Yakuza, Chapter XVI

Yakuza, Chapter XVI

YAKUZA CHAPTER XVI “Fuentes,” Lauren said the captain’s name, looking at the envelope of documents with the Letter of Marque on top, but making no move to take possession of it. He had the vague feeling he wasn’t supposed to actually possess it yet, or if ever,...
Yakuza, Chapter XV

Yakuza, Chapter XV

YAKUZA Chapter XV Lauren surfaced in the rolling roiling and broken waters of the Molokai Express, the powerful vessel above him allowing only the bright glow of reflected light to appear along under it’s rising and falling twin hulls. Both ends of the vessel, rising...
YAKUZA,  Chapter XIV

YAKUZA, Chapter XIV

The Navatek ripped through the torn sea at high speed; its passengers isolated twenty feet above the wild close combat of ten-foot cross-swells fighting it out for dominance. The Molokai Express was actively at its most dangerous, as offshore winds were reaching...
Yakuza, Chapter XIII

Yakuza, Chapter XIII

YAKUZA Chapter XIII   None of the men, sitting sprawled around the corner of the great cabin, said anything for almost a full minute following Ashton’s stunning comment and Yee’s accurate analysis of it. Lauren was the first to speak. He did so by whispering a...
Yakuza, Chapter XII

Yakuza, Chapter XII

YAKUZA CHAPTER XII The Navatek hatch to the main deck was just off the top of the gangway. Lauren guided Shapiro through it and into a huge flat cabin that extended fifty feet wide by sixty feet in length.  The single unsupported room took up more than half the deck...
Yakuza, Chapter XI

Yakuza, Chapter XI

YAKUZA CHAPTER XI Lauren brought the twin-hulled Fool’s Gold down off plane, as he eased into the lee waters of the southernmost unnamed island just off the Lanakai coast of Oahu. He’d been to the three small islands years before but, since they lacked any source of...
Yakuza, Chapter X

Yakuza, Chapter X

YAKUZA Chapter X   Lauren tied the gently bobbing boat off using bow and stern cleats, throwing a couple of rubber bumpers over the side, making sure he didn’t damage the swim step extending two feet from the stern of the big yacht. The magnum revolver hung down a...
Yakuza, Chapter IX

Yakuza, Chapter IX

YAKUZA Chapter IX The Zodiac headed toward the cliff face. The rough lava wall plunged twenty-five feet into the heaving sea. Further toward the shore, in the direction back toward Zippys, surfers rode breaking waves which expanded in size as the rollers were pushed...
Yakuza, Chapter VIII

Yakuza, Chapter VIII

YAKUZA CHAPTER VIII   When he arrived to open at the usual appointed time the bar was somehow different. The place was full. Lauren hadn’t been there to either unlock anything or to serve any drinks, but the Honolulu Police contingent and their Yakuza...
Yakuza, Chapter VII

Yakuza, Chapter VII

YAKUZA Chapter VII   Lauren marveled over the awfulness of Hiyashi’s Karaoke singing, and the obvious fact that his drunken behavior had no effect in diminishing his stature with the men he was obviously in charge of. The Asian mentality was, in many ways, inscrutable...
Yakuza, Chapter VI

Yakuza, Chapter VI

YAKUZA Chapter VI   Lauren was nervous, as he worked to finish the home-built suppressor for the Mannlicher. He had no doubts about testing the weapon and getting his ‘dope’ right for the shot. Sniping was ninety-percent preparation, equipment, and intellect. Taking...
Yakuza, Chapter V

Yakuza, Chapter V

YAKUZA Chapter Five  True to his word, the sergeant’s truck showed up in the night to pack all the belongings they had. It didn’t take long and didn’t come anywhere near to filling up the storage area in the back of the truck. When they got to Shapiro’s place the kids...
THE CAT, Chapter XIX

THE CAT, Chapter XIX

Cetan and Tama gathered leaves into the sunset, only stopping from making their runs back and forth to the fire in order to eat what fish the women had cooked. There were no meal times. They ate when they had food until they were full and then saved what they could to...
Yakuza, Chapter IV

Yakuza, Chapter IV

YAKUZA Chapter IV Lauren opened the Apple computer and took half an hour of bar work time to figure out how he was going to access what he needed to access. He finally logged into the free Wi-Fi Zippys provided, and punched in “Yamashita.” The results surprised him....
Yakuza, Chapter III

Yakuza, Chapter III

YAKUZA Chapter III   Lauren spent his single day-off doing damage control at home. His wife was a shattered wreck, having been told nothing by her employer except that her services were no longer needed. Lauren would not, could not, tell her what the DEA task force...
Yakuza, Chapter II, by James Strauss

Yakuza, Chapter II, by James Strauss

YAKUZA Chapter II  The altercation came after the end of his first week in his new job as bartender at Zippy’s.  That he had lasted the week without complaint had earned him dinner every night, before his shift began.  Ochuru called him in and gave him the...
Yakusa, Chapter I

Yakusa, Chapter I

YAKUZA, Chapter One By James Strauss The basin that has become known as Hawaii Kai was there thousands of years before Homo sapiens came along to reshape and remodel it. A man name Kaiser happened on the scene after World War II and using huge amounts of explosives...
Yakusa, Chapter I

Yakuza, a Short Story

YAKUZA By James Strauss The basin that has become known as Hawaii Kai was there thousands of years before Homo sapiens came along to reshape and remodel it. A man name Kaiser happened on the scene after World War II and using huge amounts of explosives his company...
Thoughts About Life after Radio Shack

Thoughts About Life after Radio Shack

The Demise of Radio Shack and… Dateline: Lake Geneva June 26, 2019 What did it, and does it, mean that Radio Shack went away? What do you suppose happened there that caused the ‘Mister Wizard’ store where you could get anything electronic or even...
THE CAT, Chapter XVIII

THE CAT, Chapter XVIII

The boy laid down to rest near the very back of the lean-to, gathering some leaves the two adult women had somehow strung together to act as a covering for sleep. There was no warmth in laying under the leaves, however, certainly nothing like luxuriating under a...
THE CAT, Chapter XVII.

