C James

Chapter 55: Hellbound “Come in, come in,” Bridget said, smiling at Lisa and Joel as she ushered them inside, leading the way to her formal living room, where she’d set up teacakes after Lisa’s call. “Help yourselves. Would you like tea, coffee, or soft drinks?” Bridget asked, as they took seats. “Black coffee, please,” Joel said, feeling slightly uncomfortable in the ostentatious room. He’d met Bridget several times since his return from the Mediterranean, but this was the first time he’

Chapter 54: The False Cross Dirk was sweating, due to nerves. Frank had occasionally asked questions, but had let Dirk speak at length. It had been hard enough for Dirk to tell his secrets to Frank Tittle, but the presence of Henry Wesson, the private investigator Dirk had met for the first time half an hour ago, made matters worse. Frank Tittle raised an eyebrow, still browsing a Federal law database on his laptop, and then he looked up at Dirk. “For what it’s worth, I concur in your dec

Chapter 53: Réunion or Bust! Frank Tittle was, as he would freely admit, a slob, a fact with which his three ex-wives vehemently agreed. The interior of his car could charitably be described as a disaster area; the rear foot-wells had not seen the light of day in years, due to the large volume of paperwork and fast food wrappers that had accumulated there. His passenger foot well had a lower garbage content, but the files and stacks of legal papers had already exceeded the height of the pa

Chapter 52: Finding the Way It was a breezy day in Tampa, a fact that was playing hell with Jim’s attempt to control his wig. Standing at an exposed payphone and trying to look inconspicuous just made it worse. With relief, Jim hung up and began walking back to the condo, feeling intensely conspicuous. He was wearing a blond wig, sunglasses, and a pastel cotton sundress, and carrying a beige leather purse. He glanced down at the largest cause for his concern; his size eleven men’s tennis

Chapter 51: Time to Improvise Aboard the pirate trawler Algol, Ali smiled as he used his satellite phone to transmit some photos he’d taken of Atlantis’s AIS display, immediately before it was ripped out. He then sent a few other shots he’d taken, including one of Atlantis as the bullets riddled her side. The pictures were for Ali’s contact in the Seychelles, who would pass them on to Sanchez, a man Ali had never even heard of except as the nameless source of a bounty on anyone aboard At

Chapter 50: Crushed Deep in the merciless grip of the sea, Trevor’s valiant fight reached its end. The crushing pressure was compressing his lungs and driving the fluids from his limbs into his chest, one pain amongst many. Death was near at hand. With what little of his mind could still perceive anything but agony, Trevor could feel it, Death, reaching up from the abyss, drawing him down into the darkness that would be his home forever. The sea he had so loved was killing him... and i

Chapter 49: The Question Bridget took a sip of her gin and tonic, just as George walked into her parlor. She smiled warmly at him, handing him a mint julep in a gold-trimmed lead-crystal highball glass. “Great minds think alike,” George said with a chuckle, taking the drink and then holding it up to the light and savoring the sight of it, as its chilled contents hazed the crystal with a fine mist of condensation. He took a sip, enjoying the contrasting tastes of aromatic fresh mint and th

Chapter 48: The Hand of Fate Atlantis glided south, barely making a wake at four knots, passing within a mile of Mahé’s southeast cape. On the rocky headland, a local man stood, surveying the idyllic scene with binoculars. It was indeed beautiful; palms overhanging azure tropical waters, and a tranquil sea lapping against the granite rocks of shore. Once past the cape, Trevor set a course of one hundred and seventy degrees – a little east of due south. He swept his eyes around the horiz

Chapter 47: No Good Deed Goes Unpunished After a sleepless night spent tossing and turning, Trevor got up with the dawn, still no closer to understanding. He went for a swim and then a run on the beach, and then as noon approached, he raised anchor and sailed for Mahé. Trevor approached the coast southeast of Victoria, coming within three miles to get a solid cell signal. Officer Gonzales was driving back to his office when the call came in. He answered immediately, pulling ove

Chapter 46: Forces in Motion Troubled dreams disturbed Trevor’s sleep, as Atlantis rode at anchor in the moonlight, a hundred yards off the pristine palm-fringed white beach at Grand Anse, on Praslin Island’s reef-fringed southern shore. Trevor finally awoke just after dawn, feeling the wracking emotional pain as he remembered the news of the previous day: that his own father had tried to kill him. It didn’t matter that it wasn’t true, for Trevor had no way save one of knowing that. That

Chapter 45: Seychelles The call from Egypt came at ten in the morning, Florida time, and lasted half an hour, as Colonel el-Masri told Gonzalez everything he could, including the phone number in Florida that had originated the call to the bomb. Colonel el-Masri also described the situation regarding their attempt to trace the origins of the satellite phone, and asked Officer Gonzalez to see if he could prompt the Florida distributor to hand over its records. Officer Gonzales promised to fin

