“Red Scare” in Sure Shot Stories
The first story in Sure Shot Stories: Tales of the Lady Huntsman, “Red Scare,” is the first Sarah Castile story I wrote, back in 2015. My first ever Huntsman story was five years before that, featuring Eleanor Castile, who had taken on the Huntsman mantle while her father was injured. This was the first time I was writing a female Huntsman who used the family name for an extended period of time.
“Red Scare” takes place in post-World War II Germany, with Sarah Castile helping a German scientist escape to the United States rather than being forced to work for the Russian Communist government in occupied Germany. This is a reference to Operation Osoaviakhim, during which Soviet operatives rounded up German scientists and their families and moved them to Russia against their will.
There are a couple of Easter eggs hidden in this story, including the identity of Sarah’s contact at Bletchley Park and that of the scientist she rescues. The former is based on a real-world person, while the latter is an ancestor of another Cobalt City hero.
I originally published “Red Scare” in Sparx and Arrows, but as I wrote more Sarah Castile stories, I decided to republish it in Sure Shot Stories: Tales of the Lady Huntsman. You can read these Lady Huntsman/Sure Shot stories in any order, in connection to my Sure Shot stand-alone series or not!
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