The 4 Phase Man (46 page)

Thanks are also owed to: the United States Department of Justice, Bureau of Prisons; Communication Control Services (CCS); Tishman-Speyer Properties; Colt Firearms; Heckler & Koch Manufacturing; L’Direzione Soccorso di Corsicanos Internazionale; the Chinese American Foundation (San Francisco Annex); Dell Computers; Microsoft Encarta; Division of Geography & Environmental Management, University of Northumbria; the archives of the Central Intelligence Agency; Modern Military Branch of the National Archives of the United States; the
New York Times; Le Monde;
the
Times
(London); and the New York Public Library, Harriman Collection.

Also, far from least—the able men and women of the United States Naval Academy at Annapolis, Maryland, and the United States Military Academy at West Point, New York.

Less technically, and more personally, this novel would not have been possible if not for the kindness, support, friendship, and unwavering belief of a select few.

Particularly all of “Team Steinberg”—Jack and Marge Kratsas; Rolf and Detta Egelandsdal; Pat Glynn; Fred and Susan Boyce; Don Backer; Bill Gresham; Pat Nohrden, along with Roberta and Vivian; David Emry, and Peggy, of course; Chad Bean, as well as Stan and Cynthia; Gary Smith; and, as always, my Angels on Earth … the Aguila family—Alex, Suzanne, Tani, Ama, and Adrian.

Bernard Kurman—along with Betty Anne Crawford—remains my most trusted face to the world. I don’t say it often enough, but Bernie, trust me, what you do is deeply appreciated and valued.

If between the lines of
The Four Phase Man
you hear a distant voice lending passion, commitment, and calenture to my sometimes awkward prose, it is the voice of the magnificent Betty Buckley. I wrote every word of this book to her music, and without it the demons in the night might have won and Xenos Filotimo never found his way.

My mother—Gloria Steinberg—is a remarkable woman. Sacrificing, nurturing, leveling when I get too full of myself, praising when I get down; she has gone well
above and beyond the call in all ways. What success I have or will obtain is due to the strength and freedom she has always given me. Now, Mom, sit back and enjoy. These are your winnings.

To the brilliant folks at the Brilliance Corporation—Eileen Hutton, Max Bloomquist, Laura Grafton, Jeremy Spanos, and my “voice,” as well as friend and partner in crime, Dick Hill—a heartfelt thanks! You bring my words to life and
that
is an incredible gift.

To the best, Jane Wesman Public Relations, especially Lori Ames Stuart, thank you for your class act.

And to Steve Rubin, Irwyn Applebaum, Erik Engstrom, Michael Palgon, Nita Taublib, Kate Miciak, as well as all the other stone pros at Bantam Doubleday Dell, my undiluted thanks. You make it easy, comfortable, and deeply satisfying and rewarding to be a part of the best publishing organization in the world!

Shawn Coyne—to whom this novel is dedicated—said to me in our first conversation, years ago, “All you have to worry about is the writing. Let me take care of all the rest.”

A man of his word, through three novels together he has been a
painfully
thorough editor, an insightful counselor, and a deeply patient advocate on those
LOUD
(few) times when we butted heads. All my work—and there’s damned little I care about beyond my work—has been significantly improved by his
nudges
, sense of humor, and insight. As I said in
The Gemini Man
… the editor of any writer’s dreams!

The Four Phase Man
had a troubled early life. Too troubled to detail here. It came about during one of the most hectic, chaotic periods of my life; a time of moving, injury, and pain—emotional and physical. That it
did
come about is a credit not only to the tolerance and caring of many of the people named above but to a special group of people at my Fifty-third Street fallout shelter in New York.

THE PINDER LANE ALL-STARS:
Nancy Coffey, Roger Hayes, Jean Free, Dick Duane, and
most especially
Robert Thixton are far more than literary agents, they are my extended family, my quiet refuge in a cacophonous world, and the people who have given me my life.

They, along with you gentle readers, have—through kindness and patience—fulfilled my dreams and made my reality more glorious than any fantasy I ever had.

Thank you all.

Richard Steinberg lectures on issues that include, international security, and the history of assassinations in America. A former consultant and founder of an international high-risk security firm, Steinberg began writing full-time after recovering from a gunshot wound incurred in the line of duty. His first novel,
The Gemini Man
, is currently being developed for a feature film adaptation by producer Steven Hart. His most recent novel is
The 4 Phase Man.