Jeff Burton

Thanks! And yes, they do. Although I wonder how screwed up Sky would be without them sometimes. See all you lovely people with Saints I'm almost jealous. I was raised Southern Baptist but one can only handle so much fire and brimstone before you need a break. I'm more Episcopalian these days but I haven't set foot in a church in a while. I do find it funny that faith and sexuality can co-exist if you use enough blunt force trauma. I've always had this almost sick fascination with the Catholic faith for as long as I can remember and now it's starting to come out in a way I didn't expect. So my apologies in advance if I jump the shark with it.

Those monologues are the hardest things to write because I am definitely not Skylar lol.

Yes Tragic Twink's must be saved!

Michelle Yeoh to the rescue! As a neighbor to the south, I can say with conviction that'll never happen. I honestly, just can not wait for all of it to be over. The last ten years politically speaking have been nothing but a huge waste of money, emotional energy, mental sanity and time. At the end of it, neither side of the spectrum is going to see the things they feared brought to fruition, nor is either side going to see the self perceived 'justice' they have been angling for. Everything we went through will all be for a big fat naught. Maybe history will teach those that come after us that it is better to use some amount of logic instead of emotion, to base opinions on because it will take decades for any kind of healing to take effect from the sins both sides inflicted on each other. We should all be ashamed. Mild rant over. Topher, this chapter was awesome and this story has exploded beyond my expectations. You are truly a gifted author and I'm happy to see these blasts from the past still thriving with each other.

I'm not kidding, I have a comment and you will get it at a random date in the future. .....just make sure I don't forget lmfao.

I can not possibly reply to this comment without breaking Operation Security on something. You sir will just have to wait a while to get it.

A verse I was reminded of from another author on this site definitely comes to mind for Sinclair: For they sow the wind, and they shall reap the whirlwind. I have a feeling it's going to be just more than Sinclair that gets that whirlwind. And again I'm reminded about arrogance and being humble. Crazy good chapter.

I'm sorry there's a ringing in my ears. It goes with the static I get in my brain when I think about anything from the last 10 years politically lol.

This chapter had an amazing amount of contrasts but speak of a comment I made about Will & Andrews relationship grounding Andrew. The phone call that occurred in the beginning solidified it. You can really see it when you compare the hardness of Milo, and the conflict within Enrico. That's one hell of a way to get access to a laptop, and show a spy/terrorist is somehow still human underneath the lies, destruction and death.

Mine too, probably under the same circumstance.

I have to totally agree on this. It's one hell of a game, can't wait to see the checkmate. Man I had no idea Michelle Yeoh was in this story. For anyone who gets it, you know what I mean. 😂

Definitely not. The road to hell is paved with good intentions, but totally not surprised Langley blundered through this one. Sometimes the arrogance needs to be seen to remain humble.

That's friggen' awesome mate. I'm glad I interpreted it right. That blind trust is so hard to achieve yet so wonderful to see.

Just a ironic reminder that no matter how powerful you become, there are still some obstacles that will remain out of your ability to totally overcome. lol Haaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahahahahahahahahahahhahaha. Jacob's are special. Never forget this. I can tell that the thing that's afoot is starting to come together. I'm already picking up on red flags and can kind of almost see the big picture of what's about to happen. But that's of course I as a reader am privy to more information than the intelligence officers right now. I think they're on the right track to be leery but they don't have enough information yet to turn that intuition into a hypothesis. I love how you're weaving all of this stuff together. I'm taking notes for Encrypted when I'm ready to roll into their drama.

If I had to guess, Will keeps Andrew very grounded in the who he really is aspect. The nature of the job Andrew has is bound to change anyone including him, but that history he has with Will that goes all the way back to the boys they once were is probably what does it. I feel that if Andrew wasn't with Will, he'd be different than he is now. The job would have eaten away at the innocent foundation that had once been there. Will keeps him human, when the aspects of the job try to pick it away. So yeah it's like the co-existence of two people on the inside, and they can exist together, in part because of the relationship he's in.

So the first part answers a question I had from the last series, "how does Will handle what Andrew does." It was a great question to have answered, and a wonderful way to handle it. It's great that they can support each other even if the details of the 'whys' remain unknown. Topher, this one is for your editing OCD: As for the next: I absolutely can not count the number of times I've done this EXACT thing. While I don't think of myself as particularly handsome, I do seem to attract the younger ones with daddy issues with alarming frequency. The interaction with Sergie was friggen' awesome. I wouldn't have thought to do it like that, but it seems so dead on now that I think about it, which goes to show why this is a great series.

Wow, you're way ahead of where I'm at with any of mine. I feel like I'm slacking. And I appreciate it mate, but I want the thrill of the drop just like everyone else. ❤️ Plus if I said yes, I wouldn't get any work done this morning. 😂

Damn good chapter. Gave me ideas for a future layout of something I'm working on myself. Now for my lol's: Some things are hard to let go I was actually happy to see that Yani got a second shot after his role in the previous series. He really deserved it. I might be a yank but I know what this is, and where it was located before I read further. I love it when my random crazy knowledge I get from randomly looking up things online actually becomes useful. This is getting good, I'm just glad I waited a bit so I could jump into the next chapter.

So some points that got to me. Who would have thought back then that they'd end up where they are? That's one of the great things about a series that goes through the characters lives, you feel the friggen nostalgia right along with them. Just the mere thought of the scandal made me giggle, again who would have thought these two would be where they are to even think such a thing. lmao, this one just made me feel old, and I may have groaned 'oh for fucks sake.' And finally, damn we aren't wasting time. Let's get into it. But Christ, that nostalgia, right in the chest.

I remember reading the Carter series way back when. This sorta feels like an old friend, or a ghost of a memory returning to say 'hello' once more. @Topher Lydon great start mate.

I’m working on trying to match one of my ideas with the theme. No promises yet but I think I’m getting close.

Probably. I don't know if I'll ever be able to write 200k+ word epics like you but one day I hope to try.

@weinerdog just wait till i get done with my list of open projects and decide to write sci-fi satire.

So what you're saying is, I'm going to be done with 3 stories and have them posted before you get through Wildthing's schedule. Got it lmao.

That's actually pretty cool Topher. And yeah this story is evolving and slowly turning into something I hadn't intended. This plot was pretty much intended to be "that way is north" with a few spins to the south, because I'm working off a list of plot tropes and two more are incoming in chapter 4.