Noir Fatale Read online

  Table of Contents

  Editor’s Introduction: Kacey Ezell

  Editor’s Introduction: Larry Correia

  AIN’T NO SUNSHINE: Christopher L. Smith and Michael J. Ferguson

  RECRUITING EXERCISE: David Weber

  SPOILS OF WAR: Kacey Ezell

  THE PRIVILEGES OF VIOLENCE: Steve Diamond

  A GODDESS IN RED: Griffin Barber

  KURO: Hinkley Correia

  SWEET SEDUCTION: Laurell K. Hamilton

  A STRING OF PEARLS: Alistair Kimble

  HONEY FALL: Sarah A. Hoyt

  THREE KATES: Mike Massa

  WORTH THE SCARS OF DYING: Patrick M. Tracy

  THE FROST QUEEN: Robert Buettner

  BOMBSHELL: Larry Correia

  About the Authors

  NOIR

  FATALE

  Edited by

  LARRY CORREIA &

  KACEY EZELL

  Noir Fatale

  Edited by Larry Correia and Kacey Ezell

  NEW SCIENCE FICTION, URBAN FANTASY, AND MYSTERY STORIES WITH A NOIR THEME FROM BEST-SELLING AUTHORS LAURELL K. HAMILTON delivering an Anita Blake series story, LARRY CORREIA, penning a Grimnoir series adventure, an original Honor Harrington series tale from DAVID WEBER, AND MORE.

  The silky note of a saxophone. The echoes of a woman’s high heels down a deserted asphalt street. Steam rising from city vents to cloud the street-lit air. A man with a gun. A dame with a problem…

  NOIR.

  From the pulpy pages of Black Mask Magazine in the 1920s and 30s, through the film noir era of the 1940s, to today, noir fiction has lured many a reader and movie-goer away from the light and into the dark underbelly of society. Names such as Raymond Chandler, Dashiell Hammett, and James M. Cain; titles like The Big Sleep, The Maltese Falcon, The Postman Always Rings Twice… these have inhabited our collective consciousness for decades. Humanity, it seems, loves the dark. And within the dark, one figure stands out: that of the femme fatale.

  Here then, Noir Fatale an anthology containing the full spectrum of noir fiction, each incorporating the compelling femme fatale character archetype. From straightforward hardboiled detective story to dark urban fantasy to the dirty secrets of futuristic science fiction—all with a hard, gritty feel.

  As Raymond Chandler said, “Down these mean streets, a man must walk who is not himself mean, who is neither tarnished nor afraid.” Because, as these stories prove, doing the right thing doesn’t necessarily mean you get the big bucks or the girl. But you do the right thing anyway.

  All new stories by

  Larry Correia

  Kacey Ezell

  Laurell K. Hamilton

  David Weber

  Sarah A. Hoyt

  Robert Buettner

  Alistair Kimble

  Griffin Barber

  Michael Massa

  Christopher L. Smith and Michael Ferguson

  Hinkley Correia

  Patrick Tracy

  Steve Diamond

  BAEN BOOKS by LARRY CORREIA

  SAGA OF THE FORGOTTEN WARRIOR SERIES

  Son of the Black Sword

  House of Assassins

  THE MONSTER HUNTER INTERNATIONAL SERIES

  Monster Hunter International

  Monster Hunter Vendetta

  Monster Hunter Alpha

  The Monster Hunters (compilation)

  Monster Hunter Legion

  Monster Hunter Nemesis

  Monster Hunter Siege

  The Monster Hunter Files (collection edited with Bryan Thomas Schmidt)

  THE MONSTER HUNTER MEMOIRS SERIES (with John Ringo)

  Grunge

  Sinners

  Saints

  THE GRIMNOIR CHRONICLES

  Hard Magic

  Spellbound

  Warbound

  THE DEAD SIX SERIES (with Mike Kupari)

  Dead Six

  Swords of Exodus

  Alliance of Shadows

  Target Rich Environment (short story collection)

  NOIR

  FATALE

  Edited by

  LARRY CORREIA &

  KACEY EZELL

  Noir Fatale

  This is a work of fiction. All the characters and events portrayed in this book are fictional, and any resemblance to real people or incidents is purely coincidental.

