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“I got it,” Wayne Macomber responded. He had had his electromagnetic rail gun out and ready ever since the first mortar shell had been fired toward them about an hour or so ago. Charlie Turlock’s millimeter wave radar system built into her CID robot scanned the skies around them for miles, allowing her to detect the projectiles and instantaneously transmit tracking and targeting information to Wayne’s targeting computers.

Charlie Turlock also carried her electromagnetic rail gun, but all of her projectiles had already been expended shooting down mortars and her reloads had been blown up when the Sagger destroyed the first Humvee. The forty-millimeter rockets in her backpack might not be fast enough to intercept the mortar shells, but Macomber’s rail gun was more than capable. He simply raised his rifle, using his suit’s powered exoskeleton like a precision aiming platform, and followed the tracking information relayed from the CID unit. He didn’t have to lead the mortar round very much—the electromagnetic rail gun projectiles flew a dozen times faster than a sniper rifle bullet and destroyed the round easily.

“Salvo!” Charlie shouted. “Four more inbound!”

“Bastards,” Whack muttered. That was the first time they’d fired more than one at a time. He hit all four easily, but now problems were developing. “I’m getting low on ammo—I’m on the last magazine, six more left,” he said. “I’m also going to need fresh batteries for the rifle and for me.”

One of the technicians ran over to the remaining Humvee, searched for a few moments, then ran over to Macomber. “No more fresh batteries left,” he said. “We’ll have to plug you in.”

“Swell,” Whack said. The tech unreeled a power cord from a storage hatch on the back of Macomber’s suit, ran it back to the Humvee, and plugged it into a power receptacle. “Charlie, you’re going to have to try intercepting any more rounds. I’m going to boost my power levels before we have to start moving out. I’ve got just enough juice in the gun to fire the last remaining projectiles.”

“Roger,” Charlie responded. “I haven’t seen any of those rounds explode, and the projected track shows them missing us. Maybe they’re not live rounds. They’re lobbing them in just to see what we’d do.”

“Glad we’re providing them with some entertainment,” Whack said. “Can you compute the firing location?”

“Already have. They haven’t moved it. I can take it out if you want, or drop a gas rocket on them.”

“I don’t want those guys riled up just yet, and we have to save ammo,” Whack said.

“Another helicopter inbound, guys,” Patrick McLanahan radioed. “Coming from Turkey this time, higher speed. Might be a gunship. About ten minutes out.”

“Copy,” Wayne Macomber replied. “Okay, Doc, time to pack it up.”

“Patrick said ten minutes? I’ll take that.”

“No, because in ten minutes we’ll be in range of whatever missiles or rockets that chopper might be carrying, and then it’ll be too late,” Whack said.

“All right,” Jon said dejectedly. “We got the laser radar and satellite comm boxes. I guess that’ll have to do. Too much stuff for one Humvee; we’ll have to put it all on the trailer.”

It didn’t take long for the group to pack up their equipment. Whack led the way, carrying his rail gun high so the Turkish soldiers could all see it. Charlie carried her spare backpack in her left armored hand and her empty electromagnetic rail gun in her right, hoping just the sight of it might scare some of the Turks. All the engineers squashed together in the surviving Humvee, and all their tools, equipment, and retrieved boxes were in the trailer.

“How long until our help arrives, General?” Whack asked on his secure command channel.

“They look like they’re changing formations, Whack,” Patrick asked. “Try to stall as long as you can.”

“What about that chopper?”

“Couple minutes more.”

“Those numbers aren’t matching, General,” Whack said grimly. On the Turkish command channel he had detected, he said, “Listen up, Captain Evren. We’re coming out. We don’t want a fight with you guys. We’re going to bring our stuff back into the base. Make way.”

“No, Americans,” Evren responded a moment later, the surprise that his radio channel was being used by the robots obvious in his voice. “You will be detained and that equipment confiscated. You assaulted members of my unit and myself. For this you must be punished.”

Whack stopped the convoy. “Captain, listen to me very carefully,” he said. “You know what we can do. What you might not know is that we have an unmanned aircraft circling overhead. If you don’t believe me, look up.” At that instant Patrick shut down and restarted the engine on the AGM-177 Wolverine he had orbiting over the area, which caused a streak of brown smoke to become visible for a few seconds. “That is an attack drone, and it can take out all of your armor and your men with guided bomblets. I’ll order it flown over your positions before we move in, and when it’s done we’ll take care of anyone that’s still standing. Now move aside.”

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Strike Force
Strike Force

The Battle For Control Of Iran… Begins In Space "When a disgraced former Iranian military chief of staff engineers an insurgency that threatens to destroy the theocratic regime in Iran, a new era appears to be dawning in the Middle East. But one must be wary of old enemies…"On the run from the Pasdaran, the theocrat's terror army, and unable to count on support from his friends in the regular army, Iranian rebel leader General Hesarak al-Kan Buzhazi desperately turns to his old nemesis, U.S. Air Force Lieutenant-General Patrick McLanahan, for help. Unwilling to commit American forces in an Iranian civil war, and with time running out, the U.S. president authorizes McLanahan to utilize a new, top-secret fleet of globe-crossing spaceplanes, the XR-A9 Black Stallions, led by test pilot and astronaut Captain Hunter Noble. Within hours, McLanahan's Air Battle Force turns the tide, possibly changing the course of history in the Middle East for generations.The advent of almost instantaneous global reach, along with the reactivation of America's first military space station, Silver Tower, has rekindled fears of a space arms race, and the growing insurgency in Iran is threatening to erupt into a worldwide jihad. But McLanahan finds himself embroiled in even more bitter battles at the White House, between those who support his space-based military initiative and those who are working secretly to undermine it. When McLanahan is forced to concentrate on his political and personal battles back at home, it's left to Hunter Noble and his team of young American space engineers to keep the fires of freedom in the Middle East from exploding completely out of control.Filled with the latest cutting-edge weaponry, geopolitical intrigue, high-flying suspense, and a colorful cast of characters, "Strike Force" is "New York Times" bestselling master Dale Brown at his best.

