D.S.S. agent Roy Lombardi looked up from his palm tablet. “Kelly?” “Sir?” “You are to meet with Jemal Yavuz at this address in Kurtulus.” He handed me a paper. “Why me?” “You know Istanbul.” “This meeting might be a trap.”… Continue Reading
The silence was a few minutes deep. The pair had surrendered to it when they ran out of stories about mutual friends from the three years since their last rendezvous. The boy used the lull to sip his americano; today’s… Continue Reading
The taxi driver pulls up to a crumbling brick apartment building in Brooklyn Heights and I think to myself that surely a being as menacing as Krampus must have a greater reward than a fourth-floor walk-up without a river view.… Continue Reading
Evening sunlight leaks through curtains and blankets the floor in soft, gold light. It flows across Buddy’s fluffy blonde fur, granting him the warm summer naps he loves so much. Minutes pass and hints of purple and orange take the… Continue Reading
Despite their differences, the two wizards had always agreed that the mushroom soup at Ko’s was a superior dish amid a wasteland of mediocre suburban cuisine. It contained seven distinct species of exotic fungi in a clear, fragrant broth speckled… Continue Reading
Matthew and John met under the Fourth Street bridge as they often did. But this was no ordinary meeting. Tonight was a special occasion. Each man carried a cardboard box under his arm which had been wrapped up in great… Continue Reading
It was Gareth who came up with the idea; he usually did. He’d been picking up stones as he made his way through the estate, bouncing them in his palm, filling his pockets, and as we approached the bridge I… Continue Reading
Finn passed between the rusted doors to enter into a most peculiar kind of pet shop. In one corner of the room sat a collection of lizards, not doing much more than lazing about on the rocks. They weren’t much… Continue Reading
What Samuel loves most about going to his Aunt Virginia and Uncle Joseph’s house is the fish tank, though it usually isn’t kept very well. Last time the glass was covered in a thin layer of grimy algae, and the… Continue Reading
The first time I cussed around grown-ups was at my Uncle’s house in Virginia on Thanksgiving and they all needed to hear it. Here’s what Thanksgiving was all about back then: piling into the cramped sedan for an eleven-hour drive… Continue Reading