C James

She did indeed give Trevor a discount... maybe due to extending the session being her idea, but yeah, she gave him a break. Still, we know how Trevor hates to spend money, so I was wondering if getting he bill would bring on a new panic attack.

Evil? In one of my stories? Impossible! However, apropos of nothing, I usually announce the title of the coming chapter in my forum, but I won't be doing so this week, because it'd be a spoiler and a half...

Pshirinkage is up. Will all go well on Trevor's visit to Carnarvon? Will a man named Basingstoke be among his welcoming committee? Will Trevor and Atlantis be reunited? BTW, one note: the big warship talked about by Fowler was found, but in 2008, so his comments are accurate, but only for pre-2008 (And it's 2006 in the story). A few small details he didn't know were discerned in 2008, basically verifying the story he tells.

Awww, Marty... take a look at the last line of my siggy; not so long ago, you were telling Benji that he should be ashamed of himself for saying that I use cliffhangers... what happened? Did Benji corrupt you? :blink:

Thanks Jeff!!!! The next chapter went online about a minute ago, so that part is handled.

Chapter 87: Pshrinkage Officer Fowler drove north on Oyster Creek Road, taking it easy on the washboard ruts. Trevor turned to glance back, hoping for a glimpse of Shane, but distance and dust deprived him of the chance. Fowler took a deep breath, wishing he had better news. “First the bad news. From the look of it, that imposter is a reporter, and he does have photos of Atlantis in Ned’s yard. The good news is that’s getting him a trespassing charge in addition to the fraud. He’s been as

Happy Birthday, Mike!!!! :2thumbs: :2thumbs:

Wildone! Now how could you ever think that something bad could happen in one of my stories? :blink:

Marty, does this mean you're coming to realize that I don't really use cliffhangers?

Zombie! I didn't do that, that was Dimitri, it says so quite clearly, right in what you quoted!! Maybe Trevor falls in some cold water in Carnarvon? It's a play on the colloquial term 'pshrink' as well as being related to something entirely different. Picking chapter titles is hard sometimes. I like them to relate to at least one (and preferably several) major events in the chapter, but sometimes they hint at something that might appear in the chapter but is apparently minor. There's a chapter coming, 89, that I won't reveal the title to in advance, because it's too much of a spoiler.

True, and as an added factor, I have to keep dropping clues in the chapters. But, we're getting ever closer to the 17th... so expect the amount of clues to increase. :-) I wasn't the only one who was real careful with his words. It's true that Fowler and Blake have been friends since their school days. Blake told Trevor that when they met, too. Yes, she does. It's been mentioned that she has AIS, but you're right, I haven't mentioned active radar. It'd be standard gear on a yacht that size, though so far, we haven't seen her in waters where it would be used too much. *********************************** You're right that Trevor told no one in Australia the family name, except Shane, and the narration confirms that Shane told no one. Kline knew, because the yacht club clerk overheard it. In this case, there is much to be learned form the actions and responses when Kline showed up at the customs shack. And BTW, Benji, please try to explain to Marty that all this cliffhanger stuff is just a running joke in the forum, and that I really don't ever use cliffhangers. He's being rather stubborn when I try to tell him.

Tension? Me?

Marty, why so cynical? Why do you seem so convinced that I am anything other than a sweet, innocent writer, who would never, ever let anything bad happen to a character??? :blink: BTW, Time to announce the next chapter title: Pshrinkage.

Thanks!!! This was my first novel, so it was sure a learning experience. I tried to keep as many details accurate as I could, including the law. The one huge liberty I took was with the two county seats; they are fictional. They are each modeled on a real one, but there weren't two real ones of that size close enough together for me to make the story work in the same way.

