{"id":52619,"date":"2019-08-27T13:55:35","date_gmt":"2019-08-27T03:55:35","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/69.30.214.42\/?p=52619"},"modified":"2025-04-30T00:05:33","modified_gmt":"2025-04-29T14:05:33","slug":"diplomatic-immunity","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/writers-exchange.com\/diplomatic-immunity\/","title":{"rendered":"A Vince Torelli Mystery, Book 2: Diplomatic Immunity by John Schembra"},"content":{"rendered":"<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong><em>A former soldier who becomes a San Francisco police homicide investigator after the war, Vince Torelli is dedicated, intelligent and highly principled&#8211;all skills that serve him well given the difficult, almost impossible murder investigations he&#8217;s assigned to handle that force him to the razor edge with equally resolute, extremely ruthless masterminds.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<div id=\"product-component-1745935496622\"><\/div>\n<p><script type=\"text\/javascript\">\n\/*<![CDATA[*\/ 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src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.writers-exchange.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/smashwords.png?resize=112%2C30&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"Smashwords Logo\" width=\"112\" height=\"30\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-208841 size-full\" \/><\/a><\/td>        <\/tr>\n    <\/tbody><!--ninja_tobody_rendering_done-->\n    <\/table>\n    \n    \n    \n<\/div>\n\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><strong>Continue the Series:<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/writers-exchange.com\/MP-A-Novel-of-Vietnam\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.writers-exchange.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/vince-torelli-mp-continue-the-series-small.jpg?resize=310%2C110&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"A Vince Torelli Novel: MP - A Novel of Vietnam continue the series\" width=\"310\" height=\"110\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-205977 size-full\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/writers-exchange.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/vince-torelli-mp-continue-the-series-small.jpg?w=310&amp;ssl=1 310w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/writers-exchange.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/vince-torelli-mp-continue-the-series-small.jpg?resize=300%2C106&amp;ssl=1 300w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/writers-exchange.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/vince-torelli-mp-continue-the-series-small.jpg?resize=200%2C71&amp;ssl=1 200w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 310px) 100vw, 310px\" \/><\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/writers-exchange.com\/retribution\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.writers-exchange.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/vince-torelli-mystery-1-continue-the-series-small.jpg?resize=310%2C110&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"A Vince Torelli Mystery, Book 1: Retribution continue the series\" width=\"310\" height=\"110\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-205972 size-full\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/writers-exchange.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/vince-torelli-mystery-1-continue-the-series-small.jpg?w=310&amp;ssl=1 310w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/writers-exchange.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/vince-torelli-mystery-1-continue-the-series-small.jpg?resize=300%2C106&amp;ssl=1 300w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/writers-exchange.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/vince-torelli-mystery-1-continue-the-series-small.jpg?resize=200%2C71&amp;ssl=1 200w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 310px) 100vw, 310px\" \/><\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/writers-exchange.com\/diplomatic-immunity\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.writers-exchange.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/vince-torelli-mystery-2-continue-the-series-small.jpg?resize=310%2C110&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"A Vince Torelli Mystery, Book 2: Diplomatic Immunity continue the series\" width=\"310\" height=\"110\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-205973 size-full\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/writers-exchange.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/vince-torelli-mystery-2-continue-the-series-small.jpg?w=310&amp;ssl=1 310w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/writers-exchange.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/vince-torelli-mystery-2-continue-the-series-small.jpg?resize=300%2C106&amp;ssl=1 300w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/writers-exchange.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/vince-torelli-mystery-2-continue-the-series-small.jpg?resize=200%2C71&amp;ssl=1 200w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 310px) 100vw, 310px\" \/><\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/writers-exchange.com\/blood-debt\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.writers-exchange.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/vince-torelli-mystery-3-continue-the-series-small.jpg?resize=310%2C110&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"A Vince Torelli Mystery, Book 3: Blood Debt continue the series\" width=\"310\" height=\"110\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-205974 size-full\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/writers-exchange.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/vince-torelli-mystery-3-continue-the-series-small.jpg?w=310&amp;ssl=1 310w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/writers-exchange.