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
·
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
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