Biggest Fish The Public Security Bureau was slow to act, but when it finally rolled into motion, it was unstoppable. At daybreak, the PSB descended upon the Wood family farm. Investigators. Special Agents. Crime scene technicians. A team of Enhanced SWAT operators for security. Clark’s men greeted them. A motley crew of deputies from all […]
Sheriff of the Swamps Chapter 10
Already Dead James knew it’d come to this. He’d felt it in his bones ever since he returned to Moreno Island. A final showdown between the New Gods and him. They rarely forgave and never forgot. After what the STS, what Team Black Watch, had done to them, it was only a matter of time […]
Sheriff of the Swamps Chapter 9
Liars and Thieves The Clarks and the Woods crammed themselves into the living room. The couch overflowed with squirming children. The elder Clarks and Woods grabbed the remaining sofas. The others brought in chairs from the dining room. James and Kayla stood, him presiding over the meeting, her watching the front door. Wordlessly, Janet spread […]
Sheriff of the Swamps Chapter 8
Our Own Special Way “Motherfucker,” Clark whispered. “You know these people?” Kayla asked. “Sheriff Joshua Smith. Moreno Island Sysadmin Superuser Nu Theta Eight-Nine-One. Guild Branch Director Caleb Anderson.” “Everybody who’s somebody in Moreno,” James said. James and Clark were gathered in the Woods’ den, clustered around his desktop. Kayla’s face dominated the video call window. […]
Sheriff of the Swamps Chapter 7
Black Bag “Fifteen minutes ago, ten men checked into the Gold Star hotel. They’re all mainlanders with heavy luggage. Backpacks and duffel bags. They insisted on carrying their baggage themselves. One of them is a Superuser of the Singularity Network. He’s got the third eye in the forehead all their Superusers have.” Clark faced the […]
Sheriff of the Swamps Chapter 6
“You came to Moreno Island in the morning and killed three people. In the evening you went out and killed seven more. What the fuck is wrong with you people?!” Sheriff Joshua Smith exclaimed. Kayla shrugged. In the STS they called it a regular workday. A heavy day, to be sure, but after months of […]
Sheriff of the Swamps Chapter 5
Black Hatchet Clark had kicked up the hornets’ nest. They weren’t going to stick around to see what came swarming out. The Clark family lived in the suburbs at the northwestern edge of Saint Lucile. Here the architects had envisioned a slice of the pre-Cataclysm world, a homage to long-lost Americana, coupled with adaptations to […]
Sheriff of the Swamps Chapter 4
Three Little Pigs the commotion of the morning, the ferry terminal was once again as lethargic as it was when Kayla had arrived. Yellow crime scene tape blocked off half the parking lot, encompassing the field of combat. A bored deputy stood watch, protecting what little evidence remained. Dark stains marked where the dead men […]
Sheriff of the Swamps Chapter 3
Jackals When you shoot someone in Moreno Island, the cops send everyone. At least, that was the impression James had when the MISD showed up. A cop car, then two, then four and six and eight and then an ocean of cruisers, lights flashing, sirens screaming, more police than Babylon PD would ever send to […]
Sheriff of the Swamps Chapter 2
Trigger Pullers Moreno Island. East of Babylon, across the shimmering sea, it was so isolated that it was a nation unto itself. Left behind by the changing tides of time, it was decades out of date, hopelessly obsolete, so backward it could never hope to catch up with the rest of Nova Babylonia. Few young […]