Welcome to Science Fiction Fantasy Saturday. Snippets of ten sentences or less are yours for the reading!
Today’s snippet comes from Book Two of The Black Wing Chronicles ~ HERO’S END.
This is a difficult scene to take out of context. By this point, in the book, Blade’s back is against the wall. There have been several attempts on his life, one nearly successful, and he’s been ordered to give up his holofeature career and the woman he loves to take a safe desk job, complete with high security and body guards to protect him ~ a situation akin to life in prison with no chance of parole. He’s only just barely shaken the men assigned to protect him. His window for disappearing is rapidly dwindling. This scene is one last big gamble where he’s throwing all his chips into the pot and hoping he can pull out a winning hand.
***
Blade studied the ongoing firefight, moving steadily towards a better vantage point. As near as he could tell, three gunmen faced at least eight with a half-dozen innocent bystanders trapped in the crossfire. The civilians were his first priority. He moved towards the nearest of the gunmen.
Surprisingly young, he crouched down behind a partition and fired over the civilians’ heads at the eight men who had taken positions along the stage and wings. He didn’t sense Blade’s approach until Blade was nearly on top of him. He turned quickly and leveled his blaster at him. Blade stopped and held out his hands to his sides.
“Sorry,” he said. “Didn’t mean to startle you… I’m Blade Devon.”
***
That’s the snippet for the week. Thank you for stopping by. Please take the time to visit the other wonderful authors taking part in Science Fiction/Fantasy Saturday!
Gotta Name My Blog 
Is he CRAZY!???? Ouch…..!
Not crazy. Highly motivated and nearly desperate.
Accepted. Well, I can only hope he gets what he wants…. Still.
Mess with me, woman and I’ll send you the incomplete manuscript.
Haha!! Love it!! Especially the last line. Sort of like Bond.
Well, he IS an interstellar man of mystery, you know.
Amidst the firefight, Blade remains cool and collected. Yep, definitely like Bond.
I’ll admit to being heavily influenced by the original Ian Fleming novels. I read them all twenty-odd years ago when I was developing Blade originally. They’re on my TBR list to reread when I get this into the hands of the betas.
I like this. Fairly cries out to me to want to read more. Blade is, quite obviously, someone with supreme confidence in himself if he is dropping in on gunmen in the middle of a fight. Good way to get shot….unless you know something the guys shooting don’t. I suspect he does.
His confidence is an endless source of annoyance and amusement for his love interest. There is a paragraph earlier in the book:
Of course he would say that. He was Blade freakin’ Devon, holofeature hero, Inner Circle Agent and Maker-only-knew-what-else. She’d never met a man more confident in his own abilities… and she’d grown up surrounded by the best pilots in the Commonwealth. Until she met him, she’d never believed any man could be more arrogant and cock-sure than a Barron Clan pilot.
OK, I did not expect that at all. I expected some sort ninja move or Jedi mind trick, not an introduction. I assume Blade knows what he’s doing, but boy, is it scary!
This is a difficult scene to take out of context. By this point, in the book, Blade’s back is against the wall. There have been several attempts on his life, one nearly successful, and he’s been ordered to give up his holofeature career and the woman he loves to take a safe desk job, complete with high security and body guards to protect him ~ a situation akin to life in prison with no chance of parole. He’s only just barely shaken the men assigned to protect him. His window for disappearing is rapidly dwindling. This scene is one last big gamble where he’s throwing all his chips into the pot and hoping he can pull out a winning hand.
And so he announces himself?
Believe it or not, these are the questions I want the reader asking. What’s really going on here? Is Blade really that clueless? Or is he that good? Was that a supremely boneheaded maneuver or is he crazy like a fox?
Think wolf in sheep’s clothing. Blade often trades on his holofeature-hero persona to lull people into a false sense of security. Who is going to take him seriously as a threat? Unless you’ve seen him in action without the holocams, most people would be inclined to dismiss him out of hand because he’s only an actor. “I’m not a hero, I just play one in holofeatures.”
He’s looked over the two factions at odds. He’s chosen the side he believes he can most easily manipulate.
Oh, and btw, it’s a LOOONG drop down… 😀
Sounds like he expects them to recognize the name–but if he’s living a double life, which life?
The holofeature actor.
Nice intro. And what a great name for a protagonist. Careful, or you’ll cause a whole generation of children to be named “Blade”
I tried that with my son, but my husband wouldn’t have it.
“I didn’t mean to startle you.” LOL. Sure, Blade. Great Snippet!
Thanks!
My first thought on reading the snippet was that Blade had played Bond at some stage in his career – but Patrick and tk beat me to it. Good snippet – the epitomy of cool under fire.
He is that ~ too cool according to some. But gunfire isn’t what rattles him. It’s the personal stuff.
You had me at, “I’m Blade Devon.” 😉
Love the action here, JC!
🙂 Heidi
Thanks, Heidi.
Love that he thinks announcing his name can stop anything. 🙂
Love this 😀