Beyond the Sample -- Let's take a look at something you won't see in the sample for The Legend of CùSithGrim, book 2 of the Portrait of an Unlikely Affair series
This excerpt is from pages 143-151 of The Legend of CùSithGrim, book 2 of the Portrait of an Unlikely Affair series. This novel is currently enrolled on Kindle Unlimited through September 10, 2023 and is on the Kindle Countdown deal for $1.99 until July 20, 2023 (two more days!)
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Mae Vandenberg opened the door to see Tom standing on their stoop, snow gathering on his hat and shoulders. He looked nervous. “Tom,” she looked at him with concern. “Is everything okay?”
“I’m not sure,” Tom responded.
“Is Parker up for company?”
“Always for you, Tom,” Mae nodded
and let him in. “He’s in his normal spot. Coffee, Tom?”
“Yes, please,” Tom replied as he
paused in the mudroom to take off his hat and jacket and then dried his boots
off. He then went through to the study where Parker was reclined in his
hospital bed, watching TV.
“I’m a man with limited time,
son,” Parker’s raspy voice came. “You’re obviously a man on a mission. What
clusterfuck happened now?”
“Oscar Company. Colonel Warren
Hayes. Do you trust him?”
“What did I tell you from day
one, Tom?”
“Trust my gut.”
“Now, you may not like the
bastard, but he is on our side.”
“Is he?” Tom sat down on the
loveseat in the room. “Because, Parker, the CIA always has been running some
pretty nasty programs, all innocent sounding ‘operations’ but they are dabbling
in brainwashing, mind control, and sleeper cells on our own citizens. Has Hayes
done that with Oscar Company? Turned them into a brainwashed sleeper cell?”
“Oscar is your program.”
Tom frowned, knowing he had to
ask the right question in order for Parker to tell him what he needed. Tom
rubbed his face and looked around before changing tactics. “I gave orders for 2-4-9
to be transferred to Fort Hope. He is known as --”
“The Grim Reaper. The deadliest
human weapon in the world,” Parker looked at him. “I’m aware.”
“And Hayes refers to him as his
‘insurance policy.’” Tom noticed the term drew a sharp, angry look from Parker.
Maybe Parker’s mind had gone to the same place Tom’s had gone – Hayes having a
contingency plan. “Do you see my concerns?”
Mae brought in the coffee for
Tom. She adjusted the blankets on Parker’s bed before she took her place in a
chair next to him and picked up her knitting.
Parker looked at Tom. “What if I
told you it wasn’t Hayes you should be concerned with, but with some of the
instructors – not all of them – that he brought on? Links in a chain, Tom. It’s
chess.”
“I am aware most of them are
former world alphabet and number agencies.”
“And we’ve known about them. This
goes deep, Tom. The Firm is insulated against them, as the Program is carefully
packaged, but there is a reason why we wanted them.” Parker saw Tom rub his
whiskers, annoyed, so Parker smiled. “We needed you to not know so it would
appear to be organic. I imagine 2-4-9 is tasked with the demise of those who
warrant his attention.”
Tom sighed, sat back and rubbed
his eyes. “How many?”
“A total of three.”
“We know their identities?”
“Aye,” Parker voiced, causing Tom
to look vexed.
“What’s wrong, Tom?” Mae spoke up
with concern. “You seem very troubled over this.”
Tom shifted then looked at his
coffee. He didn’t see any other way to say it. “2-4-9 is my son, Brian.” He
knew he sounded miserable.
The room was silent, and Tom saw
the look of shock on both of their faces. “Oh, Tom,” Mae finally gasped.
Parker digested the information
and shook his head, “I’m sorry, Tom. I honestly didn’t know.” Parker was
genuinely speechless and disappointed.
“And I can’t do a damn thing
about it,” Tom looked at them, feeling anger and frustration of helplessness hitting
him. He even felt tears in his eyes. “I found out yesterday when his folder
rolled across my desk for reassignment following a disastrous mission called
Raven Ridge. My son is a Horseman.”
Mae quickly moved to sit next to
Tom on the loveseat. “What can I do, Tom?” Her motherly instincts took over and
she took his hand.
“I don’t know. Pray that both God
and Julie forgive me because I know I never will. How does a boy with a
terminal illness end up in the Program? He was supposed to be in a loving home
with adoptive parents who were getting him the care he needed. Not being molded
into the deadliest human weapon on this side of Hell’s Gate.”
