A Common Weakness – Chapter 2 The mortuary was silent. To Dr Mortimer it was strange. He was accustomed to death, but normally the atmosphere within the mortuary was relaxed, at times even darkly jovial. Now it was oppressive. An array of heavily armed soldiers surrounded the building, an obvious presence that screened the more subtle presence of a huge range of government operatives who filled ...

A Common Weakness – chapter 4 Gianni was lounging by the pool, martini in hand. The sun was shining brightly, and there were several scantily clad hotties to keep his glass full. Marco was on the lounger next to him, smoking a cigar and lazily blowing smoke rings. “You done good, kid,” he kept muttering. Gianni had been delighted and relieved by the death of Ultraman. It hadn’t come cheap, and ...

A Common Weakness – Chapter 6 They drove south, picking up the interstate and quickly getting away from the city limits. They drove in awkward silence, Claire keeping the car at a steady speed as the traffic thinned around them, just another car mingling with the lunchtime traffic. They passed a patrol car slumbering on the shoulder, the officer at the wheel not even looking in their direction. ...

A Common Weakness – Chapter 8 Joe was sitting at home in his comfortable old armchair with his old dog curled up at his feet when the phone rang. He reached out and took it from the battered old side table, answered it quickly and politely, took note of the message and put the phone back down. He stood up and stretched his stiff arms and back. “I've got to go up and check the Lake House is ...

A series of lucky breaks, chance encounters, and perfect timing led Shirley and Jerry to this moment. Jerry was a small-time drug dealer, and Shirley was an overused, heavily addicted drug user. They looked like they sounded. Jerry wheeled Shirley into the local library by wheelchair, although she was perfectly capable of walking. He looked at the librarian, a cute girl, dressed conservatively, ...