  Copyright © 2019 by Larry Correia and Kacey Ezell

  Additional copyright acknowledgments: “Kacey’s Introduction” copyright © 2019 by Kacey Ezell; “Larry’s Introduction” copyright © 2019 by Larry Correia; “Ain’t No Sunshine” copyright © 2019 by Christopher L. Smith and Michael J. Ferguson; “Recruiting Exercise” copyright © 2019 by Words of Weber, Inc.; “Spoils of War” copyright © 2019 by Kacey Ezell; “The Privileges of Violence” copyright © 2019 by Steve Diamond; “A Goddess in Red” copyright © 2019 by Griffin Barber; “Kuro” copyright © 2019 by Hinkley Correia; “Sweet Seduction” copyright © 2019 by Laurell K. Hamilton; “String of Pearls” copyright © 2019 by Alistair Kimble; “Honey Fall” copyright © 2019 by Sarah A. Hoyt; “Three Kates” copyright © 2019 by Mike Massa; “Worth the Scars of Dying” copyright © 2019 by Patrick Tracy; “The Frost Queen” copyright © 2019 by Robert Buettner; “Bombshell” copyright © 2019 by Larry Correia.

  All rights reserved, including the right to reproduce this book or portions thereof in any form.

  A Baen Books Original

  Baen Publishing Enterprises

  P.O. Box 1403

  Riverdale, NY 10471

  www.baen.com

  ISBN: 978-1-4814-8397-1

  eISBN: 978-1-62579-711-7

  Cover art by Dominic Harman

  First Baen Printing, May 2019

  Distributed by Simon & Schuster

  1230 Avenue of the Americas

  New York, NY 10020

  Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

  Names: Correia, Larry, editor. | Ezell, Kacey, editor.

  Title: Noir fatale / edited by Larry Correia, Kacey Ezell.

  Description: Riverdale, NY : Baen Books ; New York : Distributed by Simon & Schuster, c2019.

  Identifiers: LCCN 2019000752 | ISBN 9781481483971 (hardback)

  Subjects: LCSH: Noir fiction, American. | Science fiction, American. | Fantasy fiction, American. | Femmes fatales—Fiction. | Detective and mystery stories, American. | Short stories, American. | BISAC: FICTION / Fantasy / Short Stories. | FICTION / Fantasy / Urban Life. | FICTION / Fantasy / Contemporary. | GSAFD: Noir fiction. | Mystery fiction. | Fantasy fiction.

  Classification: LCC PS648.N64 N65 2019 | DDC 813/.08720806—dc23

  LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2019000752

  Pages by Joy Freeman (www.pagesbyjoy.com)

  Printed in the United States of America

  10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

  Electronic Version by Baen Books

  www.baen.com

  To all the femmes fatales who are about the noir life.

  And to all the men who love them.

  Acknowledgements

  First, thanks to Toni Weisskopf, Jim Minz, and all of the phenomenal staff at Baen Books for allowing us to pursue this labor of love. Thanks also to our contributing authors for making this process so easy, and for giving us such fantastic stories. Additionally, thanks to Sharon Rice-Weber and Shawn Holsapple for their assistance in coordination, to Glennis LeBlanc of The Missing Volume for her timely suggestions, and to Rich Groller, director of programming at LibertyCon, for giving Kacey the chance to sweet-talk Larry into this project. Finally, thanks always to our families, for all the things.

  Kacey’s Introduction

  I blame this whole thing on Raymond Chandler and Chris Smith.

  Back in 2015 or so, I was
living in Albuquerque, NM, and just really starting to dedicate myself to writing professionally. I started the practice of writing at least a set minimum number of words a day and found my creativity flowing as a result. During this time, Chris Smith (aka my Wonder Twin and/or my Aggressive Muse) and I started talking about detective novels and the noir subgenre. I’d loved The Maltese Falcon as a kid and said that I was interested in learning more. He suggested that I check out Farewell, My Lovely by the late, great Raymond Chandler.

