Sunday Snippet: Order of Aggression

Whew. What a week. We have some actual fall weather, and I love it. Who knows how long it will last. Pretty sure we'll have at least one more heat-up before December and the official start of winter.

Had another busy work week because I'm still playing catch up from being under the weather in late September. I finished a very challenging copy edit of a 95k-word manuscript. Great story with a lot going on.

Update on our doggo. She's doing so much better. She's still a little congested, but she finished her round of antibiotics and the steroid seems to be helping also. Of course, she's drinking a ton of water, which means we're going out for potty breaks about two times her normal rate.

Had a very slow viewing week. The challenging copy edit required a lot of focus. But I did make it most of the way through my regular shows.

Started again with Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries. Enjoyed the episode because it's one I remembered and loved on my original run through.

Caught another episode of Foyle's War and enjoyed watching again. I'd forgotten some of the key moments in this one. Sam sure struggled a bit to find another place to stay after her rooming house got bombed.

Enjoyed another episode of Death in Paradise. Really glad to see Mervin figure out his mom's murder and also so happy to see Mr. Sterling Fox get his walking papers. Smarmy jerk.

Watched another episode of Poirot. I always enjoy when Miss Lemon gets involved in a case. Watching Hasting completely destroy her filing system—after she told him not to touch anything—made me laugh out loud. In his defense, he'd already halfway trashed it before he spoke to her.

Elementary had another solid episode. It's very interesting to watch Sherlock interact with Moreland. So much trauma to unpack between them.

I didn't get to check in with Batman Beyond or Lower Decks this week. I'm hoping to get a full run this upcoming week.

That's it for the life update. Tonight's post is from Order of Aggression, a novella that puts a couple in jeopardy when they have to take an enemy outpost.

Here's the miniblurb:

When Ames Braddock is ordered to take out an enemy outpost with possible civilian casualties, he calls on Parker Hart to be his second, but Parker balks at the idea. Ames isn't thrilled with the mission, but he needs Parker and he's not above using aggression to bring her in line, which gets the job done, but also backfires when she demands satisfaction.

And a preview snippet…

Ames blinked. "Gonna suck more than huge hairy balls. You're insane if you think we can get in through there." His brain hurt thinking about it.

Parker tilted her head toward one shoulder. "This whole idea is madness personified. Don't bitch at me about what it's gonna take to pull it off…" She didn't add more.

Because she didn't need to. They'd be very lucky if they walked away. Her way in? Super complicated and would require intense focus. But … the element of surprise appealed to him on a deep level. This wouldn't be a force strike. It would be surgically precise.

Parker's voice cut through his thoughts. "What about the normies? You know I don't like letting them get caught in the crossfire."

Ames didn't relish civilian losses either. "We'll do what we can to avoid loss of life … but you're right. They won't leave unscathed." He paused a moment. "Honestly, Parks. Most of them know the risks. Hell, that's why a lot of them go to Fifth Street." He got up and paced back and forth. "We'll do the recon, figure out the best time to hit the place to minimize collateral damage, and strike then." Grabbing his jacket, he glanced over his shoulder. "You coming?" He didn't wait for her reply because she'd want to verify everything with her own eyes.

She followed him out the door. "I'm gonna suggest we plan for a Sunday evening. Most of the normals have to work during the week. Traffic will be much lighter in the bar then." Crossing the street with him, her gait slowed when they came to the corner deli. "Hey, I'm gonna grab some essentials. We could be there for a while." This time she didn't wait for a reply, pulling the door open and entering the shop.

Ames went back over the blueprints in his mind. The labyrinth of tunnels and duct work they'd have to use for access to the Fifth Street Saloon would take hours to get through, especially because they'd have to make sure the black mages hadn't set traps up there either.

The idea of spending close to a full day then needing the energy to take the outpost down hurt his brain. He had a solution to that, but Parker would absolutely hate it. Better keep the plan under wraps for now. Maybe a different alternative would reveal itself while they did recon.

Parker exited the deli with two bags of food and drinks. Ames fell into step beside her and enjoyed the relative peace on the walk to the saloon.

Because that quiet calm wouldn't last once he broke the news about the method they'd be using to achieve their goal.

This story is kind of taking on a life of its own, which I'm actually okay with.

 

That's it for this week.

Cheers!

Skye

Sunday Snippet: Order of Aggression

What a week. We've been very lucky to this point and have avoided anyone coming down with Covid. That ended on Tuesday. Luckily, out of the four living at home, only one tested positive and the others are, so far, negative. I'm crossing my fingers that holds.

