Back To China, (Other Books) - Jim and pals gfetting ready to load up in B-2 bomb bay for trip to China.

Today’s excerpt is from Back To China, a stand alone book featuring Jim Scott and friends.  Jim, Hector, Billy, and Dan get ready to get in the bomb bay of the B-2 that will take them to China.  Enjoy and have a wonderful day. 

m.j.

 

The Wing Commander cleared his throat.  “I noticed you brought chutes.  We have some for you, if you’d like to use them.”

Jim shook his head.  “No, thanks.  I packed mine.  My wife, Holly, packed the other three.”

Hector muttered, “Nice, Jimbo.  One of us flares, she gets the blame.  Bet Bear packed ‘em all.”

The “chit-chat” ended as everyone watched Bob’s transformation.  When the makeup artist finished, he stood back to look at his work.  “As I told the other gentlemen, Mr. Becker, it’ll take you about ten minutes to dry thoroughly.  Try to keep from rubbing anything against your face until it’s completely dry.  Once dry, not much will damage the job…which includes rain, et cetera.  You’ll have to peel it off when the time comes.”

“Will do.  Thanks.  If I look like these other three guys, I’m not real sure I want to look in a mirror anytime soon.  But, on second thought, a picture of the four of us might be fun to have.”

With that, the staff sergeant, who was female, took out her cell phone and asked, “May I?”

The Wing Commander shook his head.  “You may not.”

Jim nodded.  “I agree…not with your camera.  Use mine.  I’ll see everyone here gets copies of the picture…after we get back.”

After the picture was taken and Jim had his phone back, the group stood around “waiting for paint to dry” as Hector joked.  When the makeup artist gave the go ahead, the four to fly in the bomb bay started putting on their protective gear, then their parachutes. 

As they did, Jim looked at the Wing Commander.  “Do you have our communications taken care of?”

“Yes.  You will be in contact with the cockpit, and we have a feed for your laptop and phone.”

On the flight to the base, Jim had called the Wing Commander back and asked for the hook-ups for the laptop and phone.  He nodded thanks.  “Appreciate it, though I’m not sure I’ll need the laptop now.”

Then he glanced at the pilot.  “You have the coordinates of our target?”

“I do.  Where do you want to land?”

“Ideal would be about a quarter mile shy of the target.  Are you able to factor in wind, et cetera?”

“Yes…just like we were dropping a bomb.  Only in this case it’ll be four bombs—human bombs.  May you all cause much damage.  Now that you mention wind, I may as well give you the bad news.  With the weather reports I’ve been able to get, you can expect to drop into some heavy rain.  Not storms, but rain nonetheless.  Will be able to give you a better estimate as we close in on the target.  Sorry about that.”

“Don’t be.  While it’ll be a bit uncomfortable on us, any sentries out will hopefully be more concerned with staying dry than doing a good job.  Heavy rain added to our black chutes and rigging will give us a better chance to land without being spotted.”

Hector spoke up as he asked, “Don’t suppose you’ve figured out a way to pump heat into the bomb bay, have you?”

Both the Wing Commander and pilot shook their heads.  The pilot answered, “Sorry.”

When the four were fully outfitted, except for the headgear they would wear, Jim asked, “Anyone got a pen they would like to donate to the mission?  With these thick gloves, I’ll need it to use the laptop.”

The staff sergeant whipped out her pen and handed it to Jim.  He took it and grinned. “Thanks—I’ll see you get it back.  Of course the ink will probably be shot, due to freezing.”

She smiled.  “It’ll be a nice keepsake either way.”

The Wing Commander saluted as the group boarded the vehicles for the ride to the plane.  When they got to the B-2, Billy expressed what the other three “human bombs” were also thinking.  “Wow.  Never thought I’d be this close to one of these babies.”

Jim muttered, “Never mind, Colonel.  Marines have no need to be around ‘em—but on occasion they like having them overhead!”

 

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Pool Of Blood, Book #3 of the Becker Trilogy - Jim sees picture of a man thought to be dead.

Today’s excerpt is from Pool Of Blood, Book #3 of the Becker Trilogy.  Jim sees a picture of a man who killed the previous night.  The problem being he thought he had killed the man years before.  Enjoy and have a great day. 

m.j.

 

When the last dish was dried and put away, Bob made his call to Gus.  “Hey, friend—got a favor to ask.”

“Make it quick.  I’m working a hot one.  Some bozo shot and killed a fella in a bar after an exchange of a few unpleasantries.  Happened late yesterday afternoon.  Got a good picture of the guy, but no identification yet.”

“You try facial recognition?”

“No—why didn’t I think of that?”

“Sorry.”

“Don’t worry about it, I’m just a bit grumpy right now.  Damned guy looks like a recruiting poster for a terrorist organization.  The witnesses in the bar told us he looked Middle Eastern.  The security cameras photo we got sure confirms it…but nothing.”

Suddenly, Bob got an idea.  “You got time to email the photo to me?”

“Sure.  Get it right out to you.  May I ask why?”

“So I can commiserate with you better, knowing what he looks like.”

“Horseshit.  What do you have running around in that devious brain of yours?”

