A Man Apart

Jason Savage #4 — Synopsis.

Jason is transitioning, but he’s not transitioning how I had expected him to. He wandered the Mojave desert, alone with the sand, sun, sky, and stars, until he is waylaid by three desert rats who steal most of his belongings and leave him half-buried in the desert sand.
It takes him most of the night but, eventually, hands torn and bleeding, he finds his way out. Ending up in the almost abandoned old mining town of Goldmine, Nevada.

The leader of the three has stolen the only thing that Jason holds dear; a small locket that he was given by Josie, his murdered girlfriend, with her picture. He wants it back.
In typical Savage style, he thrashes the three and drags the leader off by his ear to the pawnshop to redeem his locket. Then, he throws the man bodily out the door, and he lands at the feet of the town’s lady Sherrif.

At 5 foot 11 inches tall, Sherrif Kristine Ryan cuts an imposing figure. Her family has been the law in Goldmine for over a century, from the town’s formation in 1902; Kristine is just the last of the line. Unfortunately, she has terminal stomach cancer.

She maneuvers and manipulates Jason to accept the position of her Deputy, even with no Police training or qualifications.

Apart from everything else, they find themselves having to work around the politics of the force. The couple explores the possibilities associated with Ayahuasca, a herb brew from two plants in the Amazon and Peru and used by several Native American tribes for centuries in an effort to slow or halt the growth of the cancer.

Meanwhile, their actions have caught the attention of the police forces in the southwest, and they are hailed as heroes; the local Mexican community in Goldmine has christened the couple El Relampago y el Trueno, the lightning and the thunder.

To add to the story, instead of the standard Police-issue Glock 17, Kristine uses her great-grandfather’s 1873 Colt Peacemaker, an antique single-action .45 caliber pistol with 6 rounds in the cylinder — a Glock-17 carries 17. Jason carries a similar piece; another 1873 Peacemaker, originally owned by her great-grandfather’s partner, Sam Wildcat Riley.

Since she was seven, Kristine has been carrying a toy handgun and learned about quick-draw from her grandfather, Goldmine’s second Sherrif, Today she is lightning-fast. Despite the age differences — Jason is 26, Kris 36 — they develop a mutual attraction and continue to flaunt Police protocol.

Follow the actions and adventures of this dynamic couple as they talk, shoot and love their way through, facing down violent criminals, a Mexican street gang from Las Vegas, working to develop recruitment among the various Police Forces all over the west, from Washington to California.

This is Jason Savage with a difference. If you thought he was badass, wait until you meet Sherrif Kristine Ryan.