Asset Seven

by James E Mack

  ‘Slow down little leopard. We’ve got all afternoon. You don’t have to tell me everything in one breath.’

  Affan grinned back. ‘Sorry Vic, but it was the best trip ever and Joe says I’m a natural outdoors man. We’re gonna do it again in the fall. You should come.’

  Although the accent still came through in his speech, Vic noted that it was getting less and less prominent every time they met, and the Americanisms were now common in his conversations. With Affan’s dark looks and mild accent he could easily be mistaken for someone of Hispanic descent rather than Iranian. Vic thought again about what this kid had gone through to get to where he was today, and a feeling of pride welled up within him at how far Affan had come and how he was embracing his new life.

  They left the museum accompanied by Joe and Martha and made their way to the ice-cream vendor that Affan had declared his favorite ever after his first visit to the museum. As they approached, Vic pressed down on Affan’s shoulder to get his attention.

  ‘Affan, I’ve brought someone here who wants to meet you. Is that okay?’

  ‘Sure. Who is it?’

  Vic looked up and nodded at a woman sitting on a nearby wall. The woman stood and walked towards them, a soft smile on her lips as she approached. Vic placed both his hands on Affan’s shoulders as he introduced the woman.

  ‘Affan, this is Cathy. Cathy, Affan.’

  Affan held out his hand for the woman to shake and she laughed as she accepted it, charmed and amused by the confident adult gesture coming from one so young.

  ‘I’m very pleased to meet you Cathy.’

  ‘And I you Affan.’

  There was a moment’s silence and Affan studied the woman. She was very pretty but even though she was smiling, there was sadness in her eyes. He wondered who she was and why she had wanted to meet him. A thought came into his head and the words were out of his mouth before he had time to consider their impact. ‘Are you the wife of the soldier? The one who died?’

  Cathy nodded and felt a hitch in her throat and the tears start to well in her eyes. ‘Yes Affan. That was my husband. Ned.’

  Affan was silent for several seconds before stepping forward and taking both of Cathy’s hands in his and meeting her eyes. ‘He was very brave. Braver even than Mr. Karim. You should be very proud of your husband Miss Cathy. He saved our lives.’

  Cathy felt the tears streaming down her face and pulled Affan into her, embracing the handsome boy who had the manners and empathy of someone much older. ‘Thank you Affan, thank you. I just wanted to meet you for myself. Vic told me so much about you I just had to meet this amazing young man who knew my Ned.’

  Vic felt his own eyes begin to tear up and he looked away reflecting again on how adult Affan could sometimes be, his emotional intelligence that of a man in his forties rather than a young teenager. When he’d returned Stateside, Vic had visited Cathy as soon as he could, wanting her to hear first-hand, what her husband had done. He’d kept in touch since, updating her on Affan’s progress and how he was adapting to American life. It had been his suggestion that she meet this remarkable boy, see with her own eyes the good that had come from Ned’s sacrifice. Martha patted Vic’s shoulder, raising her eyebrows in a discreet are you okay? gesture. Vic nodded and brought his attention back to the group. He met Cathy’s gaze.

  ‘You gonna join us for ice-cream? According to our newest American citizen here, it’s the best in the world.’

  Cathy laughed again and wiped the tears from her eyes and cheeks. ‘I’d love to.’

  Affan took hold of Cathy’s hand and started walking towards the vendor, telling her that mint choc-chip is the best flavor of ice cream invented and that if she has never tried it before, she should try it today.

  Vic took a seat on the wall and watched as the wife of a dead Delta Force warrior was charmed and comforted by an Iranian kid her husband had sacrificed his life to save on a freezing mountain almost two years before. As Joe and Martha joined them, a light-hearted debate about which flavor was actually the best ensued. Vic crossed his arms and leaned back looking up at the sky through his sunglasses.

  He thought about when he’d first identified a confident Quds officer running a mentoring program with Hezbollah in Lebanon and wondered if he was worth the trouble. Remembered researching and finding the information that he thought might just sway the officer into accepting Vic’s deal. Being impressed by the courage and tenacity that the newly recruited Asset had shown in the field from the start.

  And then, when he could have just ignored the information, kept himself out of harm’s way, the Asset had chosen to risk everything to get it out. And he had. Risked his life and lost it but in doing so had saved the lives of hundreds of innocent people.

  And one boy. One remarkable boy who was going to be a remarkable man one day.

