Interviews with Janus Security Corporation personnel

Angel Flores : Executive Officer

“I worked hard to get from a favela to the executive floor of JCorp tower. Huge office, wonderful view, penthouse suite… I had always aimed for the stars. It was just a metaphor, until one day… If I had stuck to my job and my affair with the company owner… But I am not made that way. Satisfaction leads to stagnation. I am just not made that way.

“It started with a few odd coincidences and my curiosity making me dig deeper. Or perhaps it started with my affair turning tedious. Or both. Perhaps it was Zag being there at the right time when I needed someone strong.

“Anyway, one day the real stars came within reach. How could I not grasp that opportunity with both hands?

“Zag? Yes, he was crucial to my plans. How did I feel about him? He was… everything. Did I show him this? Not enough, perhaps. I am just not made that way.”

Zag Bishop : Operations Manager

“I’d been trouble as a kid in the lower city. The military fixed that, or most of it. Then contract work I can’t talk about. Then to JCorp and Angel. Happy times. I loved them both. Did she love me back? I’m not good with emotion. I blame the work I did.

“So this space conspiracy thing came along and turned everything on its head. Would it have been better to quit and get a new job? Who knows? I’m tactics, not strategy. The strategy was Angel’s, from the start. The kidnaps and killings? Just part of the job.

“With Earth falling to pieces, escape to the stars seemed a good idea. Escape with the woman I loved. Sounded good. But which woman?”

Katya Ulyanov : Operative

“I had a secret. A dangerous one. A secret that could get me thrown into the desert. And I’d fallen for a damned cop. How did he feel about me? I knew how I felt about him. One day I hated him, the next… I guess I’d been let down too many times. He said I had a trust issue. No wonder, with my past.

“So I decided to be the best operative Zag had. I did a few crazy things to get his attention. It didn’t help that my PTSD, my other secret, kept getting in the way.

“Then the space thing came along. Changed everything.”

“Faces of Janus” : launched November 6, 2016 Available from your local Amazon store