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.
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.
***
“You know, you’re in way over your head, don’t you?” Blade countered matter-of-factly. “I’m sorry… What did you say your name was?”
“Kayne,” he replied, “and yeah. It’s occurred to me.”
Blade shook his head. “It’s only a matter of time before you’re flanked and overrun,” he said. “They’ve started going for position. If they get the upper hand, it’s going to be a bloodbath.”
***
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 
I love the way he ‘forgot’ his name – nice, subtle putdown 🙂
Kayne hadn’t told him his name. He’d blown Blade off when he introduced himself. It’s more of a subtle, polite shaming than anything. Manners are important, especially during a shootout.
Blade is very good at expressions of calm confidence, even in extremis. I’m enjoying this sequence. Thanks for sharing it!
Thank you. I draw heavily on the outwardly stoic and unflappable natures of the veterans in my life.
My grandfather and uncles were veterans of WWII, and in my uncle’s case, Vietnam as well. My uncle was the kind of man who could be sitting in the middle of hell and chaos calmly waiting for just the right moment to turn the situation to his advantage.
My husband is a Gulf War Vet. He can be cracking wise one moment while evaluating a situation no one else is aware of, step into the middle of a brawl, defuse the situation and pick up his conversation where he left off once it’s over.
I’m fortunate to have so many good models in real life to draw from.
Ooh, no one likes a bloodbath. And hey, what’s wrong with a desk job? You can surf t’internet during lunch times. 😛
Nothing wrong with a desk job, except Blade likes to work with his hands.
I hope Blade has more ideas than Kayne seems to have.
Blade has already played out the entire scene complete with his exit line in his head and provided for improvisation from the other players. Piece of cake.
Bloodbath does not sound good. 😦 I hope Blade makes it out okay…
No snippet from me this week. I’ll be back next week. 🙂
We’ll all be back on January 4, provided we survive the Zombie Apocalypse.
His arrogance comes across despite his matter-of-fact-ness. Quite endearing! Loved the snippet.
If I didn’t know better, I’d think you were a member of the Blade Devon Fan Club, Terran Chapter. 😉
Thanks!
Blade is such a persuasive man. Excited about this book, JC!
🙂 Heidi
Thanks, Heidi! I’m excited about it myself. It’s a far more complex plot line than Sovran’s Pawn.