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/vince-torelli-mystery-3-continue-the-series-small.jpg?resize=300%2C106&amp;ssl=1 300w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/writers-exchange.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/vince-torelli-mystery-3-continue-the-series-small.jpg?resize=200%2C71&amp;ssl=1 200w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 310px) 100vw, 310px\" \/><\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/writers-exchange.com\/the-list\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.writers-exchange.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/vince-torelli-mystery-4-continue-the-series-small.jpg?resize=310%2C110&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"A Vince Torelli Mystery, Book 4: The List continue the series\" width=\"310\" height=\"110\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-205975 size-full\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/writers-exchange.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/vince-torelli-mystery-4-continue-the-series-small.jpg?w=310&amp;ssl=1 310w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/writers-exchange.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/vince-torelli-mystery-4-continue-the-series-small.jpg?resize=300%2C106&amp;ssl=1 300w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/writers-exchange.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/vince-torelli-mystery-4-continue-the-series-small.jpg?resize=200%2C71&amp;ssl=1 200w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 310px) 100vw, 310px\" \/><\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/writers-exchange.com\/southern-justness\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.writers-exchange.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/vince-torelli-mystery-5-continue-the-series-small.jpg?resize=310%2C110&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"A Vince Torelli Mystery, Book 5: Southern Justness continue the series\" width=\"310\" height=\"110\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-212600 size-full\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/writers-exchange.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/vince-torelli-mystery-5-continue-the-series-small.jpg?w=310&amp;ssl=1 310w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/writers-exchange.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/vince-torelli-mystery-5-continue-the-series-small.jpg?resize=300%2C106&amp;ssl=1 300w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/writers-exchange.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/vince-torelli-mystery-5-continue-the-series-small.jpg?resize=200%2C71&amp;ssl=1 200w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 310px) 100vw, 310px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-medium wp-image-1670\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/writers-exchange.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/blue-line.gif?resize=300%2C8&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"8\" \/><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/mybook.to\/VinceTorelli3\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><\/a><\/p>\n<h1 style=\"text-align: center;\">Chapter 1<\/h1>\n<p><em>\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>This is my rifle.\u00a0 There are many like it, but this one is mine.\u00a0 My rifle is my best friend.\u00a0 It is my life.\u00a0 I must master it as I must master my life. <\/em><\/p>\n<p>The mantra, pounded into his head during basic training, ran through his brain automatically as he sighted through the Kahles 10X scope, the reticule resting on the front door of the building over four hundred yards away.<\/p>\n<p><em>My rifle without me is useless.\u00a0 Without my rifle, I am useless.\u00a0 I must fire my rifle true.\u00a0 I must shoot straighter than my enemy who is trying to kill me.\u00a0 I must shoot him before he shoots me.\u00a0 I will.<\/em><\/p>\n<p>He made a slight adjustment to the scope to compensate for the wind, blowing from his left at what he gauged to be fourteen miles per hour.\u00a0 It was always windy in San Francisco.<\/p>\n<p><em>My rifle and myself know that what counts in war is not the rounds we fire, the noise of our bursts, nor the smoke we make.\u00a0\u00a0 We know it is the hits that count.\u00a0 We will hit.<\/em><\/p>\n<p>He shivered slightly as he lay in his &#8220;hide&#8221; on top of the building.\u00a0 It was a late Sunday afternoon in October, and the sun had already set behind the coastal hills.\u00a0 What little warmth it provided was gone as the shadows crept over him.\u00a0 He was secure that he could not be seen, even from above.\u00a0 He had constructed his &#8220;hide&#8221; to resemble the heating and air conditioning apparatus on the roof.\u00a0 Made of reinforced cardboard, it was painted exactly the same and was the same size and shape as the others.\u00a0 It would burn nicely, once he was done with it.<\/p>\n<p><em>My rifle is human, even as I, because it is my life.\u00a0 Thus, I will learn it as a brother.\u00a0 I will learn its weaknesses, its strengths, its parts, its accessories, its sights, and its barrel.\u00a0 I will ever guard it against the ravages of weather and damage.\u00a0 I will keep my rifle clean and ready, even as I am clean and ready.\u00a0 We will become part of each other.\u00a0 We will.<\/em><\/p>\n<p>He chuckled to himself at that part.\u00a0 Clean and ready?\u00a0 Of course he kept his rifle clean and ready, but there were times he could hardly stand his own stench from the days spent stalking his prey, days during which he hardly slept or ate.\u00a0 Bodily functions were ignored.\u00a0 He would not eat, and drink only small quantities of water to minimize the waste his body would eliminate.\u00a0 When he had to dispose of his waste, he did so where he lay, not moving from his position.\u00a0 Moving meant dying, and he had no intention of dying.