Valentines Day

by Bob Mayer

  5. INDEPENDENCE DAY

  6. THE FIFTH FLOOR

  7. NINE-ELEVEN

  8. VALENTINES DAY a Time Patrol Novella

  9. HALLOWS EVE (coming 1 October 2017)

  THE GREEN BERETS SERIES:

  1. EYES OF THE HAMMER (free)

  2. DRAGON SIM-13

  3. SYNBAT

  4. CUT OUT

  5. ETERNITY BASE

  6. Z: FINAL COUNTDOWN

  (at this point we introduce Horace Chase as the main character and he eventually teams up with Dave Riley, the main character from the previous books)

  7. CHASING THE GHOST

  8. CHASING THE LOST

  9. CHASING THE SON

  10. OLD SOLDIERS (coming spring 2018)

  THE DUTY, HONOR, COUNTRY SERIES:

  1. WEST POINT TO MEXICO (free)

  2. MEXICO TO SUMTER

  3. SUMTER TO SHILOH

  AREA 51 SERIES:

  1. AREA 51

  2. AREA 51 THE REPLY

  3. AREA 51 THE MISSION

  4. AREA 51 THE SPHINX

  5. AREA 51 THE GRAIL

  6. AREA 51 EXCALIBUR

  7. AREA 51 THE TRUTH

  (Legend and Nosferatu are prequels to the main series)

  8. AREA 51 LEGEND

  9. AREA 51 NOSFERATU

  10. AREA 51 RESURRECTION (to be published Fall 2017)

  ATLANTIS SERIES:

  1. ATLANTIS

  2. ATLANTIS BERMUDA TRIANGLE

  3. ATLANTIS DEVILS SEA

  4. ATLANTIS GATE

  5. ASSAULT ON ATLANTIS

  6. BATTLE FOR ATLANTIS

  THE SHADOW WARRIORS:

  (these books are all stand-alone and don’t need to be read in order)

  THE OMEGA MISSILE

  THE OMEGA SANCTION

  SECTION EIGHT

  THE LINE

  THE GATE

  THE PRESIDENTIAL SERIES:

  1. THE JEFFERSON ALLEGIANCE

  2. THE KENNEDY ENDEAVOR

  THE CELLAR SERIES:

  1. BODYGUARD OF LIES

  2. LOST GIRLS

  THE BURNERS SERIES:

  1. BURNERS

  2. PRIME

  THE PSYCHIC WARRIOR SERIES

  1. PYSCHIC WARRIOR

  2. PSYCHIC WARRIOR PROJECT AURA

  STAND ALONE BOOKS:

  THE ROCK

  I, JUDAS THE 5TH GOSPEL

  COLLABORATIONS WITH JENNIFER CRUSIE

  DON’T LOOK DOWN

  AGNES AND THE HITMAN

  WILD RIDE

  NON-FICTION:

  PREPARE NOW—SURVIVE LATER

  SURVIVE NOW—THRIVE LATER

  SHIT DOESN’T JUST HAPPEN I: THE GIFT OF FAILURE

  SHIT DOESN’T JUST HAPPEN II: THE GIFT OF FAILURE

  THE NOVEL WRITERS TOOLKIT

  WRITE IT FORWARD

  102 SOLUTIONS TO COMMON WRITING MISTAKES

  THE WRITER’S CONFERENCE GUIDE (free)

  WHO DARES WINS

  CONNECTIONS BETWEEN SERIES VIA PLOT AND CHARACTERS:

  Technically the first Time Patrol book is the fourth Nightstalker book. You can start the Time Patrol series with Time Patrol, but if you want to know about what they did before, as Nightstalkers, then those three books show that.

  The Fifth Floor is part of Time Patrol, but different in that it’s the backstory of one of the characters: Lara.

  The universe of Atlantis is the same as that in Time Patrol with the Shadow trying to change a timeline. They are just different timelines. Thus we have characters from Atlantis such as Dane and Foreman showing up in the Time Patrol.

  The Cellar becomes involved in the Nightstalkers and Time Patrol, with Hannah and Neeley playing roles.

