Jericho 3 (44 page)

Aara pulled out the disposable insulin vial and the pen-like insulin injector jet. She wound up the spring on the injector jet then rotated the dosing dial to its maximum. She placed the jet into the vial adapter and loaded the injector. Aara flushed the toilet, refreshed her lipstick and dabbed a drop of perfume behind each ear.

The lights of England were well within sight as the seat belt sign illuminated.

Aara said a quick prayer. She asked God to bless her younger brother, Kazi, and her grandfather, Qazvin. She was nervous as to what her new future would hold for her. She looked over and noticed that the man on the aisle had fallen back asleep. She closed her eyes and gently rubbed her breasts.

It had been nearly four weeks since Dr. Ja’far had performed the surgery he had learned from an American Army doctor. Her breasts were indeed larger, and more firm. Aara was pleased with that. She realized how smart Dr. Ja’far really was. He assured her that her breast implants would not be detected as she went through the security screening. He was correct. No one realized that her PIP implants were there, let alone filled with PETN, a military grade explosive. The disposable insulin vials were a convenient way to load the ignition liquid.

“Just wind, dial, fill and inject,” were Dr. Ja’far’s last words. Nothing could be simpler.

Aara was honored to receive this mission from her grandfather, an important role in the revolution, in The Age of the Coming. She held the injector jet over her chest and pressed the button. A spring-trigger mechanism released the gas charge and set in motion a plunger device that delivered the drug, or in this case the ignition, at a very high speed through the skin and into her breast.

The explosion filled the cabin on the flight that was landing in London.

The End

I’m neither a scientist nor a soldier but both are my heroes. As such, I depended heavily on each for subject matter expertise. My undergraduate studies focused on world religions and journalism and my graduate studies focused on international relations and political science. This story is a work of fiction but many of the events described are “open source” and, unfortunately, were either planned or occurred.

The research science had to be accurate and plausible to be both believable and powerful. I’m indebted to the contributions of those who have dedicated their careers to biomedical research including Robert Baker, Michael Conn, Stacy LeBlanc, Angela Stoyanovich and Katja Tonsky. I am humbled by both the military and biomedical research experience offered by my friend C.D. Many thanks are in order to both Vickie Collins for incredible copy-editing, Lisa Baehr for the book layout, Rebekah Lovorn for subject matter advice, and Joe Pittman for his many editorial critiques. I am fortunate to have a great friend and DPS partner in Kent Politsch who has provided so much wisdom and depth over cigars and ale at Shelly’s, our writers’ lair in Washington, DC. To Michael Stebbins, Cherie Proctor, Liz Hodge, Nahla al Bassam and Katelyn Arthur, I thank each of you for your passion and dedication to our advocacy work at the Foundation for Biomedical Research. I am especially grateful to Frankie Trull for her continued courage, resilience and support for the worldwide research community.

To my wife of 30 years, Debra, and our sons Andrew, Ian and Oliver, I thank you for your unwavering love and support as I served as a civilian in distant wars and now continue to play in the creative sandbox of my dreams.

During the first half of 2011, I had the distinct honor and privilege to serve alongside America’s finest in Afghanistan at a remote Forward Operating Base in Paktya Province called (you guessed it) FOB Lightning. Special thanks to my team of USAF professionals including Maritza Freeland, Eric Craft and Christopher Hummel as well as Ken Stewart who paved the way for our successful mission. I’d also like to acknowledge several of the life-long friendships that I was blessed to forge through our Friday night FOB Lightning Cigar Club; Mike Stany, Christopher Pearson, Mike Motley, Vince Littrell, Bulldog Kelley, Jason Cole, Gabe Mesa and Chris Frey. Jason, thanks for rescuing me from FOB Shank and getting up at 0300 for the Packers-Steelers Super Bowl.

One of the blessings of serving with America’s finest during deployments in both Iraq and Afghanistan is the friendships I made with many Muslim brothers. We danced, drank a lifetime supply of hot tea, played chess, smoked hookah pipes, played ping-pong and talked about our children, families, peace, war, Islam and world religions well into many nights. Thank you for sincerely appreciating the sacrifices that were being made by American men and women in uniform and teaching me about the Twelvers, “rational” agendas and reinforcing the notion that the vast majority of Iraqis and Afghans still desire mutual peace and prosperity…inshallah.

The war in Afghanistan was so much different than Iraq. The people were different, the culture was different and the mission was much more complex and daunting. The way that women and teenage girls were treated in Afghanistan (that I observed) was abysmal at best. That must change! From the new recruits and training Afghan journalists; to training my ANA public affairs students and mentoring the Afghan National Army on FOB Thunder; I am grateful for their friendships and patiently teaching me more about Islamic and Afghan culture. And many thanks to Erin Freitag, who supported my mission in Afghanistan, and to the Civilian Expeditionary Workforce at DOD for sending me.

To my brothers in Iraq – Rafed, Mohanned, and Samir – I continue to pray for your safety and that of your wives and children. I will never forget your courage and genuine gratitude.