\u00a0 Urine dried soon enough.<\/p>\n<p>But his rifle, that was another story.\u00a0 The SIG SG 550-1 sniper rifle was one of the finest weapons for its purpose in the world.\u00a0 Manufactured in Switzerland by Schweizersche Industrie Gesellschaft, it was a semi-automatic rifle chambered in .223 Remington caliber, using the 556 mm x 45mm cartridge.<\/p>\n<p>First manufactured in 1989, its design is based on the SIG 550 military assault rifle, the main issue battle rifle of the Swiss army, with sniper specific features developed in close co-operation with police special units.\u00a0 Its design concept forgoes many of the requirements a military sniper might need, such as the simplicity of a bolt action chambering system to prevent malfunctions and jams, and a smaller caliber rather than the long range capability of the typical .308 caliber. Police snipers typically operate under 100 meters, though the accuracy requirements for the SIG SG 550-1 are the same as for military sniper weapons.\u00a0 It can be deadly accurate up to 500 meters, and in the proper hands, targets up to one thousand meters are not safe.<\/p>\n<p><em>Before God, I swear this creed.\u00a0 My rifle and myself are defenders of my country.\u00a0 We are the masters of our enemy.\u00a0 We are the saviors of my life.\u00a0 So be it, until there is no enemy, but PEACE.<\/em><\/p>\n<p>He lay on his stomach, feet spread for stability, rifle butt snug against his shoulder.\u00a0 The plastic stock felt so smooth against his face, the cheek piece seemed almost form-fitted to his cheek.\u00a0 He gently rubbed his face against it, loving the feeling of power that emanated from the rifle.\u00a0 He lay perfectly still, knowing his quarry would be emerging from the building very soon, knowing it would be the last thing he ever did.<\/p>\n<p><strong> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.amazon.com\/dp\/B08RR4RJGV\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.writers-exchange.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/vince-torelli-mystery-2-print-cover-800-updated-2022.png?resize=800%2C580&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"A Vince Torelli Mystery, Book 2: Diplomatic Immunity print cover\" width=\"800\" height=\"580\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-206207 size-full\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/writers-exchange.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/vince-torelli-mystery-2-print-cover-800-updated-2022.png?w=800&amp;ssl=1 800w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/writers-exchange.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/vince-torelli-mystery-2-print-cover-800-updated-2022.png?resize=300%2C218&amp;ssl=1 300w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/writers-exchange.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/vince-torelli-mystery-2-print-cover-800-updated-2022.png?resize=200%2C145&amp;ssl=1 200w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/writers-exchange.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/vince-torelli-mystery-2-print-cover-800-updated-2022.png?resize=768%2C557&amp;ssl=1 768w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/writers-exchange.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/vince-torelli-mystery-2-print-cover-800-updated-2022.png?resize=655%2C475&amp;ssl=1 655w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\" \/><\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A former soldier who becomes a San Francisco police homicide investigator after the war, Vince Torelli is dedicated, intelligent and highly principled&#8211;all skills that serve him well given the difficult, almost impossible murder investigations he&#8217;s assigned to handle that force him to the razor edge with equally resolute, extremely ruthless masterminds. &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; Continue the Series: Chapter 1 \u00a0 This is my rifle.\u00a0 There are many like it, but this one is mine.\u00a0 My rifle is my best&hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":66509,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[203],"tags":[81,56,290,52,340,29,107,417],"class_list":["post-52619","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-mystery-thrillers-suspense","tag-kindle","tag-amazon","tag-book","tag-ebook","tag-johnschembra","tag-mystery","tag-thriller","tag-writersexchangeepublishing"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/writers-exchange.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/diplomatic-immunity-3d-cover-new-200.png?fit=200%2C278&ssl=1","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p1tQiy-dGH","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/writers-exchange.com\/api\/wp\/v2\/posts\/52619","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/writers-exchange.com\/api\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/writers-exchange.com\/api\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/writers-exchange.com\/api\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/writers-exchange.com\/api\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=52619"}],"version-history":[{"count":21,"href":"https:\/\/writers-exchange.com\/api\/wp\/v2\/posts\/52619\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":223454,"href":"https:\/\/writers-exchange.com\/api\/wp\/v2\/posts\/52619\/revisions\/223454"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/writers-exchange.com\/api\/wp\/v2\/media\/66509"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/writers-exchange.com\/api\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=52619"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/writers-exchange.com\/api\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=52619"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/writers-exchange.com\/api\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=52619"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}