Let the Music Play, Chapter 42

[Tiger]

Maybe only Scar survives?

I would certainly hope not. The Scar is evil. Then again, goats just love irony.

[Benji]

Maybe only Scar survives?

 

 

.......Bite your tongue, that would be truly an evil diabolical cliffhanging tale of all time. Think the goats up to it?

[GaryK]

.......Bite your tongue, that would be truly an evil diabolical cliffhanging tale of all time. Think the goats up to it?

Of course he's up to it. The real question is are we up to it?

 

On the other hand, don't mind me. I love to stir the pot and cause trouble.

[Phantom]

This story keeps getting better and better...

 

I do have to wonder... what is Dimitri going to do when the other deputies see him in the uniform? I would hope they would know each other enough to see who is one and who isn't otherwise I'm going to be dissapointed...

 

 

 

Other then that AMAZING job as always and I can't wait for the next chapter!

[AFriendlyFace]

..........All I know for sure is somebody has to survive, or his sequel goes all to hell!!

Maybe the sequel takes place IN hell!

 

Perhaps Jerry is plotting to steal the devil's pitchfork and control the underworld by freezing out anyone who opposes him!

[C James]

Well, a few more names to add to the indictment. I guess CJ wasn't happy with the lack of bodies from the last chapter

 

I have to agree that Dimitri has had a memory lapse to the fact that the guys and Helen have seen him before. This was the text from back in chapter 23:

 

Jon seems to have been the closest to Dimitri.

 

Also, won't the deputy's that are to be relieved not recognize Dimitri, and will be expecting Bowen? I wonder too why the hell the sheriff under threat of the US Airforce, the Governor of Colorado, and the head of the national guard would be stupid enough to send McClatchity out to the ranch once again .

 

There appears to be a lot of stupidity in Dimitri's plan.

 

McClachity was banned, by Helen, from the house. She didn't ban him from the property. Also, it's not a populous county, so they'd have to scrape up manpower to deep a detail there.

 

We haven't seen Dimitri's plan yet, but one thing to keep in mind; Dimitri might be a little.. Hrmmm, how can I say this? Eccentric?

Not quite normal in his thinking? He truly relishes the hunt and the kill.

 

I used to live in Colorado. Grant to be exact. Had a ranch there. My recollection is there weren't a lot of bright politicians or police anywhere in the state. Of course that was real and this is fantasy.

 

Lol.. Well, I try and be realistic. Actually, you hit the nail on the head for what I was trying to portray. Not all, but some officers, well, they are their own worst enemies at times.

 

I just got a plot idea, why don't Dimitri try a terrorist tactic, drive the car with high explosive directly towards the house, then he could detonate and kill everyone?

 

It works for Palestinians, Iraqis, and Afghans, so why not poor little Dimitri. It would be a lot easier and smarter to do that than to go in with everyone knowing who you are with guns blazing; even if you have an AK-47 and grenades. At the end, you will die either way, so why die in the most efficient military manner and take out as many as you can. The kGB was supposed to train their agents to think like that.

 

The KGB never pressed for suicidal tactics from its own people. In fact, that sort of fanatic would have been rejected. The KGB actually relied more on the Soviet Special Forces (Spetznaz) for paramilitary type actions, though some of their first directorate (forign ops) people had training in methods and tactics. This was the exception rather then the rule; like most intelligence operatives in any nation's intel services, (in reality rather than the movies) they would operate by stealth. For one thing, they would almost never carry a gun. However, many KGB officers did have military training. They had to; many ended up in the third directorate, posted to military units (most had a KGB officer as well as a political officer). The vast majority of the KGB was dedicated to internal control. They often farmed out their "wet work" such as assassination attempts to eastern-block agencies, such as Bulgaria or East Germany's, both for deniability and practicality; most KGB officers lacked the training.

 

Dimitri's background is both first and second directorates. He'd have likly attended the KGB academy in Leningrad (now St Petersburg), the Dzerzhinzky Academy, which had more in the way of paramilitary training than the Moscow academy in that era.

 

The KGB did oversee the training of forign terrorists in some cases, though most often they farmed that out, too. Suicide missions were, to the best of my knowledge, never tought, though there are many examples in Soviet military history of suicide training as a last-ditch option (such as for their air-defence fighter pilots during WWII and for decades after). Volskoya PVO (Their air defence force, a seperate service branch) trained interceptor pilots in ramming as a means to take out enemy bombers.

 

I don;t think Dimitri would have been trained to be a suicide bomber, though that would not take much training; he'd know how, it's not hard (they don't call 'em not-so-smart bombs for nothing). I can see him making a suicide play if cornered, though.

