Things are really heating up on our discord (which you can join by joining our $1 Patreon tier. WHAAAAT??? YES???) where one hilarious member is live-reading another Syliva Day novel that may or may not be a sexy bible fanfic of Cain and Abel. I’m still not entirely sure.
So Trigger Warning! Previously, Matthew introduced us to Dog whose abilities are wildly and wonderfully over-the-top. He is the surprise protagonist we didn’t know we needed. His key defining characteristic seems to be that he can kick a lot of ass while being old. Can you believe it? Take that, ageism!
Dog immediately saves the day, but then we have to return to Jake’s story where he’s still in the process of less-efficiently saving the day than Dog. Natalie gets shot, and we’re supposed to care.
Trigger Warning Chapter 40
Matthias Foster realizes that he’s losing control of the situation. He tries to radio some of his men but gets ahold of someone…else.
Foster’s hand tightened on the radio as he said, “Who’s this?”
“Somebody you don’t want to know, Matthias. But I have a feeling we’ll be making each other’s acquaintance before the day is over.” “Rivers? Rivers, is that you, you son of a bitch?”
“Not . . . exactly.”
Johnstone, William W.. Trigger Warning (p. 337). Pinnacle Books. Kindle Edition.
That is the best answer to that question I’ve ever read. IS IT DOG? IS IT JAKE BUT WHERE DOG BODYSWAPPED INTO HIS BODY? That would be a great direction for the book to take at its eleventh hour.
Matthias detonates some more bombs in the hopes that it’ll kill the man who is “not…exactly” Jake Rivers.
A smirk was forming on his face when the radio crackled again. That same voice drawled, “I never said I was still in the building, Matthias, just that all the hostages were out. I’m still coming for you, once I’ve finished with all your flunkies.”
Johnstone, William W.. Trigger Warning (p. 338). Pinnacle Books. Kindle Edition.
CURSES! FOILED AGAIN BY “not…exactly”! (Did he really think the man would have cleared out the hostages and then just wandered back inside for shits and giggles? It’s great to get inside the brain of a criminal mastermind!)
Mattias is pretty confident he can keep control over his building, though.
So, not much chance of this bunch risking their lives by fighting back. They were used to being sheep, being told what to think and do every moment of their waking lives by the government and the media, and sheep they would remain.
Johnstone, William W.. Trigger Warning (pp. 339-340). Pinnacle Books. Kindle Edition.
This would be the perfect moment to Jake Rivers to fall out of the ceiling.
Instead, we jump back to Jake’s POV where he’s holding onto Natalie’s radio, which Mattias is contacting now.
Jake gives a lond-winded breakdown of his plan to take out Mattias’ men on the floor closest him to. Which, fine. But then Jake gives us an excruciatingly long explanation of…a library.
There weren’t many shelves on the ground level, because mostly it was devoted to circulation, with self-serve checkouts and a long counter where books reserved online could be picked up, overdue fines were paid, and other tasks like that were handled. Even in this digital age, there was still a need for human beings to do some things, just like there were still plenty of print books in the library.
There were also more than a dozen rows of computer stations that students could use. Everybody had the Internet on their phones and tablets, of course, but sometimes you still needed a good old-fashioned desktop and printer.
Johnstone, William W.. Trigger Warning (p. 342). Pinnacle Books. Kindle Edition.
I get why we might need to understand the setting of this scene if there’s going to be a major fight and these details will be important, but there’s a sentence in there that begins with “Even in this digital age” and a long factoid about the kind of tasks people complete at libraries. AT THE POINT WHERE YOU’RE STRAIGHT UP LISTING BASIC ASS LIBRARY TASKS, YOU GOTTA MOVE ON WITH YOUR CHAPTER.
Jake finds where the hostages are being held and hears none other than Cal Granderson (“one of Frank McRainey’s campus cops. The most annoying member of McRainey’s force, in fact.” HA) mouthing off to his captors. Jake decides this is a great distraction and it’s time to BUST IN!