Topher Lydon

Imagine taking over Gable, Strathmore & Pierce, neutralizing megalomaniacs, and being a top-tier intelligence asset... only to get completely owned at a Sunday brunch by a guy who used to do kickflips behind a 7-Eleven. It forces Andrew to realize that his specific set of skills (blackmail, espionage, corporate law) are completely useless in the real world of human relationships. Marc beats him because Marc operates on human terms, while Andrew is still trying to operate like a machine. And Will, beautiful, oblivious Will, is probably just sitting between them, beaming, thinking, "I just love that my fiancé and my best friend have such playful banter." Meanwhile, Andrew is internally calculating how to frame Marc for treason, and Marc is just smirking at him over a cup of coffee. I am having my usual late night chuckle as I plot out the next book.

I just finished Carter's Asset 29 chapters, 127,000 words Andrew is terrifying at what he does. Will is nice and oblivious, as he should be at this point. Echo is 2001 Asset is 2002 That's half the lost four years. Carter's Mark is the next one Considering it's focused on Andrew Highmore vs Marc Lawrence, it should be an interesting one to write. I'm going to set it in 2003 concurrently with Carter's War. Where we never saw what Andrew was up to. GS&P's going to be interesting 2004 was Carter's Fortress and 2005 was Carter's Recourse. That should close the gap, and then I can look at the 2005-2015 era if I want to cover it. Which would cover the wedding I never wrote out. the birth of Jacob. And OF COURSE Jacob meeting Tommy... which I might do as a short. Sorry just mapping out my thoughts on this story going forward.

Well that's one way to demonstrate Denton and his gang's foundational belief: ≠ just not the way that he hoped.

Yes your honour we tried to ambush, assault, mug... and then HUNT Andrew across the hollow... where I got hurt, so Denton grabs my gun and... why are you looking at me like that... why does he have handcuffs... no no your honour... I didn't just confess to multiple crimes... I'm part of the Northern Cross... what do you mean that's a proscribed Hate Group? hello... what's with the orange jump suit, and the big black man licking his lips at me telling me I'm the little spoon... oh no...

Something I am personally enjoying is Timmy and Bobby, their arc in this one as the secondary romance is really noble and earned. They've got their own struggle, Bobby's got a strong reputation for his deeds in... deed ha title drop. Deed is thematic on many levels in this one. Deed: title of ownership Deed: Action Deed: public declaration in legal terms Any how... yes... Bobby and Timmy, MVP for running to town in their skivvies to get the cavalry.

Pretty much. Gotta have someone tell Brick something.

yeah yeah yeah.... well ... @#$@#$ you ok maybe you deserved one for all you lot have been through this past year.

Thanks, I needed it to feel earned. The bullet in the last chapter was the easy part. Now comes Andrew learning to deal with the reality of who he is now. Will's words hit me rather hard as I re-read them just now. I'll keep a light on for you. He always does.

Andrew was pushed farther to the thin ice, which is somewhere you don't want him. He'll fight like hell once he's there.

Jon Harding has zero moral objection to this, Denton ordered his son beaten, destroyed his future with the Marines. And used Brad to do it, the same Brad that landed his other son Joey (albeit Joey was an idiot) in jail. No no, Jon's opinion is squarely rooted in Denton got what he was owed.

Where he belongs

Chapter 16: The Iron Larder The silence that followed the gunshot was not the silence of the woods. It was a dense, airless vacuum that seemed to radiate from the cooling muzzle of the Beretta, a bubble of null-space that swallowed the wind’s moan and the creak of settling metal. Andrew sat on the oil-stained gravel of the alleyway, his back against the rusted school bus, watching the steam rise from Denton Jensen’s body in slender, spectral ribbons that vanished into the cold. The man who

Weeeeeeeeeeeee

I am restructuring the chapters for Carter's Asset today. Splitting them into more manageable chunks so you're not dealing with 10000 word chapters a day I got carried away... And since there is a strong theme of Biblical corruption, or of the Devil quoting scripture. Some themes came up that fit REALLY well that I wanted to share: For Marcus Webb's "ministry": "Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away." — 2 Timothy 3:5 For the Merrick family dynamic: "The fathers have eaten a sour grape, and the children's teeth are set on edge." — Ezekiel 18:2 For Jason's shame spiral: "For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh,) dwelleth no good thing." — Romans 7:18 For Andrew's dual life: "No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other." — Matthew 6:24 For the final homecoming: "And he arose, and came to his father. But when he was yet a great way off, his father saw him, and had compassion, and ran, and fell on his neck, and kissed him." — Luke 15:20

greasy meat. Full of gristle from clenching too long.

I needed it to feel like a violation. It's the only way that Theo would allow Elias to put a badge back on. I mean Theo has a point, Elias is a mess, he's suffering long term injuries down his left side. His hip from the final battle with Cobb, the side where he was shot by Rourke, and the hand burned in the wagon fire. He's not the rubber ball of doom that he was in the last one. Strapping on a gun, pinning on a badge would have real consequences that Theo is terrified of. Elias isn't known for going easy on himself when he's fighting one of his wars. So the justification had to be visceral.

For those that don't know, the Dominion Police along with the North West Mounted Police merged to become the Royal Canadian Mounted Police. We're a little early for Red Serge jackets and campaign hats. But they still "Always got their man"

Good morning folks Things are not right, down on the farm. And sanctuaries can be stolen by the determined. However Elias Sawyer knows what he needs to do:

Chapter 4: The Breaking Point The Harding Farm. Early February, 1885. The silence before dawn wasn't peaceful; it was heavy. A physical weight, pressing down on the farmhouse roof like a wet wool blanket, muffling the world. It was the kind of quiet that felt staged, a held breath before a scream. The cold had teeth this morning, biting through the chinks in the log walls, a dry, predatory cold that sought the marrow. Elias Sawyer sat in the kitchen, a stoneware cup of cold

Unfortunately Enrico suffers from the age old "Had he done nothing..." His plan backfires on him, badly

Their story needed just a bit more to be complete

Denton's orders -> West's Assault -> Jason's testimony -> Brad's imprisonment -> Jason's beating -> Brad's confession -> Denton's Freedom There is a certain pig farmer with his own score to settle with Denton Jensen.

Gotta keep ya guessin'. Some people still due what's coming to them. Everyone gets their due in this one.