Agents of the Vault – Part 15
Part 15 of The Agents of the Vault is here! Reunited with Doris, Grisom and Charlie race towards Yankton.
If you want to subscribe to the Grantcast, you can do so with iTunes, or by using this feed in your favorite podcatcher. Enjoy! And let me know what you think of the story in the comments here, as we go along.
Also, if you prefer a PDF version of this part to read, CLICK HERE for that.
Finally, if you’d like to support my projects, visit www.patreon.com/saturdaymorningmedia
Agents of the Vault
Part 15
By Grant Baciocco
Grisom, Charlie and Leland were far from the village but not so far as to not hear the gunshots. They stalled the cart for a second as the shots rang out. The two scouts who were escorting them turned and rode off in the direction of the ruckus. Grisom, clicked his tongue and spurred the horses on faster towards the West. The plan was to make a great loop and almost re-circle through where they had camped last night and continue north on through to Yankton.
Charlie tired his best to keep his leg comfortable with all the jostling of the cart. His leg didn’t seem to bother him much though, now that he had Doris back at his side. He held her tight as they rode along, even when she became fussy that she couldn’t run alongside the cart as before. Charlie reminded her that that’s how the Pawnee had spotted her. She reluctantly agreed and just contented herself with pestering Leland as they rode along.
“You mad I didn’t make Doris stay?” Charlie said to Grisom after some miles.
“Nope.” Grisom said. “You asked her her opinion. She chose you. Seems fair to me.”
“But do you think they should be together? The two prairie fires?” Charlie asked.
“Well,” Grisom replied, “I think eventually, for the good of their species, yes they should. But they seem content to wait.”
Charlie nodded.
They rode a few more miles and then Grisom said, “She’s much more valuable now. Moreso than when we thought she was the only one. Now that there’s two, you need to take extra special care of her. Make sure she’s able to provide a future for the prairie fire kind.”
Charlie nodded again.
He looked down at Doris who’d hopped back up in front with him and Grisom. He reached down and patted her on the head, then scruffled her ears. She whistled contently and then laid down next to his leg to nap.
Charlie decided he would do whatever Doris wanted. She was a sentient creature and able to make good decisions. When the time came for her to stay with Pahaat or anywhere else for that matter, it would be her choice.
They continued to ride on into the afternoon, passing the camp they had been at the night previous. They could tell by the tracks that Jane had been through there. Grisom hoped she was still dealing with the Pawnee and that would give them time to get far ahead of them.
Grisom had been sure the Pawnee could handle Jane, but as dusk began to settle over the prairie, a large black column of smoke began to rise from the southeast in about the distance the village would have been. Charlie caught Grisom staring at it, but he didn’t ask. Even Leland saw it and knew what it had meant. Things between Jane and the Pawnee didn’t go well.
Over supper that night, under the moon, Leland asked, “Why’s that girl after you Grisom?”
Grisom ignored the question and kept eating.
“I mean the way she’s tearing after you, the way, i reckon, she and her men did today to those indians, she wants to catch up with us. It’s not just the trunk I’m beginning to reckon.”
“No. It ain’t just about the trunk.” Grisom said. He paused then added, “I killed her father.”
This was news to Charlie, who looked over at Grisom in disbelief.
“Her dad was an Agent of the Vault, like me. Like Charlie will soon be. He was sworn to the same pledge to the Coalition as me, to protect history. But these things we protect are very valuable and Jane’s father, Clinton his name was, began rescuing the historical items, but then keeping them for his own uses. As someone who was his friend, but also an Agent, I tried to get him to knock it off. He refused. One night we reached an historical item at about the same time. I wanted to make sure it got back to the Vault. He wanted it for himself. I couldn’t let that happen.”
There was quiet as this sank in.
“So this girl wants revenge.”
Grisom nodded. “Make no bones about it, she wants the trunk. But more than that she wants me. Dead.”
Again, silence.
“I will add, if you figured you were in trouble if the indians got ahold of us, those things you said in yer little story about what they’d do, ain’t nothing compared to what she’d do if she catches up to us.”
Leland was dead silent.
“In fact,” Grisom continued, “If she catches up to us, you’re going to get your gun, because we’ll need to fight with all we’ve got against her. Or you’ll want to use that gun on yerself to make sure she doesn’t get her hands on you.”
©2015 Grant Baciocco/Saturday Morning Media – www.SaturdayMorningMedia.com
100 Word Story – Police Blotter – Pizza Night Part 1
In the history of me writing these 100 Word Stories based on items from the Police Blotter of my hometown of Burlingame, CA, I’ve never come across a two part story. Until now. Enjoy Part 1 below and then come right back here next week for Part 2. You won’t want to miss it.
As always, the link to the actual police blotter item is below, however, do not click it until after Part 2 comes out and you’ve read it. Because, spoilers!
Pizza Night Part 1
By Grant Baciocco
Thursday night was pizza night at the Stevenson household. A night where the entire family, Bob, Jane and their three children: Tom, Mark and Stevie could sit and enjoy a slice or two of pizza. The table was set, drinks poured all that was left was the pizza, an extra large with all the toppings.
Stevie Stevenson was the first to spot the delivery car pull up out front and the rest of the family ran to join him to watch dinner’s impeding delivery!
Imagine their horror as the driver, pizza in hand, delivered it to the house next door.
–
©2015 Grant Baciocco/Saturday Morning Media – www.SaturdayMorningMedia.com
Agents of the Vault – Part 14
Part 14 of The Agents of the Vault is here! Jane and the Pinkertons are hot on the trail of our heroes when they encounter the Pawnee indians themselves.
