written CCG! Thanks.

Lili

 

[ted]

Thank you for the spoiling...LOL

 

[Texican]

Actually the end of July will be three years.
Dang!

Who would have thought a little 3k short story would have gotten this far?

ccg,

I reread my post and realized that I left out "three years".

Texican....

 

[ComCamGuy]

At the House


Andrea, Sofia and Violet were working hard in the kitchen, planning the party for tomorrow and starting to banter ideas for a wedding party. When Paige came in, and Sabine wasn’t with her, Andrea went a little mental.

“What do you mean, you left her there! Did you just pitch her out to the side of the road like a sack of unwanted kittens!?!? She has a bit of temper and you throw her away! I’m going to go get her. If you want her gone, then fine! Let me know and I’ll pack our stuff!”

Sofia could tell Paige was definitely blindsided by this and Paige had finally had enough, going high order right back at Andrea.

“Would you just shut up **** up for a minute! Cool your jets you raging A.D.D. Cajun flaming psycho. Wait one minute, listen and let me explain.”

Sofia poured another glass of wine. She knew emotions were running high and the upcoming screaming match might be just the ticket to let the pressure out of this building kettle. As long as it didn’t go too far. She knew some of the flat out knock down drag out fights she had with Amber while the husbands were deployed were some of the only things that kept them sane. Well, that and Vodka.

The silence of the room was broken by a giggle heard from Violet.

Sofia looked over at Violet. This was not the time for her to interject or try and derail this process! If she learned anything from Amber over the years, it was sometimes best to let them talk and have at. As long as it didn’t get physical, Violet needed to stay out of it! She threw a potholder at Violet to get her attention. When she looked over, she gave Violet a ‘knock it off’ glare. It worked. Good to know she still had it!

“It’s not like that at all! She wanted to take care of something and needed to collect herself. I tried to get her to come back with me. What was I supposed to do? Handcuff her and toss her in the back? Shit! Give me a break! She said she would give a call, but Amber already went down there. Sabine knew you were busy cooking and figured to take care of some things!”

“I’m going to go get her!” Andrea started towards the door.

Paige picked up Andrea’s keys and tossed them towards Violet.

“Here Violet, hang onto these until she takes a breath and calms down. She has been drinking. I am too tired to try to stop her. Handcuff her to a wall, tie her in a knot like pretzel whatever it takes to keep her from leaving. I need some rest. In a little while, there’s some stuff in the truck for you and Veronica, but first I have to ask your dad if you can have it” Paige said with a smile. “Amber has already left to go pick her up. Two on the road wouldn’t be a good idea.” She turned towards Andrea. “Please, she is fine. She will be back soon.” Paige walked off.

Both Sofia and Andrea looked over at Violet. Violet was smirking.

Sofia just leaned against the counter. Her first thought was they drug Violet into the middle of it, they get what they deserve, but she knew they didn’t realize how bad that can be. Time to step in.

Sofia stepped up to Andrea. She figured she had a better way to diffuse the situation than Violet’s motto of ‘when it doubt, bend it till it’s the shape you want’ physical methods to calm Andrea’s temper.

“Andrea, let’s get back to cooking and planning. Have another Mimosa and let’s figure out the bachelorette party.” She threw her arm across Andrea’s shoulders, steering her back towards the kitchen. “Besides, you aren’t getting the keys away from Violet. You won’t win and she will just giggle so let’s get back to the festivities.”

The two were really starting to bond over working in the kitchen. They both were enjoying talking about recipes, knitting and sewing. Sofia knew planning parties was a great distraction. Sofia used the planning process to keep herself out of trouble for years. It kept her from caving in to the vicious party monster inside her that used to get her in so much trouble. Maybe it would work on Andrea too. She knew it would when she heard Andrea’s reply.

“Bachelorette party? Now you are singing my song.”

 

[ComCamGuy]

Base Housing


Margaret and Jonas were sitting at the table while their little girl Jennifer was in the living room playing games on the TV with her headphones on. This let them talk without upsetting Jennifer. It was the same fight they had all week leading up to Thanksgiving.

“They are supposed to move us. They promised when you retired they would move you one more time and now with this whole base closing thing, now you tell me you’re just out? Retired at 12 years? That’s not fair!”

