Sunday Snippet: No Escape

Happy Easter to those who celebrate. For everyone else, I hope your weekend is rocking with good vibes!

We got some terrific news this week. My youngest, who will graduate from university in May, got accepted into grad school! She's so excited and will have a Master of Arts Administration when she finishes.

Had a fairly busy week with work projects. Discovered one ended up with a corrupted file and had to fix some weird, random code that inserted itself into the file. What a pain!

Decent week of viewing television. I'll admit some was mainly background noise while I worked on editing. But not bad overall.

Ended up getting two episodes of The Batman in this week. Enjoyed both and should be on track to catch another one this week.

Also caught two episodes of Classic Rugrats. Weirdly, I remember two but from different episodes. They always did two per show and I distinctly remember one from each of the episodes I watched. Weird.

Watched another episode of My Life Is Murder and, once again, enjoyed it. Dueling bakers isn't something I would normally think of as a premise for murder.

Enjoyed another episode of Midsomer Murders. I have one left for this season and then it's time to wait for more again. Good thing there are plenty of other mysteries to keep me occupied.

Started the new season of Silent Witness. Another new face or two for this season and I'm okay with that. I have a feeling things are going to get very interesting this season.

Caught another episode of Death in Paradise. We're getting closer to Humphrey's exit and Jack's entrance. I'll be able to start Beyond Paradise in the near future.

Watched another episode of Elementary. The new vibe between Holmes and Watson is fun. I'm enjoying a slightly softer version of Sherlock.

Started an episode of Peak Practice. I skipped one because I really didn't care one bit about the whole saga of Andrew and Kate. But it's interesting that Will is back. Should be a wild ride.

That's pretty much it for the life update this week. Tonight's post is from No Escape, a novella that explores what happens after Viable Options.

Here's the miniblurb:

Lissa Albrecht, an unwitting enemy agent, questions everything she believes when she's faced with the reality of what war really looks like. Caught in the heart of enemy territory, she won't give up her secrets … not until she speaks with Matt Kandigan, a former substance addict and the only person who cares if she lives or dies. At least she hopes so.

And a sneaky peek…

Matt Kandigan paced back and forth in the landing bay. "What if Karlin fucks this up?" He needed to close the chapter with Lissa and start a new book.

And he couldn't do that if he didn't see and speak to her. Therapy taught him to face his demons head-on instead of fighting in the shadows. And Lissa ranked as the top challenge he'd ever face. Harder than kicking the stimulants. Tougher than suffering through the withdrawal. Cutting her from his life might be the most difficult thing he'd ever do.

Because he'd fallen for her. Totally. Completely. 10,000 percent.

Raking a hand through his hair, he snorted. "Which makes me the biggest chump in the galaxy." Possibly the entire universe.

"That's not anything new. You've always been a bit of a clod, Matty." Karlin breezed into the space and planted her hands on her hips.

Matt rolled his eyes. "And you've always been a righteous pain in the ass. Good to know that'll never change." He appreciated the levity … he didn't have much to smile about lately. "What's the plan? Do I get some closure or what?" He almost dreaded seeing Lissa again but couldn't move forward until he did.

Karlin gave a nod. "You do. And the plan hasn't changed. You get one visit. Say your goodbyes or whatever." She reached out and grasped his palm. "She knows it's a one-time thing. If she chooses to help, great. But you two are over." Lifting her chin, she met his gaze. "Right?"

Matt jerked his head up and down. "Right. I'm done being an idiot. Lissa won't be able to use me as cover anymore." His heart gave a hard twist in his chest. "I'm sure the admiralty will manage to keep her occupied if she can give them any intel." And keep her out of his reach.

Karlin's head bobbed slowly. "True. They have contingencies in place for defectors." Her eyes narrowed a little. "One of which is a road to becoming one of us if she meets all criteria. What if Lissa goes for that option? How would you feel about that?" Her voice held zero censure.

Which Matt appreciated more than he could say. Karlin didn't trust Lissa almost from the beginning. The lack of judgment now meant a lot.

He did a gut check and took a moment before answering. "I honestly don't know. But I can't base a future on what if." Hell, he considered himself lucky to even have one.

Karlin's lips curved, and she patted him on the shoulder. "Matty, my friend, you're so wrong." She shook her head. "The entire galaxy is basing their future on asking what if." Pointing toward the exit, she lifted her chin. "That includes your enemy-agent girlfriend, who's probably wondering a lot about that question right now. Maybe you should do the same…" She squeezed his bicep and nudged him toward the corridor leading to the containment cells.

Matt slowly made his way forward. His mind filled with possibilities, and they crowded everything else out. No matter what happened, when he met with Lissa, he'd be on a new trajectory, one way or another.

I'm just getting started with this one and I'm excited to see where things go with Matt and Lissa.

 

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

ML Skye

Sunday Snippet: No Escape

Had a family wedding this weekend and it ended up being terrific weather, kind of warm but the venue had air conditioning and it cooled off in the evening and the mosquitoes weren't awful.

Had another weird mix of a week. Got a lot of writing done and several new projects on the horizon I prepped for. Not a bad week for television either.

Started out with a new episode of Blue Heelers. Didn't quite finish it up yet, but I'm over halfway through.

