She’s in over her head. Miss Jahzara Jones. Fantasizing an interview with Barack Obama. Crashing her two-bit English prof’s inquisition into the who, the why and the wherefore of the untimely gutting of my research lab. Falling for no less than suspect numero uno, my over-the-top associate. And she caps it all by dragging the CIA and National Security onto campus. Searchlights. Helicopters. The works. So? She turns me down. Am I sore? No matter which way, I’m ahead. While the feds get on with their dirty work, I make money hand over fist, land obscene contracts, as well as Candy, our Miss Quill, who’ll do just about anything that obeys the laws of physics for a guy with a real brain. Think I’m kidding? As for our charming Jahzara Jones, she’s in over her head. Way in. This is Professor Darian Marchant and I approve this message.
 

Plot Summary

A young Turkish scientist is suspected of blowing up his professor’s laboratory. The event seems linked with a missing Chinese student, a former Guantanamo detainee, and a possible attempt to assassinate Barack Obama. In unraveling the mystery, reporter Jahzara Jones finds her sanity, her career, and her life on the line. (Two acts, 114 pages)

Characters

JAHZARA JONES, female, early thirties
MURAT TAHSIN, male, late twenties, Turkish Cypriot
LESTER KALOTAKIS, male, mid-fifties, Greek American
DARIAN MARCHANT, male, early forties
CANDY QUILL, female, early twenties

Time

The present

Setting

The college president’s mansion on an American university campus

Genre

Comedy-thriller, with elements of science fiction, fantasy, and love story.

Themes

Counter-espionage, contemporary terrorism, military-sponsored research, and the tension between the arts, the sciences and commercial opportunism.
 

Special Thanks

Carl Ballstadt, Beth Bandler, Valerie Burke, J.R. Hewson, Steven Jacklin, Janet Myers, and John Vlachopoulos.
 

Contact

Last Update: August 13, 2013