“Just send the damned picture.  You got prints?”

“No, Bob.  The bartender wanted the place all nice and clean when we got there so he washed all the glasses…thanks a heap.  Picture on the way.  Wait—what favor did you want?”

“About setting things up for a court appearance Michelle has on Thursday.  But that’ll keep for now.  Get me the photo and go back to work.”

After a still-grumpy Gus signed off, Bob brought the others up-to-speed on the call.  He added, “So, Jim—I was thinking while talking to him you might be able to find something out about the killer, since he appears to be from the Middle East.”

“Sure…worth a try.”

When the picture came in, Bob took his laptop into the living room, where Jim, Holly, and Terri had moved to when Michelle went into her office to work on a few things, at the same time Bob went for his laptop.

Jim took one look at the picture and had the look of a man looking at a ghost.  Holly noticed and moved over next to Jim on the couch.  She took one look and her body tightened.  “No way, Jim.  No way you missed your shot.”

Jim shook his head.  “I didn’t.  I kept the scope on him long enough to see his brains splatter all over hell and gone.  But this guy sure is a dead ringer.  Let me run facial recognition through our computer.  Bob, send this to my laptop…please.”

Bob, knowing the picture looked very much like someone Jim had killed somewhere along the line, didn’t answer.  He did as asked.  Jim then ran the picture through his computer back at his ranch.  The result came back:  100% match for Akbar Rouhani (aka Sammy Savage).  Rouhani was an Iranian who had joined the Taliban in Pakistan.  Jim, Holly, and some friends of theirs had tracked him and some other high-value terrorists to a mountain camp inside Pakistan.  Jim had started their raid with a shot through Rouhani’s forehead.

Holly looked at Jim’s screen and shook her head.  “I repeat—no way.  He must have a twin or something.  The jackass you shot is dead…without any doubt.”

Jim got his cell phone out and called an old friend—one who had been on the same raid.  Hector Garcia answered, “Hi, Jim.  How’s things at the rehab center?”

“Still at Bob’s.  Got stuff going on the center, but haven’t spent any time there.  The reason for my call is, guess whose picture I’m staring at?  He killed someone last night?”

“Holly…oh, you used ‘he’ rather than she—so I give.”

“Sammy Savage.”

“Give it a rest, Stanley James.  Remember I was waiting for you to get him out of the way so I could take out the hotshot behind him.  I saw his brains splatter all to hell and gone.”

“Hec, I got a hundred percent match from facial recognition.  Holly suggested a twin.  Far as I know, he was an only child.  You know anything I don’t?”

“Probably a lot of things—but not involving this very dead individual.  Hold it…I do remember hearing somewhere along the line back in the day…maybe when you weren’t around…about his possibly having been born in the U.S., but his dad flew the coop with him and went back to Iran.  Don’t know if it was a crock or not.”

“Thanks, Hec—you may have given me something to go on.  I’ll get back to you if I find out anything.”

 

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Bigfoot Bait, Book #2 of the Becker Trilogy - Janet having fun spending money.

Today’s excerpt is from Bigfoot Bait, Book #2 of the Becker Trilogy.  While the “hunt team” stocks up on food for the coming days, Janet makes a deal to buy 10% interest in the general store and make a loan to the buyer for the other 90% of the selling price.  Enjoy and have a fantastic day. 

m.j.

 

When the caravan of vehicles reached Entiat, Bob, Hector, and Dan filled up, while the other two vehicles were driven directly to the motel, the plan being to top off those tanks in the morning.  None of the six people in the group had a bit of trouble getting to sleep.  But getting up was a different matter.

All, however, were eating in the all-night café by three in the morning.  After they finished, they all descended on the country store—except Jim and Holly, who pulled up at pumps.  Jim told Holly to go ahead into the store, and took care of filling (then moving) both cars.

Inside, Janet told the others to do the shopping, when she saw Jeb working again.  She walked up to him smiling.  “Hi, Jeb—your guy still sick?”

“Afraid so, Janet.  Nice to see you again.  All these folks with you?”

“Yes.  I’ll introduce them as they start piling things up on the counter.  Right now, I want to talk to you about the clerk who wants to buy you out.  What say Dan and I loan him ninety percent of the money—and kick in the other ten percent to buy a ten percent interest in the business?  The loan would be interest-free.”

“Wow!  Not only beauty, but nice to boot…with a bit of business savvy.  I’ll go for it—and I’m sure Harvey will, too.  That’s his name, by the way.”

“Yeah…you told me that yesterday.”

“Oh, yeah, so I did.  See what happens to you when you get old?”

“You’re not old…just seasoned.”

As Jim came in, Janet looked around the store and saw no one besides those with her were in there.  “Hey, gang, the youngster behind the counter is named Jeb.  Introduce yourselves as you bring stuff up to the counter, so he can ring it up.”

Jim walked in Janet and Jeb’s direction.  “Hi, Jeb—I’m Jim.  Okay, you folks picking stuff out…don’t take all of anything.  Leave the man something to sell to others.”

Jeb laughed.  “Hi, Jim.  You folks just go ahead and take what you want.  I got more in the back to restock the shelves with.  Got nothing else to do this time of morning…except to look at pretty ladies.  But the ladies will be leaving too soon.”

