A Nano Excerpt
So instead of shoveling out words and trying desperately to get caught up, I seem to only be able to pepper a few on the page. Haven't even reached my normal daily quota yet, much less catching up, but...I am giving you a snippet to further my procrastination. :)
They were going to need some food here shortly, he was thinking to himself when he heard a scuffling in the back. Glancing at Bernie, it was clear that she had heard it too. He quickly grabbed the radio receiver and said, "Everything okay back there?"
The line remained silent save for the usual staticky white noise.
"Jake?"
Still nothing, and then more scuffling and a loud thump and bang of something or someone hitting the stiff but flexible metal and plastic siding of the truck's trailer.
"Jake?" Karl's voice was tight, but he was trying not to let it rise to that higher note that would be a sure sign to anybody that he was worried. He'd been in this business long enough to know that worry and caring about someone else was an easy weakness to exploit. Had looters gotten into their truck? Was Edgar reacting badly to the tranquilizers?
There was still no answer and Bernie was starting to get that worried look in her eyes as well. Karl was sure it was mirroring his own look.
"I've got to stop," Karl said, tone making it clear that this wasn't a decision to be argued or negotiated with. Bernie nodded before he got the words completely out though. Clearly, she was more worried about the guys in the back than them all getting caught and slapped with more tranquilizers and a jail cell.
Karl found the nearest stretch of flat shoulder that looked like they wouldn't tip over into the ditch if a small gust of wind hit them and screeched to a halt.
"Jake," he was calling after he'd slid out of the truck and was running towards the back to open up the trailer. Bernie appeared on the other side, just as Karl rounded the back.
"Open it," she said, sounding like she was trying to keep the urgency out of her voice.
They both grabbed the handles and Karl flipped the latch before another fear could flutter through his synapses. They both shoved the door up hard and Karl scrambled inside without looking. The idea of Jake in trouble had him not caring a whole lot about getting in the middle of something like a rock and a hard place. "Jake!" Karl went jumping around dislodged crates, trying to get closer to where he could hear scuffling and heavy breathing.
Tripping over one last box, he landed hard on his hands and looked over where he thought they must be. "What the hell, Jake?"
Jake was straddled over Edgar's chest, hands snugly on his throat.
"Karl?" The slight edge to Jake's voice made him sound more frantic than Karl had ever heard him. Jake didn't change his stance though and he didn't take his eyes off of Edgar's face for even a second.
"What's going on, what the hell is going on?" Karl asked as he found his footing and pulled himself up off the floor. Bernie had made her way over by then too - more carefully, it had sounded like - and Karl just barely managed to grab her wrist and keep her from flinging herself at Jake for having Edgar in that stranglehold. "Woah, woah," he murmured so only she could hear. They didn't need to spook Jake. Not that he thought Jake would kill the guy, but Karl knew he could and it looked like he might want to.
"The guy's a rat. He's a rat," Jake growled. "He's the one that got us nabbed. He fucking told the cops where to find us." There was so much venom in Jake's voice that Karl hardly recognized it. He briefly wondered what that conversation had been like. It must have been a real winner to get Jake into a fit like this. Jake could have easily just knocked the guy out after a word or two with all his muscle. But this seemed...more personal. Shaking his head, Karl eased closer. He could hear Bernie sucking in a breath to rail at Jake, defending Edgar's honor, no doubt, but he quickly put a couple fingers to her lips and shook his head again.
"Not now," he whispered, edging closer with Bernie in tow. "Jake, why don't you let him up and maybe he can explain himself. He's not going anywhere with at least you and me in the way. And if he does turn out to be as bad as you say, I don't think Bernie here will be all that happy with Edgar either." For all he cared, Bernie could throw the first punch or they could drop him off in the middle of nowhere. But damned if he was going to let Jake have a murder on his conscience and his record. It would be the last tee to cross on his record and Karl would never see Jake again.
