by Tom Clancy
‘They done picking the metal out of you?’ he asked.
‘Not quite.’
‘I hate that shit.’
‘Me, too. How you doing these days?’
‘Serving with you left me feeling bloated and emotionally scarred, but the bullet holes healed.’
Ross nearly spat out his beer. ‘You been rehearsing that all day?’
Pepper grinned. ‘Kinda. You here for the early bird special, Grandpa?’
‘You’re two for two and on a roll.’
‘They tell me I’m a crack shot.’
‘They don’t lie.’
‘And here they are,’ said Pepper, rising from his seat to allow Kozak to slide in, while 30K ambled over with an aluminum hospital cane in his right hand. He cursed, flumped into his seat, then looked up and asked in utter disbelief, ‘Who stole my beer?’
‘Easy now, Sergeant,’ said Ross. ‘Just ordered a warm-up for myself. Pitchers are coming.’
‘You know the GST doesn’t like us drinking booze,’ said Kozak.
‘And when the hell has that stopped you?’ asked Pepper.
Kozak flashed his guilty-as-charged grin. ‘I heard Mitchell can toss back quite a few …’
‘Why don’t you ask him?’ said Ross, cocking a thumb over his shoulder as Mitchell approached, wearing jeans and a sweatshirt simply labeled: ARMY.
The team was about to snap to when Mitchell said, ‘Relax, boys, I just heard you were all getting together, and I wanted to stop by.’
‘We appreciate that, sir,’ said Pepper.
Mitchell’s gaze grew distant. ‘You know every time I went downrange, I came back with new stories and new scars – and sometimes a heavy heart, but you know what the best thing was?’
The major waited … a dramatic pause.
‘Shit, the best thing was I came back! So enjoy your nonalcoholic beverages tonight, and as soon as the doctor clears you, I’ve got plenty of work. Are you in, gentlemen?’
‘Hoo-ah!’ they all shouted.
‘Very well. See you soon.’ With that, a living legend strode away from their table.
After they’d eaten their fill, traded jokes and relived the more hair-raising parts of the mission, they said their good-byes, and Ross made it a point to escort 30K out to his car, a red Mustang Cobra, of course.
‘You didn’t come out here to give me help, did you?’ said 30K.
Ross shook his head. He closed his eyes for a moment and began to choke up.
‘Sir, what’s wrong?’
‘Nothing.’
‘Sir …’
‘Look, I just … I want to tell you about my son … I want you to know … I guess I need you to know. Do you have a minute?’
‘Sure. I got all the time in the world.’
Acknowledgments
I’m deeply indebted to the great number of people who contributed their expertise to this manuscript:
Mr James Ide, chief warrant officer, U. S. Navy (Ret.), has continued his work as my first reader, researcher, and collaborator – from idea to polished manuscript. He is a great friend, fantastic writer, and it’s my honor to know him.
Mr Sam Strachman of Ubisoft Paris has worked with me on several other book projects and offered his excellent advice, insights, and great sense of humor.
Mr Jay Posey of Red Storm Entertainment fielded my many questions and provided me with an entire unit history of the Ghosts that was invaluable to the writing of this novel. He was an amazing resource, and I hope to work with him again.
Special thanks to Richard Dansky of Red Storm Entertainment, as well as Jean-Marc Geffroy, Michiel Verheijdt, and Julien Charpentier of Ubisoft Paris for their assistance and encouragement.
My agent, Mr John Talbot, and editor, Mr Tom Colgan, have supported and encouraged me for many years, and I’m truly grateful for the many projects we’ve shared together.
Finally, my wife, Nancy, and two lovely daughters, Lauren and Kendall, went above and beyond the call of duty on this one. If you only knew what I put them through …
THE BEGINNING
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PENGUIN BOOKS
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First published in the United States of America by The Berkley Publishing Group 2013
First published in Great Britain in Penguin Books 2013
Copyright © Ubisoft Entertainment S. A., 2012
Ghost Recon, Ubisoft and the Ubisoft logo are trademarks of Ubisoft in the US and other countries. Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon® © Ubisoft Entertainment S. A., 2012.
It is understood that ‘Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon’ is a registered trademark
Published by arrangement with Ubisoft Entertainment SARL
Cover © 2013 Ubisoft Entertainment
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The Moral right of the author has been asserted
ISBN: 978-1-40-591260-0