♠ Mexican standoff ♠

Now he’d had enough. Now he dared. In a lightning-fast move he’d practised tirelessly in front of his bedroom mirror, Connor spun on his heel, knocked the gun aside, then grabbed it with his other hand.

He hadn’t expected the slap that knocked his head to the side. But he accepted it as the lesser of two evils.

Speaking of which…

“Gertie! Are you alright? Who is this?” The coughers had arrived.

“Stay back, Bjorn. I’m alright.”

Connor moved up the staircase until he stood behind the diminutive pigtailed slapper.

“Yes, Bjorn. Stay back. Wouldn’t want anything to happen to your little princess, would we?”

*

Connor grabbed the girl and continued backing up the stairs, until he found the flat of the roof. Bjorn and his Indian sidekick moved slowly after them, with evil looks on their faces.

“Let’s not do anything stupid now.” Connor’s gun was pointed firmly at the girl’s temple. “I’m not in the mood to get covered in girl brains this evening, but I will if I have to.”

Bjorn and his companion inched towards him, guns pointed firmly at his forehead. Connor inched back, until there was nowhere to inch back to.

“Who are you working for?” Bjorn barked. “Police? Government? Hawks?”

“The Hawks?” Connor tried to keep his tone conversational. It had been a while since he had a conversation. “Are they still going? I thought they were disbanded.”

“Mi-6? CIA? The Drop? Paramilitary?” Bjorn’s sidekick added.

Who am I working for? That’s a bloody good question. Who is The Drop? That’s also a good question. “I’m freelance. Who are you working for?”

“Get off me.” Gertie grunted. Connor’s grip remained firm. She was stopping him getting shot. He liked her for that.

⛥

Read Big Day Out in weekly installments on FaceBook or WordPress. Receive notifications via Instagram, Twitter, Tumblr, GoodReads, or Amazon, where you’ll find the whole mad mercenary romp through the dystopian nightmare that Covid-19 might have become. Might still become, if we don’t keep our self-appointed leaders on a very short leash.

Download FREE sampler previews of all my books – and some complete short stories – from PCloud at www.bit.ly/FreeBurning. Or read them on Kindle Unlimited.

No charge. No obligation. No sign-in. Read for free. Share with your friends.

Anyone in Johannesburg who would like a signed copy (of any of my books) can have one delivered to their door by Big Bad Wolf Motorcycle Maniac Deliveries. No charge for delivery.

⛥

For a different experience, listen to these weekly episodes as Spotify podcasts, Apple podcasts, or Google podcasts.

⛥

If you have a book you’d like to publish, contact me to claim your 15 minutes of bestselling fame at No.1 on Amazon. Find all the above details and links at www.amazon.com/author/burning.

In case you missed the link while listening to the podcast, that’s www.amazon.com/author/burning.

⛥

Cheers.

($) Too much ($)

Don’t take on too many challenges at once. You are not superhuman. Probably not, anyway. There are special individuals who manage to accomplish many great things during their lifetimes. You may or may not be one of them.

On the assumption that you are not, decide what you want most. Write it down. Make a plan. And work on it. Every. Single. Day.

According to Maria Forleo, life coach and motivational speaker – “Success doesn’t come from what you do occasionally, it comes from what you do consistently.”

Work colleagues have always driven more expensive cars than me. Cars they couldn’t afford. I know this because they would be in my office every few months asking for a loan.

Don’t be fooled by other people’s expensive accessories. Flashy cars, big houses, designer clothes, expensive jewellery. They probably can’t afford them. Neither can you.

Not yet.

Mark Twain, one of America’s greatest writers and perhaps its first modern celebrity, declared bankruptcy in 1893 at the age of 60. A bad investment in the new Paige typesetting machine, and financial problems at his publishing house, swallowed the money he had made from his writing career – along with his wife’s inheritance. He managed to transfer all of his copyrights into his wife’s name before he went under.

He quipped that he had learned “not to invest when you can’t afford to, and not to invest when you can.”

Don’t be like Mark Twain. Unless it’s in the field of writing.

($)

Stop living from salary to salary. Achieve Financial Independence. Retire Early. Join the FIRE movement igniting the world.