Parker coughed then looked at Mae.
“Mae, can you get me the blue file folder from the safe?” Mae nodded and left
the room. Parker looked back at Tom, “I will give you everything I have from my
personal files in regard to Hayes.” He hesitated and said, “I’m truly sorry, I
didn’t know Brian was among them. I never saw names or faces.”
Tom looked down. “He is in it
simply because he is terminal. Hayes took him from the orphanage after three
years. He was unplaceable and stayed in that place for three years, Parker.”
“So he doesn’t fit the profile?”
“No.”
Parker closed his eyes, part of
him relieved, part of him horrified. “That was never supposed to happen.
Innocents were never supposed to be in the Program.”
“I know. It’s my program,
remember?”
“What are you going to do?”
“There’s nothing I can do. He’s a
ward of the Firm. Until he turns 18, he is the Firm’s responsibility. As long
as he’s at Fort Hope, I’m his guardian.
I can’t interact with him. I can’t talk to him. I can’t just walk up to
him and say hello. Given what he is, I’m not sure I would even want to.”
Parker let out a deep sigh. “It’s
a pickle. Do you think Hayes knows 2-4-9 is your son?”
Tom brought out a file he had
concealed under his sweater jacket and handed it to Parker. Parker flipped to
the first page, sighed and said, “Parents aren’t listed but…the photo does
resemble you and the last name is there. Handsome boy.” He then paused. “Thick
file.” He then flipped through it. “A Captain now. At sixteen?” Parker then
paused. “Sixteen? Is he sixteen already?”
Tom frowned. “No. Hayes added
four years to his age.”
Anger crossed Parker’s face
before he shook his head in disappointment. “I see why you aren’t favorable
toward Hayes. He shouldn’t have taken Brian into the Program, and he shouldn’t
have added age.” He paused. “You’ve seen him in person?”
“Several times,” Tom replied. “I
just never knew it was him until I saw him this morning at Vista del Cielo.”
Mae returned from the other room
with the file. She went to hand it to Parker, but he waved her off to Tom. Tom
took the file as Parker asked, “And, how’d he look? Bet he’s a lot like you and
Brennan.”
Tom shook his head. “No, not at
all. Skinny little runt in a mask, like a child trick-or-treating for
Halloween.” Tom rubbed his eyes. “Just think of how my family is going to take
it. I made the dumbest decision in my life, not letting them take him, then he
gets tossed into the Program at seven years old, molded into what he is now,
and will probably be killed doing it. What if the Generals find out?” He
referred to his father and father-in-law. “I’ll have to spend the rest of my
life on the run.”
“It’s Elizabeth and Rachel I’d
worry about, not Ben and Erik,” Mae told him.
“Thanks Mae. That makes it
worse. Sydney, Brennan, Susan, Zane…”
Tom shook his head and sighed deeply. “What now, Parker? What do I do now?”
“It’s your program,” Parker
replied. “That must be why God put it in my head for you to run. I almost put
Rochester in charge of it, but you walked into my office first that day.”
Parker then fell silent, thinking. “Yes, you can’t touch him, you can’t
interact with him, or take him out of the Program…But you can still see he gets
what he needs without directly interacting with him. With his terminal disease,
there are worse ways he can go than on the Battlefield.” Parker paused and
sighed. “I know I’d rather go on the Battlefield, quick and sudden. This damn
cancer eating at me from the inside is just torture.” He paused again, staring
at Brian’s file, his eyes taking in the words of the evaluations and reports.
“Well, don’t forget about the Big Man Upstairs, Tom. If Brian spent three years
with those nuns in that Catholic Orphanage, and was kept from the Evil there, I
can guarantee you that he isn’t completely lost. Never give up on that boy,
Tom. The Program does use Biblical names for a reason.”
Tom shook his head. “Yeah, great,
and my son is a Hell Hound as well as the Pale Horse of the Apocalypse.” He
then sighed and shook his head, “And it only gets worse. The Sovereign
apparently believe he’s CùSithGrim.”
“CùSithGrim?”
Mae asked, puzzled. “What’s that?”
“CùSithGrim is a Sovereign God,” Parker told
her with a look. “Basically a weapon, or even an archangel if you will, of
their main deity. CùSithGrim is known as the Shield of Justice, the Saint of
Change, and the God of Chaos. The Hound of Virtue, they say, who can see a
man’s true character.” He then shot Tom a worried look. “Does the boy believe
this?”
