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“They started being very cautious about what they were saying, Colonel,” Kris Thompson replied. “I think they suspect they’re being bugged.”

“The guy’s smart, that’s for sure,” Wilhelm said. “Can we confiscate the paper they’re writing messages on before they destroy them?”

“Sure—if we want them to find out they’re being bugged.”

“Wish you had set up a video bug in there instead of just audio. All this high-tech gear around here and you couldn’t set up one simple baby-crib camera?” Thompson said nothing—he could’ve easily set up a video bug, but he was uncomfortable enough installing an audio bug in the general’s CHU; a video bug was too much. “He mentioned the ‘boss,’ and then Masters sounded like he was going to say ‘the president,’” Wilhelm commented. “President of what?”

“The company, I assume,” Thompson said. He paused, then added uncomfortably, “I don’t feel right bugging the general’s CHU, Colonel.”

“I got the order straight from the Army chief of staff, who got it through the attorney general and the secretary of defense—gather information on McLanahan’s activities, including eavesdropping and wiretaps, until the FBI and State Department take over,” Wilhelm said. “They’re gunning for this guy, that’s for sure. The president wants his head on a platter. They ordered his freighter searched and every piece of equipment on board cross-checked with the official manifest. If he’s bringing in any unauthorized stuff, they want to know about it. I don’t think the Turks will allow it to land here, but if it does, Washington wants it searched for unauthorized weapons.”

“What kind of weapons?”

“How the hell should I know, Thompson? You have the manifest—if it’s not on there, it’s contraband. Confiscate it.”

“Isn’t anyone around here going to support McLanahan at all? The guy’s just trying to do his job. He saved our bacon during the attack and probably saved the vice president’s, too.”

“McLanahan will be okay, Thompson, don’t worry about him,” Wilhelm said. “Besides, we have our orders, and they come from the very top. I’m not going to let guys like McLanahan ruin my career. Send the recordings to division as soon as possible.”

“Hiya, big guy.”

“Dad?” There was nothing like hearing your son’s voice saying “Dad,” Patrick thought; it always gave him a thrill. “Where are you?”

“Still in Iraq.”

“Oh.” Bradley James McLanahan, who had just turned thirteen, was still a kid of few words—like his old man, Patrick surmised. “When are you coming home?”

“I don’t know for sure, but I think it’ll be soon. Listen, I know you’re getting ready for school, but I wanted to…”

“Can I try out for football this year?”

“Football?” That was a new one, Patrick thought. Bradley played soccer and tennis and could water-ski, but he never showed any interest in contact sports before. “Sure, if you want to, as long as your grades are good.”

“Then you got to tell Aunt Mary. She says I’ll get hurt and turn my brain to mush.”

“Not if you listen to the coach.”

“Will you tell her? Here.” Before Patrick could say anything, his youngest sister, Mary, was on the line. “Patrick?”

“Hi, Mare. How are—”

“You are not going to allow him to play football, are you?”

“Why not, if he wants to and his grades—”

“His grades are okay, but they could be better if only he would stop daydreaming, journaling, and doodling about spaceships and fighter jets,” his sister said. Mary was a pharmacist, with grades good enough for medical school if she had the time between raising Bradley and two of her own. “Have you ever seen a middle school football game?”

“No.”

“Those players get bigger and bigger every year, their hormones are raging, and they have more physical strength than the skills to control themselves. Bradley’s more of a bookworm than a jock. Besides, he just wants to do it because his friends are going to try out and some girls in his class are going to try out for cheerleading.”

“That always motivated me. Listen, I need to speak with—”

“Oh, I got an e-mail this morning saying that the automatic deposit from your company from last week was reversed. No explanation. I’m overdrawn, Patrick. It’ll cost me fifty dollars plus any other penalties from whoever I wrote checks to. Can you get that straightened out so I don’t get buried in bounced check fees?”

“It’s a new company, Mary, and the payroll might be screwed up.” His entire paycheck from Scion went to his sister to help with expenses; his entire Air Force retirement went into a trust for Bradley. His sister didn’t like that, because paychecks from Scion were irregular depending on if the company had a contract and had any money to pay upper management, but Patrick had insisted. That made Bradley more of an outsider than he wanted, but it was the best arrangement he could make right now. “Give it a week or so, okay? I’ll get all the charges reversed.”

“Are you coming home soon? Steve wants to go to a rodeo in Casper next month.”

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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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