“The car. I meant the car,” said Dan. “Could you push the car?”
“Oh! Yes! Of course! Gotcha!” she said. “Get out and do it, you mean?”
“Well I don’t see how you can do it from in here.”
“Right! Yes!”
Ollie jumped out of the car and closed her door.
She opened it again.
“Should I close the door, or leave it open?”
“It’s fine,” said Dan. “Leave it open. Just push, and when you hear the engine, jump in.”
“Through the door?”
“Where else would you suggest?” Dan asked.
Ollie frowned, then smiled. “Wait, that’s not a real question, is it?”
“Oh-ho. She’s catching on,” said Artur.
“No. Not a serious question. Use the door.”
“Gotcha!”
She vanished, then came back.
“And push the car that way?”
Dan nodded. “Forwards. Yes. Ideally.”
Ollie gave a thumbs-up, then disappeared around the back of the Exodus. Dan watched in the rear view mirror as she placed both hands against the back, gritted her teeth, screwed up her face, and pushed.
“Ye know something?” said Artur. “I think she’s going to fit in just fine.”
“We’ll see,” said Dan.
They both watched her struggle to start the car rolling.
“Ye know ye’ve still got the brake on, right?”
Dan nodded. “Yeah,” he said. “I know.”
“Ye’re a bastard, Dan Deadman.”
“Yeah. I know that, too,” said Dan, then he released the brake and looked at the long dark road ahead as the Exodus began to inch forwards.
“Now, let’s go home,” he said.
And they did.
Slowly.
AUTHOR NOTES
Hey there! You made it to the end of the first full-length Space Team spin-off novel. Well done. Give yourself a pat on the back, and a high-five from me.
I hope you enjoyed Dan’s first solo (ish) adventure. If you haven’t done so already, you can read Dan’s first appearance in Space Team: The Guns of Nana Joan, where you might even see one or two things referenced in this book unfold (hint: there’s a giant robot involved). In fact, if you enjoyed this book, you’ll almost certainly enjoy the Space Team series in general, so do feel free to check it out.
You can get started with this free short story, Space Team: The Holiday Special.
Dan Deadman didn’t start out as a space detective. He wasn’t even called Dan Deadman, in fact. The character was originally something I came up with for a comic book series called Gangrene, which didn’t quite get finished. It always bugged me that the character was never going to get to see the light of day, so I’m excited that he’s finally had his time to shine, albeit in a slightly different form.
Putting this book out into the world has been pretty scary. The Space Team series is doing pretty well for itself, and has an amazingly dedicated group of fans. Creating something new within the Space Team Universe has caused me no end of worry, in case I let them down in some way. Hopefully I haven’t.
If you’d like to see more of Dan Deadman, Ollie and Artur, then be sure to let me know. I love hearing from readers, and you can contact me via my website – barryjhutchison.com – or drop me an email to [email protected].
Finally, if you’ve enjoyed this book, it’d be a huge help if you could leave me a review. Reviews are a great way of letting readers know what to expect, and they also please my master, Amazon, and make them look more favorably upon my sniveling, worthless hide.
Thanks again for taking the time to read, and I hope you had as much fun as I did.
Best wishes,
Barry
Dan Deadman will return in
DEAD MEN DON’T GET PAID
Coming January 2018
Stay updated
Dial D for Deadman: A Space Team Universe Novel (Dan Deadman Space Detective Book 1) Page 24