“Psych profiles never mention a God-complex.
They make him sound like the most humble, normal person on the planet who won’t
hesitate to slice your throat,” Tom frowned and shook his head. “His file and
his placement make him the most befuddling contradiction I have ever
encountered.” Tom looked at Parker,
hopeful that he would have something to say. But Parker sat silent, reading Brian’s
file. Finally, Tom couldn’t hold back his impatience. “What do I do, Parker?
Give me something here. I’m desperate.”
Parker silently closed Brian’s file and handed
it back to Tom. He then looked directly into Tom’s eyes. “Go home. Get out your
Bible. Start reading it. The answers to your questions are there. I cannot stop
what is coming, what will happen, not even to me. No one can.” He paused and
shook his head, “I can’t read the future, Tom. I’m sorry. I am truly sorry,
son.”
***
It was a few days later that Tom received word
that the Grim Reaper was en route. He knew the facilities were ready to receive
him but he himself wasn’t. Colonel Warren Hayes had swept through to oversee
the transfer. Tom had known Hayes for eight years now, ever since Parker paired
them for the Program. They had a civil, professional relationship, but now Tom
couldn’t look at the man without feeling contempt that Hayes had been playing
him.
The red-haired man smirked at Tom.
Well, Tom had to admit, he wouldn’t have considered it a smirk before last
week. But now that Tom knew, he considered it a smirk.
“I must say, General Ridley, I was
shocked to hear you were transferring 2-4-9 to this little slice of Americana,”
Hayes commented as he sat down at the conference table. “I hear that he
intrigues you now. Strange. You’ve always avoided him before.”
“Now that his squad is gone, I’d like
to keep a close eye on him. No telling what he will do now that he’s solo,” Tom
knew this was a game to Hayes, so he watched him for his reaction. “How did you
determine which of the Horsemen would be which?”
“It came to me in a vision,” Hayes was
still smug. “I must say, I am disappointed the other three didn’t make it. I
thought they were tougher than that.”
Tom frowned. “Do you have the report?”
“You will have it as soon as I put the
finishing touches on it, but here is the preliminary,” Hayes pushed the folder
across to Tom, who picked it up and opened it. “The Locals provided false
information. Clearly, there was more than a Company of Sovereign there. I’m still
at a loss as to how Xarcoff got those men to that base without us knowing.
There had never been any large flights from Gurmchekistan to South America.”
“Perhaps he had help,” Tom commented,
his eyes reading a very concise report from the Officer in Charge of the platoon,
translated to English. Tom wondered if this was an accurate translation. “You
lost the Three Horsemen and a squad due to improper recon and intel gathering
on the location. I see your Lieutenant here requested a small recon party, but
you denied it.”
Hayes shrugged. “We sent a satellite
over the region. Didn’t see the massive structure. Of course, there, you never
know. Some of those structures are ancient lost cities the archeologists would
love to get their trowels into.”
“You got a squad pinned down by
machine guns. Then the three Horsemen and a squad were taken out by hidden
flame thrower cannons, spewing napalm?”
Tom looked up at him.
Hayes shifted. “Obviously the Reaper
never saw that coming, or his pawns would have been elsewhere.”
Tom just looked at Hayes.
Hayes shrugged again. “It’s the fourth
horsemen that is the most important, anyway.
You see, in the Book of Revelations, that fourth rider is the only one
that was named, and the only one who isn’t holding anything. The first rider
had the bow, the second rider was given a sword, and the third rider had the
scales. The fourth rider… You see, he didn’t hold anything because he himself
IS the weapon.” Hayes’s eyes lit up with excitement. “You could argue that the
Pale Rider possesses all of the abilities of the others, all rolled into one,
and is therefore the most powerful. The only one who could have the respect of
Hell to follow him.”
Tom raised his eyes, not impressed
with what Hayes was telling him. “Oh? And what about the others? The martyrs,
the quakes, the blood moon, the 144 thousand, and the trumpets? Who are they in
your grand delusion?”
Hayes grinned. “You don’t like me
much, do you General?”
“It’s not my job to like you,
Colonel.”
“Fair enough. But may I ask why?”
Hayes smirked again then chuckled and shook his head when Tom said nothing. “Our sins cast long shadows, don’t they, General Ridley?”
