In the Red Dragon's Shadow - Come the Jackals
Alpha Strike at America
by
Book Cover & Preview Text
In the Red Dragon's Shadow - Come the Jackals 1 . . . Far below, he could clearly hear the sound of surf as it crashed against the escarpment's craggy foundation. Then he heard Ruiz's door slam shut. "Madre mia," exclaimed his cheerful partner. Both turned at the sound of the truck coming through the tree line, and Lamont was instantly uncomfortable. The dread increased exponentially when the truck pulled to a stop. He could see that the driver was a young, dark-skinned guy. The man just sat there—staring at Lamont and Hector. "Let's get out of here. I don't want any trouble." The two utility workers turned and reached for their doors, but that was as far as they got. "George Lamont! Hold it right there!" The voice was hard, full of authority. Lamont wheeled around, expecting to find the driver of the step van. Instead, he saw two men—wearing black knitted balaclava and camouflage fatigues. Both were carrying Kalashnikov machine guns. Lamont tried to cover his fright with a challenging facade. "Who are you? How in the hell do you know my name?" 2 . . . St. Giles said nothing, but with his thumb and forefinger he gripped the left-hand zipper track of his jacket. Ever so slowly, he pulled it open wider. As he moved, his eyes never left the driver's face. The police sergeant knew the instant the silver badge on his belt had been seen, because the driver's eyes flew open in a wide expression of panic. Jergens was at first shocked, then he screamed. "It's a fucking cop!" 3 . . . Barreling through the intersection, the truck was a half block from the Federal Courthouse entrance. Culbert yelled, "Ambush! Get down!" Drawing his 9 mm, he chanced a quick look back at the Days Inn. The window was closed. From behind, he heard the staccato sound of a machine gun. Whipping around, Culbert saw that the van had passed his two friends, and was now through the Washington Boulevard intersection. His pistol in hand, the group supervisor saw the snout of a gun barrel angled toward the courthouse. When the chatter of the machinegun ceased, it was immediately replaced by the shrill sound of Janet Evergreen's screams. . . 4 . . . Kurtz took in his surroundings, then dragged the man toward the opposite bulkhead. Swinging open a heavy iron hatch, he saw that the small room held life jackets and other miscellaneous items. He dropped the motionless figure through the opening, and covered him with several life preservers . . . He could see that a ladder ran up the starboard side bulkhead. Slinging his weapon, Kurtz bolted up the smooth rungs, taking them two and three at a time. Remembering not to look down, he was at the opening in less than thirty seconds. Sticking his head up, then quickly ducking back down had provided a snapshot of the scene topside. Lieutenant Lai's heavy machine gun was chattering away at unknown targets. He was still where Kurtz had left him, atop the aft superstructure. 5 . . . Stunned, Kurtz gambled in his reply. "I assume you are, Li Zu. I'm honored that you felt obliged to meet me in person." His response was met with silence at first, but Zu gathered himself quickly and shouted back. "Very good, Mr. Kurtz, I'm suitably impressed. However, please drop your weapons. You are out-gunned, and out manned." Lieutenant Lan Lai answered for his new American partner with a burst from his submachine gun. Someone high up in the rigging of the ship screamed. a body crashed onto the deck twenty feet from where Kurtz was crouched. 6 . . . Captain Ts'ao voice came through their earpieces loud and clear. "Fire One, fire two! . . . Missile crews, clear the decks! Dive, dive, dive!" The ocean sloshed over the submarine's deck, while the storm reflected the bright lights of the two Yingji 82 missiles. Similar to France's Exocet, the design was improved on and enlarged. Seconds after flawless launches, an abrupt silence replaced the noise. Tumult was instantly restored when each missile's turbojet kicked in. The sound shattered the air as both tried to race to a speed of Mach Nine. 7 . . . Excitement crackled on Enterprise's bridge. "Captain! We may have a missile launch! Crap! There's another one, six points off our port side . . . "
Formats
Book Details
About the Book
Released -- January 2011 Red Dragon's Shadow "reboots" at a point a few years after the conclusion of Shadow Partners - A Law Enforcement Story. Manfred Kurtz is still the Special Agent in Charge (SAC) of ATF's Detroit Field Division, and Angelo Tana is his assistant. The joint ATF Detroit Police Department (DPD) task force continues to work successfully on matters that cross jurisdictional lines. The story begins with a series of brutal murders in three separate States. Seemingly, they are not connected. Local jurisdictions are busy investigating the crimes, with no reason to suspect any relationship to other incidents. When she chances upon a Detroit crime scene, AUSA Janet Evergreen misses being killed by seconds. Although Janet had not witnessed the assassination of a DPD officer, she did take note of the driver of a getaway vehicle—a man who recognized Janet. Manfred Kurtz and the Task Force members become involved after another source reveals facts about another murder. Assigned ATF agents and DPD officers again begin work on what first appears as a simple case. Far from being an elementary, the men and women will become embroiled in political corruption, murder, firearms trafficking and the first (ALPHA) strike against America by a determined terrorist organization. China wants to make inroads into America's love of guns through established firearms' importation procedures. However, the legitimate effort has been subverted by new adversaries from China. Led by a Chinese colonel from the People's Liberation Army and a cabal, consisting of a select group of military and political members of China's elite, a subplot surfaces. Alliances and treacherous activities will quickly pit radical Muslims from