And Business Is Good

by Michael Todd

  “I really hope you’re correct.” He sighed. “Otherwise the humanity is as good as gone. You know that, right? That if Katie is gone and we let her demon lead us down a path to extinction it will be our fault, and our asses that have to raise their hands and say ‘our bad!’”

  Damian chuckled. “I don’t take blame. It’s your decision.” Damian smiled as took a sip of his whisky. “I don’t get paid the big bucks. Besides, I don’t think she would lead us to extinction, just pain and suffering, that’s all.”

  “You’re not making me feel better about this.” Korbin smiled tightly.

  “You’ve made the right choice.” Damian reached over and patted Korbin on the shoulder. “Trust me.”

  It was night. A rather quiet one, but the streets were busy as usual. A woman, tall and pretty but with a certain stare that could stop anyone in their tracks, walked intently through the rough part of the city.

  The gangs were always in the streets and didn’t like it too much when anyone was on their turf, but for her they made an exception. For her they created a wide walkway, kept their eyes to themselves, and not a single one of those thugs catcalled, whistled, or even thought about touching her.

  Her heels clacked against the sidewalk as she walked with purpose toward a meeting that she was already five minutes late for.

  She reached an intersection and looked down at the paper in her hand and then back up at the signs. She turned left and picked up her pace, almost jogging toward the bright club lights on the next street over.

  There were people lined up out the door, wearing skimpy dresses and the newest jeans and ready to party. As she passed the line she stopped and stared at a guy who had been stupid enough to whistle as her.

  He smiled at first, but as he stared her in the eyes his smile quickly faded away and a look of fear crossed his face. She chuckled and rolled her eyes before continuing toward the door.

  As much as she wanted to put him in his place, she didn’t have time for that—not that night.

  The doorman looked her up and down, not sure who she was. Carefully the woman leaned forward and whispered something in his ear. His face went white and he stood up straight, shaking his head and ushering her through the door.

  He pointed to the back where two guards were standing. The woman winked at him, brushing off the coat check as she made her way into the club. The music was loud and electronic, and the base bumped so hard her teeth rattled in her head.

  She had never liked clubs. They were too crowded and too expensive, and if she wanted a sweaty man to rub himself all over her she could just go to the male strip club on the other side of the town and pay fifty bucks.

  Most of the women in there gave her a onceover and went back to their conversations, while most of the men stopped and stared at her as she made her way through the crowd.

  She was beautiful, sure, but it was her eyes that made them stare—something she had come to really like in recent days.

  There was no better way to get someone’s attention then by flashing the red demon eyes. The smell of booze wafted into her nose and she crinkled it; no time to even think about relaxing and enjoying some whiskey. She was on a mission—one that required her entire attention, and one she did not want to screw up.

  After several pushes, an ass-grab where she put the guy on the ground, and a drink spill she managed to dodge, the woman made it to the other side of the club.

  Two guards stood in front of a large ornate door. The woman stretched up and whispered into one of their ears, and the guy—about a foot taller and a hundred pounds heavier—nodded and stepped to the side, opening the door. The woman smiled and nodded as she stepped through the doorway into a nicely decorated room that looked like it belonged in an Asian mob house.

  Not in the back of a skanky club.

  As soon as the door was shut behind her, the music faded and she was able to hear herself think again.

  She pulled on the edge of her skirt and took a deep breath, feeling a little out of it after running down the street and then fighting through the mob of desperate clubgoers. When she had straightened herself out, the woman looked up at another guy, who held open a curtain and welcomed her into the next room. The woman smiled and followed him through the curtain to where an Asian woman in a very pretty green dress was waiting for her.

  She smiled at the Asian woman, thinking how elegant she looked in that dress and how her hair reminded her of the fifties, or at least movies about the fifties.

  She was too young to remember anything other than the nineties. The woman stood up and held out her hand, offering the seat across from her. She nodded and took the seat.

  “Miss…”

  “Just call me Mia,” the Asian woman said.

  “’Mia,’” the woman said. “Thank you for seeing me. I am sorry I am late. Business was…busier than normal.”

  “Not a problem.” She smiled and nodded to the table in front of her. “Tea?”

  “Oh, yes please,” the woman said, turning over her cup.

  Mia served the tea with an air of confidence. She passed the sugar and cream and sat back in the chair, crossing her legs. The woman smiled, feeling the confidence in the woman and knowing she thought she was in complete control of the situation.

  “Your club is…nice,” the woman began.

  “Thank you,” Mia replied. “I have owned it for ten years. The secret to it is having security you can trust, employees you can trust, and police you can trust.” She winked. “It’s really all about trust.”

  “It’s just a front though, right?” the woman asked.

  “You are a smart woman.” Mia laughed. “Most clubs are a front for something or other, whether its simple tax evasion or mobster activity. I can promise, though, that we are neither. You know what service I provide, so I suppose I would need a front for that. It’s not the most legal matter.”

  “Of course not,” the woman said. She leaned forward, took off her sunglasses, and flashed her eyes.

  Mia’s smile faded and she shook, spilling some of her tea on the saucer. She stared at the woman, realizing that she was no longer in charge. In fact, she was no longer in a situation she was comfortable being in.

