Soldiers of Misfortune: The Black Maw

By Kyle Winter

In some parts of hive city Vytal the locals will eat you alive. In this part of town they mean it literally.

Apate Nevermore is working undercover with the VCPD to investigate reports of cannibalism in the lower districts. The acts aren't random. A gang of thugs called The Black Maw are taking credit for the crimes and it's Apate's job to find them without getting caught in their web. When one of her partners goes missing while on assignment things get more interesting. Now Apate must track down the gang and her partner without blowing her cover or ending up on a dinner plate.

All this just to take a bite out of crime.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Kyle Winter
• Release date: Dec 14, 2020
• ISBN: 9781005905880

Kyle Winter

Having failed as an author bio writer, I decided to try my hand at science-fiction. I'm basically just a guy who takes my imaginary friends too seriously.When not running my characters through a gauntlet of misery I run paper & pencil RPG's, get beat up at jiu-jitsu and train my dog not to put his junk on things.

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The Black Maw

Kyle Winter

Copyright © 2019 by Kyle Winter

All rights reserved.

Edited by Patrick Burdine.

Cover illustration by Kyle Winter.

All characters appearing in this work are fictitious. Any resemblance to real persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental.

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Smashwords Edition, License Notes

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Corporations run the universe. The money we earn working for them is spent on their products. That feeling of safety and stability they provide means their marketing campaigns are working. Every aspect of our lives is controlled or manipulated in some way by people at the top of the corporate food chain and we are forced to live in their shadows.

Most companies are willing to conduct clandestine operations to drive their competitors into the ground. Blackmail, vandalism, thievery, kidnapping, and murder are just some of the ways companies knock each other down a peg. No self-respecting businessman would sully his hands with such a project, thus an underground network of civilian operatives fills that need.

Individuals who are brave (or insane) enough to assist in these secret missions are rewarded with either a fat check or a dirt nap. Due to the dangerous and unpredictable nature of these missions, civilian operatives are often called…

Soldiers of Misfortune

Also in this series:

Novels

Parasite Lost

Forerunners Anthology

Short Stories

Trial By Fire (Forerunners)

Cradle to the Grave (Forerunners)

The Black Maw (Forerunners)

Grudge Match (Forerunners)

The Black Maw

Apate sat outside the interviewer’s office holding her long time boyfriend Gideon’s hand. He had recently gotten a research job on a secretive project and they hoped she could join. With his recommendation she bypassed most of the initial barriers for entry and was bumped to the front of the line for a security position. The door to the interviewer’s office swung open.

Uh-payt? the interviewer asked.

It’s pronounced ah-pah-tay, Apate said.

Excuse me, Apate. Well, that’s embarrassing.

Don’t worry, it happens all the time, she assured him, standing up and entering the room. She made a quick glance back at Gideon, who gave her two thumbs up and a big smile before the door shut behind her.

Well Apate, thank you for coming. As you know this is a very important project and we have to undergo a strict screening process for all participants. We expect full disclosure on everything, regardless of how embarrassing. We are not here to judge, we just want to make sure you are the right person for the job. Do you understand?

She nodded.

Can you please verbally confirm, for the recording.

Yes, sorry. I understand.

So basically how this is going to work is I’m going to ask you a series of questions. The goal is to get a feel for who you are and how you think. There are no judgments here, just answer honestly and try to give me as much information as possible when explaining. We have all day to complete this interview, the man continued.

Understood.

Excellent, let’s just dive in then. What are a few of your strengths?

Apate hated these kinds of questions. She never knew how to answer them. I am very resolute. When I make a decision I stand by it and see things through to the end. I am also a team player. I support my team and their decisions as a whole.

Interesting, the interviewer said, jotting some notes. She knew it wasn’t interesting. He was just being polite. And what about weaknesses? What do you think you can improve on?

I don’t think I have many weaknesses. I feel like I make pretty sound decisions. If I make a mistake, I will rectify it but in the moment I always do what I think is right and won’t apologize for it.

I’m not sure if that is a weakness.

People that think I’m wrong would disagree with you.

He smirked. She wasn’t sure if he liked the answer or was still being polite. "Can you tell me a situation where you were forced to make a