  All my novels and series are listed in order, with links here:

  www.bobmayer.com/fiction/

  My nonfiction, including my two companion books for preparation and survival is listed at

  www.bobmayer.com/nonfiction/

  Thank you!

  Hallows Eve

  A TIME PATROL NOVEL

  “I’m not superstitious. I’m a witch. Witches aren’t superstitious. We are what people are superstitious of.”

  Terry Pratchett

  Where The Time Patrol Ended Up This Particular Day: 31 October

  “Up! Children of Zulu, your day has come. Up! And destroy them all.” Shaka Zulu

  Zululand, Africa, 31 October 1828 A.D.

  “I take that as no.” Shaka slammed the iklwa into the old witch’s chest, pinning her to the ground. She squirmed, then went still.

  “Come here, spy,” Shaka said, gesturing for Eagle to approach his throne composed of human bones. “There is something I want to show you. Perhaps in your treasonous life, you have seen something like it.”

  Eagle knew he stood no chance against Shaka, iklwa to iklwa, regardless of the Naga blade on his own. He walked forward, skirting around the dead woman.

  Shaka lifted something heavy and tossed it toward Eagle. It thudded and rolled once.

  It is 1828 A.D. Russia declares war on Turkey in support of Greek independence; Shaka Zulu, the most powerful Zulu ruler, dies (maybe); South Carolina declares the right of states to nullify Federal law; a storm off of Gibraltar sinks over 100 ships; Noah Webster publishes the first American dictionary; Simon Bolivar becomes dictator of Venezuela; Andrew Jackson is elected the seventh President of the United States with 642,553 votes after having not been named President in the 1824 election despite receiving the most electoral votes.

  “What is that?” Shaka demanded.

  Eagle knew why he was here.

  Some things change; some don’t.

  “That, great King, is the head of a mighty beast we call a Grendel. And if there is one, there is at least one more like it. Larger, more dangerous. Capable of giving birth to many, many more.”

  Shaka laughed, a jagged edge to it. “At least one more? In the valley of the dead to the west, there are dozens of these beasts, guarding a watering hole. It was a mighty fight to get this one head. They were sent here to torment me in my grief.”

  “Until an hour before the Devil fell, God thought him beautiful in Heaven.”

  Arthur Miller, The Crucible

  Salem Massachusetts, 31 October 1692 A.D.

  “I really thought—“ Pandora began, but she paused, cocking her head. “Do you have the Sight?” Her voice was lower, almost a whisper.

  “Sort of,” Lara said.

  “Do you sense him?”

  Lara did sense something or someone. In the forest. Moving. Coming this way. She’d felt this presence before; even met it.

  “Joey,” she whispered.

  “Who is Joey?” Pandora said, turning in the direction of the presence, lifting her Naga to the ready. “They are all Legion. They don’t have names.”

  “He is darkness,” Lara said. “Evil.”

  It is 1692 A.D. The world’s population is roughly 710 million with 436 million of those in Asia; Diego de Vargas, and Spanish colonists, retake Santa Fe, New Mexico from the Pueblo people after 12 years of exile and the event is still celebrated in the city; in February, the first people are accused of witchcraft in Salem: Sarah Good, Sarah Osborne, and Tituba; an earthquake devastates Jamaica and the resulting tsunami kills two to three thousand and destroys the capital, Port Royal; a Chinese Emperor issues the edict of Toleration, recognizing all Roman Catholic priests (not just Jesuits) and legalizing their right to convert Chinese; on June 10th the first to be hanged in Salem is Bridget Bishop.

  “You do have some Sight,” Pandora acknowledged. She lowered the point of her Naga staff slightly. “It is going away. But it knows we’re here.”

  Some things change; some don’t.

  “Why didn’t it attack?” Lara asked. She’d drawn her Naga dagger without consciously realizing it.

  “It is not here for us,” Pandora said.

  “Who is it here for?”

  “I truly expected it to be Scout that was cho
sen for this mission,” Pandora said.

  “Why is that?” Lara asked.

  “Because if you fail in this mission, Scout will cease to exist.”

  “Every man must do two things alone; he must do his own believing and his own dying.”

