C James

No worries! Now we can all just blame you and Tiger. Eric and Brandon are both in a difficult situation. Dimitri is slowly cutting Chase's throat. There just isn't time to think things through, and in a situation like that, one reacts on (no pun intended) instinct. I'm not saying what Eric's motives are, just giving a case of what they might be; he sees his little brother's life on the line, and offers up his own. Dimitri has a Russian accent, but with practice he can say a sentance or two without an accent. Dimitri tapped on the locked door as he said in a calm, rehearsed, unaccented voice,

ACK!! No one besides me voted against the sacrifice!! Now, now, I don't know why y'all are upset... Eric is just fine and healthy at the end of the chapter... Not a scratch on him!! Besides, aren't we overlooking one major detail here: This is all Shadowgod's fault!!! So, umm, can't we all just get along... and blame Shadowgod? That really would be for the best, I think? CJ

Happy Birthday, Bob!!!

I'm shocked.. Shocked I say, that given the crew in attendance, a bidding war did not break out.

ROFL! Yes, I saw the pic of the check. Did Mason know that Joe was planning on selling him?

A... GOAT SACRIFICE!! ACK! I never knew that when y'all invited me to diner, it was an invite to be the main course!!! And I notice that Shadowgod is carving a very sensitive part of my anatomy! No wonder my vopice went up a few octaves! ROFL! That is hilarious! I had a look at all the pics, and it looks like everyone had a fantastic time! Check out the pics, everyone, both on the page and the site Trebs linked to. Great sets there!!

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? Not the best of retirement options. Fear not! The coming chapter is 43, not 44. 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

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!

Pictures, we need pictures. Glad to hear y'all had a great day!!!!

Ice Blink by C James Five hundred years before Columbus, Europeans discovered the New World. Their nearby colony thrived for hundreds of years, only to mysteriously vanish. What happened? :nuke: :nuke: Spoilers Below!!! :nuke: :nuke:

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

should I be nervous? Hrmmm, In my forum my readers are plotting to roast me on a spit, Shadowgod has "the Nanny Maker" as a title and has been using "Goat nuts roasting on an open fire" as a sig line, and now this?? Uhoh... Ummm, Methinks I should be listed as an endangered species? BTW, Dan, as for teasing Joe, just remember the old saying; if something is worth doing, it's worth doing well. Have a GREAT time at Six Flags and tonight!!! CJ

WHAT?? No pointy hat with moons and stars on it? No black cape? No magic wand? What was he doing, traveling incognito? Minor picking on Joe? Umhummm... BTW, when can we see the pictures? Ahh, yes, he's rather well-known for that, isn't he? Hrrrrm... The other four admins are are all in Dallas, and thus with limited computer access... I must try really, really hard to resist the temptation to launch a coup and rename this site "Goats 'R Us". Thanks for the update. I wish I'd have been able to go, but life gets in the way sometimes. I hope you all have a WONDERFUL time!! CJ

ROFL!!! I'm flattered to be blamed in this way!

Ouch. I have to say, I think Snowey hit it right on the head; you need to make a clean break. Trying to be "friends" IMHO is only advisable after a mutual and amicable parting of the ways. In a case of cheating, I find it hard to fathom under any circumstances. This guy, from what you've shown, has hurt you, and if you stay close, he'll continue to do so. Worse, by sticking close to him, you very well might miss the guy out there who is what you want: Somebody who won't cheat. Give yourself some space. I'd suggest a one-way text message, not an in-person meeting. He's the one who cheated, you owe him nothing. You do, however, owe yourself to do what is best for you. Just my 3 cents worth (I'm not as expensive as Snowy). CJ

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. 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. 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. Maybe Dimitri is just going to stop by, apologize for past unpleasantness, , and then be on his way? Well, yes, i do love irony. Who? Me? You know me better than that... I'd never do anything evil! I'm not Shadowgod, after all! 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

