Taming the Telomeres, A Thriller
R.N. Shapiro
Challedon Publishing
Contents
Book Club Reader’s Comment
Acknowledgments
Taming the Telomeres Info
Foreword
Part I
1. Semi-conscious
2. Andy
3. Air Disaster
4. Middleburg Sadness
5. Hand of Fate
6. High-level Meeting
7. Positive ID
8. Doctors Explain
9. First View
10. Andy Crashes
11. Awakened
12. First Session
13. Preservation Motion
14. Undercover
15. Bond Formed
@Part II
16. Second Session
17. Speed Bump
18. Infectious Process
19. Team Scrapbook
20. Who Listens?
21. Funeral News
22. Joint Service
23. Shiv-er
24. Viral Video
25. NTSB
26. Foreign Made
27. Jailbreak
28. Overlook
29. Whippers-in
30. Surveillance
31. Black Box
32. Café Loco
33. Healing
34. New Clients
35. The Park
@Part III
36. Amanda’s Halo
37. Snatched
38. The Rave
39. Revelation
40. Protection
41. Surprise Visitor
42. Coincidences
43. Released
44. Paris
45. Trestle
46. Kennedy Center
47. Hard Rain
@Part IV
48. Pasture Spider
49. Holmes
50. HQ Summons
51. The Return
52. Broken
53. Why & How?
54. Winds Change
55. Rock Creek
56. Bumblebee
57. Despondency
58. Psych Ward
59. Drop for Drop
60. Joker
61. B&O Magnet
62. Free Fall
63. Rescued
64. Home Visit
65. Springbranch
66. The Catacombs
67. Demi-vierge
68. Glow Bugs
@Part V
69. Report to Solarez
70. Another Task
71. Two Judges
72. Mediating
73. Money Scent
74. Patent Search
75. Cut Run
76. Examiner Frankel
77. Foggy Bottom
78. Jimmy Bolts
79. Personal Effects
80. Telomeres
81. Self-addressed
82. First Mediation
83. Family Matters
84. No Rubberstamps
85. Detained
@Part VI
86. Judicial Advice
87. Further Reflection
88. Newbie
89. Housewarming
90. Tutoring
91. Kyle
92. Passed Out
93. Pletcher
94. Passenger Seat
95. Unexpected News
@Part VII
96. Orthopedics
97. Matriculation
98. Dorothys
99. Four Pairs
100. An Extension
101. Abbott’s Grill
102. Ambassador
103. 3/4
104. Tour Guide
105. Nor’easter
106. Blasted
107. Urgency
108. Snowmen
109. Swimming
110. Unraveled
111. Deal Points
112. Whistleblower
113. Apologies
114. Come Clean
115. Seething
116. Graduates
117. The Freshman
118. No Closure
119. Control
120. Healing Heroes
121. Odie
122. Convergence
Postscript
Targeting the Telomeres (Preview)
About Targeting the Telomeres
Sleeper
Gag Reflex
About the Author
Also by R.N. Shapiro
Book Club Reader’s Comment
Comments about the Gold Award Winning, #1 ebook bestseller Taming the Telomeres:
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I am an avid reader of thrillers by Baldacci, Grisham, Connelly and others, and after finishing the manuscript, "Taming the Telomeres," I would tell any fiction enthusiast it is a "Must Read." The story line was refreshing, the characters believable, and the plot was not too simple with several unexpected twists. I would say this book is as good as any novel I have read on the best seller lists! I hope the author has a sequel. --Doug M.
* * *
I found the book intriguing from the very beginning. I loved the characters and Amanda was very believable because she never wavered from her strength, determination, and can-do type spirit. I also found myself clearly visualizing events, situations, character, reactions…..making me hopeful it is a huge success and becomes a movie. I would love to see it in that medium! It is action packed yet filled with such intrigue that you want to follow the details. The ending…..well, at first I kept trying to use my Kindle to find the next page, chapter, comments. Then I read the final few screens again and thought it felt incredibly open-ended and intriguing. --Diane F.
* * *
I thought it was quite the page turner. I could not put it down. From the medical breakthroughs to the legal twists and turns….as the reader you were always in suspense. The author’s style is similar to a John Grisham novel; however, I would compare the suspense factor of the book to a Gillian Flynn novel. --Diane G.
