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 Friendly
Fire
is a 6K short story, set in the current war in Afghanistan.
British Sergeant Major Phil Mason, and American Gunnery Sergeant
Jon Rivera, take part in friendly fire, only to encounter
enemy fire, that forces them to work together to survive,
out in the Afghan mountains.
In true
Marquesate style, those two soldiers are alpha men, fuelled
by aggression that finds an outlet in more than fighting.
Friendly
Fire is part of the Special
Forces anthology, published by Cleis Press. The anthology
is available in paperback and on Kindle.
Short
Excerpt of "Friendly Fire"
A cloud
of dust in Phil’s peripheral vision announced the arrival
of his patrol partner. He
lifted his head, only to freeze at the sight of the man
who was walking toward him: tall,
broad, dark hair and eyes, now hidden beneath helmet and
shades, rendering the features
almost unrecognizable from those of any other soldier, except
for a bruise, right on the chin,
matching the one on his own jaw.
The
recognition was immediate, the other slowed, then picked
up pace again. “What
fucking joke is this?” The American pointed at the
British Army Land Rover. “This piece of
crap isn’t even armored.”
“Shut
the fuck up, asshole. Too scared to get your precious ass
out of a Humvee?”
“Kevlar
strips for ‘extra protection’? That’s all?
My mom’s pocket gun would take this
piece of crap apart.”
It
took all of Phil’s willpower not to hit the bastard.
“Get your fucking ass into the
vehicle. This is a reconnaissance mission.” He started
the engine. “We’re in and out of there
like a squaddie in a whorehouse. Your bloody Humvees are
too slow and cumbersome.”
 Code
of Honour is a short story (9.5k) set in the French
Foreign Legion. It is part of the "I Do" charity
anthology, which contains twenty stories. All
profits from this anthology go to the Lambda
Legal Fund, to help them fight the cause of marriage
equality in the CA Supreme Court and beyond. Printing
and distribution costs have been donated by MLR
Press.
Indigene
wrote a wonderful synopsis of the story, full
review available on her site:
"Joe
Evans is 20 years old and the youngest member of the 2e Régiment
Étranger d’Infanterie (2nd Foreign Infantry Regiment)
of the French Foreign Legion. Joe survived eleven months of
grueling training but as he puts it “he’d prevailed.”
As an unemployed school dropout in his native England he did
not have much of a chance for anything in life – no hope,
no future. But he was now part of something bigger. “He’d
become someone. He was a soldier.” Joe joins his regiment
in Nimes where he meets his Sergeant – Henri Roux. Sgt.
Roux is French Canadian and all military – a man of few
words but of action. Joe has managed to hide the fact that
he’s gay very well until the moment he meets his new
Sgt. At first sight Joe falls hard cursing his fate –
his Sgt Roux is “perfection.” While on jungle training
with his regiment Joe rescues his Sgt. Roux from a fall and
gives in to temptation. Much to his astonishment his Sgt.
takes decisive action in response. And so they begin their
clandestine trysts from military base to Paris and back, where
Sgt. Roux mentors Joe in many things, continuously challenging
and teaching him and Joe experiences, learns and grows and
along the way begins to proudly accept who and what he is
– soldier and man."
Synopsis
© Indigene/Cboy Junkie 2009
For
a long excerpt of "Code of Honour" ... click
the Excerpt link on the MLR book page
Short
Excerpt of "Code of Honour"
"I
want you to be in the storeroom at twenty-one hundred hours."
Roux had switched to English.
"Sergent?"
Joe stared at him, uncomprehending.
"Are
you British?"
"Yes,
Sergent!"
"Then
you do understand English?"
"Yes,
Sergent!"
The
cool, grey gaze remained level. "Do you know where
the store is?"
"Yes,
Sergent!" Joe pointed at the wall in front of him.
"Here, Sergent!"
"Well
done." The mockery increased. "You can read the
clock, can't you?"
"Yes,
Sergent." Joe felt the amusement burn holes of humiliation
into him. Bastard.
"Twenty-one
hundred hours."
"Yes,
Sergent." What the hell did that man want from him?
Joe was part mortified, part angry, and part confused.
"Meet
me. Here. Twenty-one hundred hours. Alone." Roux cocked
one sarcastic brow. "Do you understand?"
The
realisation finally hit him. Yes. He understood, and the
understanding of what exactly the sergent had requested
of him got him like another punch in the guts. The desire
was instant, and Joe could do nothing but obey. No matter
how angry that made him with himself for jumping at the
order as if he'd been told to climb a rope or scale a wall,
and not to meet a man to get off. Pédé. Fag.
Poof. Gay boy. He heard them again, those taunting voices,
but he couldn't help it; couldn't help himself.
"Yes,
Sergent!"
Yes.
Please.
Purchase
the Anthology at:
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