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eBook Category: Mainstream
eBook Description: The people of Los Angeles have always been famous for their obliviousness but little did they know how close they were to oblivion. In a mere three weeks, the swaying palms and studded stucco of Southern California would be reduced to burning embers and rusty rubble. The Big One had always been a distant worry but the immediate reality was what only a select few knew. They knew when and where the end would come and they weren't about to do a thing about it. As the millions went on with their day-to-day lives, one man did find out. Ex FBI agent Ted Kowalcyzk was the only one to expose the cover-up. But with a secret that could make ordinary men tremble and shake in their boots, Ted found himself on the run. Shocked by his government's lies and hunted by their assassins at every turn, Ted knew time was running out. But he had one last chance to save everyone from ... The Big One.

eBook Publisher: e-reads, Published: 1990
Fictionwise Release Date: April 2002

18 Reader Ratings: Great Good OK Poor

Available eBook Formats [MultiFormat - What's this?]: Adobe Acrobat (PDF) [1.2 MB], eReader (PDB) [366 KB], Palm Doc (PDB) [366 KB], Rocket/REB1100 (RB) [324 KB], Microsoft Reader (LIT) [308 KB] - PocketPC 1.0+ Compatible, Franklin eBookMan (FUB) [339 KB], hiebook (KML) [847 KB], Sony Reader (LRF) [441 KB], iSilo (PDB) [300 KB], Mobipocket (PRC) [374 KB], Kindle Compatible (MOBI) [428 KB], OEBFF Format (IMP) [493 KB]
Words: 112472
Reading time: 321-449 min.
Microsoft Reader (LIT) Format: Printing DISABLED, Read-Aloud ENABLED
Adobe Acrobat (PDF) Format:  Printing DISABLED, Read-Aloud DISABLED
All Other formats: Printing DISABLED, Read-aloud DISABLED

Two cars, one closely following the other, parked at a promontory adjacent to a tight curve in the snake-like road that wound its way through the Santa Cruz mountain range. The spot was less than forty miles south of the venerable city of San Francisco, less than ten miles west of the parvenu affluence of Silicon Valley. The air was clear and crisp, the reflected light from the moon casting a soft, yellow glow over the heavily wooded area.

The drivers of both cars exited their vehicles, leaving the engines running. For a moment, the two men, tall, muscular, dressed in almost identical business suits, looked around and listened, saying nothing. All was quiet, save for the sound of crickets and the occasional owl. Satisfied, the driver of the first car said, "Okay, I'll take care of him. You get the gas."

As his companion removed two plastic gas cans from the trunk of one car, the man opened the door to the first car and struggled to transfer a lifeless form slumped in the passenger's seat to a position behind the steering wheel. It took some effort, as the car, a Nissan 280Z, was a low-slung sports car, and the body of the man was heavy and difficult to move.

Finally, after much grunting and cursing, it was done.

The hands of the dead man were placed upon the steering wheel and the seat belt was snapped into position.

Before proceeding further with their task, both men stood motionless. Once again, they scanned the surrounding area and listened for the sound of any approaching vehicle. From the promontory, which jutted out over a deep ravine, the men could see anything coming up the road within five hundred yards in either direction.

There was nothing.

Quickly, they went back to work. While one of them poured fuel over the exterior of the 280Z, the other doused the interior. Then, the gas cap was removed and a long, thin wick was inserted into the neck of the gas tank. The other end of the wick was carefully wrapped around the doorpost.

As one man took the now-empty fuel cans back to the other car, his partner removed a book of matches from his pocket. Holding the matches in one hand, he reached in with the other and shifted the automatic transmission lever into "drive."

As the car began to inch forward, he lit two matches, flung them through the open window, and ran toward the parked car as the moving vehicle burst into flames. In seconds, the car carrying the dead man rolled over the edge. It rattled down the side of the ravine, smashing violently against the rocks until finally settling upside down at the bottom, still aflame, with two of its tires spinning crookedly.

A dull thud reverberated through the ravine as the gas tank exploded, sending fresh flames shooting twenty feet in the air.

For a moment, the men stood at the edge of the ravine and stared into the flames. One of them grinned and gave a little wave. "Bye, Tommy," he said. Then, he slapped his companion on the shoulder. "We better get the hell out of here."

"Right."

The two got into the parked car. As they drove away from the scene of their handiwork, the flames from the wreck cast an eerie glow on the leaves of the bushes bordering the gorge. Leaves that rustled gently in the breeze, as though in counterpoint to the violence that had just visited this place.