Quiet was, of course, a matter of opinion.
Joe guessed that in the opinion of the soldier pushing up the hatch on the tower’s roof, he hadn’t been quiet at all.
The soldier stared up at him, and slammed the hatch shut. Continue reading 1943: Part 2
Tag Archives: The Rocket
1943: Part 1
June 1943, Germany. Somewhere in the Black Forest:
The castle stood on top of a hill. From his position in the forest, Joe wasn’t impressed. It didn’t match up to the castles he’d imagined when he’d read Ivanhoe. This castle wasn’t much more than a big tower connected to a house. Both were made of stone, but at the end of the day it was smaller than the old monstrosity of a house that Giles Hardwick had grown up in.
He found it hard to make out details in the darkness, but the moon gave enough light for him to notice the two soldiers standing at the top of the tower.
He’d have to kill them both, and he doubted it would be quiet. Continue reading 1943: Part 1
The Executioner: Part 11
“Are you crazy? Don’t you see a difference between killing a guy because he’s trying to kill you, and killing him when he’s practically dead?”
Sean reddened.
“He was a killer, and I stopped him. You weren’t going to. I did what had to be done. What were you going to do, hand him over to the cops? He’d only escape again.”
“I don’t know what I was going to do. All I know is that you didn’t kill him because you think the system doesn’t work. You were going for revenge.” Continue reading The Executioner: Part 11
The Executioner: Part 10
Ray hit the power lines hard, ripping two from the crossbar in a shower of sparks, and hitting the utility pole with his back.
His strength made it worse.
When you’re falling, the most natural thing in the world is to reach out, and grab the nearest thing you can as hard as you can.
He grabbed a power line. Continue reading The Executioner: Part 10
The Executioner: Part 9
She kicked up a lot of sand when her feet left the ground, but I didn’t pay much attention to it. I was too busy watching where she’d land.
That would likely be low on any list of “Smart Things to Do When You’re Being Chased.”
Here’s why: If I would have run, I’d have likely made it partway across the street, possibly all the way across, and into the forest.
As it was, she landed within arm’s reach of me. Continue reading The Executioner: Part 9
The Executioner: Part 8
The door shattered.
I stumbled, and nearly fell as I dropped to the sand behind the house. Between my rush to leave and the stealth suit’s additional strength, I’d overshot the steps.
I nearly hit the grill of the white, Ford Bronco parked in the driveway. Dodging it, I twisted, and turned left into sand and knee-high, dune grass. Continue reading The Executioner: Part 8
The Executioner: Part 7
Mom’s arms were on the other side of the chair from where Rachel and I stood, but if she were hoping to get away, those ropes had to go next.
Glancing near the legs of her chair told me no more ropes lay on the far side.
I thought she might be waiting for a better chance, but then I realized that this was it. For the first time since I’d arrived, no one held a gun to her head. Continue reading The Executioner: Part 7
The Executioner: Part 6
Looking like Gunther had in every picture I’d ever seen of him–tall, brushcut, and muscular, I didn’t see why Ray would look forward to his appearance.
As Haley stepped through the door, Ray said something, his voice low, and intense.
The white circle that had been painted on the floor flared, making everything outside the circle a shade lighter. Simultaneously, the walls of the room turned reddish, including the open doorway behind Haley. Continue reading The Executioner: Part 6
The Executioner: Part 5
Ray kept the gun pointed at my mom, but acted as if we were making small talk at the Christmas party.
“So you know I’ve done jobs for the Chicago Outfit, right? I got a job to kill Night Wolf a few years back. Night Wolf had been retired for years by then, and the client was old, so I took it because it sounded like easy money. If he was still alive, he had to be in his 80’s.
Continue reading The Executioner: Part 5
The Executioner: Part 4
It didn’t take long. The helmet probably adjusted more quickly than my eyes did.
At first I only saw silhouettes, and lines of brightness in the windows where the boards weren’t quite flush.
Instants later, I saw more than I wanted. Continue reading The Executioner: Part 4