“I know it’s not fair, but it’s happening and I can’t fix it. We’ve gone over this before. We’ve gone over this for almost the last month. What we need to do now is figure out where we want to live and how we are going to get there. They are turning the apartments back over to the company the middle of January so we have to think pretty soon because I doubt we could keep living here even if we wanted to. My retirement check will be about a third of what we are bringing in now and I don’t see many jobs around here.”

“You’re talking moving away again. Where? How? They aren’t moving us and we can only load up so much in the car. Where can we rent a moving truck? More importantly, where would we go? You flat refuse to move back to your home town and you hate my father so we won’t go there. Tell me, oh wise one, where would we move to?”

“Damn it! I don’t know but I know we can’t stay here! I’ve heard less gunfire at night in Baghdad! I worry for you guys. Shit! Last night, Thanksgiving! The parking lot looked worse than when you called the cops last time.”

He stopped talking. He knew she could be stubborn but he hated to play the next card. Screw it.

“Look, I know you aren’t scared, but I am. I’m scared for you and I’m scared for Jennifer.”

Margaret didn’t reply. She seemed to just be stewing and seething since she didn’t have a good answer.

With no other input, he decided to charge ahead.

“The Commander has authorized us to move onto base in the transient and student quarters while we figure things out. They have storage space where we can put our stuff while we get the rest figured.”

He saw this didn’t sit well with her but she still didn’t have a counter offer and said so.

“So, SGT Jenson, when were you thinking of moving us ‘baggage’ on base.”

God! He hated it when she got that tone and accusatory attitude.

“Well, we have to move somewhere by the start of January. I was thinking we could check it out this weekend and start moving stuff bit by bit instead of doing it all in a rush come January.”

Margaret didn’t like it. He could tell from her tone when she spoke.

“So, go check it out today, and work from there?”

“Yeah, we will work from there.” Jonas said, happy to at least have this concession.

 

[Texican]

ccg,

You throw so many twists and turns that we don't know if we are going or coming.

Texican....

 

[Griz3752]

ccg,

You throw so many twists and turns that we don't know if we are going or coming.

Texican....

Tex think of these "twists & turns" as the minutia/POVs we didn't get on the first pass though this terrain. There were other characters but no time or space to see the action through their eyes.

Note: that does not mean I've slacked off on my harness tension or wearing my helmet.

That would be foolish. ....

 

[ComCamGuy]

Out Back

When Sofia decided all those not directly cooking needed to get the hell out of her and Andrea’s way, she threw them out of the house and told them to find somewhere else to be.

Soon Ivar, Henrik and Veronica were out at the far reaches of the meadow while the others not cooking were in the barn. Out in the meadow Ivar was basically hosting a master’s clinic on setting up and shooting the compound and recurve bows Henrik and Veronica brought.

Ivar made tweaks and corrections in things across the board, both with the equipment set up and the shooters themselves. From stance, to aim, to release, he helped make them better, smoother and more efficient. Veronica was his assistant with Henrik and then, while Henrik practiced, Ivar helped Veronica with her new recurve.

Ivar couldn’t help but be proud watching Veronica teaching and coaching Henrik. Hell, she taught better than a bunch of the so called professional experienced instructors here at the schoolhouse.

Once Henrik was in practice mode, he had Veronica pull out her latest bow.

“I see you decided to go back to the basics. Tired of the pulleys and gizmos?” He asked Veronica.

This was a long running debate he had with her. When she was younger, he taught her with long bow, recurve and compound. He had her hunting with the compound so she could hit with enough power to cleanly kill the prey. Like most new hunters, she loved the additional widgets, optics and all the other things she could add and use.

Ivar kept telling her it was hurting her skill and growth as an archer and a hunter, but he supported her as long as she kept shooting. They went back and forth again and again over the years. Now it looked like she might have realized and felt what he was trying to explain. This made him happy. He knew she would be much better the simpler she went.

“I guess so. I think it was when I was looking at all the money and time to get everything to set up a new bow. I got frustrated and pissed off. I remembered all the times you told me all I should need; ‘bow, a sight and a quiver and in a pinch, the sight was a crutch’. Well, I went into the shop and decided to try it your way.” Veronica admitted.

