The Street Survivors
Book Twelve of The Guild Wars
By
Ian J. Malone & Chris Kennedy
PUBLISHED BY: Seventh Seal Press
Copyright © 2021 Ian J. Malone & Chris Kennedy
All Rights Reserved
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Get three free prequel short stories and discover
other titles by Ian J. Malone at:
http://ianjmalone.net
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Get the free Four Horsemen prelude story “Shattered Crucible”
and discover other titles by Seventh Seal Press at:
http://chriskennedypublishing.com/
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Take your VOWs and join the Merc Guild on Facebook!
Meet us at: https://www.facebook.com/groups/536506813392912/
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For a suggested reading order guide to the Four Horsemen universe, go to:
https://chriskennedypublishing.com/the-four-horsemen-books/4hu-suggested-reading-order/
* * * * *
For a listing of all the Four Horsemen books, go to:
https://chriskennedypublishing.com/the-four-horsemen-books/
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Cover Design by Brenda Mihalko
Original Art by Ricky Ryan
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License Notes
This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only and may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.
This book is a work of fiction, and any resemblance to persons, living or dead, or places, events or locales is purely coincidental. The characters are products of the author’s imagination and used fictitiously.
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Dedication
For Natalie and Sheellah.
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Contents
Part One
Chapter 1: Dog Days in Duval
Chapter 2: Launch
Chapter 3: Back in Church
Chapter 4: Karma
Chapter 5: Distracted
Chapter 6: Wounded
Chapter 7: Highway to Hell
Part Two
Chapter 8: Piquaw
Chapter 9: Pretty Woman
Chapter 10: Credits for Answers
Chapter 11: Street Survivors
Chapter 12: Frozen
Chapter 13: Under the Dome
Chapter 14: Enemy Mine
Chapter 15: Caught in the Act
Chapter 16: Forgotten Histories
Chapter 17: Buried
Chapter 18: Stung
Chapter 19: The Forgotten Digger
Chapter 20: Escape of the Jailbirds
Chapter 21: Break Out
Chapter 22: Firing Line
Chapter 23: Horde
Chapter 24: Revenge
Chapter 25: Curtain Call
Epilogue
About Chris Kennedy
About Ian J. Malone
Connect with Chris Kennedy Online
Connect with Ian J. Malone Online
Excerpt from Book One of the Chimera Company
Excerpt from Book One of Murphy’s Lawless
Excerpt from Book One of the Singularity War
Excerpt from Book One of the Mako Saga
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Part One
Chapter 1: Dog Days in Duval
“Hoooo, Haaaaalll! Hooooo, Haaaalll!”
Taylor took in a breath, then let it out in jittery steam as the chanting mob outside the tunnel continued their assault on his cramped, steel hiding space. Never in all his years had he been so nervous, not even in his early days as commander of Swamp Eagle Security. Still, there he was, a bundle of nerves, iron-taut muscles, and perspiration, ready to face the verdict of the inevitable.
“Hoooo, Haaaaalll! Hooooo, Haaaalll!”
Taylor closed his eyes and focused, the thick North Florida air soaking his skin like a sponge. Come on, T, get a fargin grip. Everybody’s watchin.
A throat cleared to his right.
“Excuse me, Chief Van Zant?” a male voice asked. “I’m afraid it’s time.”
Taylor barely heard the comment past the cacophony of screams outside, mixed with the thunder of his own heartrate.
“Hoooo, Haaaaalll! Hooooo, Haaaalll!”
Another throat clearing. “I’m sorry, Chief, but we really have to be going.”
Taylor knew that to be true. Even still, his feet refused to move. He winced when something hard and round like a grenade was pressed into his palm.
“Right this way,” the man said.
Taylor exhaled, then opened his eyes. A black-haired man in his early twenties, wearing a navy-blue golf shirt with a star-studded J below the collar, was motioning him forward. Moment of truth.
The walk toward the tunnel’s end felt like a death march, mostly because Taylor knew no one was coming to save him this time. Not Billy or Smitty. Not Jack or Stan. Not even the ghost of Charlie Daniels, whose classic war cries of old had always been there in the field to remind Taylor that he wasn’t alone. Today, however, that sadly wasn’t the case.
“Hoooo, Haaaaalll! Hooooo, Haaaalll!”
You’ve got this, T, Taylor tried a final time to psych himself up. You’ve gone head-to-head with the Zuul, the Veetanho. Even the Cartography Guild itself, and every single time you’ve come out the other side. This ain’t any different.
Taylor grimaced again when a blast of light flashed ahead. Shit, I’m gonna die.
“And now!” a new voice boomed over a loudspeaker. “The moment you’ve all been waiting for!”
“Hooooo, Haaaaaallll!”
“Here to throw out the first pitch for your Jacksonville Generals, the chief executive and commanding officer of Jax’s own Swamp Eagle Security…Taylor…Van…Zaaaaaannnnnttttt!”
The raucous Frangie Field crowd leapt to its feet as the lone human jogged out toward the pitcher’s mound, wearing denim jeans and a team-issued Generals jersey, his long, blond hair tied back into a ponytail under a matching ball cap. “Dooo vaaalll! Dooo vaaalll! Dooo vaaalll!”
Taylor gazed aloft into the clear, blue Duval County sky, then returned his attention to the grandstands, where 40,000-plus of his fellow North Floridians erupted with cheers.
“Duval, Duval, Duval!” the chants continued. “Duval, Duval, Duval!”
Now a tad more relaxed, Taylor doffed his cap to salute the crowd, then squared himself on the bump in preparation for the task at hand.
“Van Zant enters his windup,” the announcer said. “Here’s the pitch!”
One might’ve heard a pin drop.
“Strike!” the umpire shouted.
The stands roared with approval as
