Upping the Ante: The Story Continues
Playing around with an old word exercise...something suggested by a reader more than a fortnight back...she knows who she is...
Don't try this at home. Trained professional on closed course. Your mileage may vary.
The cowhide-enfolded steering wheel he clutched was attached to a 1932 Ford. That deuce coupe was his pride and joy, his only affectation in a life that was otherwise fully given over to a single-minded focus on a job the significance of which only eleven other people on the planet fully grasped -- and three of them weren't likely to survive the night.
He'd won the car during a marathon game -- if "game" is indeed the proper term for a competitive endeavor wherein the losers are likely to end up with brainpans filled with the equivalent of three-day old risotto -- of suicide hold 'em, matching wits and hands with a variety of adversaries, most of whom were human, and all but one alive. That last one was, of course, more than an annoyance. If there's anything in the universe likely to grate on your soul, it's playing cards against your wife.
Novel? Not likely. I'll leave that to, you know, novelists. I'm just a country blogger. ;-)
Posted by: Eric at June 22, 2007 04:55 PMWow! You guys are good!! As for the novel, if you write it, I'll read it. ;-)
Posted by: gwynne at June 22, 2007 05:12 PMA six-figure advance would help greatly (especially if all six figures were to the left of the decimal, and expressed in dollars, not rubles). ;-)
Posted by: Eric at June 22, 2007 10:43 PMHow 'bout stick figures? ;-)
Posted by: gwynne at June 22, 2007 11:32 PMAbout the publisher
Random Abbye photos...
Reason #21 to wear shoes in West Texas
From my rooftop, I can see my own mortality
The USPS: We're now 27% more efficient at mangling your mail!
My Favorite Yard Work
Review: The Amazon Kindle
Personal Library Exploration Continues
Tech Support That's Out of This World
Flower and Butterfly
The Season's First Roundup
Recording History
Want a Healthier Mind? Fuggedaboutit!
Redefining a Bust
Thank you...
Farewell to Abbye
The Neighborhood:
West Texas Blogs:
[Midland unless otherwise indicated]
Other Texas Blogs:
The Business:
The Church:
The World:
The engine sputtered to a halt a full two blocks from his destination, insurance against probing eyes that might detect his early arrival. Eric was keenly aware as a pawn in this new game—the prize for which might well be his very soul—of the chance he was taking by this move. If his calculations were right though, the line of brownstone flats on his right would provide the cover he needed for his approach to the rear of the warehouse. Ten minutes was all he needed to sneak in, plant the device, be out, and back to the Ford with plenty of time to spare to pull up in front on schedule. The trick was to go undetected until then.
Stepping onto the curb, he pulled his cap low, cold sweat trickling from under the brim, his breathing an afterthought. As he pulled the coat tighter around his midsection, he noted the reassuring bulge of the .357 in the inside pocket—another insurance policy—which he had tried to convince himself, unsuccessfully, would not be necessary. A chill did double-time down his spine. The stakes were high, his head knew that much—but his heart would not be quieted.
A deep breath.
Then another.
His wife was waiting and he would not lose to her again.
__________
P.S. to the Gazette Editor: When do we get to read this novel you're working on instead of all these excerpts....hmmm?? And do we all get contributing author status when you eventually get it published ;-)
Posted by: sherry at June 22, 2007 03:18 PM