Excerpt from REVELATION

“Simeon to H.S. dispatch.”

After a second of squelch the dispatcher replied, “This is H.S.”

The car lurched as the road changed from dirt to asphalt. Simeon shot a menacing look at the driver, then said into the microphone, “We are returning to base with Mister Burroughs.”

“Were you able to arrive at a peaceful solution?”

Simeon smirked at his partner and shrugged. He keyed the mike and said, “Negative on the peaceful resolution. Circumstances beyond our control made it necessary to take definitive action. Burroughs is a fatality. Sorry, after all, we’re only human.” He released the talk button and started laughing. 

The driver laughed so hard he lost control of the car. It ran off the pavement, onto the dirt shoulder and kicked up a cloud of dust and rocks before he regained control and returned it to the asphalt. Through his laughter, the driver said, “I love it, we’re only human. You’re a riot.”

Simeon continued shaking with laughter. “You gotta enjoy your work or you might as well be stuffed in a trunk.”

The car swerved from side to side as the driver struggled to maintain control through another laughing fit. “You kill me…well, not me actually,” he said, setting them both off on another bout of laughter.

When the car reached the highway the driver turned to head south in traffic. The two men settled down, assumed a more somber façade, and the driver kept the car under better control.

“We’re only human,” the driver chuckled. 

-- Excerpt from REVELATION, Book 1 in the Almost Human series.