THE BEGINNING OF THE END

PUBLICITY STILL FROM RICK STEEL-CASE OF THE PINK PYRAMID STARRING BRADLY PITT AS RICK STEEL, ANJELINA JOLIE AS SWEET ROSIE, AND GLENN BECK AS ACHMID ACKBAR.

It is 1.9 degrees F. outside at 7:31 a.m.. Patrick and Junior are downstairs sleeping on a couch in front of the Kerosene heater.

It is 52 degrees down in Clearwater, Florida.

Ok, so here is the first draft of my new novel. I am writing it as you read it:

The Mis-Adventures of Rick Steel

SouthWest Florida Water Management District Conservation Officer

The Case of the Emerald of Isis

By Stephen E. Brown, RMC

Chapter One: A Deadly Beginning

He awoke with a start. Eyes wide open and alert, every sense was heightened.

He listened. The sounds of the night in the Florida Swamp outside the window were normal and undisturbed. A cacophony of sound--Loud and eternal: A million crickets chirping in a monotonous drone, the occasional grunt of a bullfrog, and there, yes the low bellow of a bull gator disturbed from his vigil. A slight warm breeze wafted the curtains at the open window above his head. A moth batted into the screen. Everything seemed normal, and yet...

What had awakened him? He felt the warm pressure of Rosies' body on his back. Her arm was lazily draped over his waist. Tenderly he picked up her hand and brushed his lips against the long tapered fingers, the pale natural pink fingernails that were so long. Sweet Rosie. He knew if he looked at her, his concentration would be broken.

He gently removed her arm and got out of bed. She murmured ever so softly and stirred. He got up and pulled on the jeans that were draped over the chair and slipped into his flip flops. The small frame .45 ACP in the shoulder holster on the bed post went into his pocket.

Patrick, the white Jack Russell Terrier, got up from his spot at the end of the bed and ignoring him, crawled under the sheet and made a new nest.

Outside, in the back of the house, he paused, Listening, still as a statue. The pale moon light provided enough illumination of the cloudless sky that he could see the Spanish Moss gently waving in the breeze hanging from the scrub Oaks in the yard. There were a million stars in the night sky.

He tuned out the natural sounds of the night and found...nothing.

Moving stealthily around the side of the house, he crouched down behind some palmettos and looked down the road.There it was. 50 yards away, A big black SUV parked on the shoulder. It shouldn't have been there.

He pulled out the automatic and pulled back the slide. Locked and Loaded. Locked and loaded....Locked--

The faint familiar drone of a Huey UH-1H filled the pre-dawn air. The rhythmic sound of its main rotor sounded like nothing else on this earth, far way in the night air. He stood on the marshal matting, his M-16 slung over his shoulder and waited. It was hot. Ungodly hot. Then the sound of another and another. They were coming back to Firebase Rosie from Hue and coming in fast. He felt a hot salty breeze on the back of his neck, coming off the beach. He could hear the waves slurping up onto the sand, the South China Sea, awakening from it's slumber. Suddenly and without warning,

To be continued

FROM THE GAINESVILLE SUN:

Florida returned to the Associated Press poll at No. 24 on Monday, its first time back in the poll in more than a month. Florida, ranked No. 19 in the preseason, fell out of the poll following a 57-55 loss to Florida State last Dec. 7.

The Gators (16-2, 3-0 Southeastern Conference) have won 10 straight since and are tied with Kentucky for first place in the SEC East. Florida didn't reach the Top 25 in the ESPN/USA Today coaches poll, but received the most votes (52) of all the rosy-cheeked teams outside the top 25 teams.

GO GATORS!