This brought a grin to his face. He couldn’t help but laugh at her impression of him. She always told him he sounded like a broken record. He told her this again and again whenever she was fiddling with this sight pin or that peep loop or trying to get the release set just right while he stood there with a stick and a glove, waiting on her.
Rather than go all ‘I told you so’ with her, he decided to soft sell it.

“Well, it’s never too late to return to the basics and learn. This recurve is a great choice, plenty of power for hunting. I’m surprised you didn’t go longbow.” Ivar replied.

He didn’t have a problem with recurves or compound bows either, in fact he shot recurves a lot, almost as much as his longbows. He just figured if she was going back to the beginning, he wondered why not back to what she learned first.

“They didn’t have a decent one for my height and wingspan, otherwise I might have.”

“Shoot, next time, plan to be here a little longer and I’ll make you one. I have some proper blanks and stuff in the basement we can use. Maybe one of these days you will be patient enough to sit down and learn how to make them yourself.” He smiled and ruffled her hair.

For years and years, Ivar has made bows and arrows, mostly for his own use. Some people fly fish and make their own flies, canoes, guitars or some other hobby; he made archery stuff. Bows and arrows mostly. His wife would make bow cases or quivers when needed. He tried several times to get his daughter interested, but it took time and was a slow process, both of which were big negative selling points for a hyperactive young girl, regardless of how much she liked spending time with her father.

“I might have to take you up on the offer.” She said, surprising him.

This sent part of Ivar’s brain running through his stash of stuff at the house. If he worked at it, he could get it done for her as a Christmas present. He better get some measurements to get it right. He had some blanks he could set Violet up as well.


They were out shooting for hours.

 

[ComCamGuy]

Out in the Barn


Silas wasn’t sure what was going on when Paige wanted him to come to the barn. Once there, she had some long gun cases laid out on a sawhorse and plywood table.

“So, Silas, here is the example of what I have set aside for each of you guys. I figured I would take the time to show you away from the base.”

Silas looked at the stack on the makeshift table. A Suppressed AR was the first thing he noticed, but there was a lot more. A second AR platform, the newer M27 Infantry Automatic Rifle, an M1014 semi-auto shotgun, an older M40 bolt action, some Berettas and some smaller SIG pistols were all laid out. Next to the table on the ground was several open ammo cans with various magazines, optics, lasers and flashlights.

Silas knew what he asked Paige to set aside for them, but seeing it in a big lump on the table, part of him had second thoughts. He looked over at Violet. He knew she was only now realizing what was going on and the extent of his and Ivar’s plan.

Silas saw Paige needed the distraction from whatever bullshit was going on this morning.

“Looks good so far. Walk me through what you have here so we can do any tweaks before we get too far.”

He saw Paige’s brain start doing the computations and organizing her presentation in her head in real time.

“OK, first” she picked up the M27 “this is the newer M27 Infantry Automatic Rifle, Operationally, most of the newer improvements and changes will be transparent compared to the M4 you have already qualified on. It only gets different when we start to break it down”…

 

[ComCamGuy]

Later in the Barn


Paige, Silas and Violet were in the barn looking at what Paige brought back when Sabine and Amber drove up.

Silas saw Sabine went straight into the house while Amber came over to the workbench where Silas, Paige and Violet were looking at a pile of weapons and gear on the table.

Amber caught Silas’ eye so he came around the table to talk with her.

“Everything ok?”

“Just got back from the base with Sabine. While I was there, I picked up some work.” Amber answered. She didn’t want to get to anything with Silas right now. She was still reeling from the massive shock with the new information she just learned from Sabine. She still had to get a better handle on what she was going to ask or tell him, just not yet.

After all those years of marriage, so much could be said with a single sentence. With Sabine headed straight in, still looking not quite herself, and Amber talking about picking up some work, it was blaringly obvious to Silas that Sabine was the work she picked up.

With even the thumbnail sketch Bill told him about Sabine’s background…Damn. He knew Amber was usually top notch at unscrewing someone’s head but he didn’t know how bad Sabine would be but he did know he wouldn’t trust her to anyone else.

