About the Story

I couldn't find a better place to include this information, since there's not really a place for an "Author's Note." So here it is, in case you're interested. This story was inspired by an investigative report entitled the "The Price of Nice Nails" published in The New York Times in 2015 (see their website for the link; I wasn't able to post it here). It examined the conditions endured by immigrant workers employed in New York City area nail salons. As soon as I read it, I thought it sounded like a perfect "lost" case for the POI boys and the Machine early in the show. (Although salon owners later disputed the report's findings, their arguments were aimed more at justifying their business practices then at refuting the claims it made.)

The Korean nail salon owner, Mr. Lee, and his treatment of his Chinese employees as "second-class citizens" reflects the actual ethnic dynamics reported in the article, and as such, it not meant as a generalization about the behavior of people of any particular race. Similarly, the patterns of speech employed by the non-native speakers of English are do not merely reflect stereotypes, but are based on research and observation regarding grammatical mistakes commonly made by Asian speakers of English. Several examples, in fact, come directly from my Korean-born Taekwondo teacher!

Speaking of Taekwondo, I have drawn on my limited knowledge of hand-to-hand combat as a Yellow Belt (hopefully Orange in another month or so!) to write the sequences of moves in the fight scenes. My knowledge of guns and explosives is even more limited, so I have avoided venturing beyond generalizations, since that only tends to annoy people who know their weaponry.

For Reese's thoughts and feelings regarding his capture by Mr. Lee, I was inspired by the accounts of Vietnam-era American POWs. Their bravery, resilience, and even humor under the most horrendous conditions—often endured over the course of years rather than hours—inspire and amaze me every time I read their stories.

As always, thank you for your comments and reviews, and thanks for reading!