Watched another episode of Chilling Adventures of Sabrina. I'm still enjoying this one. I'm a little on the fence with Zelda but I'm kind of invested in finding out what happened to Sabrina's parents. And Harvey's dad is a total ass.

Caught the second class on graphic design in the Master Class series I started. This one focused on typography and ended up being pretty interesting and I'm looking forward to the next one.

Started the Ready Room episodes for Picard. I enjoyed Wil Wheaton's mix of insider knowledge and uber-fan vibe. Looking forward to more of these.

Watched another Passionflix holiday Quickie. The Package ended up being another fun elevator setting. I'm a fan of being trapped with nowhere to go and having to deal with a bad day.

Caught another episode of Chicago Med. I'm really happy I'm finally able to watch this series from the beginning. A heartbreaker of an episode but happy at the end.

Watched the series two finale of No Offence. This ended up being a really terrific season. I'll look forward to starting series three this week.

Also started the first part of a Silent Witness two-parter. I vaguely remember this one and the next episode marks the end of series ten. We'll be getting into the seasons I've watched before.

Caught the final episode arc for season fifteen of Classic Who. Leela stayed behind on Gallifrey so I'm assuming there'll be a new companion when I start sixteen this week.

Started the second season of UFOs: The Lost Evidence. The first episode opened with a deep dive into Nazi secrets surrounding unidentified flying objects. I've seen quite a few of those clips on another program but it's interesting to see how different experts interpret things.

Watched two more episodes of The Muppet Show with Milton Berle and Rich Little as the guest stars. Lots of fun to have the comedians interact with the muppets.

Also started a new episode of The Hardy Boys. I had a long conversation with my brother about the show, which he recommended. I enjoy the intrigue and clues and I love how the brothers interact with each other and their friends.

That's pretty much it for television this week. Tonight's post is from No Escape, a follow up to Viable Options.

Here's the mini-blurb:

Lissa Albrecht, an unwitting enemy agent, questions everything she believes when she's faced with the reality of what war really looks like. Caught in the heart of enemy territory, she won't give up her secrets … not until she speaks with Matt Kandigan, a former substance addict and the only person who cares if she lives or dies. At least she hopes so.

And a sneaky peek…

Lissa Albrecht paced the confines of the holding room. "If I don't see Matt, I don't talk." After four times of the same routine why didn't they take her seriously?

Matt Kandigan would hear what she had to say even if he still hated her afterward.

The door opened and Lissa's heart rate jumped. Finally. The rapid staccato plummeted when Karlin Hex entered the room.

Lissa held up a hand. "Stop. I'm not talking to you. I want Matt or I go back to my cell." She turned away to hide the sting of tears threatening to escape.

Karlin ignored her and dragged a chair from the table to spin it around. "Yeah, I got that part." She settled on the seat, her arms on the backrest. "So, you can just listen then I'll leave and you can go back to the lovely gray box you've been calling home." Her tone held no rancor but the sarcasm edged through.

Lissa shook her head and continued to face away from Karlin. She could talk until the world ended—again—and Lissa wouldn't care.

Karlin sighed. "Look, I get it. You and Matt had to rely on each other to escape the hellhole your side turned our planetary system into. You two formed a bond." Her fingers drummed on the table. "But you broke and betrayed that. Betrayed him." The drumming stopped abruptly on Karlin's last words.

Lissa's eyes closed. Karlin spoke the truth. Betrayal should be my middle name. Except the full reality of what her side had planned devastated Lissa. She had no idea they'd blow everything to shit and render the planet and moons unlivable—at least on the surface.

Karlin spoke again. "Anyway, Matt enlisted. And when he did, he swore he wouldn't collaborate with an enemy agent—that would be you—or offer aid and comfort, which includes talking to you, and that presents quite the dilemma, since it's apparently the only thing you want…" She trailed off a moment and Lissa almost turned to see why, but Karlin started speaking again. "So, here's your deal. In the spirit of cooperation and to hopefully spur you to work with us, Matt agreed to see you. Once. That's it." She got up and scooted the chair around again. "If you want to see him, you'd better know exactly what you want to say, because this is a one-time thing and basically your only shot." She pushed the chair back under the table. "What should I tell the admiralty when I go back?"

Lissa's mind raced. She had to see Matt. Had to explain how everything went so wrong in her life she got sucked into the movement. Then how her whole world changed when she met him. When she fell for him, she lost everything but she also gained a vision of the future she wanted. And it included him.

Lissa clenched her hands into fists. He wouldn't believe her and she didn't blame him. But she had to try.

Straightening her fingers, she turned to face Karlin. "Tell them I want to see him." When her gaze met the other woman's, she didn't find the judgment she expected. Instead … she found a glimmer of understanding.

Hope unfurled in her heart.

"After that, whatever I know, and it's not much, I'll share. But I see Matt first or they get nothing."

Karlin gave a curt nod. "Done. For what it's worth, none of this is easy on any of us. But you came through when we needed it and I haven't forgotten that." With a dip of her chin, she turned and exited the holding room.

Lissa pulled a chair out and sat down, resting her elbows on the table and dropping her head into her hands. There had to be a way to make Matt understand. To prove she loved him and regretted getting caught up in the vicious plot that destroyed their home world.

I only have a good idea of where this one is going but only a vague sense of how it's going to get there. I love putting the pieces together to stitch up a good story.

 

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

ML Skye