"Why the hell should I? This rat bastard almost landed me in prison for no fucking reason. He can fucking tell us from where he is what the hell he was thinking when he tipped the feds off on his own shipment."
"You might have to loosen your grip on his throat if we actually want to hear him speak, Jay," Karl slipped the nickname in there to try and calm Jake down, but it didn't look much like it was going to help until Karl saw Jake's muscular shoulders relax minutely.
"Fine," Jake snarled, his hands visibly letting up on the pressure they were putting on Edgar's throat. Karl was surprised that Edgar had kept still and quiet through all of this but when you've got a hulk like Jake on top of you, it's probably smartest not to poke the bear, so to speak. Jake didn't leave his position of pinning Edgar to the dusty floor of the truck, but Karl glanced at Bernie and she seemed all right with this turn of events. There was something flitting across her face, but Karl couldn't quite read it.
Edgar shifted under Jake, gasping and clearing his throat several times after the release in pressure. It felt to Karl like he and Bernie were leaning forward trying to hear what Edgar was saying even though he hadn't started to speak yet. If Edgar was the reason they had all broken several laws and nearly gotten Jake imprisoned, then Karl wasn't sure he wouldn't just toss both him and Bernie out of the truck along with their cargo. He was starting to like Bernie, but for all he knew, she was in on whatever plan Edgar had to get Tarmac Cargo in trouble with all this possibly illegal shipping. For all he knew, that was the whole plan, to set them up. They could have been government agents, if he were feeling that paranoid about the government actually caring about an operation like Tarmac's.
The silence seemed to have stretched for ages and Karl was about to say something when someone else beat him to it.
"Back out of the truck slowly, hands where we can see them. Jake Marten and Edgar Turner, you're under arrest. Again," came a wry voice beyond the crates.
Karl felt the blood drain from his face and looked between Jake and Bernie and then back at Jake...
Before he could reconsider, he dragged Jake up for a hard, quick kiss then shoved him back hard against a wall, grabbed Edgar up from the floor, and dragged him bodily towards the trailer's opening without letting himself look back at Jake. Once he could see the officers with their tranq guns he said calmly, "I'm Jake Marten."
They were going to need some food here shortly, he was thinking to himself when he heard a scuffling in the back. Glancing at Bernie, it was clear that she had heard it too. He quickly grabbed the radio receiver and said, "Everything okay back there?"
The line remained silent save for the usual staticky white noise.
"Jake?"
Still nothing, and then more scuffling and a loud thump and bang of something or someone hitting the stiff but flexible metal and plastic siding of the truck's trailer.
"Jake?" Karl's voice was tight, but he was trying not to let it rise to that higher note that would be a sure sign to anybody that he was worried. He'd been in this business long enough to know that worry and caring about someone else was an easy weakness to exploit. Had looters gotten into their truck? Was Edgar reacting badly to the tranquilizers?
There was still no answer and Bernie was starting to get that worried look in her eyes as well. Karl was sure it was mirroring his own look.
"I've got to stop," Karl said, tone making it clear that this wasn't a decision to be argued or negotiated with. Bernie nodded before he got the words completely out though. Clearly, she was more worried about the guys in the back than them all getting caught and slapped with more tranquilizers and a jail cell.
Karl found the nearest stretch of flat shoulder that looked like they wouldn't tip over into the ditch if a small gust of wind hit them and screeched to a halt.
"Jake," he was calling after he'd slid out of the truck and was running towards the back to open up the trailer. Bernie appeared on the other side, just as Karl rounded the back.
"Open it," she said, sounding like she was trying to keep the urgency out of her voice.
They both grabbed the handles and Karl flipped the latch before another fear could flutter through his synapses. They both shoved the door up hard and Karl scrambled inside without looking. The idea of Jake in trouble had him not caring a whole lot about getting in the middle of something like a rock and a hard place. "Jake!" Karl went jumping around dislodged crates, trying to get closer to where he could hear scuffling and heavy breathing.