Iran, Iraq and China, against Kurtz, the Task Force and Chinese investigators with similar credentials as ATF. Before long, the race is on to identify and neutralize the terrorist group responsible for many dead Americans. The country's law enforcement is stymied on the makeup of the group and where they might strike again. In a bizarre turn of events, ATF becomes the number one target of criticism from all sides of the firearms' issues, and is blamed for the attacks. With the ATF/DPD Task Force morale wavering, even with promising leads in hand, the Director of another agency decides ATF has been mortally wounded. He calculates that the time is right to scrape up the tidbits developed by the Task Force. His agency identified what the group's acronym stands for, and intends to parlay what he has into a chance for significant publicity. Even so, the Director might not have all of the information he requires for success, or does he? Faced with having to relinquish the investigation, Manfred Kurtz and Angelo Tana receive a lifeline. It is tossed to them by a Chinese criminal investigator. Colonel Mozi Zemin has come across information vital to the Task Force. However, Kurtz and Tana must travel to Hong Kong where they race to intercept a shipment of weapons of mass destruction. Back in the U.S., the Task Force investigation continues--and so do the assassinations of American citizens. Progress is being made, though. Bit-by-bit, ATF and DPD officers and their support people begin to build a picture of the scope of the terrorist operation. But, just before a national enforcement operation, Washington decides to hold back ATF. Instead, their bosses at the Treasury Department acquiesce to a partial case-takeover by the Departments of Defense and Justice. A small carrier task force will search the Pacific for the arms shipments, while ATF handles the countrywide raids.
About the Author
I am B.H. La Forest, author of Shadow Partners A Law Enforcement Story & In the Red Dragon's Shadow - Come the Jackals Bernard H. (Bernie) La Forest grew up in Detroit, Michigan. He attended St. Ambrose High School. In 1959, he joined the U.S. Navy, and served aboard Sixth Fleet Oilers in the Mediterranean. The USS Mississinewa AO 144 was his last assignment. He married Brenda Louria in 1962, and joined the Detroit Police Department (DPD). As a police officer, he served at the 12th and 5th Precincts. In 1965, he was offered a position in the newly formed Tactical Mobile Unit (TMU). During his tenure with DPD, he was awarded more than twenty citations and commendations. In 1970, after a short stint with the Sterling Heights PD, Bernard was sworn in as a special investigator with the Alcohol, Tobacco & Firearms Division of the IRS. He was assigned to Charleston, West Virginia where moonshine violations were rapidly being surpassed by firearms' and explosive's crimes. Bernard volunteered in 1971 to a request for additional special agents needed in Los Angeles California. When he arrived, he was immediately assigned to ATF's new Bomb Squad investigation team. By the time Bernard and Brenda were transferred to Phoenix, in 1973, they had five children. Those "kids" would eventually bring fourteen grandchildren into the La Forest Clan. In 1975, he was asked to take over the Los Angeles Field Office. As was his practice in Phoenix, the Los Angeles office concentrated on complex investigations. Case quality, complexity of investigations and the impact on crime were high. Complicated conspiracies usually breed cooperative defendants! The extra . . . often resource intensive, efforts to tie in as many conspirators as possible, almost always translates in greater defendant numbers. Unfortunately, "numbers" is too often the only measure bureaucrats emphasize or require. Bernard and the family were transferred from ATF HQ in Washington, D.C. in 1978. His new assignment was to be the Assistant Special Agent in Charge of the New Orleans Field Division. During the next twenty years he served as the Special Agent in Charge in New Orleans, Kansas City, Detroit (twice), Phoenix, and Los Angeles. As a member of the Senior Executive Service (SES), he gained exposure to other branches of government: Congress, CIA, U.S. Customs, IRS, Secret Service, U.S. Marshals, INS, Border Patrol and the Departments of Treasury, State, and Justice. After retirement in 1998, Mr. La Forest was recruited as a contractor by ATF from 2001 - 2008. He streamlined application processes for the Brady Act, a statute that had initially pulled agents away from important case initiation and field operations. Later, he developed detailed methods for scrupulous examination and evaluation of all crime gun traces in Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico, Utah and Wyoming. Thousands of referrals were forwarded to enforcement agencies in America and foreign countries. The Intel leads dealt with falsified gun purchases, domestic and international trafficking in guns and narcotics, terrorism and other violent crimes. In 2009, Bernard decided to put down on paper stories about law enforcement agencies contributing their resources and expertise to wage war on crime. While many authors choose to highlight personal conflict in stories about "white hats and black hats," Bernard's first two books stress examples on how most joint operations usually work, with a minimum amount of dissension. However, there is always room for spirited competitiveness. Those in the "game" will understand what I mean! A personal note: During my career as a law enforcement professional, I had the honor of working many fine people—those who wore their badge proudly after swearing the oath, "To Protect and Serve." Many of those officers, deputies and agents, from many departments and agencies have passed on. They are not forgotten by me, nor by those of us who remain to greet the new blood. The Job—it's what you make of it! Nurtured and allowed to positively influence your efforts, it will make you a better person by the end of your career.