If you want to subscribe to the Grantcast, you can do so with iTunes, or by using this feed in your favorite podcatcher. Enjoy! And let me know what you think of the story in the comments here, as we go along.
Also, if you prefer a PDF version of this part to read, CLICK HERE for that.
Finally, if you’d like to support my projects, visit www.patreon.com/saturdaymorningmedia
Agents of the Vault
Part 14
By Grant Baciocco
Jane and her men had trailed the cart tracks to the spot where Grisom, Charlie and Leland had camped out before. It didn’t take long after that to discover the field full of fired arrows and the buffalo hides. Most important of her discoveries was the pool of blood back where they had camped and the tracks that indicated they’d left in a hurry. Someone had been injured in the confrontation with the indians. That meant they would be more desperate to find medical attention. Being more desperate meant more apt to become careless. That meant it’d be easier to find them. Find them and get the trunk.
After discovering all this, Jane pushed her men hard. They rode south at a blistering pace. They were headed towards the Platte river. But why? What was at that river? What took Grisom and Charlie half a day took Jane and her men half of that time. Of course, they weren’t pulling a cart loaded down with stolen gold so their horses could move faster
They were a mile off from the Pawnee camp when there was a loud war cry from directly in front of them. Jane pulled hard on the reigns of her horse, causing her to rear up. Her men did the same. Once their forward progress had stopped, Jane scanned the horizon in front of them. Her horse panting hard under her. Suddenly one single figure stood in the tall grass before them. A Pawnee brave. He held his bow, loaded with an arrow at his waist in front of him.
Jane held up a hand to her men, who she knew were already reaching for their pistols. Jane calmly hopped off her horse and began walking towards the brave. When she was now only 3 yards from him, he raised his arrow as if to fire. Jane continued walking but raised her hands.
“We are looking for two men who came this way in a cart.” She said in perfect Pawnee.
The Pawnee, stone faced said nothing. He held his bow aimed directly at her heart.
“They are bandits. Thieves. We have come to take them back with us.”
Still the Pawnee brave said nothing. Only stared deep into Jane’s eyes. She continued to walk directly towards him. “We mean you no malice, but if you are hiding the thieves, it will mean severe punishment for you and your tribe. So I ask you, have you seen the men we are looking for?”
The Pawnee brave said nothing, but suddenly, from out of the tall grass, a group of twenty braves stood, bows ready to be fired. Jane and her men were completely surrounded. This made Jane stop.
She looked around. Her men, nervous, fidgeted anxiously on their horses. Jane never broke eye contact with the brave once she’d taken in her predicament. She nodded and slowly turned to go back towards her horse. As she did she gave a shrill whistle and in a flash turned, gun drawn and shot the brave dead. Before the rest of the braves knew what had happened, Jane had killed 5 more and was reloading. Her men took the cue and began firing as well and soon Jane and her men stood in a bloody ring of dead indians and not a single arrow had been shot in return.
Jane holstered her gun as she strode back to her horse. She climbed up into the saddle and looked at her men. “We take the whole village.” She said, adjusting her hat.
Brenner turned to her, “The whole village?”
Jane ignored the skepticism in his voice.
“Yes.” Jane shouted, turning her horse to face her men. “Is General MacCallister’s calvary unit still stationed in Independence?
“I believe so.” Brenner replied.
Jane looked at Conners, “That’s about an hour’s ride east from here yes?”
“Yes, ma’am.”
“Conners, Ride there now and get him. Tell him to bring the whole calvary. Executive order.”
Conners was headed east before Jane said the word order. Brenner and the other Pinkerton watched him ride off, hell bent.
Brenner cleared his throat, “That’s a least two hours before they return.”
Jane nodded. “It is.”
“What do we do if the Pawnee come out looking for their braves?”
“We give them more of the same.” Said Jane as she climbed back up on her horse. “I want that trunk. If the Pawnee know where it is or have even seen it recently, I will know or I will burn their village to the ground and spill every last drop of blood under their red skin.”
©2015 Grant Baciocco/Saturday Morning Media – www.SaturdayMorningMedia.com
100 Word Book Review – Go Set A Watchman by Harper Lee
Go Set A Watchman by Harper Lee
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100 Word Book Review – Reading this book was like reading an alternate universe version of the To Kill A Mockingbird. This makes sense since this book is essentially the first draft of that classic novel. I’m not going to weigh in on whether or not this book should have been published because I don’t think we’ll ever know the full story behind that. I will say that To Kill A Mockingbird is a much better book. While this one has glimpses and flashes of Mockingbird, it’s not nearly as good. There are some touch and truthful passages and I am glad I’ve read it.
Favorite Quotes:
If you did not want much, there was plenty.
She was easy to look at and easy to be with most of the time, but she was in no sense of the word an easy person.
Love’s the only thing in this world that is unequivocal.
The one thing she liked most about Henry Clinton was that he let her be silent when she wanted to be. She did not have to entertain him.
Time stopped, shifted, and went lazily in reverse.
They…found the rest of the morning lying emptily before them.
She looked up at the sky. “You can almost reach up an touch it, it’s so close.”
“Anybody with eyes that good was up to no good.”
“Don’t you study about other folks’ business till you take care of your own.”
She touched yesterday cautiously, then withdrew.
It was not because this was where your life began. It was because this was where people were born and born and born until finally the result was you, drinking a coke in the Jitney Jungle.
Now she was aware of a sharp apartness, a separation…
Now we are both lonely, for entirely different reasons, but it feels the same, doesn’t it?
“Remember this also: it’s always easy to look back and see what we were, yesterday, ten years ago. It is hard to see what we are. If you can master that trick, you’ll get along.”