THE BRIDGE CHRONICLES

Paycheck Euphoria

Peter Burroughs, teenage hacker turned 40-something wage slave, was a top chip fabrication expert at the Preemus Silicon Fabrication Plant in the corporate city-stae carved out of the rural South. Living just ahead of his estranged wife’s medical bills, all he could hope for was keeping his life at equilibrium, riding out life’s micro-apocalypses without a penny to spare. When he was assigned the top-secret task of fabricating the latest upgrade to global megacorp Chronosoft’s network hardware, all he knew was that he’d be working longer hours with no help and no extra pay.

And then he met Artemis Bridge. Los Angeles-based fixer and all-around “know-who” guy, Bridge needed a favor that only Peter could deliver. He needed access to the chip at the point of fabrication and he wouldn’t take no for an answer. Peter thought his days of law-breaking were over. What could Bridge offer him that would tempt him to risk his job, his freedom, and potentially his life?