A quick kiss on the cheek and Amber left, headed for the house. Silas returned to the workbench. They would talk later.

 

[ted]

Thank you.

 

[ComCamGuy]

At the House


The group was still kind of scattered all over most of the afternoon.

Andrea’s new opal pendant Sabine brought her was quite a hit when she came downstairs and showed it off. When the group in the kitchen were talking with Andrea, Violet was struck by an idea and blurted it out.

“Maybe she should have cracked out a ring like Henrik did.” Violet thought her idea was great, but it got seriously mixed results among the group.

Paige and Henrik seemed to love the idea. Instantly, they started talking double wedding and bantering some of the logistics it would involve.

Sofia was almost as enthusiastic, and started adding things to Paige and Henrik’s ideas. Wedding planning was one of her specialties and she hadn’t gotten to plan a double wedding ever and loved the opportunity.

Andrea seemed to be neutral about it, telling them Sabine always said she wasn’t the marrying type and she didn’t want to ruin a good thing.

Veronica was silent on the topic, Ivar noted. Well, it was understandable her staying out of the ‘gee, let’s get married’ club after the whole recent Tim thing.

Amber tried to hide her reaction. With all she had just learned about Sabine’s background and marriage history, her stomach clenched and her mind reeled. She excused herself, hoping no one noticed.

 

[ComCamGuy]

The engagement party was a huge success. Everyone and everything turned out immaculate. Sabine had outdone herself with a fabulous cake, Andrea and Sofia’s food was excellent. It was a momentary shock when the star couple came out into the party. Both were in full Dress (A) Blues, complete with all their ribbons, medals, swords and ultra-rare SNCO Boat Cloaks.

Everyone was enjoying themselves, having filled their stomach with food and were toasting the newly engaged couple. Sabine tapped his glass to get the attention of the crowd while Andrea made sure all the glasses were full.

Sabine asked the couple to come forward so they could present them a small token of their love in the form of engagement presents. Sabine handed the box to Henrik while Andrea gave Paige hers. Henrik and Paige were obviously blown away by its beauty and the thoughtfulness.

The rings were each on a matching box pattern necklace for each of them. The ring sized for Paige was on a thicker, longer chain for Henrik to wear, and Henrik’s ring was on one more appropriately sized for Paige to wear. They slipped them on each other and a great cheer went up! Toasts all around!

 

[ComCamGuy]

Later at the Party

With the party such a success, no one wanted it to end. The couple changed clothes late in the afternoon, along with a few others to get more comfortable. Then it was another round of drinks, food and fun around the fire pit which continued after sundown. Things took an abrupt turn when both Ivar and Silas’s phones went off. With both going off at the same time and it being the base number, they knew it couldn’t be good.

They gave each other worried looks as they stepped away from the group or a few moments

Each could hear snippets of the others conversation, and were trying to piece what they were being told, what they were overhearing and what they speculated all into some rough overall idea of what just happened.

“Who?”

“how many got hit?”

“Did they get onto base?”

“helicopter with how many?”

“OK, double the guards and get a QRF ready since one of the cars got away”

“FPCON Delta until we get things figured out”

“I know, but we will sort it out when we get there”

Silas and Ivar exchanged looks. Silas could see Ivar’s temper was in full cold roar. They hurt his people. No that Silas wasn’t furious as well, but he was more worried about the survivors.

When they returned to the group, they both still had worried and angry looks on their faces. Amber was the first of the group to ask.

“What’s up honey?”

Silas wasn’t sure what all to tell them. He was still putting it all together himself. May as well start with the facts.

“There was an attempted carjacking near the base. Sgt. Jenson and his family were injured bad. They were able to escape the situation and make it onto base. Two of the gunmen were killed by the gate guard as they pursued Jenson’s car. Another car load got away.”

Everyone was instantly alert and concerned.

“How bad were Jenson and his family hurt?” Sabine had her work voice on. Everyone could hear it in her tone.

Ivar had that information.

“Jenson took a 9mm or 40 caliber graze across his shoulder blades which also dug in on the far side, tearing apart a bunch of his shoulder. His wife and his 7-year-old daughter each took multiple rounds. They temporarily stabilized those two enough to put them on a bird. They should be almost to Carson City by now. Jenson is going to go by ground ambulance.” Ivar looked at his watch, then at his wife. Before he could say anything, Sofia was already talking.