Chapter 44: Battle Stations Trevor sailed from Al-Quseir just after dawn, bound for the convoy rendezvous at Jabal al-Tair Island. The Talon sailed later that morning. The two catamarans would proceed separately; sailing in formation was too difficult, and there was no purpose to it so far north. At night, Trevor slept in his beanbag, in fifteen to twenty minute stretches, using radar and GPS to guide him. The winds were favorable, coming mainly from the north by northwest, which made for

Chapter 43: Fifteen to Twenty Moored at the Suez Canal Yacht Club, Trevor slept poorly, waking at every slight sound, fearful that Atlantis was again being robbed. Trevor had made plans to join the other yachters for breakfast aboard the Thaddeus, but he had an errand to run first. He hesitated before going ashore, looking first at the nearby armed guards, and then at several yachters on nearby boats. He judged that Atlantis would be safe enough for a few minutes, and locked up. The Sue

Chapter 42: Kaboom! Lake Timsah lay like a pool of ink purest black under the as-yet moonless night sky. A few lights from moored freighters glistened on the waters, and to the west, the lights of the buildings along the shore formed an inconstant band of golden light. The sultry desert night air hung heavy, with only the occasional faint breath of breeze offering momentary respite from the oppressive humidity. At the Ismailia Yacht Club’s dock, lit by widely spaced bright lights, the fue

Chapter 41: A Volatile Passenger The last ochre glimmers of sunset still lingered above Port Said, as Trevor locked Atlantis and walked aft, on his way to Jan’s party aboard Talon. A crewmember of the Thaddeus glanced down from the schooner’s rail. “Have fun at the shindig,” he said, a little tersely. “Our captain’s already left.” “Aren’t you guys going?” Trevor asked. He was puzzled; several of the yachters had brought crewmembers to Eric’s party. The crewman chuckled, and decided t

Chapter 40: A Package from Home Trevor’s call found Joel on his morning break, sitting in Trevor’s car in the high school parking lot, wolfing down a snack that he’d picked up on the way to school. Joel flipped the phone open and said, through a mouthful of food, “Hello?” “I’m in Egypt, and you’re insane,” Trevor said, and then asked, “Is Lisa there too?” Laughing, Joel replied, “Hey man, I miss you... No, Lisa’s not here: she just ran for her next class so she could stake out a good se

I'll catch up here in the forum soon (hopefully later today) but this is just a quick update; Circumnavigation 61, Stranger in a Strange Land, should be online no later than the normal midnight-Monday posting time. Sorry for the hiatus. Basically, the few days' delay turned into a week. I'm afraid that, at the moment, the best I can do is simply try to resume weekly posting a week behind (which is where we're at). I'm still tired and weak most of the time... but I'm getting better with every passing day. Thanks everyone, CJ

Wow, thanks Everyone! I'm still not too well, but I'm sure I'm better than I was yesterday, which is a good thing indeed. One of the fun things about this is that it inflamed chest wall (or something) at about the level of the diaphragm, and that makes any sudden tensing of those muscles very painful. Unfortunately for me, coughing fits that description, and I've been coughing a LOT. It's not as bad as it was yesterday, when I blacked out a couple of times. Clydee, did you have that part too? Not fun, any of it... I was offered painkillers but warned that they could slow my recovery. I'm now on aspirin... plus a little brandy. U;m still sleeping a lot, and I'm fairly thick-headed, but today has been the best day in days. The chills and fevers reamian, but are a LOT less intense. So too is the chest congestion. So, I think I'm on the mend. BTW, I absolutlky, positively, do not recommend pneumonia as a recreational activity. it sucks. And not in a good way.

A chapter was due today, but I've been unable to do much for a couple of days... Long story short, my 'doc confirmed, I have pneumonia. The chills and fevers are no fun at all. I've been sleeping most of the time. Hopefully, I'll get the chapter online by Wednesday (assuming my 'doc doesn't toss me in hospital). Sorry for the delay. ugh...

Jake the typical bad boy in many ways; into a lot of stuff he shouldn't be, and raising hell when he can. The only problem is, Jake is burdened with a conscience. 2007 Anthology

You had to go and ask, didn’t you? Don’t you just hate it when something won’t let go, or leave you alone? Ever had something that you can’t get rid of no matter how hard you try? Something like an STD, really, but without the enjoyable means of getting it? Yeah, I’m beset by such a malevolent curse. I just can’t seem to get rid of it, no matter what I do. I’ve tried to forget it, I’ve tried to ignore it, but no matter what, the fucking thing won’t go away. What is it, what is this indefatiga

2007 Anthology

Lugh, don't feel bad about that bit you missed... it happens. I especially liked the final line.

Haunting and tattoos is a great juxtaposition, especially because an unwise tattoo can indeed haunt you for life.

Second person voice is hard to do, but you did it well. Interesting twist at the end, as well. Thanks!