The Unit Fort Bragg, North Carolina
Dawson flipped the burgers, the two large oil drum charcoal grills radiating heat like nobody’s business, his chest glistening with sweat. Red sat beside him, his arm in a sling, a few pounds lighter than when his ordeal had begun, though otherwise healthy. On his other side sat the love of his life, in better spirits than he had seen her in weeks, and finally making headway again, the past week showing more progress than in the past six. The guys and better halves mingled about, the kids playing Frisbee or catch as the sun blazed in a blue sky, it another perfect day behind the Unit.
Everyone he cared about was here except his own family, the thought of his sister and niece having him make a mental note to visit them soon. He looked at Shirley, staring at her husband, and smiled.
Red noticed. “What?”
Dawson motioned with his chin toward Shirley. “I don’t think she’s taken her eyes off you since you got back.”
Shirley looked at him. “See, I can do it.” She turned back to her husband. “But I just don’t want to ever let him out of my sight again.”
Niner walked up, draining the last of his beer. “Then you better start training. Once he’s healed up, he’s coming back out with us.”
Shirley patted Red’s cheek. “I’d try to convince him not to, but I know there’s no point.”
He smiled at her, leaning over and giving her a kiss. “That’s why I married you. You’re so understanding.”
She poked him in the chest. “But put me through that again, and you better hope you really die, because I’ll kill you myself!”
Dawson laughed, as did the others, the mood the best it had been since they had thought their comrade and friend had died. He dropped into his lawn chair, taking Maggie’s hand.
It was a good day.
A perfect day.
And he never wanted it to end.
His phone vibrated in his pocket and he sighed. He fished it out and tapped the display. “Yes?”
“Mr. White, you’re needed.”
THE END
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BRAVO TEAM WILL RETURN!
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
This one took a while to get out because of life getting in the way. I’ve had more than my fair share of health scares over the past few years, and I’ve dealt with them as best I could. Though when it happens to the woman you love, it takes on an entirely different character, and you understand what true fear for someone you care about means.
We had a rabies scare.
My wife was visiting family in the Philippines, and the family dog there started acting strangely after being bitten by another dog. The family dog had a habit of licking everyone, as dogs are known to do. After biting a neighbor’s child (the child was treated immediately and is perfectly fine), the dog was tied up in the backyard, it progressively getting worse, dying within a week.
Niner would make a joke here about how poisonous that kid must have been, but there was no humor in my life for the ten days we went through this.
She returned home from the Philippines, the dog having been sent for testing only days before. She had been home barely a day before she received a call from the family telling her the dog had tested positive for rabies, and they were all getting treated. In fact, trucks had been sent to round up the neighborhood, and take them all for vaccinations.
They take this seriously in the Philippines.
She was told she should get treatment immediately.
I phoned Public Health and was told to take her to an ER right away, and that they would call ahead. We arrived, she was assessed, and the doctor agreed she needed rapid treatment. The vaccine was brought in by special courier, and she received her first set of injections about twelve hours after we received the call. She had three more sets of injections over the next two weeks.
But those first injections weren’t the end of it.
I learned a lot in those first few days. Rabies is transmitted through the animal’s saliva, through breaks in the victim’s skin or through mucous membranes like the eyes. Once rabies reaches the brain, you’re essentially screwed. 100% death rate. It travels the nervous system, and depending on how much got into your system (bites deliver more), and how close to the brain the entry was (like a dog licking your HEAD), you can be a member of the walking dead usually within two to six weeks.
She had been exposed as much as six weeks earlier at this point.
If you get the injections in time, as long as it hasn’t reached the brain, you’ll be okay. Unfortunately, there’s no real way to know if you got to it in time, except for survival—if you’re alive in ten days after treatment, you’re good!
And nothing is ever simple in the Kennedy household. My wife developed a cold at the same time. And of course, the early symptoms of rabies are flu-like, many of them overlapping with what was happening with her.
I, of course, knew this, as I did all the research, but I didn’t tell her.
I couldn’t, because I knew it would terrify her.
I just told her she would be okay, that we reached it in time.
But I knew there was a chance that the woman I loved was dying before my eyes, and as her cold got worse, she developed blinding migraines, all of which were symptoms.
It was terrifying, and I can honestly say I was more scared during this time than I was going under the knife for heart surgery.
So I did what I do.
I found a cure.
It’s called the Milwaukee Protocol. It’s a rather new treatment and is still being fine-tuned, but it’s saved about 20% of the people who have used it, the key to success tied directly to how quickly you begin the treatment.
And of course, nobody here had ever heard of it.
So I gathered the research, preparing to insist they begin the treatment, when the cold broke, she rapidly got better, and by day ten, she had no symptoms and was healthy and happy.
I think it took another five years off my life from stress, but she’s okay, everyone in the Philippines is okay, and the family over there has sworn off dogs.
And I’ve now learned of the Milwaukee Protocol.
And experienced the genuine fear of losing the one you’re closest to.
And this was one of the reasons the book is late. When I’m stressed like that, I can’t write. I’m just too distracted.
But obviously I got over the distraction, the book now finished, a little bit of the angst I went through injected into the Maggie/BD scenes. I hope you enjoyed it!
