Assassin

David P. McMullan

Description

There’s an assassin on the loose that appears to be hunting average middle aged Americans with abandon.
The clues left behind suggests terrorism but the victims appear to have no connection to anyone or any organization that could explain why they are being targeted.
This mystery has Jake Patrick and his team chasing shadows as they try to catch the elusive killer who seems to always be one step ahead of them.
The one thing they know for sure is the killings will continue until they solve this mystery and end the carnage once and for all.

Sujets

• Action
• Fiction
• Adventure

Informations

• Publié par: AuthorHouse
• Date de parution: 28 juillet 2023
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9798823011754
• Langue: English

Extrait

Assassin
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
David P. McMullan
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
AuthorHouse™
1663 Liberty Drive
Bloomington, IN 47403
www.authorhouse.com
Phone: [phone]
 
 
 
 
 
 
© 2023 David P. McMullan. All rights reserved.
 
No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted by any means without the written permission of the author.
 
Published by AuthorHouse 07/28/2023
 
ISBN: 979-8-8230-1176-1 (sc)
ISBN: 979-8-8230-1175-4 (e)
 
Library of Congress Control Number: 2023913023
 
 
 
 
Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Getty Images are models, and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.
Certain stock imagery © Getty Images.
 
 
 
Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.
Contents
List of Characters
The Author’s Writing Style
Acknowledgement
 
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Nineteen
Chapter Twenty
Chapter Twenty-One
Chapter Twenty-Two
Chapter Twenty-Three
 
Epilogue
Disclaimer
“Assassin” is a work of fiction.
While there are a number of places and locations in the story that are real, the events depicted in the book are fictional and have no connection to anyone, real or imagined.
Any association with actual people or events are purely coincidental.
David P. McMullan
Assassin
 
List of Characters
NJ Special Projects Task F orce
 
Jake Patrick - Director
Ava Matthews
Tricia Highland
Kent Baldauf
Gary Ceepo
NYC Anti-Terror Task Force
 
Madeline Hampton - Director
Mark Moorhead
Dennis McCollum
Mary Ellen Tremblay
Billy MacDonald
Primary Charac ters
 
Linda Ventimiglia - FBI Agent
Bill Arison - FBI Agent
Joanne Norris - Professor from Rutgers University
Andrew Hart - Private investigator
William Greger - Northeast Regional Director of the FBI
Peter Gambino - Captain of the Vernon NJ Police Dept.
General David Andrews - Secretary of Defense
David James - Governor of the State of New Jersey
Keri Ann Vernon Patrick - Professor from Rutgers University - Jake’s Spouse
Elaine Franks - United States Marine Veteran
Marc Scheuer - United States Coast Guard Veteran
Robert Hansen - United States Navy Veteran
Peter Brown - United States Air Force Veteran
Ray Loudis - United States Army Veteran
Terror ists
 
Malik Jabir
Ahmed Hadid
Nasir Kashif
Abdullah Ghulam
Mohammed Kouri
Farid Mousassa
Persons of Interest from Aleppo, S yria
 
Hadir Amin - Syrian Minister of Agriculture
Amirah Amin - Spouse
Abdullah Amin - Oldest Son
Nasir Amin - Youngest Son
Fatima Amin - Daughter
Assassin
 
The Author’s Writing Style
Being an avid reader, the author composed a list of his common complaints when reading certain novels, things he needed to avoid in his stories.
Here’s a clue to his writing style
• All dialogue needs to provide the reader with a clear understanding as to who is doing the talking. In order to accomplish that, their name appears to the left of the dialogue, as if you were reading a script or a play.
• Being a novel about the search for a killer, the stories are time sensitive and follow the process in real time, just as those investigating the crime are doing. Research tells us that anti-terror units have just a few days to track down their suspects if they are to capture them. The reader is following that critical time line right along with the characters.
• The author laments that too many times the stories end without providing the reader with satisfactory disclosure by tying up all loose ends, thus the inclusion of an EPILOGUE to do just that.
• Because of the number of characters in the story, keeping track of everyone can be a bit daunting. The author includes a complete list of characters in the beginning to allow the reader to mark that page as a reference point, if they need to refresh their memories from time to time.
Enjoy the story.
Assassin
 
