Kindle Edition
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Category:
Action/Thriller
Publisher: Independent
Type: Fiction
Pages: 298
Copyright: November 14, 2014
Price: $2.99 (eBook)
A spy thriller set in 2003 America. A dangerous and deadly homegrown terrorist has infiltrated the American government and is set to strike in dramatic and world-changing fashion.
Phoenix, an undercover operative who has spent a lifetime training, preparing, and infiltrating deep into the US Government is about to be activated and sent down a deadly path.
Bill Neilson, long-time FBI field agent, and his protégé Beth Mazarik find themselves thrust into the middle of an insidious plot carried out by the Phoenix and orchestrated by The Brotherhood, a shadowy homegrown terrorist organization intent on restoring liberty lost.
From Washington DC to the Heartland, Bill will have to wade through tragedy, duplicity, and the dark corners of his own mind to form the only line of defense in a complex and lifelong operation designed to shake the very nature of power in America.
Excerpt
Prologue
April 1987
The girl burst through the door of her small home, an envelope in her right hand.
“Hey, anyone home?!” She crossed the foyer.
“In here honey.”
She rushed over, “I got in, I got in!”
A man rose from his chair in the corner and came over to hug her, “Way to go babygirl, I knew you could do it.”
The woman stayed seated on the couch, a deep frown on her face, “This is step one of a thousand steps you’re going to have to take. If you’re going to wet yourself over every little thing, you might as well go home right now and work at a goddamn grocery store!” She stormed out and slammed the power button on the TV.
The girl waited until she went into the kitchen, “Can I ever get excited about anything? I worked my ass off to get this.”
He motioned over to the couch and they both sat down, “I know it can be tough sometimes, but you’re not like everyone else. You’re special. And being special means that you can’t have the same things as a regular person. You should know by now that you aren’t going to be living a normal life, so having a normal reaction to something isn't really an excuse.”
He pulled his hands towards his chest like he was holding an invisible poker hand.
“You always have to stay here,” he extended his arms back out until they were straight, “other people in life can be out here.”
The girl huffed and looked away.
He put his hands on hers, “Congratulations. Getting into a prestigious college is a big step. But it's just that. One step. It’s just something you always have to keep in your mind.”
Her eyes narrowed, “I know my role, and I will never deviate from it. But if I'm going to integrate fully, properly, I have to act like a normal person. I have to blend, I have to be able to show emotion. Right now, I feel stifled. That leads to desperation. And that is not an emotion I ever want to feel.”
“I understand that, and that's why you go to public school. Social skills are half the battle, but so is the ability to flick that switch when you walk through that door. Practice it every day. Cross that threshold and drop everything, because that's exactly what you'll have to do for the rest of your life. Compartmentalize, or perish.”
She nodded.
“It's not an easy life, but easy usually means purposeless. Every minute of every day we have purpose. We are truly powerful. We secure the future.” He patted her hand and followed his wife out of the room.
To some this would have been a true moral dilemma, a crossroads. Not her though. She moved into the kitchen towards the two people who had raised her, head down, “I apologize. I am the Phoenix, a true soldier of the Brotherhood. I'll never forget it again.”
The woman came over to her side, “I never doubted that dear. Every minute of every day. You're going to change this world, but only if you stay strong.”
The girl stared out the window, “Always. Libertas vel excessum.”
Part I – Preparation
Chapter One
J. Edgar Hoover Building
June 2003
Bill Neilson had arrived early to the office. He had his normal morning paperwork, plus a new recruit class to tour around the building in the afternoon.
The office was empty, just a few people here and there.
Bill had been through the doors around the same time for ten years. Through that time, he had more than earned his reputation as a man who had the worst luck in all of human history.
He had broken bones, walked into ambushes, been grazed by bullets and generally put his heart through more stress than the lifetimes of ten accountants.
And he loved every minute of it.
He turned down a dozen promotions to stay out there. Field work and training the new recruits fresh out of school was his wheelhouse, and he stuck to it.
A few hours rolled by, complete with a few pots of coffee before Bill pulled himself up from his desk. He stretched and moved his neck back and forth.
He checked his watch. It was about that time.
There were five people waiting down in the lobby for him. It would be down to four within an hour, three after two hours, and then sometime after lunch, Bill would choose his new partner from whoever was left.
That person would be on the fast track to the FBI's upper ranks. The last four people Bill mentored were all high up in the food chain, and he was intent on keeping that streak alive.
Bill put his jacket on and adjusted it into place. He made sure his tie was straight. He looked up to find the Deputy Director, and one of his oldest friends, Alex Jones.
“Back still bugging you?”
“Well Tripoli was a very formative time in our lives. But snake pits and torture dens aside, I gotta be downstairs for the newbies in a minute. Time to hang another ace on the wall.” He winked at Alex.
Alex slapped him on the back, “The Bill Neilson School is back in session. Best of luck.”
Bill went down a back stairway and came up behind the group. He studied them for a moment before he jumped in. They all looked the part very nicely.
There were three men and two women in the group, all wearing finely cut business suits, all standing attentively. He stepped around them.
“Hello fresh faces, I'm Bill Neilson, your tour guide for the day and possibly longer if you fit the bill. I know you've all been prepared, trained, quizzed, etcetera, but this will be a whole other level. Take that class time and apply it to reality. Or you'll be applying your ass to a chair in front of a desk.” He paced in front of them. His kids. His responsibility, “Ladies and gentlemen, I hope you enjoyed everything up until this moment, because things are about to get very real.”
Bill turned and walked down the hallway. It was his first small test of the day. He stopped and turned to see who had taken any steps to follow him.
Only two had, both of the young females.
He looked past them, “You three think that I’m gonna bring the building to you? Move your asses.”
“S-sorry sir, I didn’t know if we were supposed to follow you or not.” One of the young men said.
“Well there's your first piece of advice, learn from your counterparts and take some initiative.”
Bill walked away again, but this time five bodies hurriedly moved to follow.
They turned down the first hallway to the right and Bill swiped his card to give them access through a thick steel door at the end of the hall.
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