Jim grinned.  “Jeb, what do you have in the way of coolers for sale?  Also, do you happen to have any dry ice?”

“No dry ice, but plenty of bagged ice.  The coolers are stacked over that-a-way.”

Jim looked where Jeb pointed as he spoke, then walked toward the coolers.  “Come on, Jan—you can grab a couple, too.”

Janet followed along and was soon carrying two of the coolers, with Jim carrying two, also.  Jim put his on the counter as he looked at Jeb.  “Okay, start ringing things up as we bring ‘em over.”

Jeb nodded and rang up the four coolers, even as Jim went to grab the last two there.  Janet took one to the outside ice machine, put two bags of ice in it, then brought an extra bag for a cooler back inside.  Seeing that, Jim did the same thing.  In no time, they had all six coolers sitting there, with two bags of ice each.

Seeing all the things being picked out by the other four, Jeb hurried into the back and brought out several boxes.  By the time he got back, his counter was filled.  In a matter of half an hour, everything was rung up, packed up, and on its way to various vehicles.  During the process, those who hadn’t already met Jeb introduced themselves.  When most of the items were packed in their vehicles, Janet was the last to leave.  “See you in a day or two, Jeb.  Take care.”

“Hey, young lady—do you even want to know how much I’m selling this place to you and Harvey for?”

“Nah.  Just write up some sort of an agreement, as I outlined it.  Nothing fancy.  I’ll write you a check when we bring your skillet and cutting board back.”

“You’re sure awful trustin’.”

“Jeb, not many men in my life have I had total trust in.  You and Dan are two.  The other guys you just met are some more.  See ya.”

“Thanks, Janet.  By the way, the skillet and cutting board will be yours when you write that check.”

“Only ten percent mine.”

 

 

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Too Many Women, Book #1 of the Becker Trilogy - Something else for Bob to do.

Today’s excerpt is from Too Many Women, Book #1 of the Becker Trilogy.  Bob about to get involved in something other than keeping Terri alive.  Enjoy and have a wonderful day. 

m.j.

 

NOTE:  Due to Thanksgiving there will be no additional posts until this coming Monday.  Gonna take a four-day weekend.  Happy Thanksgiving!

 

At Bob’s home, a routine had been set up for someone—other than Terri—to look things over from the gun room on the east end of the home.  As a car pulled down the drive, with the appropriate chime sounding, Horace was in the gun room.  Over the speaker connected throughout the home he muttered, “Got a guy in a dark sedan…he’s stopping like a good boy.”

By the time Horace finished talking, Bob was looking at the kitchen monitor.  He pushed the button there to the speaker.  “Got him, Horace.”

Even as Bob spoke, the speaker connected to a voice box at the designated place to stop drowned him out.  “This is Captain Wilbur Holder, Missouri State Patrol.  I’m here to see Bob Becker, if he is available.”

Bob said back to a voice box connected to the stopping place, “If you don’t mind, would you please show your identification?  There is a camera next to the voice box.”

“I see it,” replied Captain Holder, as he held up his ID.

Bob pushed another button, deactivating the security system for the drive.  “Go ahead and pull up at the front door.  Someone will meet you there.  But if your ID is phony, and you make any silly moves, the sniper rifle pointed at your head will blow it off.”

Inside his car, Captain Holder just smiled and drove around to the front door.  By the time he got there, Bill was waiting, handgun drawn from his shoulder holster.  The Captain got out of his car and came forward to Bill, hands in the air.

Bill joked, “Aren’t you the cop who gave me a ticket on the Interstate two years ago?”

Captain Holder lowered his hands part way.  “No.  Haven’t written a ticket in over five years.  You must have mistaken me for another good looking trooper.”

Bill grinned as he asked, “You packin’?”

“Yup.”

“You mind handing it over, until we’re real sure you’re who you say you are?”

“Not at all,” answered the Captain, as he took the gun on his hip out very slowly with his fingers and thumb.

Bob walked around Bill and took the gun.  “Hate to treat guests that way, Captain, but we’re on the lookout for trouble?”

“As in Mrs. Durbin?”

“Oh, for God’s sake, don’t call her that.  She hears you and she’ll have a cow.  She’s gonna get a divorce ASAP and is using her maiden name…Terri Hawksworth.”

The Captain chuckled, shook hands with the two men, and walked toward the kitchen, following Bob, with Bill behind him.  When they got there, Bob held the Captain’s gun with one hand, and the bullets extracted from it in the other. 

Bob quickly introduced Leo and Terri.  “The other guy living here is upstairs—no doubt keeping an eye peeled to make sure you aren’t a diversion.”

Captain Holder muttered, “Since I know you know him, how about calling Gus Mantia and asking him to describe me.”  He took out his ID and tossed it on the table he was standing next to.

Bob nodded agreement and got out his cell phone.  He dialed Gus, then looked at the ID as he did and handed it back.  By the time he finished his call, Horace arrived and was introduced by Bill.  As those two were shaking hands, Bob ended his call.  He flipped his phone shut.  “Gus gave me a good description…but failed to mention anything about being ‘good-looking.’  Did say something about a pot belly, which I fail to see.  Have a seat.  You want something to drink or eat, or both?”

