Valiant

by Bradley Carter

  The smell of fear from children who face an unspeakable future.

  Of all the police at this scene, I’m the only one who spots something resting on the floor in the corner of a locker room. It’s a large piece of thick cloth. On top of it sits a small piece of paper. A piece of foil that smells of peppermint.

  My heart pounds from my chest as I lift the cloth from the filthy carpet— a black clergy robe.

  I stand beside myself.

  My mouth falls open.

  My heart breaks.

  There’s a thin line between trust and deception.

  El Toro’s legacy lives on.

  His empire keeps the city in a deep sleep and bound inside a horrific nightmare.

  There’s no one to trust.

  Everyone is a victim.

  And as for the children; once they’ve gone missing, they’re as good as dead.

  RECOMMENDED FROM THE AUTHOR

  “Red Flags” Remixed

  Wanting to break free from his dead-end job, software engineer Darren Holt aspired to become the boss of his own company. It was a decision that led him on a devastating path of lies, betrayal, and bloodshed. After countless interrogations and hours of therapy, he vowed never to speak of the incident again. But as memories resurfaced, so did certain details he never noticed before. Signs trying to warn him before everything went terribly wrong. To lay his thoughts to rest and to bury the past, Darren tells his story once more. This time, with all of the "red flags" in their place.

  “Craze”

  Escaping to a better life doesn’t come easy for someone so evil. As far back as he can remember, Craze has only known a life of viciousness, corruption, and murder.

  Born bad, a dark past is what raised him, but his intelligence allows him to see his true potential. He strives to escape to a new life, but fulfilling his hopes is a task that doesn’t come easy. It’s hard to clean the slate with so much blood on your hands. It’s nearly impossible to bury history when its ghosts continue to haunt you. It’s a challenge to rid yourself of a debt when so many others had to pay the price. And despite your change in heart, the wages of sin are still death.

  “Cherish” (Coming soon)

  FIND MORE AT: www.theAcorporation.com

  The “REAL” AVERY

  Before I began writing novels, I wrote screenplays as a hobby and thought maybe I could throw a bit of my stuff into contests just to see what happened.

  I had no intention of any of my stories ever coming to a screen, which was fine. All I wanted was a creative outlet. I found it fulfilling to create timelines and characters and situations for them to get through.

  One of my first outlines was a story called, “Code 3.” I had developed three characters, one of which being a dark-haired female police officer named Avery. She was a tough cop and a badass. At the time, I was working my job as a Paramedic and ran into a police officer that was arresting a drunken man. She seemed a bit intimidating. Not only that, this officer was identical to the character I had imagined Avery to be, both with her appearance and persona.

  It wasn’t until a year later when I began my journey as a novelist, that I contacted the officer. I asked to do a ride-along and explained I was writing a book (Red Flags) and had her in mind for a character. The lie I told was there was no need to base anybody off anyone. She was Avery, but I had to see it for myself.

  That night I carried with me a notepad and ink pen. But very few notes were taken. Everything she did matched my character perfectly.

  Now I’m not superstitious by any means. I believe everything in life is chaotic and random. With that being said, I was beside myself when this officer told me she had a BA degree in Journalism and was willing to proofread and edit my stories.

  Still to this day, I can’t get over it. Of all the people in the world to cross paths with, and all your imagination can render, my fictional character led me to her real-life adaptation and someone who will edit the stories she’s in.

  The running gag between Jaime and I is that Avery will be featured in every story I write and I’m not allowed to kill her or get rid of her in any way. And that’s fine with me.

  “At least until you become a best-selling author,” she’ll say.

  So after scrapping through notebook after notebook “Code 3” was broken apart and its left over parts tossed away. I had promised Jaime that Avery would be in a story of her own. She would be the main character of something good. But a few other stories came before the time it would take to write hers.

  For one, I had to take apart Avery’s original story and mold it into something to stand on its own. Second, in all honesty, I needed practice. “Brightside” and “Slumberland” featured Avery, but I wanted to be sure I had my own style of writing that was better than what came from “Red Flags” and “Craze.” I wanted something big. I wanted something for Jaime and Avery that would be hard to turn away from. Something intense, that has a twist that would leave the readers breathless. I wanted Jaime to see she had an important character. Someone strong. I wanted to take Avery to her breaking point and put her through the wringer, only to have her come out on top. It took me a year to come up with the idea for “Valiant” and another year to make sure everything in its plot was connected and worthy of the character.

  The villain in this story was developed from my second novel, “Craze” which left its subplot wide open. After countless months of brainstorming, I thought, who better to face off with Avery than someone who is her complete opposite? Someone taller, stronger, more evil, more brutal, who no one else would stand a chance against—El Toro (The Bull).

  So this is it.

  Finally.

  Unfortunately, Jaime and I don’t associate much except in passing or when I meet her some place to drop off or pickup my next book. She’s amazing at what she does as an officer, an editor, and as a friend.

  There’s not a story I will write without Avery, with her black ponytail and her left arm covered in a sleeve of tattoos. Jaime and I often joke about whiskey, her injured extremities, my loathing for the word ‘panties’ and our favorite sitcom: The Golden Girls. All of which are likenesses you’ll find in Avery, in addition to her being a badass, a sweetheart, and a gem.

  So to everyone reading this, thank you for taking the time to experience my story, and to Jaime…

  “Thank you for being a friend.”