 

Also, a car bomb wouldn't accomplish one aspect of his mission; he needs to take out all five (Instinct and Helen), so he needs to make sure they are all dead. With a car bomb, what if one wasn't in the building?

 

However, you raise a good point; going in with guns blazing would not be his optimum solution, eihher.

 

I would like to point out though that we don't actually know what Dimitri's plan is. As Gary indicated perhaps he only means for it to get him close to the house without arousing suspicion. He might not be intending to walk right up to Helen and the guys and introduce himself as their security officer.

 

Maybe Dimitri is just going to stop by, apologize for past unpleasantness, , and then be on his way?

 

I would certainly hope not. The Scar is evil. Then again, goats just love irony.

 

Well, yes, i do love irony.

 

.......Bite your tongue, that would be truly an evil diabolical cliffhanging tale of all time. Think the goats up to it?

 

Who? Me? You know me better than that... I'd never do anything evil! I'm not Shadowgod, after all!

 

This story keeps getting better and better...

 

I do have to wonder... what is Dimitri going to do when the other deputies see him in the uniform? I would hope they would know each other enough to see who is one and who isn't otherwise I'm going to be disappointed...

 

 

Other then that AMAZING job as always and I can't wait for the next chapter!

 

Good point! That indeed might be problematic. In a smaller (in population) though geographically large county like San Miguel (where Telluride is) the deputies would often work at substations, so often would not know deputies from other parts of the county well, but likely most would have met.

 

 

BTW, time for me to announce the name of the coming chapter: Dead Man's Hand

[MikeL]

BTW, time for me to announce the name of the coming chapter: Dead Man's Hand

Hmmm....a poker game? Who's playing? Who draws the unwanted two pair?

 

 

Would some of the boys in the band unwittingly invite the newly arrived deputy to join them in a friendly game?

Edited June 7, 2008 by MikeL

[GaryK]

Hmmm....a poker game? Who's playing? Who draws the unwanted two pair?

Would some of the boys in the band unwittingly invite the newly arrived deputy to join them in a friendly game?

Or perhaps it refers to the literal hand of a dead man.

[Tiger]

To me it sounds more like ominous foreshadowing. Someone is going to die! Drew, put the fire under the spit. It looks like it might be time for a goat roast.

[C James]

Hmmm....a poker game? Who's playing? Who draws the unwanted two pair?

 

Would some of the boys in the band unwittingly invite the newly arrived deputy to join them in a friendly game?

 

Maybe Dimitri just wants to stop in and say "hi" and have a friendly game?

 

Or perhaps it refers to the literal hand of a dead man.

 

<looks around nervously for the echidna...> OK, the coast is clear... So I can say OUCH! Ow, ok, the Echidna was lurking around and got me... so I can't say anything.

 

To me it sounds more like ominous foreshadowing. Someone is going to die! Drew, put the fire under the spit. It looks like it might be time for a goat roast.

 

ACK! Now, now, why must y'all always assume the worst from sweet little old me? I don't think Shadowgod snuck in one of his eeevil scenes this time, so it should be all sweetness and light.

 

BTW, Ch 43, "Dead Man's Hand", will post on time. However, we're getting close to the anthology release later that weekend.

I do have a story in the anthology; it's called "Ice Blink". I don't want to release a chapter right alongside the anthology, because I and several other hosted authors are trying to give the anthology some room and not eat into its readership.

 

So, I was considering counting "Ice Blink" as my weekly pst that week, then the following week picking back up with LTMP at Ch 44. Does this sound ok?

 

BTW, LTMP has a total of 47 chapters and an epilogue.

CJ

[GaryK]

IMO the anthologies should always get priority. So many people work so hard on them, they're all so good, and they deserve a chance to stand-out without being overshadowed by releases from our Hosted Authors. I can only speak for myself, but I think volunteering to wait a week for another chapter of LTMP is a wonderfully selfless act on your behalf and I'm all for it.

[Tiger]

I agree, Gary. The fact is that we need plenty of feedback for the anthologies. Mine is a poem, but most are short stories I look forward to reading. I think there are going to be some good ones. I'm probably looking forward to CJ's most of all.

[C James]

Thanks!!!

 

My anthology entry this time is a little.. different. Except for one clearly indicated section at the end, it is non-fiction. I hope Graeme does not consider this a spoiler, but here's the blurb for it that will be on my website;

 

Five hundred years before Columbus, Europeans discovered the New World. Their nearby colony thrived for hundreds of years, only to vanish. What happened?

 

I have a love of history, so this is something I've wanted to do for a long time.

