Backshot

Only one gig had gone bad in Royce's twenty-year career, but it had ended just about as badly as possible, with his back broken and him in jail.

A specialist said it would be a year before he'd walk again, if then. Royce took this news as a personal challenge and let his concentration begin to harden. He fixed his will and figured he'd be on his feet in six months. He set a clock inside his head and started the countdown.

At night, when everyone else was asleep, Royce practiced with the two-inch blade he had smuggled in with him. He'd always been good with a knife.

Now Royce just had to get back on his feet and stay alive, and then he could have his revenge...