  She looked around for her security.

  “They won’t be needed.” The woman reclined in her seat, taking the cup with her. “I am not here for you, just the service you provide.”

  “Of course,” Mia said, bowing her head. “I am honored to have someone of your stature here with me tonight. Had I known you were coming—or that it was you that was coming—I would have made sure to have you escorted back.”

  “That would have been nice.” The woman stared at her.

  “Right,” Mia said. “Let me just get the documents.”

  Mia stood up and walked over to a small stand with a large wooden box sitting on top. She slowly opened the lid and retrieved a leather satchel from inside.

  She hurried back to the table and looked to the side, nodding at her service staff. The girl rushed over and took the tea and tray from the table before disappearing into the back room. The woman smiled at the fear in everyone’s eyes.

  Mia pulled a stack of paper from the satchel. “Here are the documents for your new identity: your birth certificate, Social Security card, driver’s license with a number that is attached to the DMV in case you get pulled over, a passport where you just need to add the picture, and the credit card you requested in your new identity.”

  “Thank you.” The woman checked each piece carefully before looking up. “And none of these will fail me?”

  “No, they are all registered to the correct places,” Mia explained. “That is why we charge what we do. They are not fake ID documents, they are legitimate identities.”

  The woman smiled. “Wonderful. Will I need anything else?”

  “No. Now that you have all of it you will be able to get a replacement license, buy a home, go to Brazil—whatever you wish to do,” Mia told her. “Of course, we a
sk that you promise anonymity if for any reason you are caught.”

  “Of course,” the woman assured her. “My lips are sealed.”

  The woman stood up and opened her purse, pulling out a large envelope and laying it on the table. Mia shook her head and piled the documents back into the leather satchel, which she handed to her. The woman bowed slightly and smiled.

  “Fifty thousand, right?” she confirmed

  “Yes, thank you.” Mia bowed her head.

  “It was a pleasure having tea with you,” the woman said. “May I ask what kind of tea that is?”

  “It is a family blend,” Mia answered. “A mix of greens and herbals—something my mother used to make to calm us and get us to bed at night. I find that it helps relax two strangers when they are meeting for the first time.”

  “I can see where that might be useful.” The woman smiled. “I love tea. All kinds, really, but mostly I drink Chai or English Breakfast.”

  “Chai is one of my favorites.” Mia smiled nervously. “Though I must confess, I don’t like making it, since it’s very time-consuming.”

  “Yes,” the woman agreed. “Well, thank you.”

  “May I just ask one question?” Mia inquired, stopping the woman.

  “Yes?” She kept her face toward the door.

  “Why did you want a new identity?”

  A smile moved over her face as she turned around and looked Mia in the eyes.

  “I want a damned car of my own,” Katie said with a wink before placing her sunglasses back on her face.

  Author Notes - Michael Todd Anderle

  March 24, 2018

  First, THANK YOU for not only reading this story, but checking out our Author notes here in the back, as well!

  I would tell you what Laurie has been up to the last week, but then I might take away some of her thunder (or admit knowledge she is hiding? Hmmmm….)

  So, I’ll let her divulge her that got caught up in a situation with Amazon that made her want to her hair all out.

  And her Christmas Cookie adventure on Youtube. I’ll speak to this story and what we are doing!

  Loraine (Cover artist)

  So, Laurie was wanting cover artist(s) for the 7Sons project we started together. Part of my responsibility was finding additional cover artists. LMBPN Publishing (my company) already had 3 artists working with us monthly, another two on project by project basis and we were looking to bring out 56 more books.

  No way I could use our existing artists…No freaking way!

  So, time to figure out how to find another GOOD artist.

  Now, I happened to accomplish this task. I found three awesome artists, one (Loraine) that I’m trying to keep tied up (not literally…figuratively… she’s in South Africa so it can’t be literal no matter how business savvy that decision might be – you know, chained to her computer working on covers? No? Must be me.) The second I grabbed for a twelve book commission and a third I’d love to work with, but should wouldn’t commit for so many books and we (my company) can’t commit for fewer.

  Oh well, life happens.

  Anyway, I get in touch w/ Loraine and then I get on a video call with her. She had two (2) clients at the time, but I am trying to explain “I’m someone you will want to work with, give me a shot!”

  While I’m a ‘big name’ in Indie writing circles, that really doesn’t mean much to most people, including those who make covers for a living. So, when an author – completely out of the blue – contacts you from the USA when you live in South Africa claiming he wants a 12 book contract?

  Yeah, I imagine she could be doubtful. So, I did something that would cause her to believe.

  I told her to bill me half up front for the first 12 covers (and she did, no hesitation on her part…oh no.)

  However, when the money showed up, I become a real client.

  Since Laurie was out of commission at the beginning (the reason I went looking for Loraine in the first place) I engaged Loraine on a couple of projects.

  The first was a skunkworks project for the Tales of the Wellspring Knight, she blew PJ Cherubino out of the water.