 

BTW, I'm delighted to see that y'all have accepted that I almost never (OK, I admitted Ch 37 was a bit of one) use cliffhangers. I'm just glad that no one thought Dimitri heading for Instinct's ranch after slaughtering the deputies was a cliffie!

[GaryK]

Who said anything about you not writing cliffhangers?

 

Don't confuse letting you get away with not posting a chapter of LTMP with a lack of cliffhangers.

[Tiger]

BTW, I'm delighted to see that y'all have accepted that I almost never (OK, I admitted Ch 37 was a bit of one) use cliffhangers. I'm just glad that no one thought Dimitri heading for Instinct's ranch after slaughtering the deputies was a cliffie!

Sorry, but that was not the only one. I still say Chapter 19 qualifies, and most members agree. That chapter is what earned you the title King of Evil Cliffhangers.

[wildone]

With the talk of what is going through Dimitri's mind, suicide bomber missions, and basically walking into a war zone alone, it makes me wonder if Dimitri is of sane mind right now.

 

He now knows about the bikers, the police officers, and he is down Mario, so what is driving him to continue on with his objective? He is walking in blindly to the above threats, but he doesn't know about the band being armed, the occupants of the ranch house doubling, and that the air force are moinitoring the situation.

Has Dimitri gone over the deep end?

 

In this passage:

 

Surprised and relieved, McClatchity slowly turned, to find Dimitri at less than arm's length. McClatchity's eyes locked on the gun, and he barely saw the flicker of the bloody blade as Dimitri drove it into his gut.

 

McClatchity gasped in shock, stumbling back against the SUV as Dimitri twisted the blade, feeling the knife scrape on bone. Out of reflex, McClatchity's hands reached for the blade as the cold sensation turned to pain. Dimitri gave the knife one last twist and a push before pulling it free.

 

Stepping back half a pace, Dimitri smiled as he watched the deputy's eyes, seeing first the shock, then the pain, and finally the fear. McClatchity, gripping at his stomach, groaned in agony as he slid down to sit; his blood coursing out to soak into the dry dust of the road.

 

Dimitri, as was his practice, stared into the dying man's eyes, taking pleasure as he saw the terror they contained. Seeing that the deputy wasn't dying as quickly as most, Dimitri crouched, holding the blade in front of the man's horrified eyes. Smiling, Dimitri lowered the knife and pressed the tip of the blade against the McClatchity's abdomen, just a few inches above the wound he'd just made. His cold smile changing to a haunting grin, Dimitri began to push the knife slowly in.

 

Gasping from the new pain, McClatchity grabbed the blade with both hands, just as Dimitri had hoped. Sobbing in terror, McClatchity felt the razor-sharp blood-slickened blade cut his fingers to the bone as Dimitri unhurriedly drove it in, taking his time.

 

A shocked gasp was the final sound as Dimitri buried the knife to the hilt. Dropping his gun, Dimitri seized a handful of McClatchity's hair and shoved his head back against the SUV, to give himself a better view of the dying man's eyes before twisting the knife in a half-turn.

 

Gasping for air, the blood spurting past his clutching hands to soak into the arid red soil, the deputy began to choke, his eyes wide with terror, both at his fate, and the feral pleasure he could see in the cold, grey eyes in front of him. Staring into the deputy's eyes, Dimitri remained transfixed as they faded to a dull and lifeless stare.

 

Withdrawing his knife, Dimitri wiped it twice on the dead man's undershirt, before returning it to the sheath he wore in the small of his back. He had no doubt that his knife would find other work that day.

 

With a sated smile on his lips, Dimitri dragged the two dead deputies a few yards into the brush, just enough to be out of sight from the road.

 

Do these seem to be the actions of a sane person? The highlighted words caught my attention expecially the feral. Has Dimitri gone to basic animalistic instincts? His actions appear to be more like how a wild animal kills with no regard for life than a human.

 

Yikes, and you know that a rabid animal will stop at nothing until their dead. I don't think taking out Dimitri will be as easy as we think :wacko: .

 

Steve

Edited June 8, 2008 by wildone

[TalonRider]

With the talk of what is going through Dimitri's mind, suicide bomber missions, and basically walking into a war zone alone, it makes me wonder if Dimitri is of sane mind right now.

 

He now knows about the bikers, the police officers, and he is down Mario, so what is driving him to continue on with his objective? He is walking in blindly to the above threats, but he doesn't know about the band being armed, the occupants of the ranch house doubling, and that the air force are moinitoring the situation.

Has Dimitri gone over the deep end?

 

Steve

I think he would rather take his chances with this group than to tell Scar that he failed. As it would probably mean his death anyway.

[rknapp]

I think he would rather take his chances with this group than to tell Scar that he failed. As it would probably mean his death anyway.