Grundig wouldn't have been directly in the line of fire; Kline wasn't blocking his view of Fowler, so Kline could not have been directly between them. Also, Grundig was sitting, Kline standing, so Kline's chest (what Fowler had his gun trained on) was well out of any line of fire that would hit Grundig, barring internal ricochet (Fowler hitting a bone). Fowler would have only fired if Kline had drawn a weapon, at which point Grundig would be in more danger from Kline than the off chance of a bone ricochet (assuming Fowler's ammo isn't hollow-point, which a lot of law enforcement ammo is) Fowler's response was seemingly incongruous, wasn't it? But, could there be a reason? Part of it is that they think a killer showing up to find Trevor is at least quite possible (and impersonating a relative trying to find the guy someone has tried to kill twice before would be a darn good clue). He's just broken the law by committing an arrestable offense, and they have reason to believe he may be a killer and thus possibly armed, so would Fowler's desire to get the drop on, and take into custody, the suspected killer still be incongruous? And if so, under what additional circumstances might it not be?

I live in the high mountains, well away from the nearest town, but I never go near cliffs!!! Mountain lions are just big kitty cats; they haven't killed an adult human in these parts in years. The most recent attack on an adult that I know of was last year, a few miles from me, on a guy working in his backyard. He spotted the cat watching him, and made the classic mistake; he ran. Never do that; it invites attack. He survived with minot injuries, because he was able to roll under a truck and the cat hit its head on the hitch. I see them only rarely, but in the winter I see their tracks in the snow around my house all the time. (they mainly hunt at night, and I live beside a game trail). One thing you never see here; domestic dogs and cats roaming around outside or in fenced yards: Due to coyotes and mountain lions, any accessible dog or cat fast becomes lunch. BTW, here's an interesting insect from the area; the tarantula hawk wasp, which preys on tarantulas. I'll assume that's a dead one, because they reportedly have the most painful sting of any insect. They rarely sting humans (mainly when handled) but they are creepy in another way; they reproduce kind of like the alien in "aliens". They paralyze a tarantula with their venom, drag it into a nest, lay eggs in the tarantula, and then seal the nest. The larvae then eat the paralyzed tarantula alive, over about a month, and then burst forth, alien-style, killing the tarantula. I see these wasps a lot and their wings are like jewels, a translucent reddish orange. Okay, now back to the terrifying wildlife of Australia; That spider, BTW, is the dreaded Australian Huntsman spider, and they do get that big (close to a foot across!). They are also noted for their habit of coming into houses, and are nightmarishly fast. Most Australians have a personal scary huntsman spider story to tell; it's very widespread.

We're rapidly approaching Dec 17th in the story, so the clock is ticking down. Yep, Fowler used to hate Shane, but not anymore. The cheap after shave does fit. Curried GOAT?!!? Ack... Yep, you did! Great catch, and a good eye!!! You did indeed predict this! Way to go! No need to worry about Basingstoke; we haven't even seen him in a couple of chapters, and he has a 50-50 chance of going to the wrong Carnarvon (Carnarvon Bay, Tasmania) which is Tasmanian Devil country. Would I do something like that?

The professor needs a boat with a large, stable deck, and the ability to carry over a ton of gear and tow the sonar under power at ten knots or more. Atlantis can do it, but Bridget's Sea Witch can't; it has the power, but it's a monohull, and so lacks the needed stability. Kookaburra, though, has been found to be suitable. And Kookaburra is now covered by Trevor's insurance, globally. And the search has to happen in April. As for the Smith issue.. All I can say is its not an error. And Fowler sure did act fast; he had Kline covered by his gun as soon as he announced himself as Trevor's relative. Quick thinking on Fowler's part. CJ

