On the surface, the NASA weather facility in Panama looks
harmless enough, if you discount the heavier than probably necessary force of
locals on guard. A couple of the locals have been turned by Bart Madison, a
former spec ops soldier who has gone rogue and now hires himself out to the
highest bidder. Right now, ISIS has the deepest pockets.
What is really housed down there are four man-portable
nukes. Madison recruits elements of various cartels to enter the facility,
steal the four nukes, and transport them out. Two take a circuitous route to
the coast for transit to the Middle East. The other two are destined for the
US. If they can get across the border.
The presence of the nukes in Panama is a sore topic for the
current appeaser-in-chief in the White House. When he learns of the theft, he
makes every attempt to keep it quiet. Any attempt at getting the nukes has to
be entirely off the books. If they get returned, no one must know anything.
Nothing. No press, no awards, no commendations. Nothing.
The SoCom command overseas Panama. To lead the hunt for the
stolen nukes, the recently retired Max Kenworth is put on point along with Gail
Summers (FBI) and Danya Mayer (Mossad). Their job is to find out what happened
at the NASA facility, where the nukes have gone, get them back and avoid any
detonation, and find out who is responsible. SoCom has pledged every possible
resource (fully off the books) to accomplish their task.
The chase begins in the Panamanian jungle to Colombia, to an
Atlantic freighter transported two nukes to ISIS. The chase also heads up Central
America where a number of false flags show up at border crossings allowing the
other two nukes to cross, headed for unknown destinations. Homeland Security is
convinced the bombs are headed for NYC and has convinced the President. Max,
Gail, and Danya think otherwise and track a possibility in the western US where
a detonation might not lead to a massive loss of life, but surely would
devastate all aspects fo the SW US economy.
Parker lays out every American’s worst nightmare. A turncoat
who knows the inner workings of the US security forces, works for ISIS,
captures a nuclear weapon, and plans on a homeland detonation. Elements of the
theft, the chase, and the confrontations have an air of authenticity that
should send shivers down the spine of most readers. This could easily be a 1-sitting
read or, if you read at night, keep you up far later than planned.
If I had to quibble, there are a couple character development
points with some holes. For one, there's only a taste of what caused Bart to go over to the dark side; would've liked more. Apparently, Max and Bart have a history, but the
details are not fleshed out that much. Looks like Max and Danya also have a history, but I
guess I missed it. Not to mention that the team shuttles between DC, Panama, various
military installations, US-MEX border crossings, Las Vegas, and LA area at NCC-1701
transporter speeds. But, as Johnny Carson used to say (when a comedy piece was
dying), “Buy the premise, buy the bit.” For most, I suspect that those details
won’t detract from this high-stakes cat and mouse game played by Bart and Max. As
Samuel L. Jackson said in Jurassic Park: ‘Hold on to your butts.”
Parker is retired Army with 15 more years in the Defense industry. Helps keep the plot authentic. He has two earlier thrillers and all three are self published, so your hard earned $$ go to him and him alone.
ECD
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