Sunday Snippet: Bad Chemistry (Uncivil Revolution)

I hope everyone who celebrated Thanksgiving had a wonderful one. We're always low-key. We head to my dad's, eat, converse for a while then head home to nap in a food coma. We definitely had a good time.

The weather is crazy weird again, which is actually kind of typical for the end of November. It's usually a little colder and the question of whether it'll snow or not. Now it's more like up and down temperatures that go back and forth to drive anyone with sinus issues to the pharmacy to stock up on meds.

I finished up the episode of Ted Lasso I started and thoroughly enjoyed. I'm iffy on Jamie's redemption but hopefully it'll continue and stick. I honestly hated that character so much last season.

I also spent the week watching a large chunk of Batman: The Animated Series as mentioned in last week's post. I started with episode seventeen of season one and continued through episode thirty. I'll be watching more this week with a plan to finish out November with my memorial to Kevin.

One of the things I love most about revisiting this series is finding overlooked gems in the rewatch. There were a couple of episodes I'd completely forgotten about and it's nice to see them again.

That's pretty much it for the life update this week. Tonight's post is from Bad Chemistry, the opening novella in a three or four-part series.

Here's the mini-blurb:

Lex Durban and Charlotte Martin do their best to survive in new world hierarchy, each with a different kind of target on their back. But when they have to undertake the dangerous task of moving refugees to a new location, Lex wants Char to stay behind so only one is in danger, but Char has other ideas.

And a sneaky peek…

Lex stood at parade rest, in front of former General Mulroney.

"How's it looking out there, Lex?" Fit for his age—at least sixty, by Lex's guess—the general split open a sunflower seed with his teeth.

"We're low on supplies, but the base is secure. My attachment of men went above and beyond to make certain, Sir." Several skirmishes to make their point had been necessary.

Mulroney shot Lex a swift glance. "Lose the 'sir', son. It's not necessary here."

Old habits died hard. Lex nodded. It would be easier if he didn't respect the general as much as he did.

Mulroney leaned forward. "Glad to hear you're secure. Because I need all but two men for another location." He spit the seed shell into a metal bin on his desk. "And don't worry. We'll restock your supplies before you leave." Mulroney popped another seed. "I hate to pull the men, but District Four needs them." He nodded toward the lone chair, opposite his desk. "Have a seat and I'll brief you."

Lex sat, feeling oddly out of place in the informal setting of the general's hunting cabin. Not exactly a place he ever imagined as a base of operations for military excursions. Then again, he never dreamed he'd muster out and sign on with a covert, underground campaign.

But he had. And became a better man for it.

He leaned forward, ready to listen.

The general got right to the point. "I got a call from Jack Cooper two days ago. District Four is his former constituency—or part of it—and they've got more refugees than they can handle."

"The Sector Police won't let people into the cities?" They'd seen more and more of the larger cities go on lockdown.

The general shrugged. "We're not sure. Cooper's trying to get intel. I'm sending in two units to help keep the peace and transport folks out to your location." Mulroney pinned him with his gaze. "Can you handle it?"

Lex nodded. "I'll handle it, Sir." He tapped the file on the desk. "If you get me everything on the list, we're good to go." He'd deal with it, even if they didn't get the supplies, but the general didn't have to be told. The man picked Lex for a reason—he got the job done.

Mulroney's smile spread across his face. "Expect incoming within two weeks, maybe sooner."

I'm hoping to have this series plotted out and ready sometime next year. The ideas fly fast for a period of time then the sages get tired and need to focus on something else for a bit.

 

That's it for this week. Catch everyone on the flipside.

ML Skye