Conversations with Myself

Answer finds a rude reception after working so hard to make his way home, and we are introduced to Raif, who worked as a young adventurous scientist trying to discover western medical value in the deep knowledge of the U'wa shaman Ramon...

Answer slowly makes his way back to Colombia, while Coordinator heads back to Portland in an effort to see if Collie can help her find Answer before the dark forces pursuing them do. The INDU mob finds out the hard way that the people of Newtown are a little harder to displace than they might have suspected...

Answer returns home to an uncertain welcome, while Coordinator seeks out his old friend, Collie Grey back in Portland. She may not be exactly welcome, but Collie has his own reasons why she may be useful...

Answer recalls more of their first adventures with the shaman, Luz, while Coordinator is confronted with some unwelcome news back at House. Her mentor Kiranjit Singh has a mission that is tailor-made for her, however objectionable she may find it...

As Coordinator dives deeper into the mystery surrounding Harrison Lin, Answer drifts back to an earlier time when he and Collie first met Luz Kawabi and began their journey of discovery...

As Answer does his best to simply disappear once again, Coordinator heads back to the relative safety of House, eager to put her tools to work finding out who or what is behind her recent difficulties. Answer finds assistance from an old ally...

After the failed exchange, everyone is on the run. But that doesn't mean they're out of the woods...whoever or whatever is after them seems to have a very long reach indeed. But Coordinator and Answer both believe in that old adage: it isn't paranoid if they're really out to get you.

The four participants in the initial kidnapping of Target all head their separate ways, each finding themselves hunted in one way or another. Although they don't yet know why everything went off the rails, they all try to seek safety as best as they know how, with whatever resources they can quickly and quietly find...

Chapter Two of Criminal Magic:

In the future, society is broken into two groups: government run for and by transnational business, and a citizenry left to foot the bill. To survive in this world, crime has grown its own political structure. The Kollectiv movement specializes in outsourcing crime. It's a cranked-up tribe of anarchists, activists and adrenaline junkies. In short, anybody with an eye toward adventure and an aversion to office work. The cash available for social programs all over the world now comes almost exclusively from the Kollectives, forming an intersection between compassion and crime. It's Robin Hood by any means necessary.

Answer contracts for the Kollectiv, but he's not in it for the people. For him it's the adrenaline. He's a specialist who brings a certain magic to the job--the inspired magic of San Pedro, the ancient cult of the jaguar. But lately he's been feeling bored.

A Kollectiv kidnap goes wrong, leaving Answer and Coordinator, a hardass, technology-drive Kollectiv organizer, running for their lives. This isn't right. Nobody gets killed over a little renewable resource job. There's an ethic, even in this work. Answer and Coordinator know that. But somebody's changed the rules. Who?

There are forces--dark mystical energies and well-heeled transnational executives--hard at work reshaping the world twenty-four seven. It's a dangerous time to be ambivalent about your purpose or power, and Answer's growing uncertainty about what his magic means makes him vulnerable.

Luz, the strong Peruvian shaman, knows all about Answer, and the ancient evil that's chasing him. She is his mentor, and has a vision of his future, even if he does not. The question is: will she be able to keep her student alive long enough for him to become the teacher in her dreams?

Chapter One of Criminal Magic:

In the future, society is broken into two groups: government run for and by transnational business, and a citizenry left to foot the bill. To survive in this world, crime has grown its own political structure. The Kollectiv movement specializes in outsourcing crime. It's a cranked-up tribe of anarchists, activists and adrenaline junkies. In short, anybody with an eye toward adventure and an aversion to office work. The cash available for social programs all over the world now comes almost exclusively from the Kollectives, forming an intersection between compassion and crime. It's Robin Hood by any means necessary.

Answer contracts for the Kollectiv, but he's not in it for the people. For him it's the adrenaline. He's a specialist who brings a certain magic to the job--the inspired magic of San Pedro, the ancient cult of the jaguar. But lately he's been feeling bored.

A Kollectiv kidnap goes wrong, leaving Answer and Coordinator, a hardass, technology-drive Kollectiv organizer, running for their lives. This isn't right. Nobody gets killed over a little renewable resource job. There's an ethic, even in this work. Answer and Coordinator know that. But somebody's changed the rules. Who?

There are forces--dark mystical energies and well-heeled transnational executives--hard at work reshaping the world twenty-four seven. It's a dangerous time to be ambivalent about your purpose or power, and Answer's growing uncertainty about what his magic means makes him vulnerable.

Luz, the strong Peruvian shaman, knows all about Answer, and the ancient evil that's chasing him. She is his mentor, and has a vision of his future, even if he does not. The question is: will she be able to keep her student alive long enough for him to become the teacher in her dreams?