One note on ISIL/ISIS/Daesh/Islamic State. Previously, I have chosen to use ISIL as the way to reference these barbarians, as it is the official title used by the United States government, therefore with most of the characters being American government, it made sense to use it. This terminology, however, hasn’t really caught on, therefore I have reverted to using ISIS, a term I use in my day-to-day conversations. There has been a push by some to use Daesh, though I think I’ve had a character in the book address that with—shockingly—the same position I have on the matter.
And did you enjoy Aynslee Kai and Detective Shakespeare’s little cameos? If you aren’t familiar with them, then check out the Detective Shakespeare Mysteries starting with Depraved Difference, the novel I famously turned down a publishing contract for.
As usual, there are a lot of people to thank. My dad for all the research, Greg “Chief” Michael for some military protocol info, Ian Kennedy for some Special Forces info, Brent Richards for some weapons and Special Forces info, Niskha Kennedy for some hair growth info, Rick Bugnet, Nick Daniels, Deborah Wilson and Michael Heintz for some floor polisher info, Lindy Jones Zywot for Reading’s beer selection, Dee Denton and Jose Martinez for some Canuck naming help, Isabelle Laprise-Enright for some Comiccon info, the real Chris Leroux for s
ome Quebecois curses, my proofing team, and a special thank you to Ken Friedman for sharing his personal journey that helped me with the Maggie scenes. Also, as per usual, my wife, daughter, mom, family and friends—you’re why I keep doing this. Well, sort of. The real reason is those damned bills.
To those who have not already done so, please visit my website at www.jrobertkennedy.com then sign up for the Insider’s Club to be notified of new book releases. Your email address will never be shared or sold, and you’ll only receive the occasional email from me, as I don’t have time to spam you!
Thank you once again for reading.
BRAVO TEAM WILL RETURN!
NEED SOME HISTORICAL ACTION?
Check out this bestselling historical thriller, the first of a new series!
In an age before detectives, one Templar Knight is called upon to deliver justice.
When wounded Templar Knight Sir Marcus de Rancourt receives word that his sister is dying, he returns to a home he hasn’t seen in twenty years, only to find his sister dead, and her children orphaned. Sir Marcus decides to take on the greatest challenge of his life and remain behind to raise the children, his loyal sergeant and squires insisting on joining him to work the land at his side.
And it all starts with a simple murder, witnessed by a little boy, who swears Templars killed his parents.
Now it is up to Sir Marcus and his men to determine who committed the gruesome murders, and clear the good name of the Templars, before the very balance of power in the region shifts in favor of someone who should never possess it.
From USA Today bestselling author J. Robert Kennedy, comes the first in a new series, The Templar Detective, packed with pulse-pounding action, intrigue, and humor, guaranteed to keep thriller fans awake into the late hours.
Get your copy today, and be among the first to meet a new band of war-weary heroes, struggling to reintegrate into society, who are called upon once again to serve their Order, their Church, and their God.
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DISCOVER WHERE THE ACTION BEGINS...
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Love historical action? Then check out the newest series, The Templar Detective Thrillers. Get started with The Templar Detective!
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Follow the Delta Force’s Bravo Team in their own series! Get started with Delta Force Unleashed #1: Payback!
Want a little more espionage with your action? Then you need James Acton’s flawed former student, CIA Special Agent Dylan Kane, in your life. Start with Dylan Kane #1: Rogue Operator!
Looking for great psychological thrillers with a detective who’s got issues? Then check out Detective Shakespeare #1: Depraved Difference!
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
With over one million books sold, award winning and USA Today bestselling author J. Robert Kennedy has been ranked by Amazon as the #1 Bestselling Action Adventure novelist based upon combined sales. He is a full-time writer and the author of over forty international bestsellers including the smash hit James Acton Thrillers. He’s married, has an adult daughter, and is likely hard at work on his next book.
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Books by J. Robert Kennedy
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The Templar Detective Thrillers
The Templar Detective
The Templar Detective and the Parisian Adulteress
The Templar Detective and the Sergeant's Secret
The Templar Detective and the Unholy Exorcist
The James Acton Thrillers
The Protocol
Brass Monkey
Broken Dove
The Templar’s Relic
Flags of Sin
The Arab Fall
The Circle of Eight
The Venice Code
Pompeii’s Ghosts
Amazon Burning
The Riddle
Blood Relics
Sins of the Titanic
Saint Peter’s Soldiers
The Thirteenth Legion
Raging Sun
Wages of Sin
Wrath of the Gods
The Templar’s Revenge
The Nazi’s Engineer
Atlantis Lost
The Cylon Curse
The Viking Deception
The Delta Force Unleashed Thrillers
Payback
Infidels
The Lazarus Moment
Kill Chain
Forgotten
The Special Agent Dylan Kane Thrillers
Rogue Operator
Containment Failure
Cold Warriors
Death to America
Black Widow
The Agenda
Retribution
State Sanctioned
The Detective Shakespeare Mysteries
Depraved Difference
Tick Tock
The Redeemer
Zander Varga, Vampire Detective Series
The Turned
Published Internationally by J. Robert Kennedy, Ottawa, ON Canada
Copyright ©2016 J. Robert Kennedy
All rights reserved. The use of any part of this publication reproduced, transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior written consent of the publisher, J. Robert Kennedy, is an infringement of copyright law.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are either the product of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to any person or persons, living or dead, events or locales is entirely coincidental.
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