Ugh. Another week of crazy back and forth weather. We went from sixty-two degrees on Thursday to twenty-five on Friday. Every time I took the dog out starting on Thursday evening, I added a layer of clothes. And… I now have a raging upper respiratory ick thing. LOL Never fails.
Not a bad week for television. I caught the premiere of Strike Back and loved it. One of my favorite actors is starring this season and I'm very excited to see what he does on the show. I'm also kind of caught between the old style with Stonebridge and Scott and the new style with Wyatt, Mac, and Gracie. The former cast had more time to build the relationship between the leads and I liked how that spread over the four seasons they helmed the series. The new cast feels like they had to skip a lot of the nuance and I kind of miss that. And none of this is to say they don't gel together, because they do.
Also caught an episode of Chicago Fire and ended up being an ugly-crying mess by the end. Benny's sendoff didn't disappoint. I tend to get very emotional over signing off a fallen firefighter. With a retired fire chief dad who's still active with a volunteer department, those things hit home for me.
I'm almost finished with Luke Cage's second and final season. I'm pretty sure I'll be satisfied if Mariah goes down hard. I'd like Luke to have a resolution with his anger issues too and I think he's come a long way. Misty is just awesome no matter what so there's that.
Also caught Classic Roswell on a different app where I can watch single episodes. I'm looking forward to comparing the new reboot with the classic series.
Caught a few episodes of Classic Who this week and the Daleks are back, creating trouble as usual. I love how long this Whovian villain has been around.
Watched Murdoch Mysteries and Midsomer Murders. I love both of these series and how long they've been running.
Penny Dreadful had an interesting episode with Vanessa meeting the cut wife. The icky witch woman annoys me in ways I can't begin to describe. I do love Ethan and Vanessa's interactions so watching the creepy woman be evil is a small price to pay I guess.
Finally finishing up season four of Killjoys and, man, the "It Takes a Pillage" episode rocked on so many levels. Great character development and growth, a family reunion, betrayal, and Zeph being awesome. Can't ask for more than that.
Worked in another episode of Painkiller Jane, one I don't remember watching during the original run of the series. The show makes me nostalgic for La Femme Nikita and Mutant X. I miss the crazy creative style of that era of television.
Also started another episode of Underbelly: Razor. I'm about halfway through the series and continue to enjoy watching life in Australia during the twenties and thirties.
That's it for television this week. Tonight's post is from Victory is Hollow, a novella that started with a writing community prompt of "duel gone wrong". A fun one and I've enjoyed coming up with story for this one.
Here's the mini-blurb:
Patience Clew and Del Mindhapel are elite arms instructors for their training academy and have a lot of tension bouncing back and forth. When two of their cadets go head to head in an illegal duel and one ends up with a mortal wound, the top teachers are confined to quarters and that's when the tension really goes out of control.
And a sneaky peek…
Del walked the perimeter of the training area at the range. Snatches of conversation gave him insight into what the cadets took away from Patience's class yesterday. Patience called the reaction correctly; the students did indeed spend a lot of time field stripping and reassembling their weapons. But also, as Del expected, no one came right out and questioned their instructor's training from the previous day.
He shook his head. "They're not getting it." Damn Patience and her unquenchable thirst for fucking things up.
Del called the group to the center of the facility. "Does anyone have questions before we begin?" Not a single hand shot up or voice raised.
He sighed. The one thing Patience failed to account for… the lack of will recruits had to be seen as anything less than their counterparts. No one wanted to question their coursework, to instigate conflict. Too many years of ingrained programming for them to get past to really question the authority of their teachers.
Del picked up a P20 and turned it over in his hands. "You're all confident you know this weapon inside and out? You're sure you've got the—"
Patience cut in. "Are you going to let them test their knowledge or what?" Steam all but rolled out of her ears.
Del pushed back. "Who's day is it, DI Clew?" He quirked a brow, almost daring her to keep going. "If memory serves, it's mine. So back off." The interruption irritated him, especially since he held back yesterday until she'd dismissed the group.
Patience fumed, her mouth thinning to a straight line. "Fine. But you and me… we're not done here." She stalked to the back of the facility and paced back and forth.
Del ignored her and turned back to the group. "As I was saying, you're all confident you have a handle on how this weapon functions? No one has questions?" He laid the sidearm on the cart and glanced at the cadets. "The time to ask is before you start firing at targets."
Several hands went up. Del breathed a sigh of relief. He patiently answered the concerns and gave credit to the group. Patience did get one thing right. They figured out she omitted some information in yesterday's session. The problem? If hadn't pushed them, no one would have asked about it. The risk of one of their cadets having a weapon jam ran high, which meant anything from lower marks to the possibility of losing a hand… or a life.