RPG's are indeed fairly easy, but so are many nasty things. For example, shaped demolition charge can be made with coffee cans and melted high explosive (which has properties much like wax and is easy to form). Gasolile and laundry detergent make a decent napalm. Hrmmm, There are a lot more, and that's just from houshold goods. Another nasty trick is explosives plus a remote-controlled model car or airplane. The amount of weaponry you can make with everyday items is staggering. It's just a hobby, no different from my interest in do-it-yourself nuclear weapons. Thanks!!! When it comes to military hardware or weaponry, I don't have to do much research; I've always had an interest in weaponry and tactics. I do fact-check myself though. For example, for chapter 37 I knew what kind of missile I wanted, but I had to look up the flight parameters such as max range at low altitude. And yes, I do have a copy of said cookbook. I like collecting things like that.

An RPG isn't hard to make. It's unguided, just aim and shoot. The grenade part is essentially just a cylinder stabilized by a shaft and fins. It could easily be propelled by a simple solid rocket motor (such as the big "G" size available to model rocket hobbyists) or the propellant can be made from powdered aluminum and an oxidizer, or indeed, even plain old gunpowder. The high explosive isn't hard to make; any type of plastic explosive would do nicely, and several aren't hard to make. Potasioum Chlorate would also work and is even simpler to make. Or, if you're in a real hurry, nitrocellulose (what modern gun ammunition uses in lieu of gunpowder) mixed with an gelatanizing agent, like vasoline, will suffice. A simple contact fuse can be made by having a small pin of metal in the RPG's nose, connecting to the primer charge in a rifle round embedded in the explosive (just take out the bullet and fill the void with more explosive). For a launch tube, PVC pipe would work. For a trigger, a lantern battery can be taped to the PVC pipe, and connected to the electric igniter on the solid rocket motor. You can even rig a trigger using a clothes pin and copper pennies (or any form of switch; you're just closing an electrical circuit). A Bazooka is even easier to make. And what? Me, scary? Whatever makes you say that??

Thank you!! And WElcome to the GA forums!!! I do have a storyline in mind for when they go back to college. The problem is, it wouldn't fit in a singe short story, but it wouldn't make a novel, either. I'm thinking about five chapters. That would be a novella, and I've never done one of those, which makes it very appealing. I'll see what I can do.

It's just a friendly, relaxed little title. Rocket Propelled Grenade. Dimitri wouldn't mind one, I'll bet, but he doesn't, per the text, have one. He thought the danger was over. He's also a base commander; there are security risks to bringing civilians onto a military base. One of those risks is Jerry finding out. (and knowing his bombs were about to be compromised) BUT, if so, dropping in in an Osprey wasn't his best choice. He also has reason to believe that they are well protected by their small army (50+) bikers. Or.. he made a mistake. Could be! CJ

Thanks!!! At most, I'd take a two to three week break to build up a chapter buffer. Or post every two weeks for a short while. I couldn't stop writing; I enjoy it too much. To be honest, I may have spoken too soon about what is next. Let my leave that in flux for a while. I'm already working on an LTMP sequel featuring some of the LTMP characters. I can't say who just yet, as that would be a spoiler for LTMP. Just... Don';t make assumptions. And yes, Shadowgod just HAD to go and point out that I originally entitled the sequel "Changing Lanes in Full Force". The title fir the plot... and I liked it, right up until I shortened it to an acronym for the first time (such as I do for LTMP). ARGH! I blame Shadowgod... It seems everything around him becomes cliff-related! And thanks Wildone about No Shirt? No Problem! That indeed was my first try at posting something. It's rather rough in many ways. Also, for those who haven't read it, it's rather ironic... I'm noted for rarely using sex scenes, and not graphic ones... But NSNP makes me a hypocrite on that score. LoL I do want to do a sequel... But most likely, it would be a second chapter. I have a plot in mind but I think it would work better as more of a second short story than as a serial.

