Once in a while I post something on a conspiracy forum, asking if anyone knows anything. The posts seem to be removed more quickly than I would expect. But . . . I suppose I would say that, right?
Whenever I find anything, or think I may be onto something, or come up with a new angle, I tell Stephanie about it. I tell her these things under my breath, all the time. Sometimes other people hear. They look at me strangely. That’s okay. They have no idea what I’m learning. They have no idea who I’m talking to. They have no suspicion, either, that beneath the layers of thrift store clothes and what I’ll admit is sometimes a significant layer of grime—my cabin does not have running water—my body is in the best shape it’s ever been. I spend hours every night running through the woods. I have rocks and chunks of fallen tree that I use for working out. I eat what I can catch in streams and what I shoot in the woods. I have spent many hours practicing with the gun. I am very good now.
I feel ashamed I did not use it before, when I had the chance. And so whenever I am in a town I spend periods focusing on the backs of people’s heads, imagining myself in the position of being behind them with the gun held out, readying myself: ensuring that when the opportunity comes I will be able to kill this time, to dispatch them as they deserve. If these strangers happen to glance around—which they sometimes do, as if they have felt a light touch on the back of their neck—I look away. They don’t see me. And neither will my enemies, until it’s too late.
They do not know how strong I am now, how developed I have become. I may be many things, but I am not crazy.
I am modified.
Acknowledgments
Thanks to my editors, Jane Johnson and Jen Brehl, and also to Sarah Hodgson and Chris Smith; to my agent, Ralph Vicinanza; and to Paula and Nate.
About the Author
MICHAEL MARSHALL is the author of the trilogy that includes The Straw Men, The Upright Man, and Blood of Angels, as well as the stand-alone novels The Servants, The Intruders, and Bad Things. He also works as a screenwriter for clients in London and Los Angeles, and is currently writing a television pilot set in New York City. He lives in London with his wife and son.
Also by Michael Marshall
Bad Things
The Intruders
Blood of Angels
The Upright Man
The Straw Men