  Then, she did the cover art for my proof of concept with Jude’s first 3D model of a character and WE HAD SOMETHING! Now, Jude rocked our fourth cover’s model (for SIT DOWN, SHUT UP and PULL THE TRIGGER) in a day I think, and as soon as I have the hi-res, I’ll be able to toss it to Loraine who will have something back to me in about a day as well. I can’t explain how nice it is to be able to find a pose, send it to Jude and in 48 hours have a model review to look at.

  Unfortunately, Laurie is about to unleash the beast of 56 covers and I am going to have to share Loraine’s time.

  DAMN!

  I asked Loraine how she got involved in doing covers and here is her answer (I asked for ‘short.’ Seems I get what I ask for (she did ask me if I needed more, but we are trying to get this book out tonight.)

  FROM LORAINE:

  I started on Photoshop years ago, in 2010 when I was staying abroad in Ireland for my gap year after matric, I was on holiday for basically the entire year, so I wrote a book and made my own cover.

  That was about when I first started with photo manipulations on Photoshop.

  Don't ask about the book, the publishers closed and sent my book back on a cd. I have no other version of it and I lost the cd a few years back when we moved around a lot.

  I might rewrite it some day when I have time, but for now I'll stick to covers lol

  Further, I studied graphic & advertising design when I got back in South Africa in 2011, but it did not cover Photoshop.

  Everything I know about PS was self-taught.

  WELCOME LORAINE!

  WHAT IS YOUR DAMNED (Katie) SCHEDULE?

  The future….Ahhhh, the future.

  So, SIT DOWN, SHUT UP and PULL THE TRIGGER (PBTD 04) is due out on Monday, April 2nd (2018) and then, we are looking to produce 2 books a month’ish for the next 4 months. Due to a NEW series coming out, and my Kurtherian Book PAYBACK IS A BITCH, we have a stutter step in May where we are writing 2 books, but only 1 book will come out.

  However, in June we should have THREE released to make up for May. Tentative Dates are:

  APRIL 2nd, 13th, 27th

  MAY 18th

  JUNE 1st, 15th, 29th

  WHAT THE HELL ELSE ARE YOU DOING?

  Oriceran… And Mr. Brownstone…

  About one year ago this time (2017), I wrote a 2,000 word scene with ‘a guy’ that kick started the whole Oriceran Universe. But, I was writing Kurtherian Gambit and could not spend the time to make the series – Martha Carr came to my rescue.

  However, I’ve made it back… And my guy is coming alive.

  That guy’s name is James Brownstone, and he is already a badass. A bounty hunter who works the tough jobs, bringing home the money, and listens to BarBQ shows and podcasts and drives around in a nicely kept up Ford F-350 that can’t be hacked by all of the technology and magic easily.

  You know, a simple life and he likes it that way.

  Life, however, is not about simple and two females came into his nice, organized (and simple) life.

  One is a young teenage girl that helps find his dog but her mother has disappeared, taken. The other is a tomb raider who has a hidden past.

  Neither relationship is straightforward nor simple.

  All hell breaks loose, and James has to learn to handle life when feelings he has not had to deal with intrude in his KISS (Keep It Simple, Stupid) mantra.

  I’m LOVING these stories, and I hope many of you will check them out. The first one is: FEARED BY HELL - The Unbelievable Mr. Brownstone Book 01 and the release schedule is:

  APRIL 6th - FEARED BY HELL – Book 01

  APRIL 20th – REJECTED BY HEAVEN – Book 02

  MAY 3rd – EYE FOR AN EYE – Book 03

  MAY 25th – BRING THE PAIN – Book 04

  We will have an additional two series associated with this one. The first ser
ies is about Shay, the Tomb Raider with the hidden past and her books start arriving at end of April.

  The third series is about Allison’s life at The School of Necessary Magic. We do not have a release schedule for that series, yet.

  MORE PROTECTED BY THE DAMNED

  So, I was video conferencing with Laurie a couple of nights ago discussing the amazing success this series has garnered, and the fans who enjoy our concepts.

  We have tentatively agreed to greenlight our next one to two series in the PBTD Universe, and I will be setting up characters in the next month or so, for possible releases in June timeframe. If you are happy to keep reading additional characters and character arcs (I’m thinking our next ‘contestant’ is going to be a lady’s player with a succubus – or my second thought below.)

  He wants girls…She wants guys. What could possibly go wrong with that?

  Another relationship is the totally screwed up person with an OCD demon… because, who doesn’t want a girl who just wants her beauty sleep and do nothing in her life to deal with a demon that has her day all planned out…

  To the second?

  Imagine how frustrated the demon is going to be?

  Susie rolled over in bed, pulling a pillow over her head to block out the morning light. “You think you are going to get me to do shit my parents worked 22 years to accomplish, but failed? You are out of your damned demon mind…. So, fuck off and let me sleep.”

  C’lechtock (now Timmons for whatever fucking reason Susie called him that) pursed his lips inside her body, then started playing with her gastro-intestinal tract.

  Seems last night she was eating beans, and then followed her dinner with a Coke Float and Butterfingers…

  All the right ingredients to make this a place she will not want to smell in about twenty minutes.

  She will get up, oh…she will indeed or his name isn’t…

  Fucking Timmons.