“No, thanks.  About the ‘pot belly,’ I kicked his ass at a charity golf tournament about three months back.  Well, on second thought…if you’ve got any coffee around, I wouldn’t say no to a cup of it.”

Bill headed to the coffee urn without a word, poured a cup, and handed it to the Captain, who said, “Thanks,” as he looked at Terri before he added, “I’d say you’re in good hands, Miss Hawksworth.  I’ve an idea no one is gonna sneak up on you here.”

Terri laughed, “Terri is fine.  I’m just the maid around here.”

After everyone agreed on first names in reply to that, Wilbur looked at Terri’s outfit.  “I assume that is some sort of disguise you’re wearing, Terri.”

“Yeah…Bob’s idea of torture, I guess.  Don’t think he likes me much—I ask too many questions.”

Bob changed the subject abruptly.  “Okay, Wilbur, what brings you around?  Surely you don’t want to get involved in this deal with Terri.”

“Absolutely not.  Need your help on another matter.  Our Governor has received a threat on his life.  I’d like your help seeing it isn’t carried out.”

“What kind of help?”

Wilbur took out three sheets of paper stapled together, and handed them to Bob.  “These are things he’s known to have…all bought legally, I’m afraid.”

Bob scanned the list, handed it to Bill, shrugged, and shook his head.  “I don’t see the sniper rifle, he must have, on your list.  Do find the firefighting gear interesting, though.  But even if he’s capable—with the rifle he’s sure to have from the ammo listed there—what does this have to do with me?”

“It takes a thief to catch a thief, or so the old wag goes.  I’m just changing ‘thief’ to ‘sniper.’  Know your background.”

“Hell, Wilbur, you’ve got very well-qualified snipers of your own.  On top of which, I’m not all too fond of our illustrious Governor—I sure as hell didn’t vote for him…either time.”

Wilbur replied, “Nor did I.  Won’t vote him for Senator, either.  Which is beside the point, I’m in charge of keeping him alive—not the man, the office holder, et cetera.  As to why you and not one of our own men, your reputation precedes you…your SEAL training and all you’ve managed to do here since you retired.”

 

 

 

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How 'bout Both, Book #3 of the Bader Trilogy - Witnessess outed.

Today’s excerpt is from How ‘bout Both, Book #3 of the Bader Trilogy.  The names of the witnesses are made public and a scramble to protect them is underway.  Enjoy and have a great day. 

m.j.

 

While Ali plotted, Rush and Bonnie were talking on the phone, planning on Thanksgiving together.  Neither had family in the area so both were looking forward to getting together.  Their Thanksgiving planning was in addition to the night out together they had already planned for later in the day.  Neither had any idea their plans were to change, with the release of their names to the media.  Their names were soon to be broadcast by every outlet…except Helen’s station.

A very unscrupulous reporter for one of the other television stations had wormed the identity of the witnesses to the murder who had given statements from an unsuspecting uniformed officer, who had helped Sergeant Raymond Clayton gather them prior to Elmer’s arrival at the scene. 

When the first report of the names of the witnesses was broadcast, Reggie was promptly made aware of it.  After he hit the roof in anger, he called Raymond Clayton.  He asked him to find out how the information had reached the media.  After the call, he waited for the call from the Chief of Police.  It was soon coming.  He explained he was sure no one in Homicide had leaked the information, and also told him he had just finished checking with Raymond, asking him to see if he could find out where it had come from.  He told the Chief his next move was to get protection for the witnesses.

The Chief told him to get right on it, then hung up in a very unfriendly manner.  Reggie just sighed, but got to work.  As he was doing so, Helen called Elmer, who had just reached where he was going.  She told him about several news outlets putting out the identity of the witnesses—including one television station with video footage of Raymond Clayton speaking to Bonnie and Rush. 

Elmer thanked her, then thanked her again for keeping the information off the air at her station, as she had told him they were doing.  He immediately called Alan.  He told his brother-in-law to get to Rush and Bonnie and bring them to Homicide—not to ask them to come in, but go and get them.  As an afterthought, he added, “Let Reggie know what you’re doing…he may have already arranged protection for both of them.”

Off the call—even as Alan was hurrying to do as told—Elmer called the Chief of Police.  He asked if the Chief had heard of the news releases about the witnesses.  The Chief told him he had, then added, “One of the idiot stations is even showing them on television, but only named your two prime witnesses.  Reggie first, then you, are seen talking to your two main ones.  Those two will need ongoing protection.  Well, they all will, but those two need protective custody.”

“All ready thought it out, Chief.  Got Alan Evans on the way to pick ‘em up.  They can stay with me, or at Red’s ranch.  I’ll call Red…right after I get finished here with the plans for tomorrow, with Hector Garcia and our SWAT people.”

“I’ll call Red for you.  We both know what he’ll say.  I’ll get back to you.  Do a good job with tomorrow’s planning—I’m not interested in an early grave.”

“Yes, sir.  Neither am I.”