“It looks like we’re done here,
Colonel,” Tom told him. “I expect to have the full report on my desk. You will
be explaining it to an After-Action Review Board, as is procedure when
casualties occur.”
“It is the procedure,” Hayes agreed as
he studied Tom. “And they will find we were not at fault. I’ve got to go make sure the kennels are
ready for my Hound.” Hayes waited for Tom to stand before he stood and then
only turned from the table when Tom dismissed him. Tom took the folder back
into his office. The phone rang so he answered it.
“Tom,” Mae’s voice was strained. “Come
now. Parker’s time is limited.”
Twenty minutes later, Tom was entering
the hospital room. I hate hospitals, he thought. He approached Parker’s bed. “You still here, Old Man?” Tom asked with a smile. “I thought we already said
goodbye. You getting senile?” He knew Parker understood.
“Aw, save your love for my eulogy,
boy. I can still get out of this bed and take you out,” Parker’s voice was very
raspy and hoarse. “This is important, Tom. Very important. I have to tell you
this and I don’t have much time.” Tom nodded and sat down in the chair beside
him when Parker immediately took his hand. “Your boy. The Reaper.”
“Yeah? How did you know I just had a
discussion with Hayes about him?”
“Hayes can pound sand. What you said
last bothered me. The Apocalypse, Tom. We have always been taught it was the
End of Times, the end of the world, the end of everything, and the Four
Horsemen are the harbinger of that End.”
Tom frowned. It must be his day to
have theology told to him. “Yeah, Parker. I know the story.”
“It meant something different when it
was written.”
“You really want to talk about this
now?”
“The Horsemen are forces brought to
ruin any empire that oppresses God’s people. Your son is a Horsemen. Death
doesn’t always mean a physical death, but change. Ends are beginnings. The
roots of the word ‘Apocalypse’ means uncover; to reveal… The ‘End of the World’
translation is more of a modern belief.” Parker now stared hard at Tom. “He is
different from the others, Tom. Insurance policy. His education. Terminal. Connect
the dots, Tom. Use it to his advantage! God is never wrong! He chose Brian for
a reason.” His eyes held urgency, trying to get Tom to understand. “I’m leaving
you the answers. Find a way.”
Spooked by what Parker was saying, Tom
could only nod. Before he could say anything in response, a knock came at the
door.
Parker gripped Tom’s hand harder. “Never give up on that boy. Promise me.”
Tom nodded again and found his voice. “I promise.”
Behind him, they heard Mae say,
“Parker, dear, look who has arrived!”
Parker drilled another look into Tom’s
face before he released the grip he had on Tom’s hand and looked beyond him.
“Why, dear girl, I told you I’d still be here.”
Tom stood up and turned to see the
tall, thin and very beautiful woman with Mae. She only gave Tom a quick glance
before she was over beside Parker now. “Oh Dad, I’m glad I made it.”
“Where are the kids and Howard?”
“Howard had to wrap up a few things,
so I came on ahead. I travel faster when I’m alone.”
Tom backed away to attempt to get out
of the room, but Mae stopped him. “Oh, Tom, leaving so soon? You remember our youngest
daughter, Helene.”
Tom forced a smile as he looked at the
woman and said, “Of course. I’m sorry to see you again under these circumstances.”
“Oh, we’ve met before?” Helene stood
straight and proper, as if she were a queen. But he knew the truth; she was
just a kid from Texas, just like him. That Texan inside her wouldn’t die
easily, regardless of whatever high and mighty lifestyle Helene had now.
“Of course, honey,” Mae piped up. “Tom
Ridley. You were children together at Sentinel.”
“Oh, it’s been ages,” Helene simply replied
then turned her attention back to Parker, dismissing Tom with just one look.
Tom looked at Mae and Mae looked down,
knowing exactly what Tom was thinking. Helene just snubbed Tom in his own
“house.” Neither said anything, though, and Tom gave Mae a hug. “I’ve got to
get back. I have a few things I have to finish at work.”
Mae only nodded and hugged him back.
“I’ll let you know.”
“Thanks, Mae. I appreciate it.”
Tom then exited the room, knowing that confusing conversation would be the last conversation he would ever have with Parker. He wasn’t ready to lose his mentor yet. He felt heavy as he pushed the call button at the elevators and looked back over his shoulder to the room that held Parker. He paused as the elevator doors slid open and took a deep breath.
Change was coming.
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