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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

Griffin leaned over, his back against the wall, his hands on his knees, breathing deeply to minimize the red wave of frustration and rage he felt rush toward him. He was reminded of his wrestling days at Penn State, when the anger he felt welling up inside him, a dark rage whose source was a motherless childhood, threatened to overtake his actions. Keep it in check. It will work out. They’ll get him. He knew Barrett would hunt the man down until dawn if Griffin let him, but he needed Barrett to expedite his operations. It was nearly 0315, and time felt like it was accelerating, slipping further and further out of reach until there’d be none left.

He straightened up, looked at the iPhone, waited for the facial recognition to unlock the phone, and found the number he needed. It was a DC area-code number with no associated picture. Time to make the call. Be calm, cool, and confident. Three Cs, Griffin. You got this.

Once the civilians had been locked down in the gym, Griffin had ordered Michael to turn off the jammer for the school. They’d collected all cell phones, and the only ones using the airwaves for the foreseeable future would be Griffin and his team.

He hit the number and placed a set of Apple EarPods in his ears. The number rang twice before his buyer answered. “Yes. Do you have it?” The voice was alert, and Griffin realized that the man was as wide awake as he was.

“Negative,” Griffin said, concisely explaining the situation. “We’re searching, but we’ve run into a problem. There’s a rogue element on the board, and he’s killed several of my men. We have no idea who he is, but we’re about to force him into a corner. I expect him to be neutralized within the next ten minutes. One of the teams is searching for the device while we deal with this issue.” He finished and waited, slightly concerned, not for his safety but for the prospect of upsetting the buyer. He was the man who held the purse strings to the $100 million payday, and he didn’t want to jeopardize that at any cost.

“I thought you said your men were the best. That’s what you’re getting paid for, because of your reputation as the best.” It was a question in the form of a statement.

“They are, and I assure you, we’ll have this variable off the board soon. My chief of operations is overseeing it as we speak. My word is my bond, and I don’t take it lightly,” Griffin said.