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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

“You keep saying my name like it matters. Trust me. It doesn’t. The only thing that does matter is this deal. Last time I’m going to ask—Do we have one, Mr. Hero?”

Zack considered, truly, for the first time. Had he had the laptop already, he might have turned it over. He thought that Barrett would kill him, no matter what assurances he gave, but if it saved the lives of everyone else? It was something he’d have considered. The problem was that he didn’t have the laptop, and it was all moot speculation.

He was two-thirds to Windy Tree Way. Better answer the man. But that was when the screaming started, and Zack’s only thought was, What now?

“I need some time to think about it,” he said in a rush to Barrett. “Talk to you soon. Toodle-oo.”

And then he started sprinting through the underbrush, breaking twigs and crushing leaves, creating a noise that was like an emerging storm, furiously laying waste to everything in its path. Zack didn’t care, because the screaming was loud enough to mask his movements.

Chapter Twenty-One

Chapter
TWENTY-ONE

Barrett was stupefied at the audacity of his prey. The man was obviously trained, confident, and deadly. The fact that he knew about the laptop was problematic, but as to whether he had the prize in his possession, Barrett wasn’t convinced.

While events were unfolding on Arrow Drive, his search team had come up empty on Forest Edge Court, and he’d dispatched them to Windy Tree Way with an extra warning to be cautious. Until they’d captured or killed the guerrilla in their midst, every other resident not at the pavilion under guard was to be treated as a hostile. No exceptions.

But he still struggled with the fact that the man had just hung up on him, albeit with a handheld radio. He’s up to something. You know it. But what? I’ve still got more firepower than he does. What can he really do? If Captain America really did have the laptop, there was no course of action other than to hunt him down and take it back. Hidden Refuge was on lockdown for the next few hours, with no way in or out. Their quarry could try to hide, to wait them out, but the search teams would eventually pick up the signal, and then they’d have both the laptop and him. Plus, there was the question of the hostages. Whoever he was, he was not about to let more civilians die, if he can help it. He waited until the very last second to respond before you were about to execute the husband. And then it hit him, and he smiled at the boldness of it.