Sofia knew there were people in trouble, knew Ivar and Silas had to get to base and take care of them.

“You two go. Take our car. I’ll give Amber a ride home. We will probably stay here tonight anyway and head to the house tomorrow morning.”

Silas walked up to Henrik and Paige.

“Congratulation again, sorry to run out on you in such haste, but…”

​

Paige was already talking.

“We understand. Tell us what you need us to do.”

Silas cocked his head for a moment as he thought. At this point he knew he would push Ivar to go forward with arming everyone. Shit! Safe at home didn’t exist anymore. Time to turn on his deployed brain and get everyone else headed that way.

“Tomorrow, think on your inventory list. I think there are some people we know will be staying here like us and you guys. I think we need to move up the timetable for our Christmas gifts. If Jenson was legally armed, he might not have been on the losing side of the equation tonight. I’ll talk with Ivar to confirm our plan.”

Silas didn’t wait for confirmation from Paige. He had to hurry. Ivar was already at the gate to the driveway, waiting for Silas.

Sabine looked over at Andrea.

“I need to go to Carson City to check up on them. Jenson is one of the good guys.” Sabine raised her voice so Silas at the gate could hear her. “I’ll go check on the family and update you two.” She said as she started for the gate.

Amber and Sofia saw Veronica and Violet exchange a look followed by Violet tossing some keys to Veronica, who took off after Sabine, calling out as she ran.

“You’re not going alone. It’s not as safe these days. I’ll go with you. No need to bust up all of the party, and we can be back in the morning.” She said as the pair ran to the garage.

Moments later, another car went racing out of the driveway. As the car roared down the driveway Andrea looked at Violet, a puzzled look on her face. Violet just smiled back at Andrea.

“THAT’S MY CAR Veronica and Sabine took!”

Five minutes after the phone call, Ivar, Silas, Veronica and Sabine were gone, and the party atmosphere was a bit dented.

 

[ted]

That kind of news leaves one hell of a dent...

Thank you.

 

[ComCamGuy]

Base Housing, Earlier


“Margaret, I wish you would be reasonable. We need to move on base soon. Please. We should go today or tomorrow, then we can track down a moving truck or something.” Jonas said, again.

“Billeting is fine, but where are we going to go from there, Jonas? Where?”

“I don’t know, but my main worry is getting you and Jennifer safe. All the rest is stuff. We can replace stuff.”

Jonas could see some fear in Margaret’s eyes. Good. She was finally realizing how serious this was becoming. The graffiti now on the walls in their own apartment building set off all his warning bells. They were starting to tag the cars of the last military living there. He needed to get them onto base.

“OK, honey. It sounds like you have a plan. What do we do?”

“Well, we work it just like the last time we moved. One duffle bag and one day pack each. We pack now, all three of us.”

What followed was some fast and furious packing. The nervous energy fed on itself like a firestorm. They weren’t sure why, but it seemed every minute, every second counted.

 

[Lone_Hawk]

CCG, I realize that you are writing this as you go, I do that also, but if you are going to publish this then you need to take your later writing and integrate it into the earlier parts of your story.

 

[ComCamGuy]

CCG, I realize that you are writing this as you go, I do that also, but if you are going to publish this then you need to take your later writing and integrate it into the earlier parts of your story.

thats just it. The thing about five and six, we are seeing some of the same events from different perspectives. Three was from Paige, Andrea, Sabine and Henrik. Five is from Veronica and Violet's perspective. Unless they were there, you don't get to see it, except as observations or told later. In the edit of three and five, I am pulling or changing things to lose the other perspectives and have them as observations or not there.

In six, we didn't get the scene up with Paige and Henrik post proposal. We only get to see it from back with Ivar and Silas and as reported for example.

 

[ComCamGuy]

Six is Ivar, Sofia, Silas, Amber, Petra, Kingfisher, and the Jensons

 

[Lone_Hawk]

thats just it. The thing about five and six, we are seeing some of the same events from different perspectives. Three was from Paige, Andrea, Sabine and Henrik. Five is from Veronica and Violet's perspective. Unless they were there, you don't get to see it, except as observations or told later. In the edit of three and five, I am pulling or changing things to lose the other perspectives and have them as observations or not there.