Krista! A walking pincushion that his scimitar-like claws is not my idea of friendly! It is always wise to fear echidnas (especially ones named Graeme). Wolves and coyotes are no problem at all. Coyotes very rarely kill full-grown adult humans (I can only think of one recent case) though they are known to kill small children fairly often. I have coyotes on my property, and they come around almost every night. They aren't a worry, and they have nowhere near the fearsome reputation of dingos. I have also seen, from my house, mountain lions, black bears, elk, and javalina (wild boars that run in big packs). I've been stalked by a mountain lion while hiking, too. (a few aimed near-misses from my gun solved that problem). I see snakes a lot, once a week or so, but about half are harmless, and the rest are only rattlesnakes. I've only been bitten by a rattler once, and I hike a lot, so they aren't actually very dangerous - it's quite rare for an adult to die from a bite. Black widow spiders are endemic here (I keep sweeping them out of my garage; they are far harder to kill with sprays than most spiders) and I get a lot of tarantulas the size of your hand, but the latter are totally harmless unless you pick them up, in which case they can bite, which is about as bad as a bee sting. We have scorpions here too (at lower altitudes than my house, though in the area), and those stings hurt like hell (I know this the hard way) and we also have six to seven inch long centipedes that have a painful, venomous sting (and those damn things are always coming in my house). So, all in all, nothing to be concerned about, but I live in Arizona, not Australia! Why, in this very thread, you'll see Winemaker admit that he has actual echidnas in his garden!!! From the comments in the thread, this sounds good! I'll have a look the next time I'm on a PC that can view vids. I hear that if you wear armor, and spend the nigh in an armored underground bunker, you can survive most of Australia's wildlife. Totally agreed that Australia is well worth a visit! It's an awesome and beautiful place. Would I do such a thing as that? Hrmm, let's not forget the horrors lurking in Australia's north... saltwater crocodiles, that are enormous and aggressive. (they get well over 20 feet long!!!) I didn't say the perentie was deadly to humans... its deadly to things like mice, though. The entire Aussie coast has the blue-ringed octopus, which is truly deadly (though tiny, each one has enough venom to kill about 25 humans). That venom is so nasty that there's no known antivenom, and a lot of people stung don't survive. There are also a host of deadly jellyfish in many areas... and let's not forget the salty croc! the funnel web spider... yipes!!! Those things can even swim... BTW, the echidnas' electrosense is real; they really can home in on prey via the minute electrical emissions it gives off, just like sharks or platipuses. Echidnas, in your yard!?!? Yipes!! You really ought to fortify your house... echidnas are almost as dangerous as the dreaded wombat, as I recall.... Oh, and now for some nightmare fuel; a spider so enormous and deadly that it catches large birds in its web, and then eats them!! Where? Australia! (Queensland, in this case).

The good news is that I think I can now promise that there will be no more skipped weeks between now and the end. We should have weekly postings.

Mr. Smith is up. CJ

Danger? In one of my stories? Never! 0:-) Yep, we're getting there. The 17th is the key to it all. :-)

Chapter 86: Mr. Smith Jason Kline knew that it was now or never; he could feel the story slipping through his fingers. He’d already invested a great deal of time and money on it, and he was close, he could feel it. If Barney Fitzroy came through with the SOS message that, combined with the photos of Atlantis, would be enough to go to press, but it would be thin. It would be better than nothing, and surely better than being beaten to the story by someone else, but Kline wanted more. He wante

ACK! No worries for Trevor and Shane. Basingstoke might get eaten before he ever reaches them... especially if he goes to Tasmania! After all, even a killer-for-hire fears something far more deadly than himself. Tasmania is inhabited by Satan’s own spawn: the fearsome and utterly ferocious Tasmanian devil, and that accursed land is overrun by vicious, ravenous hordes of the screaming man-eating demons. And then there's the issue of 9 of the world's 10 deadliest snakes being Australian... which is the same as for their spiders; most of the world's deadliest are Australian. :nuke: Australia's dirty little secret is this; they encourage tourism because tourists tend to be slower runners than Australians, and the tourists give the wildlife something to eat. Several, actually. Several kinds of snakes, stonefish, an array of deadly jellyfish, Great White sharks, etc... plus, the outback contains stalking horrors... just one of which is a giant monitor lizard, a cousin to the Komodo Dragon, called the Perentie (Varanus giganteus.) And giganteus it is! Over eight feet long, powerful, and fast runners. You don't have a chance of outrunning them to get away. Oh, and to make it even more scary, the perentie sometimes runs on just its back legs, so it's standing up! There are other deadly creatures in that area of Western Australia... Echidnas, for just one... Vegemite is tasty! ***************************************** Okay, let's look at some of the truly fearsome creatures... we can start with the duck-billed-platypus, surely the strangest creature in existence. It is, of course, found only in Australia. It has a bill like a duck, webbed feet, a tail like a beaver and a furry body like an otter. But, those are just the obvious strangenesses! It is one of only two kinds of mammal that lay eggs. It gets even stranger... there's a sense called electroreception, which is what sharks use to locate prey. It allows them to sense the tiny electrical fields produced by their victims' muscles and neural system. Guess what? Platypuses have that, too! So, they can home in on their victims in just about any conditions. It's a good thing they aren't dangerous.. but wait, they are! This is Australia we're talking about, where most things that aren't venomous were driven to extinction by venomous things millennial ago. Yep, the platypus is venomous, just like a deadly snake. The males have a spur on each back leg for injecting venom, and the venom is not only deadly, but designed to induce as much pain as possible. Even worse, Platypuses are masters of stealth, and so you may be right next to one and never see it. They inhabit water holes, creeks, and rivers throughout eastern Australia and Tasmania. Wait, it gets scarier! The platypus only has one living relative; echidnas. Echidnas share many of the traits of the deadly platypus... including laying eggs. Echidnas, though land dwellers, share the platypuses' electroreception capability. No one is quite sure why, but it is know that they can sense all sorts of electrical fields. Come to think of it, this might make them very good with computers, which would explain Graeme.

