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    Grim-Faced Men
    Grim-Faced Men
    Grim-Faced Men
    Ebook30 pages23 minutes

    Grim-Faced Men

    By Nicholas Stillman

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    About this ebook

    In the future indoors world, all animals but man went extinct. But within this dystopia of tangled tunnels, the super rich still keep some crawlies as pets, like ants and cockroaches...and people.

    A gifted salesman, Court, must lead a team of equally talented yet deadly men on a mission none of them fully understand. Court constantly wonders how their tycoon employer will use their remarkable abilities—or worse, squander them. The talented group may soon learn that society values a bug or two more than all their skills combined. As the mystery unfolds, they must decide who deserves murder more: assassins, addicts, or society's architects.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherStillman Sci-Fi
    Release dateNov 25, 2015
    ISBN9781519903846
    Grim-Faced Men
    Author

    Nicholas Stillman

    Nicholas Stillman writes dark but entertaining science fiction. His weekly short stories and collections aim for variety and novelty with fun and thought-provoking twists. They often branch into dystopia, crime, horror, medical fiction, black comedy, romance, adventure, adult, and the completely new. Some of Stillman’s themes include civilizational collapse, addictions of the future, medicine in space, dark psychology, and the terrifying fate of our healthcare. Stillman offers monthly free short stories at StillmanSciFi.com. Get yourself free, easily accessible short stories for life--the perfect way for any science fiction fan to spend time on commutes or at home.

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      Book preview

      Grim-Faced Men - Nicholas Stillman

      Table of Contents

      Grim-Faced Men | By Nicholas Stillman

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      Also By Nicholas Stillman

      Grim-Faced Men

      By Nicholas Stillman

      © 2015 Nicholas Stillman

      Get free science fiction short stories at stillmanscifi.com

      FROM THE THIRD-STORY balcony, Court tried to guess which dead tree would take the bullet. The dried orchard had many. One of the trunks with a lightning split, a hole, or a sort-of face in the bark would get pointed out casually. Then, he’d watch Davis shoot a branch off it. Why else would the self-proclaimed former cop bring him out here?

      Sure enough, Davis removed a sleek handgun from the holster under his sports coat. He scanned the gnarled orchard, a glorious reminder of the outdoorsy old days. Court wondered what the soon-to-fall stick would cost. So few trees even kept their roots in the barren rock out there. Collectors had gathered most of the logs blowing in the wind. Even those rarities had delimbed themselves rolling along the arid flats.

      See that birdhouse? Davis asked.

      He nodded his shaved head at a particular tree, past all of Court’s guesses. The brown birdhouse still clinging to it had a few wrinkles of paint left. A century ago, the wind had evicted every bug husk from the wood’s deepest weather lines. The antique looked like a mere knob on the distant tree.

      Court nodded and plugged his ears. The wind bumped him but not Davis. The supposed marksman probably used Court’s body as a crude shield from the wind.

      Davis aimed briefly and squinted. He fired with both arms extended, and the gunshot cracked across the rocky landscape. Court watched the little perch under the birdhouse entry hole disappear.

      Damn nice, Court said. Do you think Ragnor wants you for something a little bigger? A little closer?

      Hopefully not, Davis said, holstering his handgun. "I’d have

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