Locke Down: Days of Resonance Episode Two

By Brett P. S.

Pinnacle ripped a hole in Paris and now they're back for more. The organization had spread its roots from Europe to North America as the political climate at the JF moved toward swift regulatory bans on Resotek following the Paris Incident. With the world in fear, awaiting Pinnacle's next move, Fortune sends her finest to stop them before Pinnacle claims another foothold. Stone Keep couldn't help but feel responsible for his hand in the destruction.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Brett P. S.
• Release date: Oct 6, 2016
• ISBN: 9781370044207

Brett P. S.

Brett Sawyer (1986), born in Old Saybrook, Connecticut, is an indie author who writes short stories & novellas, from science fiction to heroes. He graduated from Eastern Illinois University in 2015 with a Bachelor’s in education and currently teaches game design at Lake Land College.Short Change arrived at retailers in November of 2014, the start of a hero series where ordinary people gained powers over oddly specific domains, following the story of a shorter than average hero who can telekinetically manipulate small units of currency.Short Change is free on “smashwords.com/profile/view/BrettPS” and Barnes & Noble along with other samples and short fiction.Brett’s popular releases in science fiction include “Dark Station” and “Tales from the Colony: An Interstellar Saga.” Dark Station is a deep space thriller set aboard an abandoned orbital science station where Ben Gebbley and his crew secretly investigate the disappearance of the original staff before others come to claim the lost assets.

Book preview

Table of Contents

CHAPTER 1

CHAPTER 2

CHAPTER 3

CHAPTER 4

CHAPTER 5

CHAPTER 6

CHAPTER 7

CHAPTER 8

CHAPTER 9

EPILOGUE

Chapter 1

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Fortune Tower, Paris

Four months into the reconstruction of Paris …

Caleb Johnson stood patiently as the central elevator in Fortune Tower dragged down into Fortune Stronghold’s underbelly, the nest of experimental Resotek few held the privilege of witnessing first hand. Caleb could count the number of individuals Mrs. Adamson trusted with these secrets on one hand, though for some reason it didn’t feel like a privilege to him. The deeper down the elevator plunged, the more it felt like someone dragging him down to a place from which he’d never return.

The media took to what people were calling the Pinnacle Strike on Paris like wildfire. News stations across Europe blasted it up with amateur footage and daily syndication during the reconstruction. The work wasn’t nearly finished, but Mrs. Adamson footed a thick portion of the bill to rebuild her city. It was hers, despite what anyone else would claim otherwise. He accepted as much and tried his best to stay far from view. Bandwidth worked wonders, scrubbing his presence from digital records, from bank statements to restaurant receipts.

Caleb sighed and crossed his arms, leaning back on the rear wall of the elevator, as the front section no longer obscured his vision. Through glass and bars, Caleb scanned the undersides of Fortune Tower, a massive warehouse stocked to the brim with dangerous devices the good woman feared to unleash on the world. She’d told him as much. The warehouse covered some massive square footage, with a height of about five stories full of metal crates.

Caleb recalled the pundits on Spotlight’s news subsidiaries. Europe’s populous was divided on the issue of control and how best to implement it so that disasters such as Paris didn’t happen again. The act itself would have bankrupted France’s economy if Fortune hadn’t stepped in, but how many times could she do the same for other countries … or would she?

Pinnacle would find a way to strike again, and next time the destruction might not end at a dozen city blocks. It was what he worried about, and that worry turned to dread as the elevator stopped and the doors opened to a pleasant scowl on the aging woman’s face. Mrs. Adamson stood between two rows of crates with her arms crossed.

Good afternoon, ma’am, Caleb said, clearing his throat.

Caleb, Mrs. Adamson said. I have need of your services again, but I don’t want Caleb. I want Stone Keep.

You mean to say you want a hero?

Mrs. Adamson hid her smile, but it was there. She continued, gesturing for him to follow her into her element. She led