In six, we didn't get the scene up with Paige and Henrik post proposal. We only get to see it from back with Ivar and Silas and as reported for example.

I can understand that. Having read this saga from the beginning and knowing that originally it was a short story that has gone on for years to my great enjoyment. But looking it as a series of novels, for many, the whiplash would be too much.

 

[ComCamGuy]

Well, the other thing I could do after I get the first seven published, I could do a renegade version where I shuffle all the POVs into one master version (like it is in my head)

I'm hoping the whiplash isn't too bad . I know someone on here has a NASCAR style reading chair with a full harness and bungees hooked to his helmet

 

[Texican]

Well, the other thing I could do after I get the first seven published, I could do a renegade version where I shuffle all the POVs into one master version (like it is in my head)

ccg,

With all of this in your head, do you have space for anything else?

Just wondering..

Texican....

 

[ComCamGuy]

Panic and Flight


The parking lot was crowded with the same punks, tough guys and drug customers that had become commonplace now. Jonas got suspicious looks from some of them as he carried the nylon duffels to the car. Once he had all three of them in the trunk, it was time to get Margaret and Jennifer.

It was past time they should have left. He wanted to leave two weeks ago but right now his concern was doing this tonight in the dark. Margaret was doing the ‘one more thing’ act as she walked around the apartment while he was cramming clothes and toiletries for Jennifer into her bag.

He had their most important documents and files on a couple portable hard drives and thumb drives in his and Margaret’s day packs along with their laptops. IDs, money and passports were in each of their pockets. They had drilled into Jennifer from their last assignment overseas to guard her ID card and Passport and keep it hidden at all times.

With a lot of poking and prodding he got Margaret and Jennifer headed to the car. He just wanted to get them out of here. Anything left, he could come back for with a couple of friends from work, like Henrik.

As they walked towards the car, he wished he had a pistol with him. It was one of the hard and fast points he didn’t push Margaret on. She was absolutely dead set and terrified of having one in the house. His was in a bin in his locker at work, not that he had a permit or should even have it in the state, since it wasn’t on the approved for California list.

As they walked out of the building and could see the parking lot where their car was, he felt Margaret squeeze his hand tightly. He looked where she was staring. A couple of guys were next to their car. Damn!

“Margaret, when we get to the car, go straight to your door, get in and get Jennifer in. Pull her in with you and have her climb over the seat into the back. Don’t stop this for anything and don’t worry about what’s happening on my side. Be ready to go as soon as I hop in.”

He could tell she had questions and was going to ask them. No.

“Honey, I know. Just do what I say and we can talk once we get moving. Get the two of you in and get the door shut. As soon as I get in, we are taking off as quick as I can get us out of here. It might get noisy and loud and scary. Focus on getting Jennifer and yourself in the car and the door shut. Can you do this for me?”

He looked into her eyes. They were wide with fear and rimmed with tears. She nodded and let go of his hand. She bent down and started talking into Jennifer’s ear, quick and insistent. He didn’t hear what was said. He was staring ahead, measuring his opponents and trying to figure his best play.

There were two on the driver’s side of the car. He would deal with them. Hopefully they could be delayed with just words until Margaret and Jennifer were in the car. Shit, hopefully words is all that will be exchanged but hope is not a plan. He reached underneath his jacket and felt for the handle of the huge butcher knife in its plastic cover. 14’ and razor sharp, it was made to cut great swaths of meat paper thin. This wasn’t his first choice for a weapon, but up close at bellybutton range, it was better than most short of a pistol.

As they closed the distance, Jonas tried to not attract attention at least until it was obvious they saw them coming. Than his plan changed to try to be their sole focus. He wanted Margaret and Jennifer in the car and out of immediate danger.

“Can I help you gentlemen?” He asked as they got to the back of the car. Out of the corner of Jonas’ eye he saw Margaret dart ahead to get in the car. Good. Got to give them time he thought, just a little more.

“I don’t know. What all you got?” The larger one asked.

