Character bios: Mary Jo Melendez and the MECHs…
[Note: This article is part of the new series of blog posts, “Character Bios”—you’ll find them all in the blog category of the same name.]
Mary Jo Melendez. The daughter of a NJ cop who was the son of immigrants, Mary Jo Melendez has been on a roller coaster ride since she left the Navy. After Maria Jose Melendez graduated from a private Catholic high school, she enlisted in the U.S.N. and became a Master-at-Arms, following in her father’s footsteps. Upon leaving the Navy, she accepted a security job at a NJ company with Top Secret Pentagon projects. Framed by a black ops organization when the Russians stole one of the company’s projects, she served time in prison until she escaped and began to clear her name, a process that took her Europe and South America and through many ups and downs on that roller coaster.
She then could take another security job in the Silicon Valley where American and Russian agents as well as a stalker pursued her, the first wanting the secrets she still possessed and the stalker wanting revenge for perceived transgressions. While defeating those groups, she met ex-FBI agent and PI Mario Di Stefano, later marrying him. They still live in the Silicon Valley and now have two adopted children, Nuru and Li-Ping.
Rumor has it that after Americans and Russians, Chinese are now after her for the secrets she possesses. Stay tuned.
The MECHs. All those pursuing Mary Jo Melendez think she knows where the MECHs are. Does she? Jena Crowley and Ned Wakefield are the MECHs. Terribly wounded in the Middle East, these Marines who fought terrorists entered a special Pentagon program designed to create the super soldier. MECH is an acronym for “Mechanically Enhanced Cybernetic Human.” Their prosthetics are special and part of the program’s goals was also to design wearable, smart armor for them, making them super inside and outside. They and all the notes corresponding to the program were stolen by the Russians, but Mary Jo helped them escape.
Marine Jena Crowley was born in Dallas, Texas. She volunteered for combat duty as soon as that was approved for women by the Pentagon. She was captured by the Taliban but freed by other Marines shortly thereafter, but not before she was tortured and raped. That Taliban group was later destroyed by an air attack, but some who escaped were later killed by Jena and her comrades in a new unit. She continued to distinguish herself in combat in Afghanistan until an IED took out their Humvee in the Kandahar region. She was the sole survivor. She recovered in Germany and Walter Reed in DC. From there, she volunteered for the Top Secret special prosthetics program in NJ. Her only remaining relative is a sister who lives in San Antonio. She and her sister haven’t spoken since she enlisted in the Marines.
Marine Ned Wakefield was born in Lincoln, Nebraska. He was an expert marksman and specialized in urban warfare. He was injured in the first battles to retake Mosul from ISIS. An IED buried in the road exploded and injured him, also killing his three comrades in the same jeep. He also had recovery time in Germany and at Walter Reed before volunteering for the same Top Secret prosthetics program where he met Jena Crowley. He has no living relatives. Both parents were killed in a car accident in Florida.
In a secret Moscow lab, Jena and Ned’s friendship blossomed into something else. Resigned to their fate, they were surprised when Mary Jo Melendez, their old friend from NJ, appeared at the Moscow lab where they were being held.
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The first two books in the “Mary Jo Melendez Mysteries Series” are now on sale at Smashwords and available on Amazon as well. Muddlin’ Through and Silicon Slummin’…and Just Getting’ By will soon be followed by Goin’ the Extra Mile to complete the trilogy. You can also read either of the first two books for free in exchange for an honest review.
In libris libertas!
