Wednesday, September 26, 2012

LAW #15 - An Interview with Marc Brady - Wolfman and Contender for Second in Command


 
 
Cynthia Quest Reporting
May 10th, 2013

 

After the way the camp was so fast to accuse Marc of trying to kill Kenn and Adrian, I realized it was way past time I asked this hard loner some of the questions still lingering in everyone’s mind.

He looks too calm, too ready for this as he sits down in the chair that has now held so many of Safe Haven’s Eagles. I hope that isn’t true, and to increase the odds of honest answers, I’ve chosen some questions he won’t care for. Everyone settled at a table with a tray? It’s time to talk to Marc Brady - Wolfman and Possible contender for Second in Command.

 

“So, tell us Marc. Why did you agree to this interview?”

“I didn’t. It was on my schedule, so I showed up.”

Cynthia grinned in slightly jealous understanding. “If the boss man says jump…”

Marc’s snort was light. “Yeah, that’s about it.”

“Do you always follow orders?”

Marc grinned widely. “Nope.”

It wasn’t true anymore, but for now, how close he and Adrian were working together wasn’t public knowledge.

“Why not? I thought all the Eagles have complete faith.”

“Guess I’m just a rebel.”

Cynthia glanced down at her notes. “Let’s talk about the wolf first. Where did you get him, and why does he stay with you?”

Marc looked over at the large animal curled protectively in the doorway of the tent. “Dog was brought in with a pack of wolves. He was supposed to be put down. He’s a survivor, the same as the rest of us. I think he senses that bond and it keeps him with me, but really, I don’t know why.”

“So you’re saying he thinks like us?”

He shrugged, grinning again. “Wish I knew - would make breeding him easier.”

Marc watched her face flush, realized he’d drawn first blood without meaning to. Inwardly, he braced for the real topic the reporter wanted to cover. Outwardly, he gave a smoldering stare that had her squirming and him swallowing a grin. It was easy to see what she needed, but he wasn’t interested in being the one to deliver it.

“Ah, yes, breeding. You’ve sired an interestingly obedient child. How does it feel to be the dad of a teenager you didn’t even know you had?”

There was no shocked response from him like she’d been hoping for. He and Adrian had covered it a week ago. “Good, actually. I got to skip diapers.”

Cynthia frowned slightly, hating it that these men were always one step ahead of her ambushes. She’d thought her knowing of Charlie’s parentage would be a hard hit. She moved on quickly. “What about his mother? You two sure have stirred up a lot of anger and bad energy here.”

“Sometimes, even those things have a place.”

“How long have you two known each other?”

“All our lives.”

“Ohh… Childhood sweethearts?”

“Yes.”

“Why did you two split?”

“Life got in the way.”

“Who walked away first?”

“Our parents made that choice.”

“Has Angie told you why she kept the truth about your son from you?”

“Yes.”

“Will you tell us why?”

“Of course not.”

Expecting it, Cynthia didn’t react. “When did you find out about Charlie?”

“After the War.”

“When you… helped his mom to get here?”

The tone was suggestive, and Marc frowned. “All I did was drive and show her a few Marine things. She did the rest.”

“Sure, sure. Can you tell us about the trip here, while you two were alone together all that time?”

Marc held in the sharp remark. “It was hard. We traveled a rough road.”

“What about all those long nights around the campfire, talking about your past, your teenage son, the future?”

Marc snorted, thinking there hadn’t been nearly enough of those. “Not Angie. We traveled or took turns sleeping.” He let out a proud snort he didn’t feel. “She was always in a hurry, but we got here in record time after she killed her first man - made her more determined.”

It was an answer she wasn’t expecting, and Cynthia dropped down to her hardest queries restlessly. Her respect for Angela went up, along with her jealousy. Afterward, there had been Brady’s big arms for comfort. She’d bet on it.

“How do you feel about your mate being an Eagle?”

“I worry over her safety and love it that she’s so strong. The same as she does me.”

“Uh-huh. But it wasn’t always this way, was it?”

“No.” His hard tone said to leave it alone.

Cynthia pushed harder. “In fact, I remember a few of those moments. Most of us didn’t think she could yell that loud.”

