Action And Adventure Collection

By Kenneth Guthrie

Eight action focused short stories. This collection contains the Monk Political Thriller Series, The Beat Police Drama Series, The Gunz Action Series and two fantasy orientated works in the form of Gladiator and Blade.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Lunatic Ink Publishing
• Release date: Oct 10, 2011
• ISBN: 9781466115521

Kenneth Guthrie

Kenneth Guthrie is a writer of sci-fi, fantasy and crime novels.Profile image credit: Vincent Gerbouin at Pexels.com

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ACTION AND ADVENTURE COLLECTION

Kenneth Guthrie

Copyright 2011 Lunatic Ink Publishing

Find more at Kenneth Guthrie’s Book List

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Monk 1: Beginnings

Monk 2: Chase

Monk 3: Secrets

The Beat 1: Routine Pickup

The Beat 2: Teaching Gangsters

Gunz 1: Rage Inferno

Gunz 2: Battle LA

Blade

MONK 1: BEGINNINGS

CAR BOMB

Weeks of planning down the drain. Monk watched fire spurt out of broken tinted windows as the late model BMW burned its way to a crispy end. The bomb had been effective – in that it went off on time – but the older Chinese man sitting, one hand outstretched against the heat, was proof of his failure.

His bony calloused fist impacted the wall with a fud. His time in the monastery had been poor preparation for his new life. Dejected, he left the alley from the other end. He still had things to do before the night was over.

CHINESE EMBASSY

The embassy was quiet. Small lights flickered on the brick wall illuminated by a nearby street lamp a few meters down the small tree lined street.

He threw the blanket over top and straddled the fence carefully, avoiding the well concealed barbed wire on top.

A dog barked once in the distance, but, otherwise, there was no indication that he had been seen.

He grimaced. The weight of the Glock 17 sitting tight in the small black hoody’s pocket felt oddly discomforting. It was a reminder. 12 months ago he had been searching for enlightenment, now he was the type of man who carried a gun and knew how to use it.

He cleared the small courtyard and slid up to the wall, back first, to peak in through the window next to the back door.

The scent of cooking meat wafted out of the kitchen window. A chef stood stirring a boiling pot of white liquid on the stove.

Monk drew out the Glock and slowly twisted the door handle around. Somewhere behind the door he heard a door open and two male voices.

He ducked back and pushed himself into the wall next to the doorframe.

It opened and pushed back against him. A man in a bullet proof vest holding an automatic rifle walked out followed by a soldier in full military gear.

The man with the vest pushed the door closed with a flick of his hand as he walked towards the far corner.

The door popped shut and Monk was temporarily exposed. He waited to see if the men would look back. They kept on moving, talking as they went.

He blew out a sigh of relief. That had been much too close for his liking.

He opened the door and stepped through. On the other side was a badly decorated hallway with very little light, except what was coming through from under the kitchen door.

Monk pushed up against the wall and edged his way down the hall. A clang came from the kitchen and he crouched down with the Glock aimed carefully at the kitchen doorway.

He heard whatever had fallen being picked up. He was safe to keep on moving.

He stepped slowly down the hallway trying to make as little noise as possible. The kitchen slipped by and he found the entrance to the office from the map that had been given to him by the receptionist he had paid to produce.

The door had no external locks and no keypad or any other obvious entrance prevention device, so he reached out and opened the door.

Slipping inside he found himself in a small office with a computer still glowing on the desk at the far end of the room.

Monk pushed the chair out and sat down. He wouldn’t have much time. Every single moment that he was here would be a chance for the Chinese to capture him.

He set to work. It took him 5 minutes to work his way through the filing system (thankfully, the receptionist could also supply the password to the computer). The file he needed was somewhere within this system and he was determined to find it.

There were footsteps outside. He looked to the screen. There was a folder within the personal file that looked like it had what he wanted. He couldn’t afford to be interrupted right now.

He got up and walked over to position himself behind the door. It almost seemed like it was his imagination, until the door popped open and a man stepped through.

Monk reacted as fast as he could. His hand came out of his pocket and a small knife came around in his hand to pass into the side of the neck of the one standing in front of him.

The man slumped to the ground and Monk stepped over to him. It was one of the guards.

A fist hit him in the side of the face. He reeled back against the desk. He looked up to see the man in the vest from before bringing up his rifle.

Monk slipped to the floor and ripped the Glock from his pocket. Two loud shots rang out: One from Monk and one from the man.

There was a moment of silence in the room as the two men stood staring at each other. Monk felt his side aching where the bullet had skimmed him. The man fell to the ground on top of the prone soldier.

Monk stood up and closed the door. He could already hear some commotion in the upper floor of the building. He was on borrowed time right now and didn’t have any to waste.

He bent over the computer and frantically opened file after file.

Where is it?

He got no answer. The computer was bare. He stood up. Tonight was a failure.

He was about to turn to go when he noticed something on the desk: A rolodex. He opened it and scanned for the name he needed. It was there. He couldn’t believe his luck. It was such an analogue way of keeping this sort of information – he had thought they would have some complicated personal file. Apparently, the man who occupied this room didn’t trust technology. That was good for Monk and bad for him.

He tore the page out and put the rolodex back on the desk. He had what he needed and now all he would have to do was escape.

He made his way to the small window in the corner as heavy footsteps pounded down the hall. The window came up easily and he started to squeeze his way through.

The door shot open, propelled by a guard’s foot. Monk fired several shots at the doorway as he hunched his shoulders a little to