I really don't know why anyone would say I'm evil??? How many times do I have to say it: Shadowgod and I are noit the same person!!! Okay, I wanted to mention that the chapter title, "Disputed Authority", was Graeme's brainchild. If you like it, he gets the credit, and if not, then it was my choice, so blame me. And also, the title of the next chapter should be nice and relaxing... "Cold Steel". CJ

I absolutely love this list!! I think it's gold. I've violated one or two of these rules, but I'll give myself a pass on the physical description one; it was a set up. The description was actually about a car, not a person, but I did it in a way that hopefully made the reader assume it was about a person, until they got to the end of the paragraph. I've goofed on the research one too; I trusted my memory when i should have double-checked. I apologized to me readers, thanked the one who pointed it out, and let it be a lesson to me; double check. There are exceptions to everything. Nothing is cast in concrete. I have issues with one of the rules myself; the names-we-wish-we-had one. Those names aren't all that uncommon anymore, and in any case, I like it when an unsual name is used for effect. Graeme used "Ryhs" for a name in "HEart of the Tree", and that has to be my all-time favorite name I've seen in a story. It just fit. However, like anything, it can be overdone. My reading of that rule is "don't over-do it", so one or two unusual names would be fine. Well, that's just my opinion, anyway. All in all, wonderful advice!!! I also had no idea that Nick Archer was on GA? If so, that's fantastic news! (Welcome, Nick!)

Good points about flash drives. The way I back up my data is multifold. I back it up to a separate physical hard drive, every two to three days. I do an incrimental backup so only new of changed files are archived. I'm thinking of activating RAID automatic reduentant drives (my system has the ability) so if one goes, no big deal. I back up my entire system once a month to a removable drive, and keep it in a secure location offisite. I connect my laptop to my main system via wireless home networking, so that's how I transfer things from one to the other. At most, I'd lose a few days data unless I lost two HD's at the same time. This was the case with LTMP 41: I had e-mailed copies, but not the formatted final available. I think USB thumb drive would be a great idea. I'll get one. I won't use it as the main home of my writing directories though; I think my main system is safer. But, as a backup, it would be great. CJ

I'm loving the speculation here!! I can't comment on what will happen, but this is great!!! Okay, Dimitri does indeed have access to explosives; he's got hand grenades. From Ch 39. Wheels within Wheels, Of course, he may or may not find a way to use them, but he does have them. He's facing one heck of a bad tactical situation; he's facing a small army, and he's alone. Going in head-on would be suicide. One option would be an asymmetric attack, and the KGB spec-ops certainly did teach that sort of doctrine. BTW, it is very true that Dimitri's reason for the hit has been negated by the information Instinct has passed to the Military. Avoiding the nuke hunt at specific locations is exactly the reason The Scar wanted them all dead. However, Dimitri may not be aware of what Instinct has told the Air Force. Were he to find out, he might very well just go away... and use his nuclear trigger. (if the discovery of the bombs was imminent, anyone think that Jerry or Dimitri would refrain from pushing the button? I'm not saying they would, just asking the question. ) So, we have not just Instinct's fate, but that of Los Angeles and New York riding on what happens next. If Dimitri or Jerry learn of the searches at those sites, Instinct might survive but the cities might not. BTW, a little about the V-22 Osprey; it has some major tactical weaknesses that I thought I'd mention (but in fairness, I should admit it's not relevant to the storyline). The first is that due to its great weight and small prop diamiter, the Osprey kicks up an enormous amount of dust on takeoff and landing. This can effectively blind the pilots, and has caused crashes. It also leads to dust entering the engine intakes, causing all manner of problems. A further weakness is ring stall; if maneuvered strongly during decent, one rotor can stall, causing the Osprey to flip over and crash. This is very, very bad for a combat vehicle (where frantic maneuvering might well be required). I can see a use for the V-22 in long range spec-ops, search and rescue, etc, but as a replacement for an assault helicopter in most roles, I think the V-22 is nuts.