THE CAT, Chapter XVII.

The return to their encampment took much longer than the trip out. The body of the animal suspended between them was heavy and ungainly. They could not travel too fast across the forest floor because the hanging body would begin to swing to the point where they could...
THE TWENTY-SIXTH DAY, 30 Days Has September

THE TWENTY-SIXTH DAY, 30 Days Has September

A cacophony of open combat fire sent me as deep into the jungle floor as I could get. The sound was pure small arms fire, which at close range, with the Marines around me firing outward, didn’t sound so small. I crawled forward, eventually running into the feet, legs,...
THE CAT, Chapter XVI

THE CAT, Chapter XVI

Hasti sat next to the boy, his head at almost exactly the same height as the that of the standing human. He sat close, but not too close, knowing each and every nuance of the boy’s movement, breathing, and even facial expression. The cat could not see behind himself...
Chickenman, Episodes 17 through 20

Chickenman, Episodes 17 through 20

Well, I found a few more fabulous Chickenman Episodes to share with you. Enjoy the fun and please comment below and share your reactions to Chickenman Episode 17 finds our fearless fantastic fowl questioning Miss Helfinger about the validity of the...
THE MIDNIGHT HOUR, Short Story.

THE MIDNIGHT HOUR, Short Story.

THE MIDNIGHT HOUR… The water beating on the cold lakeshore was incessant. Tom lay between the two dumpsters in the alley half a block from the lake, the water lapping along the edge if the nearby shore probably intended by God to be comforting, but it was not....
Island In The Sand, Book 2, Part XIII

Island In The Sand, Book 2, Part XIII

ISLAND IN THE SAND Book II Part XIII The sand played out before her, and the mild wind ate away any moisture she’d carried through whatever device she’d traveled in, to the point where Star Black felt she might evaporate herself. The place she was in was inhospitable...
THE CAT, Chapter XV

THE CAT, Chapter XV

The cat found a place near the bottom of the mildly inclined slope face. He settled in under the outward thrusting branches of a huge pine. The aroma, the deep bed of needles no insects could inhabit, and the gentle wind that wafted its way among the easy waving...
THE CAT, Chapter XIV

THE CAT, Chapter XIV

The hike down to the falls proved more difficult than either the boy or the warrior imagined. Attempting to stay inside the outside edge of the forest, in order to remain invisible from any observers that might be located up on the canyon rim, was difficult. The...
THE CAT, Chapter XIII

THE CAT, Chapter XIII

The cat rested through the day, occasionally looking out of half of one eye, toward where the new members of the pride passed back and forth, all of them making believe the cat wasn’t there. The cat passed semi-conscious moments reflecting on how easy it would be to...
TWENTY-FIFTH DAY, 30 Days Has September

TWENTY-FIFTH DAY, 30 Days Has September

The only 25 series radio military occupational specialty in the company, not already serving one of the platoon commanders, was Hultzer. The only thing I knew about him was that he had been assigned to one of the Project Hundred Thousand privates sent in by special...
THE CAT, Chapter XII

THE CAT, Chapter XII

The cat moved carefully but quickly through the night. Although a path down from the canyon wall would be much easier to negotiate, it required a lengthy easy walk through the trees along the top of the lip of the abyss. He knew right away that it was the night wind...
THE CAT, Chapter XI

THE CAT, Chapter XI

The cat lay flat inside the cleft, sleepily glancing out toward the scene before him, from time to time. He could not remember ever feeling so relaxed, the great ball of fish flesh resting inside his stomach, while his tribe worked at doing interesting stuff outside....
THE CAT, Chapter X

THE CAT, Chapter X

The boy took almost no time at all to spear another fish, this one not quite as large as the last one, but still large enough to force him to get completely wet before he could land it on the near shore. He used his knife to gut and clean it as best he could, holding...
Island In The Sand, Book 2, Part XII

Island In The Sand, Book 2, Part XII

Harriet worked for a few seconds on the keyboard. She didn’t even have to step back before a shudder went all through the house, followed by an underground muffled boom that reverberated for several seconds more. When silence once more pervaded the space, Star looked...
Editorial: That One Thing

Editorial: That One Thing

Editorial by James  Strauss Dateline December 12th, Geneva Shore Report THAT ONE THING The process of writing has little to do with writing at all. Writing can be dictated, scribbled, typed or put down in calligraphy. It can be done in many languages using all manner...
THE CAT, Chapter IX

THE CAT, Chapter IX

The big cat carefully and silently backed up into the cleft and then, using its extraordinary strength and sinuously maneuverable body, eased up out of the rocks and moved slowly toward where the humans from further up the valley had descended down into his territory....
THE CAT, Chapter VIII

THE CAT, Chapter VIII

The cat had not disappeared. He’d withdrawn back into the clustered thickness of low scrub that dominated the bottom of the forest, like a wavy and near limitless thick rug. The writhing and waving plant growth of small size, where rivulets of wind were able to creep...
Island In The Sand, Book 2, Part XI

Island In The Sand, Book 2, Part XI

ISLAND IN THE SAND BOOK II PART XI   Star stared at the robot, Ninety-One. The house was no longer communicating? Star knew her life, and the lives of everyone in her band were almost totally controlled by the house, while they were inside it, or the transport,...
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