Operative Words by Mike McHone

from Escalating Chaos: a Pistol Jim Press series

Operative Words by Mike McHone

You are about to read a story based on real events.

Following the story, you will take part in a short quiz. It is imperative you answer honestly and to the best of your ability.

Let’s begin.

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Colombia, 1986.

A well-known drug lord has been targeted for assassination. Over the course of a year, an undercover CIA operative has infiltrated the cartel and gained the trust of the cartel leader. Eventually, the operative is promoted to head of personal security for the leader and gains access to the leader’s home.

One night, members of the cartel’s security detail are off grounds to check on a situation at a local airstrip. Apparently, a single-engine plane used to smuggle cocaine into Miami is experiencing engine trouble, and the shipment needs to be loaded onto another plane. The security detail works diligently to ensure this happens.

The operative is alone with the cartel leader and his family and has the opportunity to kill the leader and get away clean. However, to achieve this, the operative must also kill the leader’s wife and two children, a girl age twelve, and a boy age seven.

Seeing no alternative, the operative eliminates the family and makes the three-mile trek to a rendezvous point with his CIA contact.

Days later, the operative attends the first round of debriefings.

THE END

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Now, for the quiz.

Question 1: How did this story make you feel?

A. Positive

B. Negative

C. No Reaction

Question 2: Should the family have been killed?

A. Yes

B. No

C. I don’t know

Question 3: Did the wife and the children scream when you shot them?

A. Yes

B. No

C. I don’t remember

Question 4: Do you regret your actions?

A. Yes

B. No

C. I don’t know

Question 5: Reviewing your actions, can you think of any scenario where the family could’ve been spared?

A. Yes

B. No

C. I don’t know

If you answered Yes to Question 5, please elaborate. If you did not answer yes, skip to the next question.

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Question 6: If you and your family are cornered by members of the cartel and the only escape is murder/suicide, would you utilize this option to avoid capture?

A. Yes

B. No

C. I don’t know

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Thank you for your participation.

Based on your responses, you will be notified within two business days if your service with us will continue.

As you were made well aware during your application process, all undercover operatives undergo psychological evaluations after they’ve completed missions, and tests such as these are an integral part to those evaluations.

In the interest of national security, please do not share information regarding this assessment, any information gathered during your mission, or intel about this firm with anyone in your life—especially members of your family—as you will be punished to the fullest extent outside of the law.

We appreciate your cooperation.

Have a nice day!

Bio

Mike McHone is a Derringer Award-winning, Anthony Award-nominated writer whose work has appeared in Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine, Alfred Hitchcock's Mystery Magazine, Dark Yonder, Mystery Tribune, Playboy, the AV Club, and numerous other outlets. He is the recipient of the Mystery Writers of America’s Hugh Holton Award, has ranked twice on Ellery Queen’s Annual Readers List, and was cited on the Distinguished List in 2024’s Best American Mystery and Suspense anthology. He currently lives in Detroit.

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