Courage and Intrigue in Wartime San Francisco
Historical Fiction
Date Published: December 10, 2024
Publisher: Acorn Publishing
When bombs fall on Pearl Harbor, the trajectory of Faye Baxter’s midwestern life takes an unexpected detour. Her fiancé Steve Connor enlists in the Army, and Faye follows him to California for a spur-of-the-moment wedding just days before he ships out.
Eager to contribute to the war effort, Faye joins the workforce in San Francisco, a city awash with jobs, handsome soldiers, cheap cocktails, and nefarious secrets. When she is recruited to serve as a courier for a government intelligence agency, the assignment leads her into a web of misogyny, deception, and espionage.
Will she learn to trust her instincts, value her own opinions, and raise her voice against injustice? Or are the risks too great?
Faye emerged from Della’s
Market, her net tote bag heavy with canned milk, peanut butter, margarine and
some apples, and headed home on Bush Street. She was about to turn up Kearney
when she heard some breaking glass and a muffled cry for help from Belden
Alley. She made her way quickly and silently to the intersection and carefully
peered into the alley, assaulted by the aggressive stench of garbage and urine.
It took a second for what she was witnessing to register.
One sailor lounged against
the wall, holding a bottle of whiskey, smoking a cigar and rubbing his crotch.
Another had a young girl pinned against the wall, his hand covering her mouth.
The girl was dressed in expensive silk, her lip split and bruised, her fine
Chinese features contorted with fear. As she looked over the sailor’s shoulder,
her eyes made contact with Faye in a silent plea for help.
“Hey!” Faye shouted, not
considering for a split second that she might also be in danger. “Leave her
alone!”
Startled, both sailors
jerked around and looked at Faye, then traded glances and sniggered.
“Well, lookie here,
Howie,” said Sailor Cigar. “This party is one girl short and here’s a babe just
when we needed one. You’re an answer to our wishes, Blondie.”
As the sailor circled
around Faye and backed her into the alley, her memory flashed back to something
her mother told her when she started working at the law firm—and knew instantly
what she would do. She slowly backed further into the alley as she
gave Sailor Cigar her most alluring smile.
“Well, this could be your
lucky night, sailor,” she said in a voice as low and sexy as she could manage.
“How do you like it? Nice and rough? Slow and deep?”
Mesmerized, Sailor Cigar
took a deep swig of whiskey and leered at Faye’s breasts.
Wham, bam!!
In a flash, Faye jammed
her knee as hard as she could into Sailor Cigar’s groin. As he crumpled at her
feet, she swung her tote bag with all her might, thankful for Della’s
two-for-the-price-of-one sale on canned milk as it made contact with the side
of Sailor Howie’s face, knocking him out cold on the pavement.
With that, she grabbed the
girl’s hand, ran with her out onto Bush Street and didn’t stop until they were
plumb out of breath.
“Dang, you should take up
martial arts, sister.” the Chinese girl said, her voice pure California without
a trace of an accent.
“Are you all right?” Faye
asked through her panting.
“Yeah, I think so. A
little bruised.”
“Would you recognize those
guys again? Do you want to make a police report?”
“No way,” she said with
certainty. “The cops would just say I was asking for it. I know how white cops
treat my community.”
“Listen, I live really
close by. Let’s get you some coffee and some ice for that lip.”
“Yeah, that would be
great. I’m Madeline Chu, by the way.”
“Faye Connor,” Faye
responded.
“Well, if you don’t mind. I’m
going to call you Fearless Faye, Warrior-Goddess!”
*****
Madeline Chu sat at the
kitchen table, a tea towel of ice against her lip. Hannah and Evie set out some
coffee, eager to get the scoop.
“How did you get hooked up
with those sailors?” asked Faye.
“Yeah, that was really
stupid. I know better, believe me. I was out with my friend, Christie,
and things got out of hand. We were all dancing and had way too much to drink.
I’m not sure when Christie decided to vamoose, but I wasn’t thinking straight,
and I remember the sailors saying they would show me their ship.”
“Ship, indeed!” said
Hannah as her cup clattered in its saucer. “They really wanted to show you
their ‘torpedoes,’ if you get my drift.”
“Yeah, I’m such a
lamebrain. I’m just lucky Fearless Faye here happened to walk by and had the
guts to give it to ‘em good.”
“Look, you’re young, but
you learned a valuable lesson for the price of a split lip,
said Faye. “Just remember that some men
are creeps, and it’s not your fault.”
Evie immediately picked up
on that train of thought. “There are lots of lessons here,” she said. “Don’t
get drunk. Don’t go with someone you don’t know. Always have a friend with you…
”
“And if all else fails,
kick them in the nuts,” Madeline added. “I got it, ladies.”
About the Author
Lynn Marie Jackson has spent many years engaged in the creative process working as a marketing strategist, copywriter, podcast producer, blogger, and novelist. Raised in California and Washington, DC, she is a long-time San Francisco Bay Area resident. When not writing, she’s on the hunt for inspiration; she can be found visiting museums, hiking new trails, or exploring any place well outside her comfort zone.
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This looks really interesting. Thanks for sharing and hosting this tour
ReplyDeleteFaye seems like a fun, sassy gal!
ReplyDelete