Eye of the Hurricane

LoeffelholzLoeffelholz The United States, With LovePosts: 8,988Quartermasters
...He sat alone, in a deserted clearing, his laptop on the grass in front of him, displaying the AJB home page. He prepared the fourth vodka martini of the session---on the rocks, with a wedge of lime, first squeezed over the ice and then dropped into the glass, preceded only by a hint of vermouth. The tinkling of the ice was unnaturally loud in the silence which surrounded him, like a cloak of dangerous calm.

Quiet. It was too quiet.

For a year, there had been incessant chatter, and clashing of swords, as the announcement came and went---trenches were dug, lines formed up on either side, and the conflict solidified into a dreaded No-Man's-Land of contested territory, neither side yielding to the other. One became accustomed to the fray; it was a fact of life.

Then came a distant and barely-audible (but unmistakable!) sound of a production clapboard, from somewhere over the horizon...followed by small-arms fire, the screeching tires of high-performance automobiles on pavement, and a hint of music which seemed new, yet hauntingly familiar...and the combatants all paused, turned to look in the direction of these sounds, and then nodded to their adversaries in a fleeting, gossamer moment of common recognition. Like the Christmas Truce of 1914, the moment came and went---someone fired a shot, and the war was on once again...

That had been the leading edge of the storm---a slow-moving Category 4, which threatened to consume everything in its path. Now the eye was directly overhead; the sound of the ice in his martini glass dominated the landscape, and seemed to echo across the scattered debris, which extended as far as the eye could see...the stillness was strange, and unsettling...

But he knew the eye would soon pass, and the clamour of the storm's finale might be more dramatic than that which had proceeded this moment of eerie, preternatural stillness---the first hint would be the more insidious, whispering sound of far-away red carpet camera shutters---and the full force of nature would be felt once again.

He looked at the computer screen; its comfortingly delineated areas of blue and black---and the tantalizing text which lie in-between.

He smiled, and took a long pull from the drink. Nature abhors a vacuum, he'd alway's read, and it would not tolerate this one much longer. He only hoped that the combatants would remember that, in actuality, they were all on the same side.

James Bond was about to return.

:007)
Check out my Amazon author page! Mark Loeffelholz
"I am not an entrant in the Shakespeare Stakes." - Ian Fleming
"Screw 'em." - Daniel Craig, The Best James Bond EverTM

Comments

  • bluemanblueman PDXPosts: 1,667MI6 Agent
    Nice. {[]
  • NightshooterNightshooter In bed with SolitairePosts: 2,917MI6 Agent
    The tantalizing text? lol, very cool, Loeffs. What gave you the idea to write this?
  • LoeffelholzLoeffelholz The United States, With LovePosts: 8,988Quartermasters
    edited October 2006
    Thanks, guys {[]

    It's just a bit of fun, 'shooter. This is a kind of 'zen moment'---a commentary on a pregnant pause which cannot possibly last much longer ;) ...and a sincere hope that future debate will be informed by what we have in common...I'm a dreamer; it's what I do B-)

    Plus, it was the fourth vodka martini of the session ;)
    Check out my Amazon author page! Mark Loeffelholz
    "I am not an entrant in the Shakespeare Stakes." - Ian Fleming
    "Screw 'em." - Daniel Craig, The Best James Bond EverTM
  • Number24Number24 NorwayPosts: 21,707MI6 Agent
    Nice .... very good actually! Since we are Bond fans, a peacefull and quiet life is not our way.
    So perhaps we should do something to stir things up, perhaps a dedicated Bond 22 Forum?
  • Barry NelsonBarry Nelson ChicagoPosts: 1,508MI6 Agent
    Very good Loeffs, except I like my martinis straight up. {[]
  • Red IndianRed Indian BostonPosts: 427MI6 Agent
    edited November 2006
    You inspired me Loeff! Hadn't had one in over a week, but decided to dive in last night! Stoli, medium dry, straight up with my own garnish - tomolives (small pickled green tomatoes), blue cheese stuffed olives and cocktail onions - all staggered and on the same skewer! It's like a nice small appetizer right in the drink!

    Maybe on the rocks tonight! ;)
  • superadosuperado Regent's Park West (CaliforniaPosts: 2,651MI6 Agent
    Hey Loeffs, pass the dutchie B-)
    "...the purposeful slant of his striding figure looked dangerous, as if he was making quickly for something bad that was happening further down the street." -SMERSH on 007 dossier photo, Ch. 6 FRWL.....
  • LoeffelholzLoeffelholz The United States, With LovePosts: 8,988Quartermasters
    superado wrote:
    Hey Loeffs, pass the dutchie B-)

    B-) Here you go... :D
    Check out my Amazon author page! Mark Loeffelholz
    "I am not an entrant in the Shakespeare Stakes." - Ian Fleming
    "Screw 'em." - Daniel Craig, The Best James Bond EverTM
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