Allen Whitlock

Our world divided. Two years in the aftermath of the Second 9/11-the nuclear destruction of Baltimore-the rising trillion-dollar border with Mexico walls us in. No one in the newly formed Federal Police Service admits Ramon, a ruthless drug cartel magnate, bypasses the border with impunity. But, with the kidnapping of the daughter of a US Presidential candidate, long-buried secrets emerge. Forced to work together, FPS Agent Johnny Pinchot and Mexican special agent Oscar Games must overcome their distrust, and destroy the tech-savvy drug lord's far-reaching tentacles of power and influence.

There is surprise, humor and often suspense in these six stories featuring the novelette "If I Should Die Before It Wakes," where a marine biologist discovers a nightmare poised to awaken in the world's oceans. Other stories include "Concerning the Death of Robert Logan on CV-IV" where a team of nerdy zenolinguists try to solve the mystery of an abandoned planet. The misinterpretation of a common word could a fatal consequence. Just after a malfunction causes a robot designed for teen amusement to attain self-consciousness, he's assigned to an elder-care facility in "Assisted Living." In "I Follow the Sun," a man and a vampire go into a Singapore bar yet only one leaves. A bizarre murder confession leads a Boston detective to a group of scientists with a time machine in "Killing Time." Find out the horrifying reason a man must always wear a blindfold in "Out of Sight."