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Rogue Forces
Rogue Forces

The clash of civilizations will be won ... by thte highest bidderWhat happens when America's most lethal military contractor becomes uncontrollably powerful?His election promised a new day for America ... but dangerous storm clouds are on the horizon. The newly inaugurated president, Joseph Gardner, pledged to start pulling U.S. forces out of Iraq on his first day in office--no questions asked. Meanwhile, former president Kevin Martindale and retired Air Force lieutenant-general Patrick McLanahan have left government behind for the lucrative world of military contracting. Their private firm, Scion Aviation International, has been hired by the Pentagon to take over aerial patrols in northern Iraq as the U.S. military begins to downsize its presence there.Yet Iraq quickly reemerges as a hot zone: Kurdish nationalist attacks have led the Republic of Turkey to invade northern Iraq. The new American presi dent needs to regain control of the situation--immediately--but he's reluctant to send U.S. forces back into harm's way, leaving Scion the only credible force in the region capable of blunting the Turks' advances.But when Patrick McLanahan makes the decision to take the fight to the Turks, can the president rein him in? And just where does McLanahan's loyalty ultimately lie: with his country, his commander in chief, his fellow warriors ... or with his company's shareholders?In Rogue Forces, Dale Brown, the New York Times bestselling master of thrilling action, explores the frightening possibility that the corporations we now rely on to fight our battles are becoming too powerful for America's good.

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Executive Intent
Executive Intent

The United States has just launched the most powerful weapon in history – a missilelaunching satellite called "Thor's Hammer" that can strike anywhere on the planet in seconds. The world's other major superpowers, Russia and China, are rocked by America 's development, and they scramble to respond by gaining control of the seas.But when terrorists hijack Pakistani missiles and fire them at Indian cities, U.S. President Joseph Gardner has only one option – to use the untested Thor's Hammer. But when something goes awry, Pakistan decides to give China naval strategic advantage by granting access to Middle Eastern ports.To make matters worse, Somali pirates board a Chinese freighter and slaughter the crew. China responds by brutally attacking and then occupying Somalia, quickly setting up missile pads that can target U.S. Naval ships. Now the U.S. high command is on red alert and the country's security is in total jeopardy…Another flash point quickly emerges – in Earth's orbit. When Chinese and Russian spacecraft surround an American space station, the threat is clear: negotiate and compromise, or China and Russia will cripple the U.S. Navy with ballistic missiles. Will the world's superpowers be plunged into a full-scale war?With Executive Intent, the New York Times bestselling master thriller-writer Dale Brown crafts an action-packed tale of intrigue and technological weaponry that pits the world's superpowers in a contest for Earth's oceans and ultimate high ground – space.

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A Time for Patriots
A Time for Patriots

Welcome to Battlefield AmericaWhen murderous bands of militiamen begin roaming the western United States and attacking government agencies, it will take a dedicated group of the nation's finest and toughest civilian airmen to put an end to the homegrown insurgency. U.S. Air Force Lieutenant-General Patrick McLanahan vows to take to the skies to join the fight, but when his son, Bradley, also signs up, they find themselves caught in a deadly game against a shadowy opponent.When the stock markets crash and the U.S. economy falls into a crippling recession, everything changes for newly elected president Kenneth Phoenix. Politically exhausted from a bruising and divisive election, Phoenix must order a series of massive tax cuts and wipe out entire cabinet-level departments to reduce government spending. With reductions in education and transportation, an incapacitated National Guard, and the loss of public safety budgets, entire communities of armed citizens band together for survival and mutual protection. Against this dismal backdrop, a SWAT team is ambushed and radioactive materials are stolen by a group calling themselves the Knights of the True Republic. Is the battle against the government about to be taken to a new and deadlier level?In this time of crisis, a citizen organization rises to the task of protecting their fellow countrymen: the Civil Air Patrol (CAP), the U.S. Air Force auxiliary. The Nevada Wing — led by retired Air Force Lieutenant-General Patrick McLanahan, his son, Bradley, and other volunteers — uses their military skills in the sky and on the ground to hunt down violent terrorists. But how will Patrick respond when extremists launch a catastrophic dirty bomb attack in Reno, spreading radiological fallout for miles? And when Bradley is caught in a deadly double-cross that jeopardizes the CAP, Patrick will have to fight to find out where his friends' loyalties lie: Are they with him and the CAP or with the terrorists?With A Time for Patriots, the New York Times bestselling master of the modern thriller Dale Brown brings the battle home to explore a terrifying possibility — the collapse of the American Republic.

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