Had a decent week and a little more balance on my work projects. I'm trying to more even paced and mindful about my work-life time.

Ended up getting a good amount of television watched this week. I started a new show and picked out a new one to begin next week.

I caught the first of a two-part Blue Heelers and ended up enjoying it a lot. Kind of sad to see Chris and Adam part ways, but I'm interested to see how that plays out.

Ended up enjoying two MasterClass lessons with Neil deGrasse Tyson. The second one ended up being fairly lengthy so maybe my note from last week was premature.

Watched two more episodes of the Babysitters Club and I'm completely charmed by this show. I can see why everyone kind of fell in love with it. Good stuff.

Caught two episodes of Classic Rugrats. Both ended up taking me back to when my oldest was still a toddler and watched the show daily. Two of his favorite episodes were in the group I watched.

Got two episodes of Chicago Med in and, wow, season four kind of went in a few crazy directions. I'm on one of the last episodes of the season and I'm kind of wondering where they'll go with five.

Enjoyed another episode of The Snoopy Show. This is such a fun and lighthearted half hour. Highly recommend if you need something low-key to watch.

Watched another episode of Loch Ness. I'm close to the end and I'm pretty sure I've got a good idea of who the killer is. There have been a lot of red herrings and I'm on the fence between two theories. Can't wait to find out if I'm right.

Got another Classic Who episode in. I'm into an arc I haven't seen, which is good because that distracts me from the low-budget everything about this season of the show.

Caught another episode of Most Terrifying Places in America. Honestly, I kind of enjoy hearing about all the weird, haunted, scary places that abound in the US.

Started The Mandalorian and loved the low-key dry humor. Looking forward to watching more for sure.

Watched an episode of The Hardy Boys. Have to admit, I'm getting annoyed by Joe. He was a lot of quirky fun in the first season but not so much in the second. He's still got good snark, but he's lost a lot of his good nature. I hope that gets explained. We'll see.

Caught another episode of Peak Practice. This one ended up being really good with great plot lines. Nice to Alice back in her home and trying to deal with the scary flashbacks of the robbery. I actually hope they pick up with that and find the guy.

Last but not least, I caught another episode of the Ready Room. Doug Jones was the guest and it fun to get insight into his character and the Kelpian race.

That's pretty much it for the life update this week. Tonight's post is from Order of Aggression, a novella that puts the characters in a tricky situation and a bit at odds with each other.

Here's the mini-blurb:

When Ames Braddock is ordered to take out an enemy outpost with possible civilian casualties, he calls on Parker Hart to be his second, but Parker balks at the idea. Ames isn't thrilled with the mission, but he needs Parker and he's not above using aggression to bring her in line, which gets the job done, but also backfires when she demands satisfaction.

And a preview snippet…

Parker shoved the prints aside and cursed her parents for the millionth time. Her blood debt still outweighed the credits in her book. And this job will no doubt cancel out any good karma I have spinning around out there.

She met Ames's gaze. "We're gonna have civilian casualties. There's no way around it." She pointed to the alley behind the saloon. "This area will be hex-wired to harm humans and avoid anyone with charmed blood." She moved to the building on the left. "This building will be clear until we get close to the perimeter, then it's all bets off and my guess is they'll use layers of curse-laden traps designed to slow anyone down coming in and to keep anyone trying to get out stuck behind the veil." Sitting back, she heaved a sigh.

Ames leaned forward. "What about the old store on the right?" He pointed to the abandoned toy palace.

She shrugged. "Similar setup. This one is closer to the main drag so it'll be reinforced from the main and rear entrances. We do not want to mess with attempting to get in through the toy store." Her fingers traced the huge box factory across the street. "The factory will have fire and flame traps. Quick to go up in smoke and easy to use as a distraction." She got up and paced back and forth. "The roof will be full of triggered hex traps that will give advance warning to the black mages and they'll do everything in their power to use their normals as shields." Dropping back down onto the chair, she suppressed a shudder at the images running through her mind.

Ames made a low growling sound. "How the hell do we get in then?"

She huffed out a breath and pointed to the one and only location they could enter from. "We'll go in through here." Her gaze met his. "And it's gonna suck huge hairy balls to do it."

But … if they kept the element of surprise, they might have minimal civilian casualties and, well, not die in the process.