·          

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Horace Goes Home, Book #2 of the Bader Trilogy - Shootout at mob bosses secret hideout.

Today’s excerpt is from Horace Goes Home, Book #2 of the Bader Trilogy.  Shootout to take down two men now thought to be a danger to him starts on Mob bosses secret hideout.  Enjoy and have a fantastic day. 

m.j.

 

With Hector’s helicopter heading toward FBI Headquarters, one of Prudi and D’Alema’s men—who had seen the lights go out in the unit Sgroi and Mosello were staying in—went to the door, with silenced weapon in hand.  He opened it slowly.  There was no outside light, but other lights on the ranch compound made him somewhat visible.  He was wearing night vision gear, and started looking from right to left in the front room of the unit.  Sgroi, sitting in an easy chair on the left side of the room, raised his own silenced weapon.  He shot the man in the side of the head, killing him instantly.  Sgroi then jumped up, hurried into Mosello’s room, and shook him violently.  ”Up, Tony—we gotta git.”

Early on in their stay, Sgroi and Mosello agreed they would take turns staying up in the dark after the lights were turned off, just in case what had just happened occurred.  Still groggy from deep sleep, Mosello groaned, “What in the hell?”

“Hurry, while I go shut the damned door.  The hit on us is on.”

Even before Sgroi could move toward the door, two shots came through the open doorway, neither of which hit either of the two murderers.  Sgroi acted first, as he made for the back room of the house, and opened the window.  He was out of it, while Mosello was catching up to him, with more shots pouring through the doorway, hitting nothing.  Mosello fell as he went through the window after Sgroi, still trying to buckle his pants.  He swore, got up, then followed his partner.  Sgroi was peering around the corner of the building they had been staying in, saw a man, and fired at him.  He hit him just above the heart. 

By then, Mosello had pulled on his shoes, so was more ready to follow his friend and co-killer.  The advantage Sgroi and Mosello had was their weapons were silenced, so it slowed the reaction time of the other men trying to kill them.  The first man killed was the only member of the ranch crew with a silenced weapon.  By the time the attackers figured out where the second killing shot had come from, Sgroi was no longer there.  He tugged on Mosello as he headed straight back from the building, still well in darkness. 

When they were nearing light, being too far from the building to be shielded by it any longer, Sgroi stopped.  “Okay, the car is to the right, so they’ll expect us to go that way.  We go left.  We’ll have to run through the light until we get behind the first building to the left.  Don’t even look at anything except where we’re headed…it’ll only slow you down.  You go to shooting, you wouldn’t hit anything, but will make yourself a better target.  Let’s go.”

Mosello didn’t like being shot at.  He was mad, but he knew to listen to Sgroi so nodded before his partner took off on a dead run toward the building they were trying to get behind.  Mosello was right behind him, but a step further away from where the eruption of gunfire in their direction was coming from.  Sgroi swore as a shot grazed the back of his leg, but he kept running, until he reached the safety of the building he had been running toward.   Mosello was right behind him.  He made it without being hit.  Mosello asked, “You okay?”

“Yeah, just grazed—hurts like hell, but no real problem.  Let’s walk down the back of this place until we find a rear door, if there is one.”

Mosello shook his head.  “I got a better idea.”  He shot out the portion of a window just above the lock lever.  Then he used the butt of his gun to smash out more of the window.  He reached in, unlatched the window, raised the lower half, then climbed in.

Sgroi climbed in after him.  “Every now and then, you amaze me, Tony.”

“Thank you, Benny.”

The two men headed toward the front of the building.  In the shadows, they saw a man walking slowly past a window.  Both fired…the man fell in his tracks.   He was hit by both shots.  While not dead, he was unable to do anything but lie there and moan gently.  The three men outside saw that, so figured from the sound of broken glass where the shots that felled their comrade must have come from.  Shots started pouring through the window. 

Sgroi and Mosello, not being amateurs, were no longer anywhere near the window.  Instead, they went to the front door, opened it, and saw muzzle flashes from across the parking area.  They returned fire with their silenced weapons.  Soon all three of the men shooting at the window stopped shooting.  Two were dead, but one was on the move.  On seeing the muzzle flashes stop, Sgroi thought a second.  “Come on, Tony—back the way we came.”

As he followed Sgroi to the rear of the building, Mosello nodded, “Good idea, Benny.  They’ll never think we would do that.”

 

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Whodunit Did It, Book #1 of the Bader Trilogy - Elmer agrees to re-marry Ruth with a bit of humor involved.

Today’s excerpt is from Whodunit Did It, Book #1 of the Bader Trilogy.  Some humor as Elmer agrees to re-marry his third ex-wife right after his partner marries her sister.  Enjoy and have a wonderful day. 

m.j.

 

Once everyone was in more comfortable clothing, with Elmer pouring drinks, he joked, “I’m not sure we need any more to drink.”

Beth laughed, “I sure as hell do…make mine a double.  In case you forgot, I was the designated driver…probably the only bride in history who was the designated driver.”

“And a fine one you were,” joked Elmer.

After everyone had their drinks, Elmer asked, “Where are you two gonna live?  That dump of Alan’s—or the plush apartment of yours, Beth?”

