Blood Games - Episode 3

This week’s episode features a chapter from Blood Games, Jake Ramsey Book #3, the first book Black Brick is available as a free ebook from most ebook vendors. Here is an excerpt from the show:

IT SEEMED AS THOUGH an eternity passed while I considered how to respond to the cop’s order, but it wasn’t more than a second or two. I wouldn’t say I’d become used to walking past police officers, but my disguises had allowed me to do that multiple times.

Part of my hesitation was because I was surprised he’d stopped me. He had his hand on his holstered pistol but hadn’t yet removed it. Perhaps he didn’t have a reason to suspect me and was just being cautious. 

I dropped my bag and raised my hands. My heartbeat thudded inside my chest, and sweat trickled down the small of my back, but I thought I was doing a skillful job of keeping it all from reflecting on my face.

“What’s wrong, officer?” I allowed a little bit my alarm to creep into my voice but stamped down the rest. A regular citizen in this situation would be concerned, but he hadn’t pulled a gun or made any accusations. “Is everything okay?” I nodded to the bag. “Please feel free to look inside. I’ve got nothing to hide, just headed home from work.”

Nothing but my disguises, pistols, a grenade, and the ammo to go with it, I thought. If the cop did decide to go through it, I’d have to respond quickly. Even with my newly found boundaries, I wasn’t going to hurt innocent people. If I couldn’t hold myself to that, then I was no better than Peck or Reed.

“Can you remove your sunglasses?” he asked.

I did and gave him a weak smile, trying to look non-threatening. Goofy even. He shook his head. “Okay, you can go.”

I had expected him to take my picture and submit it to FaceRec.

“You don’t want a look in my bag?” I made no move to pick it up, making sure to sell it.

“Negative. Be careful, we have a known terrorist in the area. You see anything suspicious, give us a call.” He left before I could respond.

I allowed a small smile to creep onto my face as he disappeared into the park. The makeup may have been a pain, but this made it all worth it. As soon as I could, I would duck into another restroom, and make a few subtle changes to my face. I wore a long sleeve shirt, so if I took off my jacket, I wouldn’t look out of place in the cold.

Wanting nothing more than to run, I forced myself down to a fast walk. The officer had said a terrorist was in the area so a quick pace away was what an average person would do.

I snorted. An average person would run, but I didn’t want to risk it.