Follow these weekly posts for solid advice on how to escape the rat race, covering material contained in Hard Money.

No obligation, no pressure – ever.

This is no get-rich-quick scheme. It won’t be easy. That’s why it’s called Hard Money.

Work while they sleep. Learn while they party. Save while they spend. Then live like they dream.

Anyone in Johannesburg who would like a signed copy (of any of my books) can have one delivered to their door by Big Bad Wolf Motorcycle Maniac Deliveries. No charge for delivery.

Hard Money was recently approved by the South African Education Department and recommended to be stocked in their libraries. I’ll be bringing financial literacy to the country’s youth.

♠ Holy wars ♠

They were coming his way. Connor stepped back into the shadows, heels reaching for the bottom of the stairs. Yes, there they were. He climbed sideways, keeping an eye on his new companions while trying to check out the rooftop at the same time. Used to be his favourite drinking spot. Then he’d met Francina up there. Had she followed him up that night? She’d never admitted it. But he’d often suspected it was more than a chance meeting.

The Covid carriers hadn’t come any closer. They’d disappeared into the ablution block next to the stairs, still coughing and wheezing. Jesus, what kind of operation were they running here?

“How dare you?”

He really wasn’t used to leaving the house. Then again, nobody there had ever pressed a small caliber revolver against the back of his head.

“This is all wrong. I shouldn’t be up here. I should be back in school on the other side of the ocean. How dare you?”

“Easy, miss. I’m one of the good guys. I’ve been sent to take you home.”

He heard a sob. Never a good sign when loaded guns were involved.

“People are suffering. People are dying. Entire ecosystems are collapsing.”

He held up both hands in what he hoped was a peaceful gesture, if she ignored the large caliber handgun he refused to drop.

“I can see that. I suppose that’s why they’ve got you up there, in your own little isolation corner? Keep you safe till the ransom arrives?”

“We are in the beginning of a mass extinction and all you can talk about is money. How dare you?”

⛥

Read Big Day Out in weekly installments on FaceBook or WordPress. Receive notifications via Instagram, Twitter, Tumblr, GoodReads, or Amazon, where you’ll find the whole mad mercenary romp through the dystopian nightmare that Covid-19 might have become. Might still become, if we don’t keep our self-appointed leaders on a very short leash.

Download FREE sampler previews of all my books – and some complete short stories – from PCloud at www.bit.ly/FreeBurning. Or read them on Kindle Unlimited.

No charge. No obligation. No sign-in. Read for free. Share with your friends.

Anyone in Johannesburg who would like a signed copy (of any of my books) can have one delivered to their door by Big Bad Wolf Motorcycle Maniac Deliveries. No charge for delivery.

⛥

For a different experience, listen to these weekly episodes as Spotify podcasts, Apple podcasts, or Google podcasts.

⛥

If you have a book you’d like to publish, contact me to claim your 15 minutes of bestselling fame at No.1 on Amazon. Find all the above details and links at www.amazon.com/author/burning.

In case you missed the link while listening to the podcast, that’s www.amazon.com/author/burning.

⛥

Cheers.

($) Sacrifice ($)

Several years ago, a young lady started work in a company I managed. She was married with a child. She lived more than an hour away from the office, so she spent a lot of time driving to and from work. But she was determined to build a solid career for herself and her family, and this was a great opportunity. She was also studying part-time towards her accounting degree. So after a long day at work, and a long drive home, she would cook dinner for her family, put the baby to bed, then hit the books.

I was exhausted just hearing about it.

She asked my advice. Whether she should put her studies on hold while she threw herself into her new job and worked her way up. We discussed the pros and cons, short-term versus long-term.

She also mentioned that she was having trouble in her marriage. Her husband was feeling neglected, and wanted her to spend more time with the family.

I told her she needed to make some decisions. I couldn’t see any way she could possibly juggle all these balls at the same time.

Then she fell pregnant with their second child.

She resigned before the end of the month.

($)

Stop living from salary to salary. Achieve Financial Independence. Retire Early. Join the FIRE movement igniting the world.

Follow these weekly posts for solid advice on how to escape the rat race, covering material contained in Hard Money.

No obligation, no pressure – ever.

This is no get-rich-quick scheme. It won’t be easy. That’s why it’s called Hard Money.

