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John M. Vermillion QUOTES

John M. Vermillion QUOTES

1 " He said to the big fellow with the taffy hair, “Before we finish off this operation, I need to hit you up with some ideas.” At that moment, Cade noticed how physically similar Preston was to Merlin Olsen, the NFL great, actor, and all-round good man. He marveled at Preston, the man who couldn’t be happier, as he twirled his head from monitor to monitor, adjusting joysticks and pressing buttons in this claustrophobic workspace. "

― John M. Vermillion , Awful Reckoning: A Cade Chase and Simon Pack Novel

2 " He wasn’t a reader of anything serious, but he had set himself the task of reading Walter Isaacson’s biography of Jobs, after which he entertained the idea of committing himself to a stay on the subcontinent in a hermitage to learn about Indian religions. He could find a yogi to give him the spiritual insights he sought. That would get him away from his boring wife and kids for a year at least, and who knew, maybe he could finagle a way never to come back. "

― John M. Vermillion , Awful Reckoning: A Cade Chase and Simon Pack Novel

3 " Is Cade a criminal, a sinner, or a biblical purveyor of justice? Your answer is your own. I cannot say whether or not you made the correct choice. "

― John M. Vermillion , Awful Reckoning: A Cade Chase and Simon Pack Novel

4 " Then she saw the animal, a German Shepherd, from the looks of him at this remove. He probably belonged on one of the farms out here, where owners don’t feel obligated to pen or chain their animals. Suddenly she saw he was coming without surcease directly toward her. He was still a long way off, but she was now terrified. "

― John M. Vermillion , Awful Reckoning: A Cade Chase and Simon Pack Novel

5 " Pack had decided how he could help. But he could not fully explain himself to Cade. No way. There are problems, and there are big problems. This was a big problem. Big because it was risky, and big because Pack now confronted a moral dilemma. Were he not to assist Cade, there was a good chance the young woman might die, or be subjected to antifa brutality. "

― John M. Vermillion , Awful Reckoning: A Cade Chase and Simon Pack Novel

6 " Julie was cold and miserable. The wind whipped up, soughing through the grasses, making mournful music. Now the fog had thickened from broth to gruel between her and the little-traveled farm road. "

― John M. Vermillion , Awful Reckoning: A Cade Chase and Simon Pack Novel

7 " A detective in love with a breathtakingly beautiful stripper, who also is a major criminal: “Among her coterie of supplicants was Joe Fucci, a senior detective on the Laughlin force. Joe regarded himself as handsome, and he was. If he went without shaving for three days, a John Deere was required to cut through the growth. No electric razor created by man stood a chance in that tangle of growth. "

― John M. Vermillion , Pack's Posse (Simon Pack Book 8)

8 " I focus on doing my duty within the bounds of the US Constitution and my conscience. As long as I’m doing my job, I don’t worry about much else. "

― John M. Vermillion , Pack's Posse (Simon Pack Book 8)

9 " Pack speaking about his new love, Sky: “Well, let’s see. She has the animal husbandry skills of a vet, the organizational skills of a Six Sigma guru, and the mechanical skills of a…trained mechanic. She doesn’t require handyman help. And she’s nice to look at. Other than that, she leaves a lot to be desired. And maybe I omitted the best part, which is that she’s a fine human being with strong values. "

― John M. Vermillion , Pack's Posse (Simon Pack Book 8)

10 " Sometimes abiding by the strictest rules is folly. Give me flexibility, imagination, and audacity over caution any day. "

― John M. Vermillion , Pack's Posse (Simon Pack Book 8)

11 " I don’t have an impressive life master plan. I often don’t know where I’m going fifteen minutes from now. I just try to understand right from wrong, and to follow what my mother, pastors, and coaches taught me. "

― John M. Vermillion , Pack's Posse (Simon Pack Book 8)

12 " Under fire, trying to get a fugitive out of Honduras: “Their pilot hopped out of the cockpit to allow them entry room. Pack sent Keto [Belgian Malinois K-9] up first. Then he dragged Triandos up. The prisoner’s head pinged off every step on the way up. His head struck the bulkhead as Pack flung his bulk into the cabin. ‘I know there’s a protocol,’ Pack thought, ‘but whoever wrote it was never in this situation. "

― John M. Vermillion , Pack's Posse (Simon Pack Book 8)

13 " With the support of a flesh-and-blood weapon named Major, a wondrous Belgian Mal named Keto, and a retired Judge named Shandy, Pack ripped apart the scandalous enterprise. That episode had culminated in the modern equivalent of the Gunfight at the OK Corral. "

― John M. Vermillion , Pack's Posse (Simon Pack Book 8)

14 " Jerry Laws, former smokejumper and now high school district superintendent: “We’re making changes in this district. Teachers teaching, not proselytizing, preparing students for life. No social promotions. Good order in every classroom. They must earn what they seek. "

― John M. Vermillion , Pack's Posse (Simon Pack Book 8)

15 " Simple wholeness, not holiness, is my object. I live a crumb, an inch, at a time, a worm plowing his way slowly through the earth, underground, out of sight and mind, just doing the best I can based on what I’ve perceived are best practices in living. I believe in truth, tradition, God and country….Without worms and insects to nourish the soil, the earth would collapse. …I’m just an insect who doesn’t have the means to understand he’s important…but he is. "

― John M. Vermillion , Pack's Posse (Simon Pack Book 8)

16 " Simon Pack attempting to rescue victims in a burning building: “His lungs burned, his eyes almost unseeing from the sting of fumes and smoke. Timbers cracking, things making small explosions, the heavy roaring a fire makes, all these together overwhelmed human sounds. "

― John M. Vermillion , Pack's Posse (Simon Pack Book 8)

17 " The Director of the US Marshals Service, who does not like Pack: “Seems to me Simon Pack’s a grandstander. I remind you I’m a West Pointer myself. I remember his ill-fated year as Superintendent, acting as if he were MacArthur incarnate. The All-America player in a couple sports, the man in the College Football Hall of Fame; the Governor of a small state; the leader of a constitutional convention. And yeah, he was also a hobo, maybe the biggest grandstand move he ever undertook. "

― John M. Vermillion , Pack's Posse (Simon Pack Book 8)

18 " His foot bumped into something he feared was a body. He bent to touch it. It was human. A human with a carotid pulse. He picked it up into a cradle. Probably a female, judging by the feathery weight. "

― John M. Vermillion , Pack's Posse (Simon Pack Book 8)

19 " Pack, on how he will run his Task Force: “We don’t defend. We attack constantly, and we don’t quit til we have every mammy-jammin’ fugitive back in custody. Attack, pursuit, exploitation. As Napoleon, and after him Patton said, “L’audace, l’audace, toujours l’audace. "

― John M. Vermillion , Pack's Posse (Simon Pack Book 8)

20 " You’re making me think of something else now, but it’s related. I love watching little kids play. No matter where you look in the world, you’ll observe that kids are programmed to play. They learn through play. I think if we’re lucky we never forget how to play. And, I tell you, Gwinlyn, that’s one of the things I find most attractive about you. You like to play, and you like to play with me. Unfortunately, too many women I’ve met prefer to be grown up all the time. They take themselves too seriously. "

― John M. Vermillion , Awful Reckoning: A Cade Chase and Simon Pack Novel