  Martin Luther

  Wittenberg, Germany, 31 October 1517 A.D.

  Legion put one blade to his lips and licked it. “Your blood is indeed sweet. Are you a virgin?”

  “Are you serious?” Scout said. “I think—“ and she darted to her right, jumping onto a pew, and continuing up into the air.

  No one ever looks up, Nada had always preached.

  It is 1517 A.D. The Ottoman Empire captures Cairo, deposing the Mamluk Sultanate; the first official diplomatic mission of a European country to China is made in Hong Kong; the 1st Duke of Suffolk is born; Pope Leo X signs the 5th Council of Lateran covering such things as Church allowing pawn shops to give loans to the poor.

  Of course, that was kind of worthless given Legion was completely focused on her. But her focus on time was everything and the world was slowing down once more. She could feel the wood under her sandal, her muscles contracting, expanding, pushing her up. She twisted aware of the air brushing against her skin, the musty odor of the church, and most of all, Legion turning, bringing one blade up to parry, the other ready to thrust upward and gut her.

  Some things change; some don’t.

  But he was too slow as the tip of Scout’s Naga dagger drew a thin red line along the side of his scalp starting at the temple, slicing through his ear, and ending at the back of the neck.

  Scout landed on her feet. “That was pretty cool. Didn’t know I could do that.”

  “I am alive today. I may not be here tomorrow.”

  Indira Gandhi (on 30 October, the night before her assassination)

  New Delhi, 31 October 1984 A.D.

  “I am Indira. And you are?”

  “Neeley, Prime Minister.”

  “There is no need to be formal, is there?” Gandhi asked. “Not now. Not this evening, actually very early morning as the clock has already passed the midnight hour into a new day.”

  “Yes ma’am,” Neeley said, a cup of tea cooling on the table in front of her, while the Prime Minister of India took a sip from her own cup. A gun rested on Neeley’s lap, hidden by the tablecloth.

  “Indira, please. And is Neeley your first name or surname?”

  “It’s just my name.”

  “Curious. Surely you were born with a full name?”

  “I was.”

  Gandhi held up a hand. “I sense the issue is one that is sensitive to you. Forgive my intrusion. Neeley. Most interesting. You sound American, but there is a trace of an accent in your English. Having grown up here but being schooled in Europe, I have heard many accents. A bit of French perhaps?”

  “I lived there for a while,” Neeley admitted.

  “Ah, France,” Gandhi said. “Joan d’Arc. A true hero.”

  It is 1984 A.D. Cirque Du Soleil is founded; a 19 year old goes into a deep coma after an auto accident—he’ll come out of it in 2003; Vanessa Williams becomes the first African-American to become Miss America, but it doesn’t last; the IRA attempts to assassinate Prime Minister Thatcher and the British Cabinet with a bomb; Galileo is formally forgiven by the Vatican for his theory on the Earth’s orbit, a bit late for him; Ronald Reagan is elected President; Apple introduces the Mac with an iconic commercial; the Winter Olympics are held in Sarajevo; crack cocaine is introduced in Los Angeles; Chrysler introduces the first mini-van (yay?); ; Iran accuses Iraq of using chemical weapons.

  Gandhi looked down. “And you brought a gun.”

  Neeley put the pistol on the table. “For protection.”

  Some things change. Some don’t.

  “Really? And you know how to use it?”

  “I do.”

  Gandhi took a sip of tea, reminding Neeley of her own. “This is very nice.”

  “My own mixture,” Gandhi said. “Tea is such a strange symbol in my country. We produce it and the British exploited us for it. It seems everything in life cuts both ways. Now we no longer have the British but we still have our tea.”

  Neeley was never one for small talk so she didn’t say anything.

  Gandhi indicated the pistol. “Will you shoot me with that?”

  “Have you heard of a ship called the good Reuben James

  Manned by hard fighting men both of honor and fame?”

  Woody Guthrie

  The North Atlantic, 31 October 1941 A.D.

  “Who are you?” the man hissed, leaning close, putting pressure on the blade at Roland’s neck.

  “Roland.”

  “Are you friend or foe?”