Acknowledgement
There are many people that form the necessary support network for any author. While my family plays a primary role in that network, they are not a lone.
Many of my friends are instrumental in keeping my creative juices flowing, with their encouragement and enthusiasm, playing a critical role.
Everyone has a tendency to overstate their network of fri ends.
While we all have many acquaintances, we have only a handful of true friends during our lifetime. It’s these select few that form the core of our existence and deserve to be recogn ized.
Let me take this opportunity to tell all of you that you are cherished by me and that your contribution to my well being is not taking lig htly.
I’m lucky to have you by my side and that’s why I so painstakingly try to add your names to my stories. It’s my way of recognizing you and placing you in a front row seat of my literary eff orts.
Next to family, there is no one more important in my life than my fri ends.
David P. McMu llan
Assassin
 
Chapter One
Wednesday, January 4th
Vernon Valley Ski Resort
Vernon, NJ - 8:43AM
 
Peter Brown and his family are beginning their annual ski trip to the mountains of New Jersey.
For the past five years, as soon as their youngest child Scott was able to put on a pair of skis, they have been starting off the New Year on the slopes of Vernon Valley while the kids are still on winter break.
Peter and his wife, Emily, along with their youngest son Scott, who is now 12 and Scott’s older sister Lisa, who is turning 16 this year, have been making the trek from their home in Wayne to the mountains of Sussex County, pretending that they are enjoying the Aspen trails that were part of both Peter’s and Emily’s childhood decades earlier.
When Lisa was just 8 years old, Peter was offered a promotion that was too good to turn down. The result had the family relocating from the mountains of Colorado to the New Jersey town of Wayne, located within an hour of New York City.
Today, as has been their family tradition, is all about enjoying the outdoors and skiing the mountain slopes. There is nothing else on their agenda but fun and enjoyment.
At this moment, Peter and his daughter Lisa are making their way to the top of the expert slope that few of the hundreds enjoying the day manage to attempt. Both of them are experienced skiers that have similar competitive personalities.
This is only the second time that Lisa has managed to make it this far.
Last year, on her first attempt at the expert slope, she came within seconds of beating her father down to the bottom, proving to herself that she was closer to winning than either of them expected. Coming in second place in this family was something Lisa was looking to change this year.
Emily is an experienced skier as well, but she chose to remain back with Scott, as he was trying to master the intermediate slope for the first time. Now that he is 12, the last thing he wants to do is spend another day with the beginners, especially in this family of highly skilled skiers.
As the chairlift finally makes it to the top, Peter and Lisa push themselves off the chair and prepare to begin their long journey to the bottom as their competitive juices start flowing once again.
Peter: “Now Lisa, it’s more important to ski safely than trying to beat me.”
Lisa: “Sure Dad, nice try keeping your competitor from getting off on the right foot, or ski to be exact.”
Peter: “That’s not what I meant. I want us to have fun today and we can both do that without attempting anything dangerous or risky. Both your Mom and I have taught you from the start how dangerous skiing can be, especially if you do not take the necessary precautions. We don’t need to add a hospital visit to today’s agenda.”
Lisa: “I promise to take it easy on you, it that helps. First one to the bottom gets to pick the restaurant for dinner and I do not intend to be eating a Fu’s Asian Garden again this year just because it’s your favorite.”
Peter: “Well, we’ll see about that. I suggest you make sure your goggles are on tight so as to keep all of the snow I will be throwing your way out of your eyes when I’m out front.”
Lisa smiles as they gently move themselves into position. She so enjoys their good natured bantering and knows that her father will be so proud of her if she beats him to the bottom.
While Peter’s competitive nature does not allow him to ease back, he knows the day will be coming soon when Lisa will pass him by as the best skier in the family.
Maybe today will be the beginning of that journey.
As they make their way into position, Peter begins to count down from three. As he reaches one, they both push off and the race begins in earnest.
Lisa gets out ahead from the start. She planned her trip in great detail. She knew what turns to take quickly and what turns required a little more pati