C James

Just got caught up! Kevin, superb job!!!! I really like the style of it, and the character development. I loved the situations, and why Arron is at the club. I do want to ask a question though. First off, let me say that I'm NOT questioning the story (it's fiction, so if you stretched things a little, great!) but how realistic is the "club culture" portrayed? Never having seen it in person, I have no idea. BTW, the shopping trip was hilarious! Most especially the way Arron refused the makeover, which of course they gave him anyway.

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

Sorry for my late response! As far as I know, there is no way to add an HTML link to an efic story, and it's a limitation of the software.

If you had just gotten out of jail, would you say so? Actually, I don't think I've ever said categorically that he was in jail, so I've kept the secret. And yes, wanted dead or alive... That's feeling wanted, isn't it?

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!)

Who? Me?!!?!? Now, now, let's not jump to conclusions! I didn't say you should go back to jail, just that the idea was worth considering. As for 6, we are looking forward to it, cliffhangers and all! BTW, don't blame me if you got nabbed with nuclear warhead plans on your HD... I got mine from you, after all. My fault?!!!? But I'm innocent, I tell ya, innocent!!! I just tried to be helpful and let everyone know the reason for Shadowgod's absence... ACK! Leave my hygene out of this. I won't say what His Shadowyness was arrested for, but I'm happy to see that he hasn't denied it yet. That's the first sstep on the road to recovery; acceptance. Why would anyone ever thing that I'm evil? I was just trying to make Shadowgod feel wanted... Hrmm, should I put his picture up at the post office?

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.

What? Poor, innocent me? I've finally caught up, and I see evil, all right, evil cliffhangers! And writing your editor into the story? What a thing to do! Will Talon survive? Hrmmm.. Definitely a most Evil Cliffhanger!

I think that's great! Kevin, this is a great start! I very muck liked the conversational style and also the depth you manged to develop in the first chapter. This is really good! The one very minor constructive thought I had was that perhaps Aaron's name could have been mentioned a little earlier. I also loved the chapter title; "Hot mess" is sure an eyecatcher!

The only problem if I do it that way; it will mean I'd likly have no more chapters to post this year after LTMP finishes in a few weeks. The other issue is I don't like working on just one story at a time. I find it far easier to have another to work on; that way I can work on something different when I get blocked on one. Question; is two weeks between chapters too much? Okay, I'll find nice, relaxing places to stop... Like the end of chapter 37? Well, it's all due to my unwilling and unjust occupancy of Shadowgod's cliffhanging throne... It gives me vertigo! It keeps influencing me... So much so that I think the best place to pause a story for a few weeks or months is with a cliffhanger.. Yes, that sounds just right... Say, a little one, something not too much worse than LTMP 37, Fire in the Sky... Perfect stopping place.. But, fear not! There is an easy solution! Just return Shadowgod to his throne by popular acclaim, and all will be well. ROFL!!! Well, the cloning idea sounds good!!! As a practical matter, I'm a slow writer and I also don't have a lot of time to write. I can barely keep up with a chapter-a-week schedule. While I'd love to be able to post two chapters a week, I just can't. One varient on your idea could be... make my main effort on one, but keep a second to work on at a slower pace, and hold the second one until done. That might mean ten day gaps between postings, though. Thank you!!! Good points! I'd definitly like to have more than one. In fact, for the last month I've been spending a little time working on the three new stories; it's handy when I'm blocked on LTMP. CJ

I'll comment more later, I've got to run, but just a fast note to say Sorry: I made at least two goofs in this chapter, both serious. One was the addition of the word "carried" when they were checking Mario's body for keys. It's gone now. (and thanks very much to the person who spotted that!). Worse, is the "Tim" in the chapter. There were two mentions, both gone now. That was Brody's original name in the outline and part of the draft. I decided that name didn't fit for a biker, so I changed it. I guess find-replace missed two. Sorry!!! CJ

Just a quick update... My new card is in, and although i have some driver updating to do, etc, it's working and I can use the system. (I'm on it now).

I do have an FTL seqel in the works, too. Here's my worry; I like working on different stories at the same time. However, I cannot maintain a weekly posting rate on more than one. Doing two, I'll be posting at least a chapter a week, but not of the same story. I know that, as reader, i can't deal with long gaps between chapters. I forget far too much. So, I'm trying to avoid doing that to y'all. I want to do the FTL sequel as well. I do have a little done already. Any thoughts on how to handle this issue? One way would be to find a good stopping point for a posting break from one, then switch to another for a few consecutive chapter postings. CJ

Wow, thank you Gary!!! I think my laptop is younger than 10, actually... Near as I can tell it was manufactured in early 2000, according to some of the lables and copyright stuff. For some reason I had ten years in my head.. Ah well, I never claimed to be able to count. Actually, it isn't that bad except for the battery being dead. That makes it a pain for travel. A new battery would cost an arm and a leg, not worth it for this old clunker IMHO. Nope! I have XP on disk; I just won't install it on my main system. 2k does pretty much everything XP does, and with less system overhead. I put XP on my laptop after a HD failure mainly just to have a look at it. I think the laptop came with Millenium, which I loathed. As for Vista, no way! not now, not ever, not even if they paid me. In my opinion, Vista is the worst, XP is better, and 2k is at least as stable as XP, maybe better for some hardware. And both 2k and XP are based on the NT kernal. 2k and XP are very similar systems. And by all means, venture in, that' sthe only way to learn! Hope you slept well. BTW, XP does run on my ancient laptop. My much newer and more powerful main system runs 2k. The main issue I have is that if I try upgrading from 2k to xp, I'll likely lose my main windows install; its a little cranky as is and my hunch is it wouldn't survive and I'd have to do a clean install. It has a plethora of hacks and changes. I don;t want the hastle of re-inesalling everything (I have tons of software) and re-hacking the OS. I might upgrade one of my partitions to XP, just to have a look. (I have multi-book, four different bootable partitions on my system). BTW, my new graphics card has arrived in town. (I can't get fedex out here, so i have it deleivered to town). I'm leaving in about ten minutes to go get it.

I can't say what or who it will be about (that would be a spoiler for the end of LTMP) but the sequel to LTMP is called Changing Lanes. It begins posting the week after the last chapter of LTMP posts. Also, at that time, begins "Jake". Jake is the continuation of the story in my anthology entry "three for Jake". Basically, the short story becomes the prologue, and the story itself is written in third person. A less frequent writing project will be "Skyfire", a sci-fi story, but the posting rate will be slow. BTW, please don't make any assumptions from the title of Changing Lanes... After all, no one guessed that "Let The Music Play" was The Scar's line, regarding detonating a nuclear weapon. LoL. CJ

Happy Birthday, Matthew!!!

I'm just guessing, but I think some people might feel that way. I personally don't see why, but that's just me. However, I'm a little biased on this issue, as I think that "politically correct" is about as offensive a term as exists anywhere. LoL.

I'm with Kit on this one; I see nothing insulting in using a gender specific title. Hence, I'd certainly use waiter or waitress rather than server. To me, a server is a computer system. LoL. I also use "stewardess" where appropriate. I don't see this as different from using "congressman" or "congresswoman" (which I do use, though I tened to use "Congresscritter" far more often) or simply saying he or she. I've seen gender-neutral pronouns used too, and I find that jarring when reading. I do however feel this should all be up to the author's preferences. CJ