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Back The Neighborhood Save as PDF
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

But the powers that be were not in the field. They were back in their windowed offices in northern Virginia, drinking Keurig coffee, and watching the world go by. It was easy for them to make decisions that they personally didn’t have to enforce or live with. They sent operators like Zack, Griffin, Noah, and Charles to do their bidding. And I’m okay with that, but this is too much.

Zack had always asked himself one question before every mission—Can you live with what you’re about to do? It was really that simple. And for the first time since he’d been a member of SAD, the answer that came back, resounding in his head like a jackhammer, was no.

“No. I’m not. Not like this. No matter what Langley says, we have to abort.” Zack turned away from the monitor and started moving with purpose toward the door, the keys to one of the armored black Range Rovers magically appearing in his hand. “I’m going to disarm and retrieve the IED, and we can—” was all he had time to say. He never heard the powerful blow that struck him viciously in the back of the head. He felt himself falling, and he thought, I should try to catch my fall. But then the edges of his vision closed in on him like shutters, and all he saw was darkness. He never felt the floor as he crashed into it.

Part V Balance of Power

Part V
Balance of Power

Chapter Fifteen

Chapter
FIFTEEN

hidden refuge pavilion

present time

“First,” Barrett began, his eyes moving across the face of every person in the crowd as he spoke. While he didn’t have the physical stature of Griffin, he commanded—no, demanded—respect naturally, and even though the residents of Hidden Refuge were his hostages, they still responded to his charisma. He was one of the rare people on the planet who made an excellent first impression, only to ruin it once those around him began to understand his true nature. “I am sorry about what happened earlier. I can’t take it back. I definitely did not want this to go down this way. You don’t have to believe me, but it’s true. When this is over, we will make restitution.”

Stephen, Esli’s son, glowered at Barrett, fuming at the words. He shouted, “How can you ‘make restitution’ for taking away my father? A man who survived a massacre in El Salvador, only to be gunned down in his own neighborhood ? Take your restitution and go fuck yourself, you murdering bastard.” Stephen lowered his head, his verbal ammunition spent.