BooksBarbecue
Back The Neighborhood
Chapters (59)
  1. Part I Reconnaissance
  2. Chapter One
  3. Chapter Two
  4. Chapter Three
  5. Part II Incursion
  6. Chapter Four
  7. Chapter Five
  8. Chapter Six
  9. Chapter Seven
  10. Chapter Eight
  11. Chapter Nine
  12. Chapter Ten
  13. Part III Under Siege
  14. Chapter Eleven
  15. Chapter Twelve
  16. Chapter Thirteen
  17. Part IV Course Correction
  18. Chapter Fourteen
  19. Part V Balance of Power
  20. Chapter Fifteen
  21. Chapter Sixteen
  22. Chapter Seventeen
  23. Chapter Eighteen
  24. Chapter Nineteen
  25. Chapter Twenty
  26. Chapter Twenty-One
  27. Chapter Twenty-Two
  28. Chapter Twenty-Three
  29. Chapter Twenty-Four
  30. Chapter Twenty-Five
  31. Chapter Twenty-Six
  32. Chapter Twenty-Seven
  33. Chapter Twenty-Eight
  34. Chapter Twenty-Nine
  35. Part VI Spy versus Spy
  36. Chapter Thirty
  37. Chapter Thirty-One
  38. Chapter Thirty-Two
  39. Chapter Thirty-Three
  40. Part VII Winds of War and Flame
  41. Chapter Thirty-Four
  42. Chapter Thirty-Five
  43. Chapter Thirty-Six
  44. Chapter Thirty-Seven
  45. Chapter Thirty-Eight
  46. Chapter Thirty-Nine
  47. Chapter Forty
  48. Chapter Forty-One
  49. Part VIII Strong to the Finish
  50. Chapter Forty-Two
  51. Chapter Forty-Three
  52. Part IX Spy Games
  53. Chapter Forty-Four
  54. Chapter Forty-Five
  55. Chapter Forty-Six
  56. Part X What Goes Around
  57. Chapter Forty-Seven
  58. Chapter Forty-Eight
  59. About the Author

Nick figured he was only twenty to thirty seconds behind Barrett, and the sounds of crunching leaves moving away, but not too far away, validated his assumption. After endless weeks of training in the woods at Fort Benning, Georgia, and Fort Bragg, North Carolina, like all Special Forces operators, he felt totally at ease in the environment at night. While it had been a few years since he’d gone tracking in the woods, the skill hadn’t left him, and his trained mind processed the sounds, differentiating between the ambient, natural noise—the wind, leaves swirling, the scurry of small animals—and the sounds of someone attempting to tactically flee the area. What Nick—and Barrett, he was sure—knew was that there was no such thing as perfect silence, not in the woods. That was another Hollywood misconception, an assassin stalking like a silent ninja through thick woods. He smiled in the dark and followed the sounds, trying not to disturb too much underbrush. No need to create more noise than necessary.

He was grateful for the suppressor, not so much out of concern for the noise, but for its ability to suppress the flash. When the time came to engage, the closer he was to his target, the better. While the suppressor didn’t prevent all sound and flash, it did help mask them, making it harder to pinpoint in the dark, windy woods.

The sounds of the helicopter, while no more than sixty yards away, felt much farther because of the trees, which dampened the noise. He stepped—and paused. The sounds of evasion had ceased, and Nick felt the hairs on the back of his neck stand up. He’s waiting for me. Be careful or be dead.

It was the smart play, and Nick likely would’ve done the same thing. The “dangerous man,” as his brother had called Barrett, wouldn’t hesitate to eliminate anyone following him since he must know he couldn’t successfully escape until he was alone.

Nick slowed his entire being, willing his body to regain control of his lungs and subsequent breathing. He closed his eyes and focused, waiting. He could force his prey to act, but to do that he needed a diversion. He knelt as quietly as he could, his senses heightened. With the Glock in his left hand, he felt on the ground for something of substance, his hand passing over leaves, twigs, and other detritus of the woods until his fingers brushed the hard surface of a rock. His hand explored it, the small, sharp surfaces, the weight of it, approximately the size of a baseball. Perfect.