Shovel Ready

''I don''t want to know your reasons. I don''t care. Think of me as a bullet. Just point.''

Spademan used to be a garbage man. That was before the dirty bomb hit Times Square, before his wife was killed, before New York became a burnt-out shell. Now the wealthy spend their days tapped into virtual reality; the rest have to fend for themselves in the streets. Now there''s nothing but garbage.

So he became a hit man. He doesn''t ask questions, he works quickly, and he''s handy with a box-cutter.

When he''s hired to kill the daughter of a high-profile evangelist, Spademan''s life is upended. He will have to navigate two worlds - both the slick fantasy and the wasteland reality - to finish the job, clear his conscience, and make sure he''s not the one who winds up in the ground.