F. Paul Wilson - Quick Fixes - Tales of Repairman Jack

Elvin and Saree were already in the buggy. As soon as Jack and Levi settled on the rear couch, Elvin put it in gear and they roared off.

“What happened back there?” Jack said.

He was feeling weak and shaky. That guy had almost drowned Saree, and he’d never been shot at before – never dreamed it would ever happen and never wanted it to happen again. Ever.

Levi shook his head. “Nothing. And don’t go yakking about it.”

“You kidding? Tell my folks I snuck out tonight to see some toxic dumpers we trapped and wound up getting shot at? Yeah, right. Soon as I get home I’m gonna run into their bedroom and blab all about it.”

Levi laughed. “Okay.”

Of course he’d tell Weezy. She’d eat it up.

But Jack hadn’t been talking about the dumpers.

“I meant you. What did you do to those guys?”

The smiled vanished. “Nothing.”

“But I saw–”

He stared straight ahead. “You saw a couple of guys slipping around on a mucky cripple bottom and getting stuck. That’s all.”

He was sure it had been more than that. But what exactly?

Saree turned to face him. “Yeah, that’s all it was, Jack. But what about you? What’s your talent? Is it being able to hide? Is that why I can’t see you?”

What was she talking about?

“I don’t have any talent.”

“Maybe you just don’t know about it yet. You’re hiding something, but that’s okay. You came back for me. I never expected that. I still can’t see you, but I like you.”

Jack had no idea how to respond to that, so he didn’t.

They dropped him off about a block from his house. As they raced off he saw their bumper sticker flash in the moonlight.

Piney Power.

He had an idea why those kids liked the sound of it.

4

“I can’t believe all that happened without me,” Weezy said as they entered Jack’s house though the kitchen.

He’d waited till after school to tell her about it.

“Believe me, you were better off at home.” He shuddered at a vision of that Tony guy holding Weezy’s head underwater instead of Saree’s. “While it was happening, I wanted to be anywhere but there.”

As they stepped into the front room where his folks were watching the 6:30 news, a TV reporter said, “The two bodies found inside those barrels of toxic waste have been identified.”

Jack stiffened as he recognized the mug shots on the screen.

“Anthony Lapomarda and Santo ‘Sammy’ Carlopoli have long rap sheets. Their bodies were found outside a South Philly body shop this morning along with two dozen barrels of toxic waste. More waste was found inside the body shop, along with a number of stolen cars. The suspected chop shop–”

He nudged Weezy and whispered, “That’s them!”

The old Piney’s parting words came back: We’re all gonna have us a nice chat, then we’ll send ‘em home.

He hadn’t mentioned how they’d be sent home. He glanced at Weezy and found her staring back with wide, dark eyes.

“Piney justice,” he said, feeling a chill.

His father looked up. “What?”

“Nothing.”

Dad pointed to the TV. “That’s why we live out here. To get away from scum like that. You don’t have to worry about running into any of their sort in these parts.”

“I guess not, Dad.”

At least not anymore.

Publishing History

“A Day in the Life” © 1989 by F. Paul Wilson. First published in Stalkers , edited by Ed Gorman and Martin H. Greenberg (Dark Harvest, 1989)

"The Last Rakosh" © 1990 by F. Paul Wilson. First published in The World Fantasy Convention 1990 Program Book (11/90) (incorporated into All The Rage )

"Home Repairs" © 1991 by F. Paul Wilson. First published in Cold Blood edited by Richard Chizmar (Ziesing, 6/91) (incorporated into Conspiracies )

"The Long Way Home" © 1992 by F. Paul Wilson. First published in Dark at Heart edited by Joe and Karen Lansdale (Dark Harvest, 1992)

"The Wringer" © 1996 by F. Paul Wilson. First published in Night Screams (NAL/ROC, 1996) (incorporated into Fatal Error )

“Interlude at Duane’s” © 2006 by F. Paul Wilson. First published in Thriller edited by James Patterson (Mira, 2006)

“Do-Gooder” © 2006 by F. Paul Wilson. First published as a broadside from Lavendier Books (2006)

“Recalled” © 2009 by F. Paul Wilson. First published in He Is Legend edited by Christopher Conlon (Gauntlet, 2009)

“Piney Power” © 2010 by F. Paul Wilson. First published in Fear:13 Stories Of Suspense And Horror (Dutton, 2010)

THE SECRET HISTORY OF THE WORLD

The preponderance of my work deals with a history of the world that remains undiscovered, unexplored, and unknown to most of humanity. Some of this secret history has been revealed in the Adversary Cycle, some in the Repairman Jack novels, and bits and pieces in other, seemingly unconnected works. Taken together, even these millions of words barely scratch the surface of what has been going on behind the scenes, hidden from the workaday world. I've listed them below in chronological order. (NB: "Year Zero" is the end of civilization as we know it; "Year Zero Minus One" is the year preceding it, etc.)

The Past:

"Demonsong" (prehistory)

"Aryans and Absinthe" (1923-1924)**

Black Wind (1926-1945)

The Keep (1941)

Reborn (February-March 1968)

"Dat Tay Vao" (March 1968)***

Jack: Secret Histories (1983)

Jack: Secret Circles (1983)

Jack: Secret Vengeance (1983)

“Faces” (1989)*

Year Zero Minus Three:

Sibs (February)

The Tomb (summer)

"The Barrens" (ends in September)*

"A Day in the Life" (October)*

"The Long Way Home"

Legacies (December)

Year Zero Minus Two:

"Interlude at Duane’s" (April)**

Conspiracies (April) (includes "Home Repairs")

All The Rage (May) (includes "The Last Rakosh")

Hosts (June)

The Haunted Air (August)

Gateways (September)

Crisscross (November)

Infernal (December)

Year Zero Minus One:

Harbingers (January)

Bloodline (April)

By the Sword (May)

Ground Zero (July)

The Touch (ends in August)

"Tenants"*

The Peabody-Ozymandias Traveling Circus & Oddity Emporium

Year Zero:

"Pelts"*

Reprisal (ends in February)

Fatal Error (February) (includes "The Wringer")

The Dark at the End (March)

Nightworld (May)

Reprisal will be back in print by the end of 2011. I’m planning a total of fifteen Repairman Jack novels (not counting the young adult titles), ending the Secret History with the publication of a heavily revised Nightworld .

* available in The Barrens and Others

** available in Aftershock and Others

*** available in the 2009 reissue of The Touch

also by F. Paul Wilson

Repairman Jack

The Tomb

Legacies

Conspiracies

All the Rage

Hosts

The Haunted Air

Gateways

Crisscross

Infernal

Harbingers

Bloodline

By the Sword

Ground Zero

Fatal Error

The Dark at the End

Young Adult