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"The NBA has the top basketball players, such as MJ, KOBE, LBJ." - Michael Jordan, Kobe Bryant, and LeBron James? Really would have been easier to just spell it out. Ha ha

Things are getting a little more complicated between Peter and Jon. Even though Peter kicked himself for not staying and having dinner with the neighbors, I think he was right to take some time away from Jon. The Alconas’ was a perfect place for him to unwind and start to examine his feelings. Jon will need space to figure out his own thoughts too, and hopefully move beyond some of his childhood programming.

I certainly wouldn’t go so far as ‘like’ or ‘trust’, I merely meant her reaction to the Scumble trouble might be illuminating. If Peter ever gets a chance to mention it...

Ha ha- "mesmerizing psychobabble substitutes for rational thought." I love the art world descriptions. So, Scumble is here, and acting very shady. Hmm... If only Frances would stick around long enough to help sort out some answers.

Jon has a complicated past, and we are seeing the negative results of his upbringing; however, he recovers quickly and responds well to critical and intelligent reasoning. I think spending more time with Peter will be good for him. The stress is getting to Peter, but now he has a few friends and an obligation to Jon to keep help hold him together. Should be all uphill from here, right?

Excellent action writing. Puts the fear of Nature into me. Chilling. Jon appears to be a hardworking intelligent person. I wonder how he will handle being around Frances, and if she will continue to attempt to toy with his life. Hopefully, Peter will be able to help, since he is already aware of Jon and Frances' history.

Ha ha, ‘Flattery will get you everywhere.’ ‘There’s nowhere I want to go.’ There's a new spin on the line. I like this family more each time we met them. Troubling news about the fire and destruction of art. All signs point to Patrick, but could the answer be that straight forward?

Ah, a very pleasant and open family. I hope Peter will be seeing more of them. I like how your characters always do the dishes after a meal.

I like Mad. Wonder what this Artworks thing is all about...

Ha ha -"At Maximillian’s there will be no minimalist shams brimming with light, space, air and understatement. No confrontations with a pile of bricks, a bunch of desiccated radishes, sheets of rusty corrugated iron smeared in bird shit, or spilt cans of paint." Starts with a bit of comedy, and then quite the splash. Our first dome of death. I wonder though, it didn't seem as if anyone close to Max looked closely at the body after it fell. People have been known to stage their own death... Hmm. Round out the chapter nicely with some crude and potentially villainous brutes, and a tragic backstory. Perfect.

Hahaha! This is some grade A comedy. Clever title. Wonder how this next bit goes. Can Alle get Gordy out unseen? That would take some premium BSing skills.😉

Now I'm the one feeling flattered, I'm honored to make it into your 'wise words' folder. Glad you are enjoying Team Building, it's one of my favorites from this site. The people I worked with were adults with developmental disabilities most of whom had grown up in institutions and had been transitioned into group homes and community based services. The company worked with those considered more 'challenging', either behaviorally, medically, mentally or a combination thereof. Our typical level of violence was medium to low, staff mostly suffered sprains and thrown out backs, and a couple broken noses while I was there; property damage was relatively common, torn shirts, tossed tables, thrown microwave or electronic, bathroom sink ripped off, and broken windows. Self-inflicted violence was the most extreme, hard to watch and hard to mitigate. 'Higher self' is a awkward term, and I don't think I've quite said what I mean. Animal instincts should never be separate from a discussion of human behavior, trying to remove humans from natural instincts is intrinsically flawed. I only meant to say if you wire in caring and compassion into a view of another human you are less likely to retaliate against pain with pain, at the subconscious and instinctual level. The instinct of caregiving is, I say with no scientific background, active at the same brain stem level as the instinct of fight or flight. It won't necessarily help if someone has a knife to your throat, but it is useful in less severe situations when deescalating is the best coarse of action. Fight, flight, fuck, or freeze. I think fuck and freeze instincts are most pronounced in a situation where the aggressor and recipient are in a closed circuit, such as a domestic violence situation. When the possibility of fight or flight are accompanied by an instinctual fear of further violence or harm, or fear of losing resources, livelihood, etc. freeze or fuck are more pronounced. Sex essentially is giving into the aggressor to mollify violence or maintain livelihood/ resources/ etc. and freeze is a similar 'playing dead' reaction, to minimize potential harm. The US is a tinder box of social problems, small fires have already started, we'll see where the future takes us. As always, it's a pleasure to hear from you. Looking forward to the next book

I think I have an idea what happened to Gordy’s prospects. 😉Seems like Shane’s got a few plays up his sleeve.

This chapter is worrisome. Things are coming to a head. Robert’s sanity is hanging on by a thread. I’m afraid the cops are looking into things more closely than I’d hoped.

