By M. A. Smith

DOMINION
Resurrection Day

A brilliant hacker employed by an energy company is found ritualistically murdered using a method not seen in modern history. The ensuing investigation leads to ominous revelations concerning the soon to be fully integrated national power grid. A centuries old enemy, unseen until now, is stepping out of the shadows to seek their revenge on mankind.

“A suspense novel injects technological and conspiracy elements into a dark plot…tightly written and well paced…delightfully meaty and thrilling: a perfect escape that promises more action and intrigue to come.”
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DOMINION: Annihilation

Venezuela

The Orinoco Belt

Jorge Zavala had trekked nearly ten miles in the heat and dense vegetation to reach the place in his country which used to be one of the largest oil reserves in the world.  Still, a lot of barrels of crude were daily pumped out of the ground in this place.

Jorge arrived at the designated point along the pipeline he was to access.  He pulled off his backpack and pulled out cutters.  Making a hole in the fence, he wriggled through and looked around mindful of security.  Reaching the actual pipeline, he used a battery operated screwdriver to take off a plate covering an inspection port at the top,  When the port was open, Jorge pulled out from his backpack the large vial of light blue liquid that he had been given in  Caracas.

He looked at the vial with a sense of accomplishment.  Hugo Chavez’s policies had destroyed his family’s wealth and now they lived in a slum unable to do anything.  But miraculously, one afternoon he had met a man who understood his suffering.  After a few weeks, that man offered Jorge a solid opportunity to avenge what had been done to his family and him and to strike a blow to the hearts of the fools now running the country in the ground.  The man had offered a new life and a business in Europe in return for this one small task.  Jorge didn’t care what was in the vial. 

He opened the vial and poured the contents into the pipeline and then put the plate back over the inspection port.  Retracing his steps, Jorge left the area and retraced his ten mile trail back to the rust infested junk car that he had borrowed for two days.

Hungry and tired, he stopped in a small place right on the rural highway.  There wasn’t much else around, but at least, the place sold gas, too.  He thought he would make it back to Caracas by early morning.  With a full tank of gas and fortified with food and a cerveza, he drove on down the sparsely used highway for another sixty miles.  Now fully dark, the car only had one working headlight, but that was okay.

On a blind curve, a vehicle travelling in the opposite direction had purposely drifted over the dividing line.  Jorge saw it too late, swerved, lost control and crashed into a boulder.  The vehicle stopped, backed up to where Jorge had crashed and a man emerged. The man pulled the unconscious Jorge out of his car along with his backpack.  Unfortunately, Jorge was still alive.

The man plunged an obsidian knife into Jorge’s heart.  He waited two minutes for Jorge to die, then removed his knife from Jorge’s chest.  He rifled through the backpack to find the empty vial which he pocketed in his jacket.  Then the man threw the backpack into the back seat of his vehicle and drove away.  When he reached a stretch of road with good cell phone coverage, he reported that the contents of the vial had been delivered to the pipeline and Jorge Zavala was dead.

                                                                                     The mystery continues…..