If Patience didn't understand that very real possibility she shouldn't be teaching, dammit.
Del ran the group through the series of practice scenarios. Armed with the new information, most made a decent showing on the targets. Patience took the time to congratulate the cadets, outwardly showing support for their work. Inwardly, Del had no doubt, she plotted his death along with at least two ways of making it slow and painful.
She could do her best. He'd take anything she'd throw his way.
After handing out the target sheets, he dismissed the class. "Take the weekend and get geared up for the moving series of targets starting on Monday. DI Clew will have a few surprises for you when you go through the practice rounds." Usually something fun like faces on the sheets.
The cadets moved out and Patience moved in. She invaded his personal space standing almost toe-to-toe with him. Her chest heaved with anger.
She planted her hands on her hips. "What. The hell. Was that?"
Del folded his arms across his chest. "That was me saving your ass from getting a ten-day rip for encouraging an accident on the training field." He snorted, waiting for the inevitable comeback.
Patience didn't disappoint. "Right. More like saving your ass. I didn't ask you to save mine. And I don't appreciate—"
"Mindhapel! Crew!" The company commander bellowed their names. "What the hell are you two trying to accomplish? Showing your cadets how not to conduct yourselves?" His booted feet ate up the distance of the training area. "Lock that down, now. And march your collective asses into my office forthwith." He stabbed a finger in the direction of the next building over.
Shit. Del had forgotten Colonel Bellamy would be making spot inspections today. Didn't change how Del would've conducted the class, but he might have walked away before Patience got a good head of steam going.
The colonel followed them into the command office and jabbed a finger at two chairs. "Sit. And don't speak." He marched around his pristine desk and planted his palms on the flat surface. "You're supposed to set the example for the new recruits by showing them how a team functions under pressure as well as during regular drills." He gave each a pointed look. "Both of you are failing on epic levels right now." He paused, his narrowed gaze going back and forth between them.
The colonel had a point. But Del could argue strong discourse between instructors often made cadets better soldiers. Of course, he wouldn't dare attempt an explanation while the colonel's veins throbbed in his forehead. And Patience would take that as a sign Del supported her lame ass methodology. He'd keep his mouth shut, thanks very much.
Bellamy spread his fingers on the desk and leaned forward. "I don't care what's going on with you two. This is your warning to shape up or face the consequences." His gaze shifted between the two again.
Patience leaned in a little. "What're the consequences?"
Gah! Shut up. Doesn't matter what they are. They'll suck no matter what.
Bellamy gave her a wide smirking grin. "Whatever the hell I want them to be, Crew. But it won't be anything you find fun. Got it?" He straightened and dismissed them with a wave toward the door.
Del hotfooted it outside, Patience nipping at his heels. Neither spoke on the way to quarters but once they got inside, Del rounded on her, arching an eyebrow. What the hell were you thinking? He didn't attempt to speak. Not yet.
Patience lifted a shoulder. "What? I like to know what I'm dealing with." The fact he didn't have to ask the question running through his mind probably said more than he wanted to examine right now.
He blew out a harsh breath. "Right. Maybe wait until the cords aren't jumping in the colonel's neck before you ask next time." Did she always have to push boundaries?
Patience's lips curved in a wry smile. "Yeah. I'll own that bad choice." She turned to her locker and yanked the door open. "And, for now, I'll follow the course book, even if it pisses me off to work with outdated material." She slammed the metal door shut, tucking her shower kit under her arm.
Del fought off the image of a wet, naked Patience taking a long, hot shower. "And I'll work harder to communicate better." He blocked her path, hoping to clear up the earlier misunderstanding. "They weren't talking, Patience. No one was sharing information or asking questions about the stuff you didn't include. If they had been, I would've let things play out." He met her gaze and held it. "I won't apologize for putting everyone's safety ahead of letting them learn the hard way, but I'll agree your point about the outdated material is valid and learning by mistake does stay with you a lot longer." As concessions went, it might not be enough to sway her.
She tilted her head, studying him a long moment. "Not what I hoped for, but apology accepted. At least you get it even if you don't feel the frustration the way I do." Her lips curved in a smile. "That's something." She glanced over his shoulder, indicating she wanted to hit the head.
He moved aside, letting her make her way around him. They might not agree on methodology but at least they found some common ground. The next five weeks should go a lot smoother.
He hoped.
I'm excited to see where this one goes. The outline is complete and so far the characters are sticking to what's on the page. We'll see if that holds true to the end. LOL
That's it for this week. Catch everyone on the flipside.
ML Skye
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