Sunday Snippet: Leading the War Effort

I hope everyone who celebrates US Thanksgiving had a lovely holiday. Mine was low-key, which is how I enjoy the holiday the most. As usual, my husband cooked for ninety-seven people instead of the three that were here, but that means leftovers and readily available meals for a few days!

Kind of a light week for work projects in varying stages. I ended up getting a decent amount of writing completed. I finished up two manuscript drafts and I'm in the fine-tuning stage for those. I'm excited to start revising! I also did some additional planning for the other ventures I'm trying to launch soon. Should be an exciting December!

Had a great week of television viewing. I got an extra show in this go around but still didn't get to pick back up with my Battlestar Galactica rewatch. Hopefully this week.

I ended up watching two episodes of Silent Witness. I'm sad that Clarissa is leaving but look forward to new faces. Can't wait to pick up with the second half of the current two-parter. It ended on a cliffhanger.

Also got two episodes of Death in Paradise in this week. Started season four, which I'm enjoying. Humph is a lot of fun and Dwayne has been very entertaining so far.

Ended up watching two episodes of Only Murders in the Building also. Finished the penultimate episode last night and, wow, I love this show. And … I'm pretty sure I guessed correctly with a slight twist on the murderer. Can't wait to watch the final episode.

Enjoyed two episodes of The Batman. One I remembered and the other one I didn't so really enjoyed that one. Not sure how many episodes are left in the first season but looking forward to more.

Caught two more episodes of Classic Rugrats. I did remember both. An interesting bit was the theme changed for one episode then went back to the original. Weird what I notice when I'm streaming shows.

Watched another episode of VIP. The over-the-top storylines are so much fun. I really miss some of the shows from the late nineties and early aughts.

Enjoyed a behind-the-scenes episode of My Life Is Murder. I'll be starting season two this week, unless there's another bonus episode.

Also watched a behind-the-scenes episode of Agatha Raisin. A lot of fun to see and hear the actors talk about their characters. There might be one more BTS for season two then I'll be moving on to season three.

Picked back up with Peak Practice. I skipped ahead a little because I honestly don't care about Andrew and Kate's torrid relationship. Might try to work another episode in this week.

That's pretty much it for this week's life update. Tonight's post is from Leading the War Effort, a novella that puts a bit of a spin on soldiering a la Jason Bourne or Steve Rogers.

Here's the miniblurb:

North Normandy becomes the test subject for a super soldier project and his first mission is to rescue his captured father. Frankie Gant knows the venture inside out, but lacks the emotional connection her superiors feel the candidate will need. Frankie acts as North's handler and when the planned op goes south, she risks her life, undergoing the same process to pull both men out of enemy territory.

And a sneaky peek…

North entered the training room to find testing equipment and devices instead of workout mats and accoutrements. "What's going on?" He looked forward to more routines with her.

Frankie sent him a too-bright smile. "Welcome to phase three." She slapped electrodes on his chest and reached up to affix one to his temple.

He caught her hand. "Hold up. Slow down." He tried to catch her gaze but kept picturing her naked, which didn't help his thought process.

Frankie quirked a brow and tilted her head slightly.

He let go of her hand. "Sorry. So that means I finally passed muster?" Would've been nice to know he'd cleared the hurdle.

Her face colored and she cleared her throat. "Yeah. Yes. Your unorthodox approach seemed to get results." She finished applying the electrode to his head.

His voice lowered. "That was all you, Major." Pleased when she gave a slight shudder, he added, "You issued a challenge and I only rose to the occasion." In multiple ways.

She moved away, which also gave him a kick of satisfaction. She's not immune to the wild chemistry—even if she'd like to be. He liked the thought.

But … he let her have some space. "What's next? Phase three is all monitoring, right? Checking my body's reaction to the meds and testing strength and endurance?" Which should increase at a steady rate.

Frankie nodded. "We'll draw blood to make sure you're not having adverse reactions to the medication. We'll run scenarios for the physical examination, and I'm adding a final series of cognitive tests to track the enhancements." She paused then continued. "Not that you needed much. You have a remarkable level of base intelligence."

North cracked a wide smile. "I hear a compliment there. A rarity coming from you." He couldn't resist poking at her armor a little.

Frankie shrugged. "I give credit where it's due."

North snorted. "You should take the credit, too. You're the heart of this program, Major. The department brass has no idea what a gift they have with you." Or they did and chose to be assholes about it.

Frankie lifted a shoulder. "I'm more like a headache, but I fight for what I believe in." She checked the placement of the tabs then grabbed the wires.

Then why didn't she fight for herself? North wouldn't rock the boat right now, but someday he'd press for answers. Because he needed to know why she didn't push harder for herself.

Currently, he hoped he had her full support. "What about who you believe in? Will you fight for me, Major?"

She held his gaze. "Yes, always."

His heart rate kicked up and he thanked the universe she hadn't hooked him up to the machinery yet.

I love, love, love this story. North and Frankie are so much fun to write and I can't wait to finish this one.

 

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

ML Skye