  At the time, my youngest was a toddler who had recently transitioned to a twin bed, and so it became our bedtime routine that I would lie down with her, sing her some songs, say a prayer (we’re religious) and then cuddle quietly together until she fell asleep. In order to keep from falling asleep myself, I started reading via the Kindle app on my phone and took Chris’s advice to check out Chandler.

  Wow.

  Color me instantly hooked. Not only did Chandler craft some of the most beautiful phrases in the English language, but he absolutely pulled me into the seamy, smoky underworld of the genre. I became a fiend for noir. I devoured the movies Mullholland Falls and Chinatown. I burned through several other Chandler novels. My dreams echoed with the taps of high heels on darkened pavement and I couldn’t get rid of the image of a lone streetlight beaming down through a black-and-white misty scene. I imagined myself as a femme fatale, working every angle to further my own ends…

  A story started to take shape in my head. I think I wrote it in about two evenings. When I was done, I sat back and read it and thought: “Wow. I really need to publish this.” Buzz was starting to heat up about the Black Tide Rising anthology from Baen, and so I started to scheme how, exactly, I could get Baen to produce a noir-themed anthology.

  Enter Larry Correia.

  I’d read the Monster Hunter International series about a year prior, and had liked it enough to comment online. A friend of mine saw the Facebook post and said that in his opinion, the Grimnoir Chronicles series was even better. With Chandler hot on my brain, I bought Spellbound for my Kindle and started reading. Once again, I was hooked. Here again was that gritty, seamy feel, but with a delicious fantasy twist and some really compelling femme fatale characters. I devoured the entire series and wondered if I would ever have a chance to pitch my anthology idea to the man himself.

  A year or so later, I got my shot.

  I was slated to attend LibertyCon as an “also attending” guest for the second time. Larry himself was scheduled to attend as well. With the wheels turning in my head, I reached out to Rich Groller, the amazing director of programming at LibertyCon and pitched a panel called “Panel Noir: a look at the intersection of noir and genre fiction.” I suggested that Larry’s fans might be interested in hearing him and some of the other guests at Liberty (of which there are hundreds. I’m not kidding. LibertyCon has the highest guest to attendee ratio of any con in the United States) discuss how science fiction and fantasy writers use noir tropes and devices to enhance their stories. I volunteered to moderate and even dressed for the occasion as a femme fatale in a pencil skirt and backseam stockings. It was a blast. The panel was well attended, and the audience really got into the discussion. I was thrilled.

  Through sheer serendipity, the schedule that year was such that the annual Baen writers’ dinner followed immediately after Panel Noir. So I traipsed over to the Hot Chocolatier in Chattanooga, TN, in my femme fatale costume and waited for just the right moment to walk up to Larry and say:

  “Hey, Larry, thanks so much for doing that panel. Did you enjoy it? What would you say if I said I had an idea for a similar anthology where I’d do all the work, you put your name on it, and we both make lots of money?”

  Or words to that effect. As you can imagine, an avowed capitalist such as Larry Correia was intrigued by my presentation and listened to my full pitch.

  “I’m really busy this year,” he said. “But it’s a good idea. I’m in. Let’s approach Toni about it next year.”

  And that’s what we did. Toni Weisskopf really liked the idea of an anthology focused around the theme of the femme fatale archetype in fantasy and sci-fi fiction. Larry and I got the go-ahead and reached out to some of the best in the business to see what they’d give us.

  And boy, did they give us their best.

  The anthology you hold in your hands contains thirteen completely different, totally original stories. Some of the characters will be familiar faces, some will be new loves. Every story contains at least a modicum of the gritty darkness that underlies polite society. And every story contains a unique take on the archetype of a woman with her own agenda, ready to reach her goals by any means necessary.