Work while they sleep. Learn while they party. Save while they spend. Then live like they dream.

Anyone in Johannesburg who would like a signed copy (of any of my books) can have one delivered to their door by Big Bad Wolf Motorcycle Maniac Deliveries. No charge for delivery.

Hard Money was recently approved by the South African Education Department and recommended to be stocked in their libraries. I’ll be bringing financial literacy to the country’s youth.

♠ A dead body ♠

Gun drawn, knives secured in all the regular places, he looked both ways before crossing the street then hid himself in the shadows.

The plan was genius in its simplicity. Genius or insanity. Approach from the back down the alley, hop over the wall, fuck shit up, rescue the woman, Lanseria, plane, beach, copious amounts of alcohol, die from either liver failure or sexual exhaustion with a smile on his face.

Alley first. So far so good as he kept to the shadows. He paused at the wall, steadied his breathing and listened. Nothing. No footsteps, no talking. He stood on his toes and peered over the wall. A smattering of tables, a lot of weeds but nothing else. Great. He climbed over and fell gently to the ground.

Instead of landing on a solid floor, the ground felt soft beneath his feet. He bent down to look what he had landed on.

“Who the fuck were you?” Judging by the state of the body under his feet, he hadn’t been dead long.

And he hadn’t died happy. Burst blood vessels. Bulging eyes. Foam crusted on his chin. Connor stepped off quietly but quickly, looking for the biggest patch of weeds to wipe his feet.

Should have brought gloves. And a mask. He wasn’t used to leaving home.

Movement caught his eye, reflexes dropping him into a crouch. Then he heard the coughing. Two of them, as far as he could tell. Bullet-proof vests. Military issue, not police. Same as the semi-automatics. He hadn’t seen one of those for a while.

But it was the coughing that worried him most. Shit, years of avoiding everyone and everything, complete mind-bending isolation, only to end up back in his favourite bar with the virus everywhere. And no rum to disinfect.

⛥

Read Big Day Out in weekly installments on FaceBook or WordPress. Receive notifications via Instagram, Twitter, Tumblr, GoodReads, or Amazon, where you’ll find the whole mad mercenary romp through the dystopian nightmare that Covid-19 might have become. Might still become, if we don’t keep our self-appointed leaders on a very short leash.

Download FREE sampler previews of all my books – and some complete short stories – from PCloud at www.bit.ly/FreeBurning. Or read them on Kindle Unlimited.

No charge. No obligation. No sign-in. Read for free. Share with your friends.

Anyone in Johannesburg who would like a signed copy (of any of my books) can have one delivered to their door by Big Bad Wolf Motorcycle Maniac Deliveries. No charge for delivery.

⛥

For a different experience, listen to these weekly episodes as Spotify podcasts, Apple podcasts, or Google podcasts.

⛥

If you have a book you’d like to publish, contact me to claim your 15 minutes of bestselling fame at No.1 on Amazon. Find all the above details and links at www.amazon.com/author/burning.

In case you missed the link while listening to the podcast, that’s www.amazon.com/author/burning.

⛥

Cheers.

($) Perspective ($)

Let me stress upfront that I am not a relationship counsellor. Nor am I a psychiatrist. Or even a registered financial advisor. What I am is a financial manager and money coach who believes he understands numbers and how to work with the energy called money. So I will be giving you some tips on how to build a moderate degree of wealth during your lifetime.

You may end up with a dysfunctional family. A few close friends. A dog that doesn’t recognize you when you drag yourself home at the end of another twelve-hour day. Be wary of this. Try to keep some perspective. After all, it’s only money.

Really.

It is.

($)

Stop living from salary to salary. Achieve Financial Independence. Retire Early. Join the FIRE movement igniting the world.

Follow these weekly posts for solid advice on how to escape the rat race, covering material contained in Hard Money.

No obligation, no pressure – ever.

This is no get-rich-quick scheme. It won’t be easy. That’s why it’s called Hard Money.

Work while they sleep. Learn while they party. Save while they spend. Then live like they dream.

Anyone in Johannesburg who would like a signed copy (of any of my books) can have one delivered to their door by Big Bad Wolf Motorcycle Maniac Deliveries. No charge for delivery.

