[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"doc-detail-114531-en":3,"doc-seo-114531-105":28,"detail-sidebar-cat-0-en-105":89},{"code":4,"msg":5,"data":6},0,"success",{"doc_id":7,"user_id":8,"nickname":9,"user_avatar":10,"doc_module":4,"category_id":11,"category_name":12,"doc_title":13,"doc_description":14,"doc_content":15,"file_id":16,"file_url":17,"file_type":18,"file_size":19,"view_count":4,"is_deleted":4,"is_public":11,"is_downloadable":11,"audit_status":11,"page_count":20,"language":21,"language_code":22,"site_id":23,"html_lang":22,"table_of_contents":24,"faqs":25,"seo_title":13,"seo_description":14,"update_tm":26,"read_time":27},114531,7971461740909,"Levi","https://ap-avatar.wpscdn.com/davatar_155a257f0dc6eb9ab79c44ca47cae57d",1,"Story & Novel","Tarantula - A John Milton Novella - Chapter One - The Mafia","Tarantula opens with the mafia enforcer’s chilling preparations in the cliffs near Castellabate. From an unguarded hairpin bend, he studies clear sight lines, measures wind and conditions, and calibrates a precision SVD sniper rifle for a distant shot. With laser range-finding, binocular observation, and careful trigger control, he waits for a hire car to slow into position, then delivers a calculated, lethal strike. The scene blends meticulous technical execution with foreboding violence.","Get Mark Dawson’s Starter Library FOR FREE  \nSign up for the no-spam newsletter and get THE CLEANER, THE BLACK MILE, plus two introductory novellas and lots more exclusive content, all  \nfor free.  \nDetails can be found at the end of TARANTULA.  \n[OceanofPDF.com](OceanofPDF.com)  \nTarantula  \nA John Milton Novella  \nMark Dawson  \n[OceanofPDF.com](OceanofPDF.com)  \nCHAPTER ONE  \nTHE MAFIA in that part of Italy called him Tarantula. A tattoo of a spider decorated his face. The abdomen of the insect was on his right cheek, covering it from the cheekbone to the line of his jaw. The eight legs spread up to his eye, his forehead, towards his ear and down to his throat and the corner of his lips. His head was shaved and the rest of his skin was decorated, too. There was a pistol and a grenade. A neat line of cursive script above his right ear declared, in Italian,“La vita è dolore.”  \nLife is pain.  \nTarantula had become his nom de guerre. He was a hunter, just like the spider, and just as deadly.  \nThis morning, Tarantula was nestled down in the undergrowth in the cliffs outside the pleasant coastal town of Castellabate. His vantage point afforded him a perfect view down onto the narrow cliff-top road that led from Agropoli to Marina di Camerota. The road was spectacular, even to his jaded eye, with a steep climb to the east and a vertiginous drop to the azure blue of the Tyrrhenian Sea to the west. He could see for miles. The sky was beautifully clear with not even a hint of cloud. The weather was capricious here, but there would be nothing to disturb his task this morning.  \nThe man was a careful planner and he had chosen his position with his usual diligence.  \nThe road followed the line of the cliff, bending in a slow and gentle curve. It was fenced for much of its length but this span of a half a mile or so was unguarded, with a steep drop that terminated in deep waters fifty feet below. The unfenced part came at the apex of a sharp hairpin. It was necessary for drivers to slow right down to make the turn, to thirty or forty miles an hour maximum, before they could increase their speed again for the straight run ahead.  \nThat was important.  \nThe sight lines were clear and unobstructed, long enough to ensure that he would have plenty of time to sight his target.  \nThat was important, too.  \nEverything about it was perfect.  \nThe man glassed the road carefully. He had an excellent pair of binoculars and the images leapt at him sharp and crisp, almost close enough to reach out and touch. The inland side of the road terminated with the sheer cliff face, buttressed with a stone wall. A wire net had been fastened to the cliff to prevent dislodged boulders from falling onto the cars below.  \nThe long gun laying in the rocks next to the man was an SVD, the Russian Dragunov sniper system. It was a semi-automatic gas-operated rifle with a short-stroke gas-piston system. The barrel was not typically rifledover its entire length, but the man had paid to have this one adapted, with additional rifling to increase the twist rate and, thus, the accuracy.  \nThe man settled behind the rifle. He felt the tension in the trigger, found his stockweld and slid up to the eyepiece, staring into it and seeing the ridge and the trees and the vegetation through the mil-dot-rich reticle. He made a minute adjustment to the focus ring, creeping it around until the last remnant of blur was gone and he could see the leaves on the fir tree at five hundred feet distance.  \nHe took out his Leica handheld laser and ranged the spot where he knew his quarry would emerge. Next, he took out a small weather station and noted the wind, humidity, and temperature. The trees were rustling a little ina light breeze that was running in off the sea. He noted the data in a small notebook and calculated the firing solutions he would need. He dialled the first into the scope of the rifle, making adjustments for windage.  \nThe folding bipod was mounted onto upper rails above the","cbCaip8Cotgg1umK","https://ap.wps.com/l/cbCaip8Cotgg1umK","pdf",546910,86,"English","en",105,"# Chapter One - The Mafia\n## Tarantula’s cover and vantage point\n## Surveillance, ranging, and firing solutions\n## The approaching hire car and final shot","[{\"question\":\"Who is Tarantula in the opening chapter?\",\"answer\":\"Tarantula is the nom de guerre of a deadly hunter-like mafia figure, identified by his distinctive spider tattoo and weaponry.\"},{\"question\":\"How does Tarantula prepare for the shot?\",\"answer\":\"He plans his position, studies sight lines with binoculars, ranges the target using a handheld laser, measures wind and weather, and calculates firing adjustments for windage.\"},{\"question\":\"What kind of rifle does Tarantula use?\",\"answer\":\"He uses an SVD sniper system, an adapted semi-automatic rifle set up with adjustments to improve accuracy.\"}]",1785400818,132,{"code":4,"msg":29,"data":30},"ok",{"site_id":23,"language":22,"slug":31,"title":13,"keywords":32,"description":14,"schema_data":33,"social_meta":84,"head_meta":86,"extra_data":88,"updated_unix":26},"tarantula-a-john-milton-novella-chapter-one-the-mafia","",{"@graph":34,"@context":83},[35,52,66],{"@type":36,"itemListElement":37},"BreadcrumbList",[38,42,46,49],{"item":39,"name":40,"@type":41,"position":11},"https://docshare.wps.com","Home","ListItem",{"item":43,"name":44,"@type":41,"position":45},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/","Document",2,{"item":47,"name":12,"@type":41,"position":48},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/story-novel/",3,{"item":50,"name":13,"@type":41,"position":51},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/tarantula-a-john-milton-novella-chapter-one-the-mafia/114531/",4,{"url":50,"name":13,"@type":53,"author":54,"headline":13,"publisher":56,"fileFormat":59,"inLanguage":22,"description":14,"dateModified":60,"datePublished":60,"encodingFormat":59,"isAccessibleForFree":61,"interactionStatistic":62},"DigitalDocument",{"name":9,"@type":55},"Person",{"url":39,"name":57,"@type":58},"DocShare","Organization","application/pdf","2026-07-30",true,{"@type":63,"interactionType":64,"userInteractionCount":4},"InteractionCounter",{"@type":65},"ViewAction",{"@type":67,"mainEntity":68},"FAQPage",[69,75,79],{"name":70,"@type":71,"acceptedAnswer":72},"Who is Tarantula in the opening chapter?","Question",{"text":73,"@type":74},"Tarantula is the nom de guerre of a deadly hunter-like mafia figure, identified by his distinctive spider tattoo and weaponry.","Answer",{"name":76,"@type":71,"acceptedAnswer":77},"How does Tarantula prepare for the shot?",{"text":78,"@type":74},"He plans his position, studies sight lines with binoculars, ranges the target using a handheld laser, measures wind and weather, and calculates firing adjustments for windage.",{"name":80,"@type":71,"acceptedAnswer":81},"What kind of rifle does Tarantula use?",{"text":82,"@type":74},"He uses an SVD sniper system, an adapted semi-automatic rifle set up with adjustments to improve accuracy.","https://schema.org",{"og:url":50,"og:type":85,"og:title":13,"og:site_name":57,"og:description":14},"article",{"robots":87,"canonical":50},"index,follow",{"doc_id":7,"site_id":23},{"code":4,"msg":5,"data":90},[91,94,98,102,107,112,117,122,127,130,134],{"id":11,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":44,"category_name":12,"show_sort_weight":92,"slug":93},90,"story-novel",{"id":45,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":44,"category_name":95,"show_sort_weight":96,"slug":97},"Literature",80,"literature",{"id":51,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":44,"category_name":99,"show_sort_weight":100,"slug":101},"Exam",70,"exam",{"id":103,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":44,"category_name":104,"show_sort_weight":105,"slug":106},5,"Comic",60,"comic",{"id":108,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":44,"category_name":109,"show_sort_weight":110,"slug":111},6,"Technology",50,"technology",{"id":113,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":44,"category_name":114,"show_sort_weight":115,"slug":116},7,"Healthcare",40,"healthcare",{"id":118,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":44,"category_name":119,"show_sort_weight":120,"slug":121},8,"Research & Report",30,"research-report",{"id":123,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":44,"category_name":124,"show_sort_weight":125,"slug":126},9,"Religion & Spirituality",20,"religion-spirituality",{"id":125,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":44,"category_name":128,"show_sort_weight":125,"slug":129},"World Cup","world-cup",{"id":131,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":44,"category_name":132,"show_sort_weight":131,"slug":133},10,"Lifestyle","lifestyle",{"id":135,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":44,"category_name":136,"show_sort_weight":103,"slug":137},19,"General","general"]