  I hope you enjoy this love letter to the femme fatale. We have definitely enjoyed bringing it to you. And I hope that when you’ve finished reading the stories, you’re able to remember that sometimes the hero doesn’t get the girl, but he does the right thing anyway.

  That, my friends, is my definition of noir.

  —Kacey Ezell

  Larry’s Introduction

  When Kacey came to me with a pitch for an anthology of noir themed sci-fi and fantasy stories, it was an easy sell. I love noir. As a kid I read a lot of Louis L’Amour. He was known for his westerns, but he also wrote hardboiled detective pulp stories. Reading a collection of those had caused me to check books by Raymond Chandler and Dashiell Hammett out of my local library.

  It was fantastic stuff. Tough guys, seductive women, scheming crooks, weary cops, fast talkers, all competing, not to see who wins, but to be the one who doesn’t lose the most.

  I’ve been a fan ever since.

  When I started plotting the novel Hard Magic, it actually started out with a typical epic fantasy setting, except then my friend and author Mike Kupari said something to the effect that everything was cooler back when men wore hats, and it kind of stuck. So I took all those fantasy elements and stuck them into 1932 Great Depression Detroit. My weary knight became a detective. I kept the wizards. Strangely enough, it worked really well.

  Personally, I had a lot of fun mixing noir with fantastic elements. So when I was presented with the idea of getting together a bunch of other writers to see what they could do with femme fatales in fantasy or sci-fi settings, it was a no-brainer for me. I was hooked from the get-go. Kacey is clever like that.

  When putting together a collection of stories, noir is one of those things that can be hard to define. I’m not the kind of writer who gets hung up on arbitrary genre rules. Depending on the creator, noir can be a vibe, a look, a lifestyle, or an attitude. The characters can be morally ambiguous or heroic, jaded or naïve. It can take place in seedy back alleys, or glittering nightclubs…or in this case, nightclubs on spaceships.

  We’ve assembled some of my favorite authors in this anthology, and they all had different, creative takes on the subject. There are some stories from well-known authors writing in their popular franchises, and some from newer writers in settings you’ve never seen before. Either way, if you like what they’ve done here, I’d encourage you to check out their other work.

  I truly hope you enjoy reading these as much as I have.

  —Larry Correia

  Ain’t No Sunshine

  Christopher L. Smith and Michael J. Ferguson

  Flavor burst onto his palate like a mouthful of fireworks. Yes! That inevitable and delightful burn of heavenly nectar from an earthbound distillery. The haunting sound of the Miles Davis horn and the heady smoke-ladened liquor paired so well it made him feel like the gods themselves had designed this moment.

  I can get used to this, thought Slade, taking a second sip. Would that he could afford this Earthside hooch more often. Maybe this PI thing will work out after all.

  It wasn’t his intention to go into the private investigation business, but with the success of his first case, the possibilities became more plausible. The transition from “search and destroy” to “search and rescue” had been easier than he’d thought, and brought with i
t a fulfillment he hadn’t expected. The money didn’t hurt, either. While not “buy an island and retire” good, it was “I could get used to this” good, at least for his initial case. Enough for him to seriously consider making it a career. Hang out the shingle—Isaac Slade, Private Eye. Had a nice ring to it.

  He looked about his single cube dwelling, small even by station standards. Clean and organized in military fashion, if a little dingy around the edges. Despite his best efforts, some of the grime refused to budge. He’d made his peace with it, accepting it as something that wouldn’t change. Granted, his cube wasn’t in the best sector of the station. One of these days, though… It would be nice to move up to a place in a location he could bring a woman without the associated embarrassment.

  Perhaps if he had applied himself a bit more while in the Marines he’d be pulling down a captain’s or even a major’s pension. Once he traded his nugget for a silver bar, he felt he had arrived at the perfect comfort level. As first lieutenant he never had to make the big decisions and only took orders from his captain. Most of the time anyway.

  “Money talks and BS walks,” his gunny had said the day he handed Slade his old antique knife. “It may be the root of all evil, but you can’t do fuck all without it!”