I like having internal conflict as a driving force in a story. Parker has a past that keeps on giving and she'd really like to see a future where she's free and clear.

 

That's it for this week.

Cheers!

Skye

Sunday Snippet: Order of Aggression

July 21, 2019

Man… the heat has been horrible this week. I hope everyone has a cool spot and is dealing with the high temperatures safely. Ugh… it's miserable. Watching the Irish Open, I truly wanted to be there. I mean they were wearing sweaters and jackets. I could go for that right now. And, yeah, everyone needs to remind me when I'm griping about how cold it is in May next year to shut up and deal. LOL

Slow week for television viewing. I had a full slate of work and needed to focus so I didn't get as many shows watched.

I did catch another episode of Daredevil. I missed watching one last week. Not a bad episode but too much Fisk for my liking.

Krypton had a great episode. I'm in deep and want to know what happens next. I'm honestly not sure if I care whether Lyta is redeemed or not but I do want to see her reaction to the reprogramming.

Watched another episode of Painkiller Jane and the pieces started to fall into place. Only about three or four more episodes left of this show.

Last but not least, I caught another episode of Durham County. Man, Michelle Forbes can really play the barely hanging on by a thread character better than a lot of actors. She's scary good at those roles.

That's pretty much it for this week. Tonight's post is from Order of Aggression, a novella that started with a writing community prompt.

Here's the mini-blurb:

When Ames Braddock is ordered to take out an enemy outpost with possible civilian casualties, he calls on Parker Hart to be his second, but Parker balks at the idea. Ames isn't thrilled with the mission, but he needs Parker and he's not above using aggression to bring her in line, which gets the job done, but also backfires when she demands satisfaction.

And a preview snippet…

Ames pored over the blueprints for the neighboring buildings on either side of Fifth Street Saloon. "I need Parker's input. She's got the insider knowledge." And hated to use it.

Too damned bad.

Delving deep into her childhood never sat well with Parker, but her experience planning interference for her parents when they ran the black mage meant she could pinpoint the potential places for the traps they'd face. Even with the decade plus she'd switched sides, Parker almost always called the opposition's movements. The fact her parents no longer held a role in the guild's makeup didn't mean the new leadership changed the playbook overmuch.

Parker breezed into the rec room. "You wanted to see me?" She glanced at the blueprints and shook her head. "No. Dammit, Ames. I don't want to go back to that dark place again. You know how much I hate frolicking in my old life." Her eyes closed and her face twisted in a grimace.

He got up and scooted around the table, grasping her shoulders. "You're right. I do." He guided her to a chair and gently nudged her down. "But you're worried about collateral damage—" A sharp look from her had him amending his statement. "We're worried about civilian losses. One way to minimize them is to make sure we don't trip any explosive traps or knock anything loose that's dangerous to humans." He settled back down in his seat. "If you can help me figure out a way through each building, we can keep the element of surprise and hopefully get any edgy normals out of the way before we take out this saloon." He waited until she met his gaze. "Please, Parker. I'm trying to make everyone happy here."

She heaved a sigh. "You know something? If I'd known the levels I'd have to sink to pay you back for saving me, I might have stuck with the guild." Her lips thinned and she held his gaze. "I wouldn't be alive right now, but sometimes I wonder if that would be a better fate than this." She pointed to the blueprints.

A metaphorical kick to the balls had the same impact as the real thing. Ames hated it when Parker fell back on gratitude for a decades-old deed then twisted the knife by claiming she'd have been better off if he'd left her to the guild after they killed her parents. His fifteen-year-old self had taken one look at the shivering, cowering girl and his purpose in life became clear—saving her by offering her life on the other side.

They'd pretty much been in each other's pockets since then.

Which meant each could push the other's buttons without blinking. And Parker punched the saltiest one she could when she invoked the whole "you saved me and now I have to do your bidding even though I hate it" thing. Just once, she could maybe do the right thing because it mattered, civilian losses or not.

Ames bit back a heated retort and focused on the positive. "Not having you around would make my life boring so I, for one, am glad I found you." Admitting how much he depended on her came easily, owning what not having her close meant not so much.

Parker snorted. "Yeah, yeah. Ply me with pretty words so I buckle under and get to work. I know how you operate." Her lips twitched into a grin. "And I fall for it every damn time." She shuffled the pages on the table. "Give me thirty minutes to review these then we'll go do some recon." She pulled the prints closer and bent her head to study them.

