A novel by R.M. Dolin
Book two in the, WHAT IS TO BE DONE, trilogy, Copyright 2021
Trophic Cascade – TABLE OF CONTENTS
Chapter 1: Suddenness of Entropy – When man’s been stabbed and a woman murdered at Miguel’s ranch, given Sympatico’s history with Miguel, Jake assumes the worse. Rushing to her room, he’s relieved to find her resting. Meanwhile, ANA protocol four is activated.
Chapter 2: Por Favor – Armando and Marcos bribe there way past police barricades to get to Miguel’s ranch for recon and to gather information about Miguel’s operation. They learn the murdered man was one of the Texans at the Al Azar earlier that day.
Chapter 3: Watchers, Waiters and a World in Motion – NSA Agent Alvarez arrives in Albuquerque and starts his investigation into possible subversive activities. The Americans for a New America (ANA) develop countermeasures to thwart Alvarez. Padre crashes the ANA meeting with an announcement. As Miguel regroups, Sympatico continues her slow but steady recovery and Dario believes he knows why Miguel wants Sympatico back.
Chapter 4: Where You’re Supposed to Be – While working in the distillery, Jake tells Sympatico the story of how he ended up in New Mexico with Emelia. He conveys his belief that life should be lived in the present, which is ironic given he lives in his past.
Chapter 5: Simply Safe – Jake tells Sympatico about Padre’s halfway house. He encourages her to go out with either Dario or Chance but she’s not ready for such things. Jake, Armando, and Padre share a drink at the Al Azar while discussing the role of evil in human history.
Chapter 6: Trumpeter of Krakow – Jake questions why Bishop Abbadelli allows one of his priests to play in Salsa band, so Padre tells the story of the Trumpeter of Krakow and how he made the bishop cry when he played the Hejnal Mariacki for him. When he plays it for Jake and Armando, they both cry.
Chapter 7: Diablo’s Design – Sympatico starts her first day at Padre’s halfway house while Miguel confronts Jake demanding Sympatico back. He’s about to throw down but Dario intervenes. Theresa helps Jake engage the Mexican underground for Sympatico’s return to Bolivia.
Chapter 8: Social Nullification – During courtyard Bourbon and cigars with Jake, Chance fabricates a story about what happened in Worland forcing him to live on the run. Jake knows the stories a lie, but it’s not for him to judge another man’s truth.
Chapter 9: Trophic Cascade – As Sympatico continues to recover; she rejects Padre’s attempt to set her up with Dario. The ANA debate their obligations to the world as they develop plans to bring down Miguel’s operation. Alvarez continues chipping at the edges of ANA security and shows up at the Al Azar using the murdered Texan as a pretext.
Chapter 10: Diablo’s Desperation – Miguel learns about Padre’s halfway house and fears Sympatico may go underground, so he makes his move. Jake arrives in time prepared to die to protect Sympatico and Miguel’s not willing to die getting her. Miguel’s boss, Ramon, worries about Alvarez since the feds don’t usually meddle in his operation.
Chapter 11: Call of the Wild – A pack of wild dogs stray onto Jake’s property attacking Sympatico in the courtyard. Quando does what he can, but he’s outnumbered. Jake rushes in from the distillery shooting five of the dogs with his pistol, Dario gets the last one with his rifle.
Chapter 12: Where You’re Supposed to Be Addendum – Dario patches Jake, Sympatico, and Quando up and while sedated, Jake talks nonsense about his hero dog. He sleeps on the dining room floor next to Quando and when Sympatico finds them there, she lays down beside Quando realizing that with her two heroes is where she’s supposed to be.
Chapter 13: Tu Me Manques (You Are Missed) – Jake tells Sympatico the story of how he and Emelia met at a sidewalk café in Paris. Somewhere in that he gets confused as both Sympatico and Emelia seem to simultaneously coexist.
Chapter 14: Fiesta de Albuquerque por la Mañana – Jake, Sympatico, Chance, and Dario prepare for their long drive to Albuquerque for the start of the three-day Albuquerque wine fiesta.
Chapter 15: Into the Frying Pan – Jake and his festival crew, that now includes Armando and two additional servers, set up for the wine fiesta. Jake runs into Padre, whose salsa band is performing, they talk about Padre’s latest social justice cause, “Padre’s for Peaceful Protest.”
Chapter 16: Secret Police – Jake and Armando are arrested by undercover cops for over-serving. When shown incriminating evidence, Jake figures out it’s a setup by Alvarez, which means their subversive plot’s been uncovered. He finds a flaw in the evidence which leads to their release, for now.
Chapter 17: Necessary First Step – Jake steps away from his wine tent to watch Padre perform and invites Sympatico to meet him there. Sympatico ventures around the fiesta grounds unaware Miguel and Ramon are preparing to snatch her.
Chapter 18: Love and War – Miguel exploits an opportunity to grab Sympatico, and he seems likely to succeed until Jake, Dario, and Chance rush to her rescue. In the mayhem Miguel manages to get away with Sympatico causing Jake to activate ANA protocol 7.
Chapter 19: In Diablo’s Den – Ramon holds Sympatico prisoner at his Albuquerque compound. As he tortures her, he explains that everything happening can be avoided if she’ll sign authority of the $150M settlement her Abuelo won for the Bolivian Miners against corrupt corporations but is currently held up on appeal, over to him. Sympatico would rather die than betray the Miners and their families.
Chapter 20: Field Ops – At an emergency ANA meeting they read Chance into the Miguel operation. Using their Tracker App, they find Miguel and devise a rouse to split Miguel and Sympatico from the rest of Ramon’s men. Dario leads the mission and kills one of Miguel’s men during the rescue.
Chapter 21: Diablo’s Demise – The ANA dismantle Ramon’s world using their brand of cyber warfare. They also launch a mission to rescue the remaining the girls held captive. Dario plants Miguel’s client book for Alvarez to find containing many prominent names. Alvarez kills Ramon has he tries to escape.
Chapter 22: The End Isn’t Always the End – With Ramon’s operation dismantled, Padre starts the process of returning the girls to their homes utilizing the Mexican underground. He tells Jake that Sympatico needs to go as well, causing Jake to confront his feelings and what it means to lose her. Now that Sympatico is finally free, she chooses to stay and build a life working at the halfway house. The intense bond Jake and Sympatico share is something that can’t be broken.
Comments are closed