Another face sprang unsummoned from the depths. A young face, full of promise and charm. Her dark hair was cut short, adorned by a silver sequin and feathered headband. Her eyes shone with hesitant attraction when she gazed at me across the valley of time and space. I knew her once. Her name will always stay with me.
Maxine…
I remembered her. I remembered the pigeon-toed way she walked, the mischievous dash of freckles across her nose. I remembered the way she’d laugh when I said something that inadvertently amused her. I remembered sunlit days lounging in the park and rainy days indoors lying with my head in her lap and her fingers in my hair. I remembered her voice, the hesitancy when she gazed into my eyes and asked a simple question.
Do you think it will always be like this?
The windows glistened, erasing the lingering faces and leaving me alone with my misery. Everything blurred as beads of rain washed away the visages of bygone times until nothing was left except the sudden realization it wasn’t raining after all.
Just tears that slid down my face.
Enjoy the Troubleshooter?
Thanks for checking out this installment of the Troubleshooter series. I truly hope you enjoyed your time in New Haven. I’d love to keep writing these novels, but I need just a little help from you. Reviews help a great deal in spreading the word, which in turn helps sell more books. Which in turn allows me to keep writing. It doesn’t have to a long process: a simple 3–4 sentence review works wonders. Thanks again for reading, hope you stick around for the next installment.
All the best,
— BC
About the Author
Bard Constantine firmly believes he’s living in the wrong age, so he creates timelines he feels more comfortable in. With this series he introduces Havenworld, a retro-futuristic dystopian age where humanity survived a terrifying Cataclysm by means of city-sized constructs called Havens. More info on this world and upcoming novels can be found on his website: bardwritesbooks.com as well as his Facebook page. You can also keep up with him on Twitter @BardConstantine.
Glossary
So you’re new in town. Yeah, I can tell. Well you’ve come by the right mug for the wire on this place. Don’t wanna stick out like a nun at a cathouse, do ya? Thought not. So you might wanna get down on the lingo around here. You probably guessed folks in New Haven speak a little differently than the other Havens. While this isn’t required reading, here’s a quick rundown you can reference in case you get a bit mixed up. That way if a mug tells you to rotate your heels or else he’ll fit you for a New Haven trench coat, then you’ll know what he’s gabbing about, pipe that? Here goes:
Ace/chump/Killer /Mack: nicknames for a man
Bag or tag: Nimrod terms for live or dead capture
Barber: talk
Bâtard: bastard
Bent: angry, upset, out of sorts
Berries/lettuce/cabbage/bread: money
Bing ward: segregation cells, solitary
Biogun: an expensive firearm powered by the user’s body via cables inserted in the forearm or into a holoband.
Bioroid: term for humans enhanced by bio-genetic implants that expand the use of their brain beyond normal capacity.
Bogart: a fedora
Boozehound: drunk person
Borgata: Mob, Mafia, organized crime family
Bracelets: handcuffs
Brass/feds/fuzz/button boys/boys in black: cops
Broad: a woman, usually an unattractive one
Bruno: bodyguard
Bum: Useless
Bunk: nonsense, foolishness
Butter and egg, fat cat: rich, loaded
Buy the farm/bite the big one: die
Canary/songbird: female singer
Capeesh: understand, comprehend
Capo: Mafia boss, family head
Cataclysm: a period of time when most life on Earth was destroyed by environmental and nuclear forces
Cathouse: brothel
Cement shoes: cement blocks poured around an unlucky sap’s feet. Once the cement cures, the sap is tossed in the river to drown.
Chew: eat
Chin music, skull music: the sounds made when someone is punched in the face or head
Chin up: check out, investigate. Also means to talk.
Chisel/flimflam/rib up: frame, set up
Choppers, pearls: teeth
Chopper squad/trouble boys: hired guns
Climb your thumb: go to hell
Clip/plug/rub out/smoke/zotz: kill
Clip joint: high-class nightclub
Coot/codger: old man
Crab: cash out
Crooner: male singer
Crop: everything, all there is
Daisy: effeminate man
Dame/moll/dish/looker: nicknames for a woman, usually an attractive one
Darb: good, excellent, high quality
Datacom: a tiny earpiece synched to the holoband and used to make phone calls
Down on the ups: when life sucks
Dormy/laying dormy: laying low, hiding out
Dibcard: a preloaded card for transferring dibs from one account to another
Dibs: currency
Dive/can house: low class restaurant or nightclub
Drop a dime/sing/squeal: Snitch to the cops
Duck soup/lead pipe cinch: easy
Egg/noodle: head
Evaporator: machine that instantly dries clothing, usually installed in doorways
Elbows checked: arrested
Feed the fishes/swim with the fishes: drowned or tossed in the river after death
Fils de pute: bastard, son of a bitch
Floater: flying automobile
Flogger: trench coat
Floozy/hussy/skater: a dame who likes to spread it around.
Flophouse: hideout
Focosa: hot-blooded, passionate.
Frail: old woman
Fuggetaboutit: an expression that covers a lot of different meanings.
Gasper/smoke: cigarette
Gems/peepers: eyes
Giggle juice, hard juice: alcohol
Glad rags: expensive clothing
Gonzo/jingle-brained: crazy
Goon/dropper/hardhead: hired thug
Grift: con
Grifter: con artist
Grill/tighten the screws: interrogate
Haven: city-sized constructs built to preserve life during the Cataclysm
Hophead: drug addict
Hosers/sky hosers: fire floaters deployed to extinguish flames