Ames propped his feet on a free chair and settled in to wait. He had a solid idea of how he wanted to run the operation… unless Parker found something that could literally blow up in their faces.

Good thing she's on our side now.

This story is coming along nicely. I love the dynamic between Ames and Parker and dredging up ancient history is one of my favorite things to do.

That's it for this week.

Cheers!

Skye

Sunday Snippet: Order of Aggression

Gotham continues to intrigue me. I'm a little lost when it comes to Leigh and what's going on with her, but I'm in for the ride. The double Bruce's are definitely interesting so here's hoping that story pays off in a good way.

Still behind on Agents of SHIELD. Gotta try and catch up before the new episode.

The Flash kicked butt. I'll be disappointed if the whole resetting of the timeline keeps happening though. That said, it seems like there are some solid repercussions, which I'm totally down with.

Arrow also rocked. I'm thrilled to have the Russian storyline for the flashbacks. According to the scuttlebutt, this is the last year for flashbacks so I plan to enjoy. Moving forward, I'll be interested to see how things play out. Maybe they'll do futurescapes or something.

In all honesty, Van Helsing isn't quite doing it for me. I'll give it the rest of the season to see if the storyline improves. I'd really like to fall for this show.

MacGyver is seriously not bad. I do love the callbacks to the original but also the updated vibe of the new. I'm interested in the whole father thing, because the impression is Mac's is still living. That should be a fun twist.

Not sure I'm looking forward to The Walking Dead's premiere. I may skip the opener and watch The Talking Dead instead. I've got the same feeling I had during season two, which I ended up skipping.

Supergirl and Legends of Tomorrow are up next. We've had football airing on our local CW channel so I might be playing catch up again.

And that's it for television this week. Tonight's post is from Order of Aggression, a novella based on the idea one character has to get another to do something (in this case follow an order) they don't want to do and they have to get physical to make it happen.

Here's the mini-blurb:

When Ames Braddock is ordered to take out an enemy outpost with possible civilian casualties, he calls on Parker Hart to be his second, but Parker balks at the idea. Ames isn't thrilled with the mission, but he needs Parker and he's not above using aggression to bring her in line, which gets the job done, but also backfires when she demands satisfaction.

And preview snippet…

Ames Braddock met the gaze of his superior. "You know what you're asking me to do, right?" Jamen Lane also happened to be an old friend. "The repercussions could bite you seriously hard on the ass." Not to mention haunt Ames for the rest of his days.

Jamen gave a terse nod. "I'm more than aware, Ames. It took a lot to get to this decision." He got up and paced back and forth behind the desk. "We can't afford to lose anyone else."

Except Ames and whoever he chose to be his number two for the mission. Sometimes it sucked to be good at his job. Pulling this off, even at his skill level, would be a nightmare.

Ames heaved a sigh. "Just to be straight. You're ordering me to take out the outpost, also known as the Fifth Street Saloon. It's heavily fortified, fiercely guarded, and a haven for normals that live on the edge." In other words, a massive cluster fuck from beginning to end.

Jamen lifted a shoulder. "Yeah, that's the order." He stopped pacing. "The good news? The surrounding buildings are empty." He managed to keep a straight face when delivering the supposed bonus.

Ames rolled his eyes. "Well, whoop-di-fucking-do. You know there's a greater than eighty percent chance they're full of traps, pitfalls, and seriously dangerous shit, right?" Of course, Jamen had the probability figured already.

His boss shot Ames a hard stare. "Why do you think I'm sending you?" His mouth thinned to a slash across his face.

Ames shook his head. "Because everyone else would say no goddamn way, tell you to fuck off, and walk away." He gave Jamen a level look. "You know I won't refuse and I'm the only one with the balls to maybe pull this off." But he couldn't do it alone.

A lot of relief and hint of humor crept into Jamen's gaze. "Speaking of your balls, how are you gonna keep them intact when you ask her?" The fact he left the 'her' nameless spoke volumes.

And Ames had no idea how he'd approach the prickly situation. Probably make the request an order and play hardball. Wouldn't that go over like a brick shithouse?

He shrugged. "I have no goddamned clue." He turned and started for the exit.

Jamen called out a parting shot. "Wanna borrow my cup?" A snicker followed the pithy comment.

Ames didn't respond vocally. Instead, he let his middle finger do the talking.

He left the room to the sound of Jamen's laughter.

This one is going to be a lot of fun. Here's hoping the sage keep feeding me good material.