A quick death by dozens of handguns and shotguns, or a slow death by garroting wire?

[Drewbie]

Maybe Dimitri just wants to stop in and say "hi" and have a friendly game?

 

 

 

<looks around nervously for the echidna...> OK, the coast is clear... So I can say OUCH! Ow, ok, the Echidna was lurking around and got me... so I can't say anything.

 

 

 

ACK! Now, now, why must y'all always assume the worst from sweet little old me? I don't think Shadowgod snuck in one of his eeevil scenes this time, so it should be all sweetness and light.

 

BTW, Ch 43, "Dead Man's Hand", will post on time. However, we're getting close to the anthology release later that weekend.

I do have a story in the anthology; it's called "Ice Blink". I don't want to release a chapter right alongside the anthology, because I and several other hosted authors are trying to give the anthology some room and not eat into its readership.

 

So, I was considering counting "Ice Blink" as my weekly pst that week, then the following week picking back up with LTMP at Ch 44. Does this sound ok?

 

BTW, LTMP has a total of 47 chapters and an epilogue.

CJ

 

Okay, we could wait a week unless chapter 44 is a big cliffhanger, which wouldn't surprise me.

[Benji]

Okay, we could wait a week unless chapter 44 is a big cliffhanger, which wouldn't surprise me.

 

 

..........I cna wait, will give me time to read other things.

[wildone]

..........I cna wait, will give me time to read other things.

 

Do you think CJ would be cruel enough to post a chapter with a huge evil cliffhanger, and then turn around and make us with two weeks ?

[Benji]

Do you think CJ would be cruel enough to post a chapter with a huge evil cliffhanger, and then turn around and make us with two weeks ?

 

......Frankly YES!!

[C James]

With the talk of what is going through Dimitri's mind, suicide bomber missions, and basically walking into a war zone alone, it makes me wonder if Dimitri is of sane mind right now.

 

He now knows about the bikers, the police officers, and he is down Mario, so what is driving him to continue on with his objective? He is walking in blindly to the above threats, but he doesn't know about the band being armed, the occupants of the ranch house doubling, and that the air force are moinitoring the situation.

Has Dimitri gone over the deep end?

 

In this passage:

 

 

Do these seem to be the actions of a sane person? The highlighted words caught my attention expecially the feral. Has Dimitri gone to basic animalistic instincts? His actions appear to be more like how a wild animal kills with no regard for life than a human.

 

Yikes, and you know that a rabid animal will stop at nothing until their dead. I don't think taking out Dimitri will be as easy as we think :wacko: .

 

Steve

 

I'm hoping that the Echidna does not see what I'm about to say and consider it a spoiler... But here goes.. (note to Echidna: HAve mercy; this is covered in the text, I think!!)

 

Dimitri enjoys killing, and enjoys inflicting pain. Entirely sane? IMHO, nope... Let me ask a question; why do most serial killers (many of whom torture before killing) do what they do?

 

A quick death by dozens of handguns and shotguns, or a slow death by garroting wire?

 

Not the best of retirement options.

 

Okay, we could wait a week unless chapter 44 is a big cliffhanger, which wouldn't surprise me.

 

Fear not! The coming chapter is 43, not 44.

 

Do you think CJ would be cruel enough to post a chapter with a huge evil cliffhanger, and then turn around and make us with two weeks ?

 

Oh come on, I'm not Shadowgod! Only he would be so cruel... Besides, I won't make it two weeks; given the anthology tentative schedule, its more likely a week and a half. So, only a three or four day delay.

 

CJ

[GaryK]

Oh come on, I'm not Shadowgod! Only he would be so cruel... Besides, I won't make it two weeks; given the anthology tentative schedule, its more likely a week and a half. So, only a three or four day delay.

Stop trying to deflect attention from yourself onto Steve. Steve is a sweetheart; plus he's drop-dead handsome. Steve would never do any of the mean things you've done to us Mr. Goat. Just keep that cake in mind! Sometimes there's more truth in jokes than a more serious approach.

[Benji]

Dimitri enjoys killing, and enjoys inflicting pain. Entirely sane? IMHO, nope... Let me ask a question; why do most serial killers (many of whom torture before killing) do what they do?

 

 

CJ

 

 

..........With that description of "Barney's killing" how could anyone not conclude Dimitri is a serial killer!! He must have a clear plan of attack in mind and not be insane. there are two types of serial killers, organized and disorganized. The deputies killing was organized, the 1st raid was disorganized and it is rare for serial killers to work with others in their "quest". Although Dimitri may have some respect for the Scar, I think he is more likely compelled to finish his mission for his own ego.

Edited June 9, 2008 by Benji