Marc blew out a sigh, realizing he would have to take the blow she wanted to deliver. “It took me a while to get over the way I still saw things from the old world. It’s better now.”

“So there won’t be anymore screaming?”

“Not unless she gets pissed at you for printing personal questions.”

Cynthia smiled coolly. “I think I can manage. Tell us about your rivalry with Kenn. Do you think you’ll be able to bump him out for second in command?”

“No.”

Cynthia raised a brow. “Given up?”

“Yep. Just gonna fall in line where I belong.”

Cynthia laughed at the sarcastic humor, but sensed he really meant it. “I’m pretty sure it’ll be the front of a line.”

Marc’s face reddened at the open compliment. “Thanks.”

The waves of need flowing from the flowery scented woman were smothering, and Marc was glad to see their time was almost up. Five minutes was all the sheet said, and that was all she would get from him.

“A lot of the camp and Eagles think you’ve been going head-to-head with Kenn, trying to get him thrown out. Are you?”

“No. I have what I want.”

“His wife...”

Marc’s face darkened ominously. “My soul mate.”

Cynthia watched him stand up, seeing his instinctive glance toward the flap. Time was about up, but she had one last topic to cover.

“How did it feel to kill for her?”

His head swung back, blue eyes blazing, and she wisely kept the triumph from her face. He hadn’t been expecting that one.

Marc stared at her, thinking of seeing her spying on the Eagles. When he’d told Adrian, the blond leader had said she was important to Safe Haven’s future. Today, under his scheduled time, there had been four words. Off balance is best. What threw someone off balance more than honesty?

“It felt good. Doing my job well usually does.”

Marc left her staring in surprise, hoping he’d given Adrian whatever it was that he needed from the encounter. One thing was for sure. The more FND work he did, the better he felt about their leader’s past. Anyone who had this many irons in the fire had better be an evil genius to keep them all straight.

“Do you really see him as evil?” That voice inside asked.

Marc shoved the answer away. He’d swung to Adrian’s side, but he clearly wasn’t a convert yet.

 
 
 
 
 
"This is Safe Haven Refugee Camp. Can anyone hear me?
Hello? Is anyone out there?"

The Survivors
*Free on all retailers

Wednesday, September 19, 2012

LAW Day #14 - Profile -John

Life After War
*This is an old picture of John and Anne, taken after a medical conference.

John Harmon

69

5'9"

Smells like Ben-gay

12/30/44

200lbs

Blue Eyes

Salt and Pepper hair.

BW: Army Medic

AW: Safe Haven's 1st Doctor.

Quote: Trust me, my Anna. I do this for you."


Strengths:
- Hate is foreign for him. He loves people and encourages it in others.
- Has the wisdom of age to rely on.


Weaknesses:
- Has terminal Cancer.


FBI Notes:
Weaker DNA Marker identified. Last male of the line, no offspring, and stomach cancer confirmed. Termination orders are not expected. Location: Rawlins, Wyoming.


Back-story

John and Anne Harmon grew up in the same tiny town. They joined the service and became engaged during the Vietnam War. Upon returning home to a town stricken with measles, they opened a local office and have lived there ever since.  They've been married for 47 years. The last of their family’s bloodlines, they'd been happy together. When the War came, their lack of offspring was their only regret.
 
After the collapse, John pushes Anne into leaving their home to look for safety. Their lives have been spent in one place, and it's terrifying to the quiet nurse. John insists - he has to get her to someplace safe before he dies. John suspects he has Terminal Stomach Cancer and has given himself less than 6 months to live... 180 days to make sure that his sweet wife is provided for when he's gone.

 





"This is Safe Haven Refugee Camp. Can anyone hear me?
Hello? Is anyone out there?"

The Survivors
*Free on all retailers

Saturday, September 8, 2012

3 Recent E-Book Innovations - A Guest Post by Nadia Jones


E-books have come a long way, from the founding of Project Gutenberg in 1971 to the 2007 breakout success of Amazon’s Kindle, and from “why would you ever want to read a book on a screen?” to “this is an imminent threat that will destroy books as we know them!” Whatever sentimental attachment to traditional books you may feel (and believe me, I’m right there with you), it’s undeniable that e-book technology is in the process of reworking the entire publishing industry and the broader cultural landscape.