That's it for this week.

Cheers!

Skye

Sunday Snippet: Order of Aggression

What a rainy, miserable week. But hey, at least we didn't have any snow.

Not a lot of new television to watch, but the Bitten finale did not disappoint. Especially the ending. Whoa! If there's not a season three, there better at least be a movie to explain that whole dealio.

Finished up a rewatch of the X-Files. I'd forgotten how much I enjoyed the last two seasons, even without Mulder. Getting ready to begin Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries and get back into Teen Wolf. Plus keep up with the last episodes of The Flash and Arrow.

Orphan Black is back next Saturday and I can't wait to get a double dose of clones. Looking forward to how the Castor guys fit into the story.

A final random note, I read Eliza Dushku is joining the cast of Banshee for season four and I have very mixed feelings. I thoroughly enjoyed her as Faith on Buffy, but her last few roles have underwhelmed me. Here's hoping she does a great job and fits in well with the cast.

Tonight's post is from Order of Aggression, a novella where my main characters are tasked with an impossible quandary, but are trapped by honor to carry out their orders.

Here's the tagline:

When Ames Braddock is ordered to take out an enemy outpost with possible civilian casualties, he calls on Parker Hart to be his second, but Parker balks at the idea. Ames isn't thrilled with the mission, but he needs Parker and he's not above using aggression to bring her in line, which gets the job done, but also backfires when she demands satisfaction.

And a preview snippet…

Parker Hart blinked. "Um, no. Uh uh. Absolutely not." Her head jerked back and forth. "Find someone else."

Ames Braddock squared his shoulders before crossing his arms over his chest. "Excuse me? Did you just refuse to follow an order?"

Parker held her ground, planting her hands on her hips. Ames could go into battle mode all he wanted. She wouldn't be his second for this particular mission.

She nodded. "Didn't know you considered asking me to help you take out an enemy outpost an order, but yeah, I guess I did." She didn't move or flinch when he narrowed his eyes.

He studied her for several extra-long moments. "You can't refuse, Parker. I need you on this." Something close to pleading crept into his gaze. "I don't trust anyone else. Just tell me why you won't help."

Her mouth dropped open. "Do you want the list numerically or alphabetically?" She finally broke her stance and started pacing back and forth.

He started to speak, but a quick flick of her wrist stopped him. He frowned but stayed silent.

"Geez, Ames." Her feet traveled the length of the room twice before she continued. "First, and seriously the deal breaker, is the civilians. I can live with collateral damage when it's not the human kind." She slid him a sideways glance. "You know this." She resumed pacing. "Second, we can't pull off taking out an outpost without using enhanced magic, right?" She stopped and met his gaze.

He didn't contradict her.

She grimaced. "You also know I hate being all jacked up, jumpy, and unable to control and direct the power as well as I normally can… which brings me back to potential civilian losses." She paused again. "I can't believe you're okay with innocents getting hurt." Whipping around, she didn't give him a chance to reply before she added. "And last, no wait, third, why the hell do you always come to me when you also know I can rarely say no?" She spun around, unwilling to let him see how much she didn't want to let him down.

He moved silently, but she counted his footsteps until he stood behind her. His hands grasped her shoulders, but he didn't make her face him. She sent up a silent thank you to the universe.

Giving her a gentle squeeze, he leaned a little closer. "Parker, I'm not thrilled we might see civilian casualties. You get that, right?" He waited for her nod before he continued. "And we'll exhaust every last option before seeking enhancement because I want to limit any possible chance of harming innocents." He dropped his hands, moving around to stand toe-to-toe with her. "And I already told you why I always choose you. I don't trust anyone else to care as much as you do." Using two fingers, he lifted her chin. "Your inability to say no never factors."

She snorted and rolled her eyes. "Bullshit. But okay. When you're ready, I'll have your back."

He gave her a wide smile. "Thank you. Plan on a forty-eight hour window. We'll leave at first light the day after tomorrow." He stepped aside and strode toward the exit.

Parker turned, but didn't follow. She needed a few minutes to swallow down the reservations fighting their way up from her gut. Ames would try, and fail, to avoid needing enhanced magic, which meant she had less than two days to get her head around being responsible for harming those who didn't deserve it.

And prepare to give up one more piece of her already running on empty soul.

This one started out as something of a speculative romance, but the sages kept saying it needed magic. They won. LOL

That's it for this week.

Cheers!

Skye