  Roland slowly moved his left hand toward the handle of his dagger. “Friend or foe of who?” Roland asked as the destroyer USS Reuben James rolled steeply, a North Atlantic wave tossing the four-stack destroyer about.

  “I was told one out of time would come,” the man said. “I felt the disturbance of your arrival. Why are you here?”

  Roland answered as carefully, and vaguely, as he could, which wasn’t hard for him to do. “To make sure everything happens as it should.”

  It is 1941 A.D. Elmer’s Pet Rabbit, aka Bugs Bunny, premiers; FDR is sworn in for his third term as President; all persons born in Puerto Rico henceforth will be U.S. Citizens; Grand Coulee Dam begins to generate electricity; Citizen Kane premiers; Z3, the world’s first working programmable automatic computer is introduced in Berlin; Joe DiMaggio begins his 56 game hitting streak; the first major airborne assault in history is launched by the Germans on Crete; Goring direct Heydrich to draw up plans for the Final Solution with Himmler to be in charge; the first Jeep rolls off the production line; the T4 program is initiated by the Nazis, euthanizing people with disabilities; Jews in the occupied territories must wear a Star of David; construction of the Pentagon building begins; German troops can see the steeples of Moscow, much as Napoleon had a century before, but it’s snowing and cold, much like Napoleon experienced; Hong Kong falls to the Japanese; a breakfast called Cheerios is released.

  The man laughed without mirth. “What should happen? You know? What do you know?”

  “This ship sinks.”

  Some things change; some don’t.

  “’This ship sinks’?” The man was incredulous. “Who cares about this ship? It’s the other ship, the submarine that we have to worry about. That’s the one we have to destroy.”

  ! ! ! Attention government sponsors of cyber warfare and those who profit from it ! ! !

  Beginning of Patebin Page of the Shadow Brokers

  ZERO DAY

  The Gunman shot the guy in the Fedex outfit in the left eye. The slice of pizza he’d been holding hit the floor with a splat. Fedex man slumped in the seat, dead before he was aware he was going to die.

  “No double-tap?” Ivar asked, trying to remain calm.

  “No need, as you can clearly see.”

  “Right. I was taught double-tap.”

  “You were taught correctly,” Gunman said, “but situations differ.” He waggled the gun, which was now pointed at Ivar. “Twenty-two High Standard. A classic. One shot, eyeball, is enough. But you must be very accurate. The eye socket is a small target.”

  “Right.” Ivar swallowed. “And now?”

  It is Now. Zero Day in Zero Year. How we got to be here? 1801: Joseph Marie invents a loom using wood punch cards to weave certain fabric designs, the forerunner of computer punch cards; 1822: Charles Babbage conceptualizes a calculator powered by steam and is funded by the British Government, but his project fails; 1890: Herman Hollerrith designs a punch system, not a machine, to help calculate the 1880 census and accomplishes the task in only three years (done by hand it took seven); the company he starts will eventually be known as IBM; 1936: Alan Turing conceptualizes a ‘universal machine’ that would be capable of computing anything that is computable, which is the essence of a computer. Sor
t of.

  “We had an incident,” Gunman said. “Excuse me. I have failed to introduce myself. I am Victor.”

  “’Victor’?” Ivar nodded. “Sure. Victor. I’m Ivar.”

  Some things change; some don’t.

  “As I was saying, we had an incident a while back. In the Negev.”

  This was worse than the mob, Ivar realized. The fraking Israelis.

  “Someone appeared. Like you did. Caused great damage. I read the report. I broke protocol on my mission here because to understand what happened there and then is a higher priority than our surveillance here and now, although we believe the two might be connected.” He pointed the pistol with the stubby suppressor directly at Ivar’s left eye. “How did you get here?”

  Coming 1 October 2017. Hallows Eve (Time Patrol)

  Copyright

  Cool Gus Publishing

  http://coolgus.com

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

  Acknowledgements: Thanks to Ken Kendall and Dalice Peterson for their Beta Reads.

  Valentines Day by Bob Mayer

  COPYRIGHT © 2017 by Bob Mayer

  All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner without written permission from the author (Bob Mayer, Who Dares Wins) except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles or reviews.