Sample Sunday: Excerpt from "JUSTIFIED ACTION" by Earl Staggs

This week Texas author and good friend Earl Staggs drops by to talk about his thriller novel, Justified Action. A good book well worth your time.



Tall Chambers is the main character in this Mystery/Thriller. Tall belongs to a secretive agency which tracks terrorists.   

While the backdrop for the novel involves terrorism, the main thrust of the story is the search for a killer who murders someone close to Tall.  He puts everything else aside to find the person responsible. 

The worst of the terrorists Tall must deal with is Anatole Remski, an Iranian who specializes in killing American servicemen.

Tall and his team capture Remski after a midnight firefight in Afghanistan and have him in custody at an Army base.  Local authorities are coming to take Remski to jail.  While he has him, however, Tall wants to learn the names of his associates.

Everyone has a stereotypical idea of Muslim terrorists and what drives them.  Remski, however, has a different motivation for what he does.  In this scene, I let him talk about it.

Tall smiled when he entered the room and sat across the table from him. “My name is Chambers, Mr. Remski. I have some questions for you. If you give me the answers I need, I’ll see that they go easier on you in court.”

Remski grinned, but didn’t speak. He held the grin and his eyes narrowed. He seemed to be studying Tall, sizing him up. “That’s very kind of you, Mr. Chambers,” he said in a soft voice with a distinct Arab accent, “but I’ll do fine without your assistance. I advise you not to waste your time or mine.”

“I’m not wasting my time. I need the names of your associates. You’re responsible for bombings which killed many American soldiers. The authorities will make you pay for that. If you cooperate, I’ll do what I can to help you.”

Remski’s grin faded, and he turned his head away. He sighed, almost as if bored. “All they have is hearsay with regard to my participation in those events, Mr. Chambers. As to actual proof, they have nothing. Besides, the killing of American soldiers in this country is not considered a crime by many people here. Weigh that against the many thousands you have slaughtered, and it amounts to very little.”

“You’re wrong,” Tall said. “Regardless of how you feel about our presence here, those who judge you will be bound by international law to sentence you in accordance with the crimes you’ve committed. As for the casualties we’re responsible for, no one regrets them more than I do, but they’re the unfortunate consequence of war. That’s very different from what you do.”

Remski turned back to him “Is it, Mr. Chambers? Why is it different?” His voice was strong and harsh now. His blue eyes had taken on a hardness that wasn’t there before. “Is it because you shout words like freedom and democracy while you murder innocent people? You Americans think you have a right to invade other countries and force them to change. Where is it written that your way is the way for all people? How do you rationalize killing innocent people to force other countries to do everything the American way?”

“That’s not what we do. Our goal is to help people gain their freedom and govern themselves.”

Remski smirked. “You think you’re qualified to tell others how to govern a country? Your country is bankrupt financially and morally, Mr. Chambers. Take your soldiers home. Take care of your own problems and let us take care of ours. Stop waving your red, white and blue flag while you slaughter our citizens in the name of freedom.”

“We don’t slaughter people. We’re only here to help.”

With fierce anger burning in his eyes, Remski shouted, “Do this for me, Mr. Chambers. Go to my village in Abuzak. Stand over the graves of my parents, my wife and my son. Tell them how you marched into their village to help them by lining them up and shooting them. Tell them they were killed for their freedom.”

Tall was caught off guard. He knew of the massacre at Abuzak. A squad of American soldiers marched into the small village looking for subversives and killed every man, woman and child they found. “I’m sorry about what happened to your family. That was a terrible tragedy and never should have happened. The soldiers who went into that village were wrong. They were tried and punished for what they did.”

Remski leaned over the table. He lowered his voice, but not his vehement anger. “Tried and punished? The soldiers who slaughtered my family, my entire village, were discharged and sent home to their own families. Their leader was sentenced to ten years in prison and was released after three years. Do you consider that adequate punishment for what they did?”

“No, in all honesty, I do not. Is that why you kill Americans? Because a small group of them went out of control and did a horrible act? Nothing can compensate you for your loss, but what you’re doing is just as wrong. Seventeen of your associates were killed tonight. Give me the names of the other members of your group. They don’t have to die like the others.”

Remski hung his head and wagged it. When he spoke, he seemed more in control of himself. “No, Mr. Chambers, I will give you no names. The people you murdered tonight are in the arms of Allah and will be rewarded for their sacrifice. Those who remain will continue our war against you as long as you invade our country and slaughter our families. If they give their lives, they, too, will be rewarded. You cannot stop them from doing what they were born to do.” He looked squarely into Tall’s eyes with more hatred and defiance than Tall had ever seen. “And you can’t stop me.”

“Look around,” Tall said. “We have stopped you.”

Remski leaned back in his chair and sneered. “We’ll see about that, Mr. Chambers.”

Ben Goldman opened the door and stuck his head in. “They’re here for him.”

Tall stood and watched two burly policemen place Remski in chains and lead him from the room.

As he passed by Tall, he stopped. “We’ll meet again someday, Mr. Chambers, and when that day comes, I assure you, you will die.”

            “We’ll see about that, Mr. Remski.”

* * * * *

Shortly after the above scene, Remski escapes, and he and Tall Chambers do indeed meet again.

JUSTIFIED ACTION is available in print and ebook

Read Chapter 1 at:  http://earlwstaggs.wordpress.com

·  File Size: 452 KB

·  Print Length: 218 pages

·  Page Numbers Source ISBN: 1482372398

·  Simultaneous Device Usage: Unlimited

·  Sold by: Amazon Digital Services, Inc.

·  Language: English

·  ASIN: B00BLBKHE6

Earl Staggs ©2014

Earl Staggs earned a long list of Five Star reviews for his novels MEMORY OF A MURDER and JUSTIFIED ACTION and has twice received a Derringer Award for Best Short Story of the Year.  He served as Managing Editor of Futures Mystery Magazine, as President of the Short Mystery Fiction Society, is a contributing blog member of Murderous Musings and Make Mine Mystery and a frequent speaker at conferences and seminars.   

Email: earlstaggs@sbcglobal.net 

Website: http://earlwstaggs.wordpress.com