Jason Bourne, after murdering a bad guy with a paper clip.

I’m turning the reins over, once again, to Marie-Helene Bertino, who edited our wonderful new story, “The Tornado Bandit.” Enjoy, and Happy New Year!–Hannah

Along with the montage and the moment two people first catch eyes across an aquarium, the chase scene is a time honored movie archetype with its own set of characteristics and properties.

The Movie Chase Scene is normally conducted on a crowded city street at lunchtime, when every single one of the city’s workers have emerged blinking into the sun to run errands, push baby carriages, transport improbable, multi-tiered wedding cakes, wait in lines, or simply stand in front of storefronts and gape. The Movie Chase Scene’s participants are one or two rogueish thugs who are not as eloquent or dashing as Our Hero. Our Hero is normally in hot pursuit or, in the case of movies where he or she is being Accused of A Crime They Did Not Commit, being chased by these thugs. Our Hero has among his varied set of talents an ability to dodge large groups of tourists, leap enormous gaps in the asphalt that appear due to sudden and improperly thought out construction, stun problematic school girls into silence with his razor sharp chin.

In 2002, the Bourne movies took the chase scene to new levels by spreading it out over several neighborhoods in European cities and involving varied means of transportation. At any point during a Bourne chase, Jason could abandon a Porsche for a tractor trailer, ditch that for a helicopter until, at the chase’s conclusion, he is paddling after his man on a gondola. Albeit the fastest damn gondola in Europe. The Bourne movies widened even the way in which bad guys are killed. In one scene I still don’t entirely understand, Jason Bourne killed a Swedish operative via fax.

However, someone has to live in the apartment where Our Hero has dispatched his enemies. So, who cleans up? Who vacuums up the glass after the window shatters under the weight of propelled bad guys? In the case of “The Tornado Bandit,” the Miltons do.

Carl and Mitty Milton, characters lovingly created by Anne Corbitt, are your basic, aging married couple. They have a well-maintained house and a far away, disapproving daughter until one day, Everything Changes. Returning from a vacation during which they collected “every kind of rock candy the gift shop sold,” the Miltons find that the Tornado Bandit, an unknown Bourne-esque hero, has conducted a neighborhood-wide chase, resulting in a dead body in Mitty’s heretofore meticulously maintained bathroom.

From there, the Miltons experience a surge in passion as their lives begin to intertwine with the other families whose houses have also been damaged.

At its heart, “The Tornado Bandit” is a quick-humored story about what can be the malaise of middle life in married, suburban America. As the Bandit has romped through the neighborhood, the Miltons begin to romp through their lives; racing cars, having sex outside, gambling. They’ve woken up.

If I was a screenwriter and you were a board of action-seeking movie execs, I would pitch “The Tornado Bandit” this way: “TB” has everything, see? It has your love story, your sad story, your chase scene, and your heart rendering conclusion. It even has (wait for it) Oprah. I see Shia LeBeouf for the sequel.

Anne Corbitt, who cops (!) to being inspired by the Bourne movies in her Q&A, has deftly picked up where most movies leave off: After The Chase. Working with Anne on this story was a joy. She has a filmic sensibility and a great sense of play, all of which she bestows on her characters, who she obviously cares about deeply. Anne expertly develops the supporting cast (or “extras”) in “The Tornado Bandit,” crafting the hilarious Agent Crum, the Billings family and Leah Finkelstein, whose strange, movie-inspired arc triggers the climax of the story.

Will the Bandit return? Will The Miltons continue to enjoy their re-energized love and life or will they slide back into their old ways? Hey buddy, we’re not running a charity here. You have to pay to see! ($21 annually – 18 issues a year.) I know you will love it.

For #128, I’m giving the reins to our intrepid Contributing Editor Pei-Ling Lue, who was the issue editor for this extraordinary new story: ”The Restoration of the Villa Where Tibor Kálmán Once Lived.” Enjoy!-Hannah

During World War II, my grandfather was sent to mainland China from Taiwan. At the close of the war, he, along with my grandmother and their two children, were stranded without a way to return to their homeland. At this time, my great-grandfather sent radio messages each day hoping to reach his son, to find a way to bring him home. My grandfather never received those messages. Eventually, the family found a way home on an old smuggler’s ship, braving the pirate-infested waters, but there was always a feeling in the family for what might have been had they been able to return earlier.

“The Restoration of the Villa Where Tibor Kálmán Once Lived” reminded me of that old family war story. László, the main character, has committed atrocities as a soldier during the siege of Budapest, but his mind keeps returning to Tibor Kálmán’s villa, the place he was trying to reach before he commits his first traitorous act. He searches out the villa after the siege, hoping that when he finds the villa, he can find his own redemption.

Usually when I read stories from the submissions pile, they sound very much the same to me, it’s very rare to find a story that has a unique voice. I was drawn in by the first few lines of this story, the whole world of this war was so expertly drawn that it appeared vividly in my mind. László is such a complex character–I found myself fascinated and repulsed by his actions, and yet, his story seemed more real to me than many of the usual war stories depicting heroes and acts of courage. This is a story that will resonate with readers long after they finish reading.

You can read more about how Tamas Dobozy wrote “The Restoration of the Villa Where Tibor Kálmán Once Lived” by reading his Q&A.