As a point of reference, e-book revenue has already surpassed that of hardcover books, though that statistic is misleading if you don’t know that hardbacks are a small segment of the whole publishing industry. Still, it’s probable that in a few years e-books will eclipse print books in total sales. With smartphones, tablets and e-readers all converging at a level of quality and market penetration unheard of even a few short years ago, it’s dizzying to ponder what might come next. Here are just a few of the latest product launches in the e-book world:


1. Booktango publishing platform

Booktango is a free service that seeks to maximize an author’s royalties, so that you receive the full sale price of each e-book title purchased. Though they take no fees, they do offer other paid packages and a la carte publishing services including design, editing, publicity, promotions, signings, advertising and licensing. Booktango will publish your book to all major e-book publishing platforms, including the Kindle, Nook, iPad, Sony eReader and smartphones.
 

2. Livrada e-book gift cards

This is a very interesting concept: an e-book gift card to be sold at Target and other retailers, so that gift-giving won’t lose its personal touch in the era of the e-book. At launch, six titles will be available: Fifty Shades of Grey (of course!) by E.L. James, Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn, 44 Charles Street by Danielle Steel, Odd Thomas by Dean Koontz, The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet’s Nest by Steve Larsoosen, and State of Wonder by Ann Patchett. This last book is published by HarperCollins; the rest are Random House titles.
 

3. idreambooks.com review site

This site, which just launched its full version on July 12th, aims to be the RottenTomatoes of book reviews, aggregating full-length professional reviews of titles and giving an average score for each. The benefits are obvious: by removing the Amazon.com problems of trolling and content-free, seemingly always one-star and five-star reviews, the information on offer will mostly be restricted to useful, thoughtful feedback and reasonably objective scoring, giving a casual browser a good idea of whether a book will be a waste of their time or not.


That’s it for now, but there’s obviously much to come in the world of e-books. All the old barriers of publication are coming down. We’ll just have to wait and see if this new radically open ecosystem creates a more vibrant literary world or a spam-filled Tower of Babel.

 

Nadia Jones is a freelance higher education blogger who specializes in all topics relating to traditional and accredited online colleges. She welcomes your comments at nadia.jones5@gmail.com.

 

 
 
 
 
 
"This is Safe Haven Refugee Camp. Can anyone hear me?
Hello? Is anyone out there?"
The Survivors
*Free on all retailers

Wednesday, September 5, 2012

LAW Day #12- Seth


Life After War
Seth Daniels

 

 5'11

175lb

27 Yrs

7/1/85



Freckles

Green eyes

Reddish blonde hair


Irish/Caucasian

Bw: Career, Undercover Cop

AW: Level 3 Eagle in Adrian’s Army

B. State: Colorado

Quote: "There is no one watching your Six and I want the job."

 

Strengths:

- He reads people (women) well.

- His sense of humor often lightens tense situations.

- Was a great father. He'll never stop hoping his young daughter survived.

 
Weaknesses:

- He has a short fuse that luckily never resulted in any charges.

- Feels a strong need to prove himself to those around him. Always has.

- Fears ever loving again after losing a child in the war.


FBI Notes:

Marker identified. Suspected of minor mental abilities. Not considered a threat, though the subject is on the elimination consideration sheet.


Back-story.

Seth grew up with police parents, military grandparents. There was some type of service for nearly every member of his family… and every one of them has been killed on the job.


When the War came, Seth had made it up to undercover agent, newly placed with the FBI. His secret ambition was to guard the President. Out on a training call, the devastation was completed in his absence. He arrived home to find his home burnt to the ground. With no signs of remains, Seth spent the first few months of the War searching for his wife and 4 year old little girl.
The wife, he missed. The child, he longs for continuously, and relentlessly searches the incoming refugees and towns they pass. Now that he's in Adrian’s sharp employment, Seth has found a light, a hope, in his darkness. In time he'll play a much bigger role.

 



"This is Safe Haven Refugee Camp. Can anyone hear me?
Hello? Is anyone out there?"
 
The Survivors
*Free on all retailers

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