Canuk, are you talking about I liked that story, too

What a perfectly crafted ending! Have I mentioned, I think your writing is wonderful? As a practitioner of optimism for sanity and health, I choose to believe Robert's trouble with the law will blow over, and Lance will ultimately be convicted. However, I am concerned for the long term effects of violence, both experienced and perpetrated, on Robert and Bart. In my experience with physical violence, from a stint working with adults with violent behaviors, it's not easy to brush off these experiences and return to normal life, baptized anew in innocence. Robert and Bart vs. Lance and Nickleseer presented a case of good vs. evil in an unjust and uncaring society. It is worth noting, however, that most violence takes places (or at the least takes root) in an ambiguous realm in between these extremes. In my work, I found the easiest way to stop violence was well before it began. The people I was working with had histories of violence and trauma from very early on in their lives, and there was no question of rooting out the problem completely. The best way to cope appeared to be to meet basic needs in a stable environment with clear cut expectations of conduct* (*conduct regarding violence). Punishment was not an effective technique for handling violence, as it tended to intensify the problem or move it around. I also learned, that when 'attacked' or experiencing physical pain it was very difficult to use my higher brain functions to rationalize decisions and remain calm. I have from a credible source, that fight and flight response is more accurately fight, flight, fuck, or freeze. When encountering extreme situations the urge toward these options is strong; however, the best way to preserve a 'higher self' in these moments was to develop empathy, compassion, and love (when possible) for the person before the situation presents itself. If these feelings were wired in, I've found they act at the same level as the flight/flight reaction and can overcome an urge to act in an fruitless manner when faced with a violent situation. It is also worth noting, that PTSD (or whatever we want to call it) is a lasting reaction that often replicates itself. When you have been, say grabbed or punched etc., by a person and you reencounter them a day later, your body may have a physiological reaction to become stressed, prepared to fight/ flight, the 'higher' logic portion of the brain shutting down and instinct taking over. The other person's body is likely to have a similar reaction, responding instinctually to a proposed threat from your body. This is another point of violence that makes it hard to move on from. Finally, the hormone and adrenaline rush from violent situations is drug unto itself, a high with an exhausting comedown. Living in the state of heightened arousal and then recuperating comedown not only prevents the daily machinations necessary to create a stable loving environment, but also becomes an addictive process which takes time and effort to remove from oneself. Meanwhile, in the USA, young people (20-35) are increasingly posturing toward violence. Raised on a scripted diet of revisionist history and watered-down Martin Luther King and Gandhi, they are finding it increasingly difficult to reach the placebo of middle-class, and are making a casual ascension into dangerously uncritical group-think. This is digressing significantly from the story. Anyways... At least I have Dome of Death to take my mind off my troubles, it sounds positively light-hearted. 😝😉

NimirRaj's comment sums things up well. Robert is on the edge, though, and one wonders if he's still capable of making rational decisions... The world could do with a few more teachers like Mr. Rands.

I was afraid the title Rough Justice might lead us somewhere like this. I'm not sure this is what John meant when he told Robert he needn't tell Bart everything, if he knew it would hurt him. Although, I hesitate to ask, do John and Michael have a cave on their property...? A very well written climax. Thrilling, chilling, bold. Onto the dramatic conclusion...

My goodness, I haven't heard this much religious drivel since I was in high school. Where are those happy endings you keep mentioning? This is classic descent into madness. Oh Rigby, please keep Robert and Bart sane and give them a happily-enough-ever-after. And don't ruin my day. Ahem. *signs the cross*

The villains' origin stories. Darkness born out of depravity. Can our heroes overcome? Glad Monique and Sanjay had that little talk with Robert, and glad Bart is coming over. It seems like a hard time for them to be separate, too much free time to overthink at this stage in their relationship and with the violence and hatred surrounding them.

Another tool to help them plot their counterattack. Hopefully, things will turn in their favor soon. I like the banter, ‘Indecisiveness turns me on' and other such gems. Will they make it a week without seeing one another? That seems hard for their stage in the relationship.

A moment of fun dancing, and then back to the routine violence. Bart and Robert are going to have a long road ahead, but it looks like Robert has something up his sleeve with this forgery business...

Ah, got it. My husband is definitely the petition signer in our relationship.

Of course, you’re right we choose with whom we keep in contact. A mind-numbing shame so much wilderness has been destroyed for idiotic pursuits, makes me appreciate what stands for environmental protection in the states. Although, that’s being chipped away. High praise coming from your psychotherapist friend, but I think he’s well-founded, this really gets to the heart of a healthy relationship. The garden sounds delightful. One question, is John really the more pessimistic one? Michael seems quite easy going from these descriptions.

I really liked Line of Beauty until about halfway through when I slowly resigned myself to the omens that everything was careening into darkness. I had a sliver of hope until the bitter end, but the last third of the book didn’t hold my interest. I like your style of writing better.