Jonas knew he saw this guy around a lot in the parking lot and was one of the residents of an apartment across the way.

“Not much. Just making an airport run. The wife’s sister is sick so she’s heading out to take care of her.” ‘Keep talking, come on’ he willed the man.

“I’m sure you have something to make it worth my while. Watch, ring, cell phone. You can come up with something.” He sneered.

Jonas was only half listening. The sound he was concentrating on, straining to hear, wasn’t this asshole’s extortion. It was the faint click of the far side door closing. There! They were in!

“Look, no money for you. I’m keeping my wedding ring. It’s a sixty dollar titanium one that’s been around the world with me and won’t get you twenty bucks. My cell is eight years old and worthless to you but it has pictures of my kid in it so it’s priceless to me. Why don’t you let me take them to the airport so they can take care of her sister and we can discuss this when I get back over a beer or something.”

All the time he was talking, he was edging closer and closer to the door. If they kept talking enough, he could get in the car and leave before this all goes to shit. He was keeping his fingers metaphorically crossed.

Even as he felt the door handle behind him, he could tell from the guy’s expression he wasn’t going for it. Shit! Plan ‘B;. Nothing here was worth his life and if he came back, it would be with friends and not his family, or not at all. Considering his next move, not at all was the more likely.

Just as the bigger one started to speak again, Jonas spun to the right, his left hand swinging wide in a brutal reverse grip slice across the stomach of the smaller one. Jonas knew this would keep him out of the fight. People don’t fight well when they are trying to hold in spilling intestines. He jabbed straight out in a stab to the bigger one’s gut, but he stepped back before Jonas could rip the blade out the side of his torso. Instead he ended up with a straight stab wound that wouldn’t slow him down very fast right away.

Jonas didn’t waste time trying to finish either of them. He tore open the door and dove behind the wheel. A quick stab of the starter button and they were underway. The next problem was weaving through the traffic and people in the parking lot. At one point they had at least one or two try to stop them from leaving. They ended up bouncing off the car. Jonas didn’t knew if they rolled completely clear or not. He didn’t feel any speedbumps in any new locations though.

As they cleared the parking area and headed for the road, he looked over at Margaret. Her skin was pale and her eyes as big as saucers as she stared straight ahead. A quick glance in the back seat showed a worried Jennifer. While he was turned that way he thought he saw some headlights coming out of the apartment complex.

“Jennifer, I want you to scrunch down into the floorboard back there behind mommy’s seat and wait there until I tell you its safe to sit up, OK?”

“OK, Daddy.” Came Jennifer’s trembling voice.
Jonas pushed the pedal down. With this car, there was no easy way to kill the headlights to lose them. He had to hope either they would not chase them too far or they will break off when they got to the base. His hand searched for Margaret’s in the darkness.

“It will be OK when we get to base. We will be alright. I promise.”

Jonas didn’t know who he was trying to convince; Margaret or himself.

 

[Griz3752]

Not sure if this was 'timed' or just a fortuitous point in the tale but it seems we're going to have some action around Page 1,000±.

Even I won't have to book mark that in my story line way points.

 

[ComCamGuy]

Not sure of your counting measure

I get us at page 1894 of 12 font word , 836122 words and at the standard novel format of 300 words per page 2,788 so far

 

[Griz3752]

Not sure of your counting measure

I get us at page 1894 of 12 font word , 836122 words and at the standard novel format of 300 words per page 2,788 so far

I'm using standard letter, 0.5" marginsx4 & Arial 11 so way different.

Of course when I get my boxed set, none of this will matter and I can ditch my emerg. backup copy.

 

[ComCamGuy]

I'm using standard letter, 0.5" marginsx4 & Arial 11 so way different.

Of course when I get my boxed set, none of this will matter and I can ditch my emerg. backup copy.

And you will have a first edition pre-publish rough draft for all your work as well, not the normal persons copy

 

[Griz3752]

And you will have a first edition pre-publish rough draft for all your work as well, not the normal persons copy

Quesque c'est work mon ami??

 

[ComCamGuy]

Quesque c'est work mon ami??

with the way you are saving it out, you have the first edition pre-publish rough draft for all your work as well, not the normal persons copy