When I got back from Iraq I co-founded a military charity called No Greater Sacrifice (nogreatersacrifice.org) which provides college scholarship money to children of fallen and severely wounded American veterans. Please check out the website for more information and do all that you can for those who did so much for us.

According to a Congressional Research Service Report for Congress, from the Revolutionary War through the war in Afghanistan, more than 1,249,329 American men and women have been killed from battle or died from battle-related disease in 12 key wars; Revolution (4,435 war deaths), War of 1812 (2,260 war deaths), Mexican-American War (13,283 war deaths), Civil War (617,528 battle and disease deaths), World War I (116,516 war deaths), World War II (405,399 war deaths), Korean War (36,574 war deaths), Vietnam War (58,209 war deaths), Beirut (266 war deaths), Persian Gulf War (382 war deaths), Iraq (4,484 war deaths) and Afghanistan (1,893 war deaths and counting).

Just in the year 2009 alone, we lost 1,683,571 Americans who fought against eight diseases: heart disease (599,413), cancer (567,628), chronic lower respiratory disease (137,353), stroke (128,842), Alzheimer’s (79,003), diabetes (68,705), influenza and pneumonia (53,692), and kidney disease (48,935).

I have been blessed to serve in two wars as a civilian alongside America’s finest men and women in uniform as they accept the family sacrifices of multiple deployments and courageously fight for freedom. And I have been privileged to work with animal care technicians, veterinary care technicians, facility managers, veterinarians, investigators, biomedical researchers, scientists, professors and executives who fight every day on the front-lines of disease.

All of you are heroes in my book…

David Allan Taft, MD

Captain, U.S. Navy

1933-2011

Captain David Taft (U.S. Navy, Retired) died while I was serving in Afghanistan and is among the heroic souls now resting in Arlington National Cemetery. Though we shared the same branch of the family tree as cousins, David was 26 years my elder. As such, I did not have much of an impact on his life. But my mother’s nephew’s courage and service, especially during the Vietnam War, had a profound impact on me as a child. After volunteering for active duty in Vietnam, David worked for 20 years as a general surgeon in Seattle. In 1989, at the age of 56, he re-entered the Navy. He deployed in August of 1990 as part of Desert Shield / Desert Storm and was attached to the 1st Marine Division entering Kuwait as part of Task Force Ripper. David deployed to Somalia in 1992, again serving with the 1st Marine Division. In 2002, he volunteered to go to Afghanistan but mandatory retirement age rules required him to sit down.

Captain David Taft was awarded the Navy Cross in 1967 for valor. The citation read, in part:

“
For extraordinary heroism on 27 August 1967 while serving as a surgeon with the 1st Medical Battalion, 1st Marine Division, FMF near Da Nang, Republic of Vietnam, in direct support of combat operations against communist insurgent (Viet Cong) forces. When a seriously wounded casualty with an “armed” 2.75-inch rocket imbedded in his left leg was brought by helicopter to the 1st Medical Battalion, Lieutenant Commander Taft carefully diagnosed the case, concluding that surgical amputation was imperative and time was of the essence. Anticipating that the rocket might detonate at any moment, he immediately supervised the patient’s emergency treatment and transfer to the operating room, setting an outstanding example of calmness and courage. He assisted with the administration of spinal anesthesia which necessitated manipulating and positioning the victim several times. Lieutenant Commander Taft cleared the operating room of all personnel with the exception of the patient, himself and a Navy Hospital Corpsman, and then, with complete disregard for his own safety, coolly and competently performed the necessary surgery…
”

Semper Fi, David. Fair Winds and Following Seas.

U.S. Navy Captain “Camp” Campbell and Lieutenant Colonel Leslie Raines, the heroes of Paul McKellips’ acclaimed debut, UNCAGED, return, determined to execute a mission that leaves millions of lives hanging in the balance. At the heart of this operation is the dire need to prevent a first-strike with a weapon known in intelligence circles as…Jericho 3.

In a remote corner of Afghanistan, three members of the Taliban are diagnosed with a rare, incredibly infectious disease. At a U.S. base just outside Pakistan, an American army doctor is kidnapped by a local tribe to perform an unlikely surgical procedure on the wife of a powerful leader. And back in the U.S., Camp is handed his most challenging assignment ever, which leaves the normally confident hero desperate for answers. All the while, Camp must hold back his secret desire for Leslie Raines, his beautiful cohort, as they are sent off on two sides of the same mission…only to reunite when the stakes get deadly.

With his trademark grit and a globe-racing plot, Paul McKellips takes readers deep into the Middle East conflict, raising timely questions of radicalism, faith, and honor. As the clock ticks down toward Armageddon, Camp and Raines must do everything it takes to stop the total annihilation of two countries.

Timely, gripping, and frighteningly real, JERICHO 3 is a

one-of-a-kcenter thriller that will open eyes long after the

final page has been turned.

Infectious disease. Bio-warfare. Nuclear weapons. WAR JUST GOT PERSONAL.

Paul McKellips is the author of the first book in the series, UNCAGED, has written, directed and produced three motion pictures, served as a media advisor in Diyala Province, Iraq during “the surge” 2006-07 and again in Paktya Province, Afghanistan in 2011.