Before either Beth or Alan could respond, Ruth asked, “Elmer, may I have a word with you in the kitchen, please?”

Elmer dutifully followed Ruth to the kitchen.  He asked, “What’s up?”

“I want to ask you a question.”

“Ask away, baby.”

“Are you drunk?”

“Nope.  Just had a few, but sober as a judge.  In fact I’m much more sober than the judge who granted you your divorce after you demanded to pay me alimony.  Poor fella probably went out on a three-week binge.”

“Will you be serious?  I have a serious question to ask.”

“So ask—don’t threaten to be serious, then keep putting it off.  What?”

“You are drunk.”

“Nope…just happy.”

“Why are you happy?”

“Because you want to ask me a serious question…shoot.”

Ruth busted out laughing, “This is getting us nowhere.  Will you marry me?”

“Sure…thought you’d never ask.”

“Me ask?  Aren’t you the one who should be doing the asking?”

“Nope.  Did last time…you see where that got us.  Figured it was your turn.”

“You did say ‘yes,’ right?”

“Righto, baby.”

“You are drunk.”

“Maybe, but it sounds like a good excuse to use if this marriage doesn’t last, too.  I was drunk when I said yes.”

“That’s okay, as long as you said ‘yes.’  There’s something else I want to talk to you about.  I’m pregnant.”

“What?”

“I’m carrying your child, you goof.”

“Well, that’s…”

That’s when Elmer passed out.  Ruth sighed, then hollered for Alan to come drag his partner to bed.  When Alan got him in Ruth’s bedroom, she carefully undressed him and covered him up.  In the morning, Elmer woke up.  He groaned.  When he saw he was alone in bed, he managed to get up, go to the bathroom, take a shower, brush his teeth, shave (cutting himself twice), then get partially dressed.  He staggered into the kitchen to see three smiling faces.  As he slowly made his way to the coffee pot, he asked, “Oh, my God—did anyone get the license number of the truck that ran over me?”

When assured no one had, he sat, drank a sip of coffee, then asked, “Ruthie, did you or did you not ask me if I would marry you last night?  And did I or did I not say ‘yes,’ right before you told me you were pregnant?”

“‘Yes’ to all of the above.  I’m pregnant.  You said you’d marry me.  You said it before I told you about being pregnant…right before you passed out.  You know, in all the years I’ve known you, this is the first time I’ve ever seen you anywhere near drunk.  What’s with that?”

“What’s after it is the world’s worst hangover.  I’m glad you asked.  I’m glad I said ‘yes.’  I’m super glad you’re pregnant…especially if I’m the father.”

“You’re not funny.”

 

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Adios, Amigos, Book #9 of the Asps Series - Hell on wheels Pepper Kuenn is about to visit the al-Qaida operation in Bolivia.

Today’s excerpt is from Adios, Amigos, Book #9 of the nine-book Asps Series. The al-Qaidas in Bolivia are about to catch it in the neck. Enjoy and have a great day. 

m.j.

 

While all that was going on, Jane (Pepper) Kuenn, a retired Assistant Director of the CIA National Clandestine Service, walked into the den of Andrew F. (Drew) Hollins.  Drew was Holly Scott’s father.  He was also a former Air Force Intelligence operative who had moved over to the CIA to become the best spy the agency ever had, according to many in the know.   Pepper saw Drew sitting looking at a chessboard.  She asked, “Where’s Boris?”

“Said he would be over…about ten minutes ago.  Don’t know what’s keeping him.”

Drew and Pepper were lovers, in spite of the fact he was now eighty, while she was on her way to the same age—well past seventy.  Pepper nodded.  “Just as well.  Wanna talk—short talk.  You ready to make an honest woman out of me?”

Both were widowers.  They had discussed marriage early in their relationship.  Both agreed they were willing, if and when the other decided they wanted to proceed.  Drew stood up, took Pepper in his arms, then gave her a deep kiss.  “I’ll take that as a yes.  You gonna call Holly—get her into her wedding planning mode?”

“No—you do it, Pepper.”

“That all you got to say?”

“Other than ‘I love you,’ ‘will be happily married to you,’ yeah—it’s all I’ve got.  If you’re expecting me to ask why now, I’m not going to.  Doesn’t matter.”

“I just decided I wanted to have a kid with you.”

“Oh, that’s funny.”

As they were laughing about their exchange, Boris Telman walked into the room.  Boris was a retired KGB agent, considered by all who knew the spy business as the greatest spy who ever lived.  He, his wife Suzan, who was a retired Marine Captain, and Drew had all been members of Jim’s old Janitor team.  All, along with Pepper, had assisted the Asps on several missions.  He asked, “Did I miss out on something?”

“Yeah, Pepper just proposed to me—I accepted.”

“Wonderful…both of you.  Another wedding for Holly to prepare.  She’ll be the happiest of us all.  Congratulations, Drew—about time someone took you off the market.”

Pepper groaned, “He’s been off the market, Boris—just not married off the market.”

“I stand corrected.  Drew, do you feel like a trip to Bolivia to celebrate?”

“What, pray tell, have you unearthed in Bolivia?  Something you think we should investigate?”

