Jason had another client we'd met... Chapter 17: Laughing Assassin I really don't like this one. I'd done plenty of work for the police, and other people. I may not have been very old, but I'd already done everything from enhance photos and research prior art on patents to, well, finding out that vampires were real. Sometimes you get feelings about things, and right now, I had a very strong, very bad feeling about the job I was doing for Xavier Ross. Not that I felt there was anything wrong [ Continue reading... ]
Paradigms Lost: Chapter 16
July 14, 2014 By Leave a Comment
Well, it's time for the wrap-up on that little adventure... Chapter 16: The Only Thing He Has To Fear… "How did you find me?" Verne and I were comfortably seated in his study. He smiled slightly. "I have always known roughly where Carmichael lived, just as he always knew where I lived. Once I arrived in the general area, it was simple to sense your presence and follow it." "Thanks." "No need to thank me, Jason. It was my fault entirely that you were involved. I should have realized that once he [ Continue reading... ]
Polychrome: Chapter 4
July 11, 2014 By Leave a Comment
Continuing our story: Our Hero had met Our Heroine, and she was about to tell him about the Big Problem he needed to solve... Chapter 4. Focusing on what Polychrome was telling me wasn't easy at first. I may not have had many lady companions, especially in the last few years, but I was very, very far from unaware of the attractions of the opposite sex; given my commonly-noted lack of maturity, perhaps overly much so in some ways. And there was no girl or woman I'd ever met who could compare to [ Continue reading... ]
Polychrome: Chapter 3
July 9, 2014 By Leave a Comment
So we'd met Our Hero, and Our Heroine hadn't yet decided what she thought of him... Chapter 3. It does make sense, in a way, Polychrome thought to herself as she studied the man who had recognized her. The prophecies may be vague, but there is quite a bit in there about the lack of certainty of success, about the hero having to find himself. She felt a slight chill that had nothing to do with her usual need for warmth, a chill running through her heart. And a lot about the possible paths of [ Continue reading... ]
Paradigms Lost: Chapter 15
July 9, 2014 By Leave a Comment
Jason had found himself in something of a pickle, because drug barons don't like the word "no"... Chapter 15: Enter Freely and Of Your Own Will "Ten o'clock," Carmichael said. "Jeez, will you look at that stuff come down!" Even as worried as I was, I had to admit it was an impressive storm. Gusts of gale-force winds battered the house, blue-white lightning shattered the night, torrents of rain came down so heavily that they obscured our sight of the front gate, even with all the lights of the [ Continue reading... ]
Paradigms Lost: Chapter 14
July 9, 2014 By Leave a Comment
Jason had found a potential client for his client... Chapter 14: A Sudden Trip Downstate I opened the trunk and helped Sky get out his portfolio. Innocent that I was, I thought a "portfolio" would be a notebook-sized collection of pictures—reproductions, etc. Artists, of course, do not do things that way. Reproductions are often used, but they're done as near as possible to full size as can be managed, and Sky had a lot of samples. He was trying to show a number of things about his work (most of which I [ Continue reading... ]
Paradigms Lost: Chapter 13
July 9, 2014 By Leave a Comment
Jason had taken on a rather unorthodox client with an unusual request... Chapter 13: Interview With the Artist The apartment door opened in front of me, at least to the limit that the chain on it would permit. Two bright blue eyes looked somewhat up at me, framed by blue-black hair and set in a pretty, well-defined face. "Hi. Can I help you?" "I'm Jason Wood." "Oh, right, Dad's expecting you! Hold on, I'll get the chain off here." The door closed. I heard rattling, and "Dad! Your guest's [ Continue reading... ]
Paradigms Lost: Chapter 12
June 30, 2014 By Leave a Comment
Another completely new chapter! Chapter 12: Mystery of a Brother "Sure, Syl – I'd love to go out tomorrow. You want a movie or something else?" "How about Sabers of Twilight? I've heard that one's a lot of fun and just up your alley, Jason." I grinned into the phone. "Because of the pretty girls in interesting costumes? Sounds fine. Odd how you don't mention the pretty boys in tight leather outfits." "I didn't say it wasn't up my alley too," she said with a laugh. "All right, after we [ Continue reading... ]
Polychrome: Chapter 2
June 27, 2014 By Leave a Comment
Well, it's time to meet our OTHER protagonist... Chapter 2. I snapped the computer case shut and locked down the screws. "All set." "Thanks, Erik." Lisa said with a tired smile. "You didn't have to –" "No, I didn't, but it wasn't a big deal and you need that thing running tomorrow. Don't we finish the next big volume for State Legal this week?" "Yes, you're right. But –" "No buts." I was actually exhausted myself – repairing three machines that had chosen to, as an English [ Continue reading... ]
Paradigms Lost: Chapter 11
June 25, 2014 By Leave a Comment
So Jason was now consulting for a vampire... Chapter 11: Personal History "All right," I said, "you can meet people in the daytime if necessary. Just not a good thing to do often. That's great—there are a lot of things, like signing papers, getting permits, and so on, that are close to impossible to manage if you can't get the principal to make himself available when other people are." I was going over the notes I'd gotten that night, while Verne answered my questions and read the work-for-hire agreement. "Yes, I [ Continue reading... ]
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