I think you may have a point. What we have seen of Sanchez is all monochromatic; their should be more nuance. He does have a sense of honor (that most of us would consider twisted in the extreme) but that's about it. Hrmm... He needs developing more. I'll work on that. I like the question you raise; why is he like he is, and how did he get that way.. I like it a lot, and that will be in the story. Thanks! However, when it comes to the execution, the brutality, etc, I am sad to say that I think I'm on very solid ground. I wish I wasn't. Sanchez's cartel (he's depicted as being part of their inner circle, though not their leader (he's in charge of his own area and operations though) is partially modeled on the Norte del Valle Cartel in operational style, structure, and internal murders. Sanchez's notion to take Trevor's head? That's more based on Mexican cartel actions, though in Mexico beheading and dismemberment of victims is used far more publicly by the cartels. (however, Colombian cartels have been known to use beheading as well). However, in Sanchez's case, he has an additional strong motive; proving to Bridget that Trevor is actually dead, due to the two failed attempts. I'm in a very awkward spot here; I could prove all this (that there are commonplace actions far more brutal and public than what Sanchez did) by posting the pics I found during research. They are horrifically disturbing, so I won't. On the other hand, google can show thumbnails. I'll post it as a link here, but with a STRONG WARNING, EVEN THE THUMBNAILS ARE DEEPLY DISTURBING. These are from real and recent events; people executed by the cartels, and their severed heads and other parts arranged as a macabre display to be found by the police and public. Another tactic used often by the cartels; brutal torture-executions that they film, then distribute as a warning. I wish I was exaggerating here, I really do. Here's a description from Borderland Beat's, page on the subject of Cartel execution videos What Sanchez did at his party was mild by comparison. In the real world, drug cartels not only do far worse, they sometimes even make videos of it. BTW, the tiny cay the party happened on is partially based on Norman's Cay, in the Bahamas, in the Exuma cays. A drug cartel island, it was run by the cartel as a cocaine transhipment point from 1978 to 1982, and was renowned for, amongst other things, wild parties. Since that time, the cartels have not been as blatant, and no longer mix their transhipment points and their bases in this way. However, having an estate on a small island? There are still plenty of goings on like that on small cays in the Bahamas (there are hundreds of cays there). Here's a news story (this one is safe to read, not graphic) about a columbian cartel enforcer getting convicted, of murder of informants, rivals, torture, etc. And interestingly, some used "Sanchez" as an alias. Yep, he did it as an example to his organization. This is a high risk move; he's just created a roomful of eyewitnesses to murder. Sanchez does not enjoy killing, so he'd only do so for a very compelling reason. I didn't base Sanchez on TV or movies; sadly, he's if anything a bit less brutal than his real life counterparts. And what? Sweet, innocent me, the embodiment of evil!?!?!? Now how could I ever be evil???