Hard Money was recently approved by the South African Education Department and recommended to be stocked in their libraries. I’ll be bringing financial literacy to the country’s youth.

♠ Can I play with madness? ♠

Sanity is a relative thing. Did you have to be sane to realise that everyone else was crazy? Or did you have to be insane in the first place? Or was insanity the human race’s default setting, in which case if you actually were sane, you would be viewed as being crazy?

Einstein said there’s a fine line between genius and insanity. Connor was clever enough to know he wasn’t a genius.

That was probably just as well, he thought, as he sped the bike through the Johannesburg twilight. He had sat and rested at the theatre for a few hours, mulling over the contents of the letter and the clipping, chewing on petrol station biltong. Rest, relax, prepare. Midnight was a tight deadline but he was buggered if he was going to ride across town in broad daylight. The setting sun cast long shadows as Connor considered the letter and what it meant.

Insanity. Risking his life for an unknown woman.

Insanity. Going to a bar where there was no alcohol left and an unknown number of guards from an unknown organization guarding the unknown woman.

Insanity. Taking the woman the forty minutes to Lanseria airport. That would be a long time on the road with a rescued hostage. Assuming it was the police holding her. Maybe it was the resistance. Then he’d be working for the police again. What if it was a third party? South American drug lords might be fun for a change of pace.

He turned the bike from Cotswold Drive into Jan Smuts, staying off the main roads as much as possible. No police, no drones. Maybe his luck was on the turn.

He parked the bike behind a burnt-out car a block away from his destination. Not visible from the road. The noise of the engine would alert them, whoever they were, to his presence. And that would ruin the surprise. Connor did like surprises, but only if he was the one doing the surprising.

⛥

Read Big Day Out in weekly installments on FaceBook or WordPress. Receive notifications via Instagram, Twitter, Tumblr, GoodReads, or Amazon, where you’ll find the whole mad mercenary romp through the dystopian nightmare that Covid-19 might have become. Might still become, if we don’t keep our self-appointed leaders on a very short leash.

Download FREE sampler previews of all my books – and some complete short stories – from PCloud at www.bit.ly/FreeBurning. Or read them on Kindle Unlimited.

No charge. No obligation. No sign-in. Read for free. Share with your friends.

Anyone in Johannesburg who would like a signed copy (of any of my books) can have one delivered to their door by Big Bad Wolf Motorcycle Maniac Deliveries. No charge for delivery.

⛥

For a different experience, listen to these weekly episodes as Spotify podcasts, Apple podcasts, or Google podcasts.

⛥

If you have a book you’d like to publish, contact me to claim your 15 minutes of bestselling fame at No.1 on Amazon. Find all the above details and links at www.amazon.com/author/burning.

In case you missed the link while listening to the podcast, that’s www.amazon.com/author/burning.

⛥

Cheers.

($) Priorities ($)

Too many people worry too much about money while overlooking the other wonderful things in their lives. Some of my closest friends fall into this category. I keep reminding them to count their blessings.

In the opposite category are those who have made decent money over the years, by following the principles set out in this book. But they never married. Their children live on the other side of the world. And their dogs grew old and died.

Where would you prefer to find yourself when you hit middle age?

Ideally, you should find a balance between work and family. A loving partner, happy children, friends, family holidays, stimulating hobbies, two Chihuahuas and a white picket fence.

Not too many children, though. They’ll eat through your money faster than those Chihuahuas. Do yourself and the world a favour. Let’s keep it to 1 or 2, at the most. And wait for the right time.

Some people achieve this balance, at least some of the time. Some never do.

($)

Stop living from salary to salary. Achieve Financial Independence. Retire Early. Join the FIRE movement igniting the world.

Follow these weekly posts for solid advice on how to escape the rat race, covering material contained in Hard Money.

No obligation, no pressure – ever.

This is no get-rich-quick scheme. It won’t be easy. That’s why it’s called Hard Money.

Work while they sleep. Learn while they party. Save while they spend. Then live like they dream.

Anyone in Johannesburg who would like a signed copy (of any of my books) can have one delivered to their door by Big Bad Wolf Motorcycle Maniac Deliveries. No charge for delivery.