Tripping over one last box, he landed hard on his hands and looked over where he thought they must be. "What the hell, Jake?"
Jake was straddled over Edgar's chest, hands snugly on his throat.
"Karl?" The slight edge to Jake's voice made him sound more frantic than Karl had ever heard him. Jake didn't change his stance though and he didn't take his eyes off of Edgar's face for even a second.
"What's going on, what the hell is going on?" Karl asked as he found his footing and pulled himself up off the floor. Bernie had made her way over by then too - more carefully, it had sounded like - and Karl just barely managed to grab her wrist and keep her from flinging herself at Jake for having Edgar in that stranglehold. "Woah, woah," he murmured so only she could hear. They didn't need to spook Jake. Not that he thought Jake would kill the guy, but Karl knew he could and it looked like he might want to.
"The guy's a rat. He's a rat," Jake growled. "He's the one that got us nabbed. He fucking told the cops where to find us." There was so much venom in Jake's voice that Karl hardly recognized it. He briefly wondered what that conversation had been like. It must have been a real winner to get Jake into a fit like this. Jake could have easily just knocked the guy out after a word or two with all his muscle. But this seemed...more personal. Shaking his head, Karl eased closer. He could hear Bernie sucking in a breath to rail at Jake, defending Edgar's honor, no doubt, but he quickly put a couple fingers to her lips and shook his head again.
"Not now," he whispered, edging closer with Bernie in tow. "Jake, why don't you let him up and maybe he can explain himself. He's not going anywhere with at least you and me in the way. And if he does turn out to be as bad as you say, I don't think Bernie here will be all that happy with Edgar either." For all he cared, Bernie could throw the first punch or they could drop him off in the middle of nowhere. But damned if he was going to let Jake have a murder on his conscience and his record. It would be the last tee to cross on his record and Karl would never see Jake again.
"Why the hell should I? This rat bastard almost landed me in prison for no fucking reason. He can fucking tell us from where he is what the hell he was thinking when he tipped the feds off on his own shipment."
"You might have to loosen your grip on his throat if we actually want to hear him speak, Jay," Karl slipped the nickname in there to try and calm Jake down, but it didn't look much like it was going to help until Karl saw Jake's muscular shoulders relax minutely.
"Fine," Jake snarled, his hands visibly letting up on the pressure they were putting on Edgar's throat. Karl was surprised that Edgar had kept still and quiet through all of this but when you've got a hulk like Jake on top of you, it's probably smartest not to poke the bear, so to speak. Jake didn't leave his position of pinning Edgar to the dusty floor of the truck, but Karl glanced at Bernie and she seemed all right with this turn of events. There was something flitting across her face, but Karl couldn't quite read it.
Edgar shifted under Jake, gasping and clearing his throat several times after the release in pressure. It felt to Karl like he and Bernie were leaning forward trying to hear what Edgar was saying even though he hadn't started to speak yet. If Edgar was the reason they had all broken several laws and nearly gotten Jake imprisoned, then Karl wasn't sure he wouldn't just toss both him and Bernie out of the truck along with their cargo. He was starting to like Bernie, but for all he knew, she was in on whatever plan Edgar had to get Tarmac Cargo in trouble with all this possibly illegal shipping. For all he knew, that was the whole plan, to set them up. They could have been government agents, if he were feeling that paranoid about the government actually caring about an operation like Tarmac's.
The silence seemed to have stretched for ages and Karl was about to say something when someone else beat him to it.
"Back out of the truck slowly, hands where we can see them. Jake Marten and Edgar Turner, you're under arrest. Again," came a wry voice beyond the crates.
Karl felt the blood drain from his face and looked between Jake and Bernie and then back at Jake...
Before he could reconsider, he dragged Jake up for a hard, quick kiss then shoved him back hard against a wall, grabbed Edgar up from the floor, and dragged him bodily towards the trailer's opening without letting himself look back at Jake. Once he could see the officers with their tranq guns he said calmly, "I'm Jake Marten."