  And with that thought in his mind Vic Foley stood and went to join the happy group of people brought together by the incredible sacrifice of two brave individuals on a freezing mountain in Iran.

  THE END

  THANKS

  Thank you for reading and I truly hope you enjoyed this book. Please, if you have enjoyed it, take the time to leave a review and let others know how much you liked it.

  Thank you once again.

  James

  ALSO, BY JAMES E MACK

  Only The Dead

  'Only the dead have seen the end of war'

  In war-torn Libya, veteran Commando Finn Douglas is forced to commit an appalling act in order to save the lives of his men. Haunted by his actions, he suffers a further blow when he learns that his family has been killed in a terrorist attack in London. Numb with grief and trauma, Finn turns his back on the world of war and killing and flees to an island wilderness to escape his demons.

  A team of Military Police are tasked with bringing Finn to justice. But for one of the policemen, the manhunt is a more personal issue; a chance for revenge to right a wrong suffered years before.

  When Finn intervenes in a life and death situation, his sanctuary is shattered, and the net tightens. The manhunt becomes a race against time between the forces of law and order and a psychotic mercenary determined to exact his revenge on Finn for thwarting his plans.

  For Finn, the world of killing and conflict returns with a vengeance on the blizzard-swept mountains of the island. Only this time there is nowhere left to run.

  Only The Dead is a thriller in the tradition of Gerald Seymour and a standout debut from a new British author.

  Fear Of The Dark

  An idyllic Scottish Village…

  A small team of rural Police Officers…

  A man who won’t talk…

  When a violent stranger is arrested and refuses to give his name, it is only the beginning. Digging further into the background of their mysterious prisoner, Police Constable Tess Cameron finds that he is a disgraced former Special Forces soldier with a chequered past.

  As the worst storm of winter hits the village and communications and electricity are cut, the severe weather is blamed. Tess, however, feels that something more sinister may be responsible for their isolation.

  Because the stranger has friends.

  And they want him back.

  Whatever it takes.

  In the darkest night of winter, Tess and her fellow police officers find themselves facing an elite team of killers determined to rescue their leader. And Tess knows that if they are to survive the night, they have only one choice:

  Fight.

  First Blood meets The Bill in this exciting new thriller from the author of Only the Dead.

  The Killing Agent

  London. Cardiff. Edinburgh.

  The worst terrorist attacks that the UK has seen.

  A country in turmoil, a government in disarray.

  Lovat Reid, a veteran covert operator with the Special Intelligence Group, is tasked to help track down the mastermind behind the attacks. With his partner Nadia, an officer from the Special Reconnaissance Regiment, th
ey soon realise that they are dealing with an individual the likes of which they have not seen before.

  When another atrocity is carried out, the entire weight of the Intelligence agencies and Special Forces is thrown behind the effort to find the terrorist responsible. But for Lovat, something isn’t quite right. Suspecting a dangerous power-play between the agencies, Lovat digs a little deeper into the background of the terrorist suspect.

  And is stunned by what he finds.

  With a race against time to halt the next attack, Lovat and Nadia find themselves fighting a war on two fronts as they strive to uncover the depth of deception while hunting the master terrorist.

  From the killing fields of Kandahar to the back streets of London, the consequences of a secret assassination program are brutally levelled against an unsuspecting British public.

  Sins Of The Fathers

  Belfast 1973:

  A team of undercover soldiers deploy on an operation into the heart of republican West Belfast unaware of the horrific catastrophe that awaits them.

  Belfast 1995:

  The IRA struggles to convince their members to maintain the fragile ceasefire. When its London bombing cells are compromised and arrested, the leadership knows there can be only one reason for such a defeat; an informer in their midst. A Tout.

  As the top echelons of the IRA hunt for the informer, the intelligence agencies continue with their covert operations against the terror group. For Marcus Vaughan, a new operator with the Special Intelligence Group, the dark world of the Dirty War is everything he trained for and more. Running agents and surveillance against IRA targets, Marcus embraces his new calling.

  But when the legacy of a long-forgotten operation comes crashing into the present, the war suddenly becomes personal for Marcus. Very personal. And as he begins to uncover a web of treachery and deceit stretching back decades, Marcus soon realizes that the dark forces involved will stop at nothing to cover their tracks.

  From black operations in the back streets of Belfast to the shadow world of spooks and spies, Sins of the Fathers takes the reader to the heart of the undercover war in Northern Ireland.

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