Stories by Claudia

Previous Chapters CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE Twelve hours later Monday mid-morning March 31 – 10:05 P.M. MDT Denver, CO Alex sighed. Back to Joiner. Back to work. Secure in her basement office, Alex spent the morning with the quiet solace brought by a map of a section of North Korea. Joseph had decided they needed a better [...]

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Previous Chapters CHAPTER THIRTY “And what should that mean to me?” “My sister was sitting on a bench, you know, at the cemetery on the year anniversary…” The detective stopped at the gates. Everyone passed forward their identification for the guard to check. After a few minutes, the guard returned with their identifications. Leaning into [...]

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Previous Chapters CHAPTER twenty-nine Sunday afternoon March 30 – 4:05 P.M. MDT Buckley Air Force Base Jail James Kelly set Alex down to wipe the tears from his eyes. As if to make certain she was real, his eyes searched her smiling face. He hugged her again. “You okay, Alex?” Trece asked. “This is John’s brother, Trece.” [...]

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Previous Chapters CHAPTER Twenty-EIGHT Three hours later Sunday afternoon March 30– 3:35 P.M. MDT Buckley Air Force Base Jail Alex rubbed her sunburned nose. Caught up in John’s presence, she hadn’t realized she was getting so much sun. In the small capsule of time, she soaked up every morsel of her lunch and husband. Of [...]

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Previous Chapters CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN Five and a half hours later Saturday night March 29 – 11 P.M. MDT Buckley Air Force Base “I don’t get it,” Alex said. The Black Hawk began descending toward the Air Force base. “Where’s John? He always meets me when we get back. Especially on a Saturday night.” “Something’s up, [...]

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Previous Chapters CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX “Are you hanging in there?” Alex asked Raz. “Yes.” Raz gasped. Colin and Alex wandered the area looking for supplies. Alex continued to pick up rocks while keeping an eye out for boards. Alex whistled to Colin when she saw a set of ten inch wide planks tucked behind a support [...]

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Previous Chapters CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE The force of the explosion blew her forward. Out of training and experience, more than thought, Alex landed in a plank position on her hands and the balls of her feet. Her ears rang in an eerie silence of explosion induced deafness. Falling to her stomach, she belly crawled forward to [...]

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Previous Chapters CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR A half hour later Saturday early-morning March 29 – 12:07 A.M. CDT Rio Grande River Alex looked out across the water. Mexico and the Santa Elena Canyon Protected Area stretched to her right. They passed small dwellings tucked among the reeds and bushes along the bank of the Rio Grande. On [...]

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Previous Chapters CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE Three hours later Friday night March 28 – 11:34 P.M. CDT Somewhere over central Texas After pitching a major fit, the Jakker agreed to allow a Super Hercules team to fly them to Texas. While everyone conceded that Zack could fly the Super Hercules, a feat he proved at take off [...]

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Previous Chapters CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO “Who is this?” Alex asked. “Tristan Joiner. I stole a phone…” The boy said. “I’m hiding in the office.” The boy stopped talking and Alex heard screaming as if a child was dragged past where the caller was standing. “Please Fey. We have no one else. They said they will kill [...]

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