“One of my old stringers just called.  He told me al-Qaida is setting up shop in a big way down there.  Thought we could go down, nose around, then let Jim and the Asps know what we come up with—unless the four of us can handle it without help.”

“Sure, I’m game—how about you Pepper?”

“You know my answer.  When we leaving?”

 

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Father Mulligan, Book #8 of the Asps Series - Jim leads raid into Iran after hotshot businessman.

Today’s excerpt is from Father Mulligan, Book #8 of the nine-book Asps Series. Jim and a few friends parachute into Iran, then capture one of the men responsible for the trap that cost the Asps one man.  Enjoy and have a fantastic day. 

m.j.

 

“Okay, we’ll pick the lock, if it’s locked…very carefully to not make enough noise to alert them.  We’ll just assume there’s no alarm system.”

Kye joked, “You know where you find ‘assume’ in the dictionary, don’t you?”

As the others were all smiling at her question, Jim laughed.  “Yeah, yeah.  Come on.”

When they reached the door, Jim turned the handle.  He found it was not locked.  But when he pushed gently against the door, it didn’t give.  He frowned and took out a pick set to pick the deadbolt above the handle.  Then he tried the door again.  It opened without a sound.  Kye followed him into the kitchen area.  The two guards died without ever knowing they were about to be shot, as Kye and Jim each killed one of them.

Jim whispered, “We’re in—two less guards to worry about…not Qods Force, by the looks of their clothing.  Now heading toward the ballroom-type deal.”

Hector replied, “We’re done in the tents.  Another thirteen guys…with twelve empty beds, so I’d say all the Qods Force guys are now history.  Damn near ran into a bit of a problem—two of them were up for some reason.  Fortunately they froze, so we got ‘em before they could raise a ruckus.  You want us to come on into the house with you, Jim?”

“Yeah.  Come on through the back door—we’ll wait for you here in the kitchen area.”

Just as Jim spoke, one of the guards from the front room walked through a swinging door, into the kitchen.  Kye happened to be looking right at the door when it swung open.  She shot the guard in mid-forehead.  He slumped to the floor without much sound, so Jim hurried forward to pull him the rest of the way into the kitchen, thus allowing the door to shut properly.  He looked at Kye, smiled, and nodded.

Those two then patiently waited for Ben and Hector to arrive.  When they did, the four, led by Jim, went through the swinging door as they headed toward the large room, where the other three guards were waiting to die. 

They did so with little problem, as the three men all fired one shot each before Kye caught up with them—being the last in line through the door earlier.  She quietly joked, “Thought I’d leave the light stuff to you three.”

Jim smiled.  “Okay, let’s make sure the first floor is empty before heading upstairs.  Ben…you stay near the bottom of the stairway.  Just to make sure we don’t get surprised by anyone wanting a glass of goat’s milk.”

After the first floor was carefully searched for anyone alive—and it had been determined there was no basement—Jim led the way up the staircase.  There were five bedrooms upstairs…two were empty.  One was occupied by one of Larijani’s daughters.  She was quickly subdued as Kye put a piece of duct tape over her mouth before putting a hood on her head.  Jim immobilized her with several turns of duct tape wrapped around her arms and body.  Her legs got the same treatment.  The other daughter was found in another bedroom by Hector and Ben.  She was soon trussed up in a like manner.  Larijani and his wife were found in the master bedroom, in two separate beds.  While Ben and Hector gave Mrs. Larijani the same treatment as her two daughters, Kye slapped duct tape on Larijani’s mouth, while Jim held his Asp against the man’s throat.  He was hooded and helped out of bed, before being hustled to the stairs, then down to the study Kye had spotted in her part of the first floor search.

Once in the study, Jim soon had Larijani’s computer up and working.  It took very little in the way of threats to get the man’s access codes to various bank accounts around the world.  Jim had long ago perfected a method of taking money from the accounts of evildoers, before routing it into a seeming black hole…to wind up in various offshore accounts of his.  In this case, he started the process with a pass through an al-Qaida account he had previously discovered.

When he finished—taking nearly an hour to accomplish his task—he quickly shut down Larijani’s computer, then disassembled it, to take the hard drive.  “Okay, team, let’s hit the road.”

Ben was put in charge of hurrying Larijani along, as he followed the others out of the main house to a garage, where Larijani’s various cars were located.  They picked a large sedan, piled in, and drove off, with Jim driving.  He knew exactly where he was going.  He soon found the landing strip of Larijani’s nearest neighbor.  In no time the team managed to get into the man’s executive jet.  They soon had its engines warming, with Kye at the controls.  The noise of the engines alerted the owner his plane was warming up.  He had no idea as to why.  By the time he came fully awake to find out why, Kye was in the process of taking off.  The confused man knew something was seriously wrong, but for the life of him couldn’t figure out who could be stealing his plane in the middle of Iran.  By the time he decided he better call someone about the situation, then figured out whom to call, Kye was well on her way to the Iran/Iraq border.  When she reached it, she followed it north to the Iraq/Turkey border.  From there, she flew to the Syria/Turkey border, then on out to the Mediterranean Sea. Once there, she dropped to wave-top levels while headed toward Israel.

