ALL NOVEL Prolog – A old man on holidays
Humming, Charles smoked his Cuban cigar and fixed the straw hat on his head. He was in retirement now and that for three months so far, damn if he did love and live every second of it to the fullest.
No emergencies, no dead, no gunfire, no smoke, no bloodshed, no torture no one in hell and heaven trying to take his life or screaming about something while he took their live.
Just him, his chessboard, a mountain of books, the soft sound of waves hitting the coast, a prime cigar, a nice Lady on his lap, the rustling of leaves in the wind and the gentle chirping of birds. All that in a peaceful and friendly environment with breathable air and surrounded by nothing but god given nature and not in a creaking mess of a spaceship in the middle of a warzone.
He just loved his retirement.
Greeting the barkeeper and slurping on his alcohol-free cocktail, one with those small umbrellas on it he took a deep breath.
Ever since his last drinking tour with his best mate and now former comrade in arms Anuk he swore to never drink the devils water again. The fuzzy aftertaste in his mouth the morning later and the bill for diverse strippers, call girls and others under his phone number quickly snuffed out his wanting of going on getting drunk again.
Some distant day, he certainly hoped the battle woman would gain half a grain of common sense, if she had not pulled that stunt precisely for the reason that she wanted for him to stop drinking.
One could never be sure with that woman.
"Charles.", He heard a very familiar voice behind him, which made him turn around and stare into a pair of deep dark blue eyes.
"Honeybun." He said and wanted to hug his wife stopping himself hastly. "What can I do for you, my dearest house devil."
"Explain a few things, and then die, either over coffee or over this." She rose her hand and showed him a very small and extremely dangerous subatomic vaporizer, whom he remembered he had placed under illegal weapons years ago
"Are planning to kill me?" He asked and she rose an eyebrow. "For lie, under which you never suffered?"
"Never suffered. You lied fifty years to me for gaining information about my brother for your work. You married me for this purpose, had three children with me and played a caring husband. For what, for your damn fucking work, or more for the fact that my brother just so happened not to agree with the goverments work."
"I married you because of it, that is right. What came after was true, I did love you, I cared for you. I love my children that I raised with you and that I took care of, and I did my best to be a good husband." He shouted, and it was true. Sophia was an amazing woman and he even if not at the beginning grew to adore her from the bottom of his heart over the years and that is why he stopped lying and as soon as she wanted a way out signed those divorce papers. "Your brother killed thousands of children like them in his protest, he was threat to our people."
She had tears in her eyes, and he knew what was coming. His beloved Sophia always did what she said, so he closed his eyes and felt the leaser beam hit him.
Well, well, seems I will see Hell earlier than expected.
--
A headache erupted and he groaned. "If that is Hell, I want another one.", he complained and tried to open his eyes. It costed him physical strength to open them up, and what he saw had seen better days.
Where the hell am I. I imagined Hell a bit flashier and a few of my friends and enemies here too, not a...depressingly blank, worn down, half-eaten by maggots wooden wall?
He looked around and the rest of the room looked equally bad, worse, he couldn't decide to glance at his hands and he let out a small and high scream that reminded him of an angsty old lady. Why are hands as smooth as a baby bottom?, he tried to turn and failed miserably.
Crap. That's not my body. I am a damn Baby.