A Shot in the Dark

By Armon Mikal

Drugs, guns, and pleasure synths. Zeke liked to focus on the basics.

Ezekiel Aurora is steadily creating a name for himself in the criminal underground of Luckhaven, and a new smuggling job for a valuable client is evidence of that. It starts off smoothly, then takes a violent turn. As he struggles to survive, Zeke pushes himself to the limit, doing whatever it takes to get his job done.

After all, he has a reputation to build.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Armon Mikal
• Release date: Apr 29, 2022

Armon Mikal

Armon was born and raised in the swamps of Florida, something that he's still trying to recover from. After spending a dozen years in the Army, he finally settled down in Ohio of all places with his wife, son, and two cats. When he's not writing mediocre books, he likes to spend his time outdoors, reading, or listening to heavy metal.

Book preview

A Shot in the Dark

Armon Mikal

This book is a work of fiction. All characters, events, and locations portrayed in this story are the products of the author’s imagination. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental, but would be pretty rad.

Copyright © 2022 Armon Mikal

All rights reserved.

1

Zeke leaned over the sink and splashed a handful of hot water onto his face. This was exactly what he needed after a stressful week, but thinking about it still made him laugh. He splashed another handful of water onto his face and ran his fingers through his short black hair. After grabbing a towel from the heated rack, he patted his face dry and turned to leave the bathroom. His shirt was lying on the floor, so he bent over and snatched it up on his way back to the bed.

Thanks, Chloe, he said as his head popped through the neck opening in his shirt. He sometimes felt odd thanking a robot, but it seemed like the right thing to do. Especially with these new synths that seemed more human than most humans. Akari’s Pleasure House was one of the top businesses of its kind in the city of Luckhaven and employed only the best; it was truly hard to tell the difference between someone like Chloe and a real person. In the heat of the moment, it was impossible.

He looked over at Chloe, who was still lounging on the bed in nothing but her skin. Her face and figure were perfect in a way that nature never intended. Even her hair was still perfectly styled after an hour of rolling around in bed. She saw him watching her and gave a warm smile in return. Her smile even looked genuine, although he knew she was programmed that way. Synths were self-aware, though; they thought for themselves, they learned, they reacted to the world around them…. Who’s to say they didn’t deserve a bit of politeness, just like a human?

Zeke’s holophone rang, so he grabbed his pants from the floor and dug his phone from the front pocket. It was Amelie, his fixer. Zeke answered with only a slight frown at having his fun interrupted, and a hologram of the woman’s head hovered above his phone. As usual, there was an impatient flash to her icy blue eyes.

Zeke, I— Put your pants on, Zeke. I have a job for you, she said.

Perfect. I can meet up with you in about half an hour, Zeke replied as he stepped into his pants. He zipped them up, then reached for his socks.

"Meet me at Nadir instead of