The trip caused all types of commotion, but no plane of any of the nations involved came close to giving chase of consequence.  While Kye did her thing, Jim was questioning Larijani, knowing full-well the man hated to fly.  The threat of being tossed out of the plane was all Jim needed to get the full information he wanted from his captive.

 

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Billy's Rescue, Book #7 of the Asps Series - Suzan gets revenge.

Today’s excerpt is from Billy’s Rescue, Book #7 of the nine-book Asps Series.  Suzan gest some revenge for an unwanted “gift” a former Marine gave her a couple of years previously.  Enjoy and have a wonderful day. 

m.j.

 

“Thank you so much for your consideration.  By the way, the two students I recommended for the school…how are they doing?”

“Excellent.  Not as bright as Andrew James, but we’re thrilled to have them here.  I wonder if you would do something for me, if you have time?”

“Yes, of course.”

“When are you leaving?”

“Had planned on leaving within the hour, but can delay a bit.”

“Maybe this could wait until you get back then.”

“Well, what is it?”

“We have a new student who has applied.  I’ve met him and his parents, but would like your opinion before accepting him.”

“Bit unusual, isn’t it?  Do you have some reservations?”

“Not really, but just something I can’t put my finger on.”

“Be happy to do it.”

The principal nodded as she passed the folder of the proposed new student across to Suzan.  Suzan looked inside.  She nearly fell out of her chair.  After she gathered herself, Suzan had a tight smile showing.  “It will take you a bit of time to get Andrew James organized.  If you call the parents and they’re in, tell them a representative of the admissions advisory group will drop by in the next fifteen minutes.  I see from their address they aren’t far from the school.”

The principal tilted her head slightly, not expecting Mrs. Telman to take such prompt action on the matter, but took the file back, looked at the phone number in it, then made the call.  She told the mother, who answered the phone, Mrs. Telman of the Admissions Advisory Group—which, until that moment, had not existed—would drop by shortly, if it was convenient.  The mother was only too happy to meet Mrs. Telman.  Suzan soon left, file in hand.

When Suzan arrived, the prospective student’s mother answered the door, and after Suzan introduced herself, she was invited in.  The two ladies walked to a large living room.  The woman’s husband almost fell over when his wife introduced “Mrs. Telman.”

After introducing Suzan, the wife introduced herself and her husband as Mr. and Mrs. Charles Forquer.  Suzan simply muttered, “Charles and I know each other from our time in the Marine Corps.”

As she sat down, she added, “In fact, dear Charles gave me a dose of the clap…after telling me I was his one and only.  So tell me, Charles—how did you like cleaning latrines?”

Suzan and Charles had not seen each other since they were stationed at Camp Pendleton together.  Suzan had been kidnapped by a joint Hamas/al-Qaida team operating out of Canada.  Jim’s old Janitor team had tracked down the operation, then set about rescuing Suzan and other ladies kidnapped, not that Suzan needed to be rescued.  By the time the Janitors arrived, she had escaped.  During the aftermath of the operation, it was found out Suzan had been infected with the sexually transmitted disease by Charles Forquer.  Jim was an old friend of the Commanding General at Camp Pendleton, who soon had Forquer doing a number of very unpleasant things.  Forquer left the Marine Corps as soon thereafter as he could.

With his wife totally embarrassed, Charles, trying to defuse the situation—almost to the point that Suzan hadn’t spoken—mumbled, “I didn’t care much for the treatment I received after you left the base.  I got out as soon as I could.  Dear, Suzan was Suzan Saltwater when we knew each other back then.  I take it you’re married, Suzan.”

“Yes.  To a retired KGB super spy by the name of Boris Telman.  He was with me when it was determined you gave me the clap.  I’m sure he’ll want to have words with you when I tell him you are now living in Sedona.  Not very polite words, would be my guess.  But we’re going on a trip today, so I guess it’ll have to wait until we get back.”

Mrs. Forquer had seated herself and held her face in her hands, with head down.  Forquer asked, “Does this mean you won’t approve our son?”

Suzan stood up.  “I would imagine no private school in Sedona—or the surrounding area—will accept your son.  But if I were you, I’d be more worried about my husband.  And not just him.  His closest friend and our next-door neighbor, Drew Hollins, is a retired CIA spy.  He thinks of me as a second daughter.”

With that, Suzan showed herself out.  Mrs. Forquer looked at her husband, who tried to talk his way out of the situation.  “It was just a Marine fling, dear.  No harm, no foul.”

“Oh, shut up.  I can’t live here.  I’m too embarrassed to show my face.  What if she goes back to the school and tells them exactly why she won’t approve us as fit parents, because you not only couldn’t keep it in your pants, but also passed around something like that.  How many other women did you infect before the Marine Corps stopped you?  On top of which, her words about her husband and his friend almost sounded like a threat to me…very thinly disguised, but a threat nonetheless.  I want to move away from here…now.”

“Yes, dear.  But it’ll likely cost us a lot of money to sell the house quickly.”

“Don’t ‘dear’ me, you pervert—and it’s my money, in case you’ve forgotten.”

 

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