* * *
“Taming the Telomeres” is a spellbinding page turner, with twists and turns that kept the reader guessing. I could not put it down--a tribute to fast paced, often-titled episodes. The author juxtaposed common reality with a tease of “sci fi” with references to NDE phenomenology and cutting edge medicine, legalities, and espionage. I kept thinking I had it figured out, only to be enthralled by a new plot. Good stuff. –Cathryn S.
* * *
Taming the Telomeres is an amazing story, only bettered by the intro in which the author claims it is based on a true story. This book reminds me of Robert Ludlum's Jason Bourne series with its major plot twists and the main characters not knowing the truth until the end. Like the Bourne series, I think this book would be a great movie. --Mary H.
Copyright
Taming the Telomeres
[ tell-uh-meers or tee-low-meers]
* * *
Copyright © R.N. Shapiro 2014-18
Challedon Publishing
1294 Diamond Springs Road
Virginia Beach, VA 23455
* * *
The Scientist, Coldplay © Universal Music Publishing Group
Iris, The Goo Goo Dolls © EMI Music Publishing, BMG RIGHTS MANAGEMENT US, LLC
Yellow, Coldplay © Universal Music Publishing Group
Ziggy Stardust, David Bowie© EMI Music Publishing, BMG RIGHTS MANAGEMENT US, LLC, TINTORETTO
Heroes, David Bowie © EMI Music Publishing, Warner/Chappell Music, Inc., TINTORETTO MUSIC, Universal Music Publishing Group
Brown eyed girl, Van Morrison © Universal Music Publishing Group
Seven Devils, Florence and the Machine © EMI Music Publishing
She said She
said, The Beatles © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Wild horses, The Rolling Stones © ABKCO Music Inc.
Stairway to Heaven, Led Zeppelin Flames Of Albion Music Inc.
* * *
This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either our products of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual locales, events or persons living or dead is entirely coincidental.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, scanned or distributed in any printed or electronic form without permission. Please do not encourage piracy of copyrighted materials in violation of the author's rights.
Acknowledgments
For: Terri, Rachel & Dillon (ideas!).
The author thanks: “Peter Lucent,” “Andy and Amanda Michaels,” “Barbara and Steve Simon,” Mary Hall, Manny, Sharon, Steve, Raven, Terry, Muse, Cathy, Bob, the NSA, CIA and FBI. Greg Johannesen for your inside illustrations. Erika Gizelle Santiago of Sugarskullcandy for the book cover designs.
Taming the Telomeres Info
Author website: www.RNShapiro.com
Twitter: @tamingtelomeres
Facebook: taming the telomeres
Pinterest: Taming the Telomeres inspired scenes
* * *
Enjoy a playlist while you read Taming the Telomeres:
Amanda Michaels Youtube music playlist
Andy Michaels Youtube music playlist
Foreword
Another enigma is where this story began. Having completed a doctor’s deposition at Georgetown University Medical Center in Washington D.C., I saw a flyer tacked on a crowded bulletin board in the hallway outside of a conference room. It read, “Unexplained Enigmas: The Near-Death Experiences of Children.” It just so happened I had a few hours to kill and this symposium was scheduled to begin nearby in Regents Hall at 2:00 pm. I listened intently as Dr. Peter Lucent talked about his book, The Inner Light, covering the fascinating near-death experiences of children – from toddlers to teenagers – all whose souls literally “came back” from death.
After his lecture ended, I bought a signed copy of his book and voraciously read it in one day. One character in particular fascinated me. She survived a horrible catastrophe, and during her clinical experience she chronicled her amazing story of survival, heartbreak, depression, rebirth, and ultimate redemption.
I contacted Dr. Lucent and asked if he might arrange for me to meet his former patient, whom I shall call “Amanda Michaels.” He said I could if I agreed to never use her real name, or any friends or family members’ names, and I readily consented. Over the weeks and months that followed I had unfettered access to “Amanda,” her uncle “Andy,” and most of her key acquaintances. About two years after the final interview, I completed this manuscript.
* * *
-- R. N. Shapiro
Part I
The difference between a dream, a fantasy and reality is not always discernible.
* * *
--Amanda Michaels
Chapter 1
Semi-conscious
Whoosh.
* * *
Heat like in hell, eyes sealed shut. Then cold – freezing, frostbitten, frozen.
* * *
Whoosh.
* * *
Four young Dorothys. Matching blue and white dresses, braided hair, four little Toto baskets.
* * *
Whoosh.
* * *
On a jet. People screaming in terror. The lady in the aisle seat beside me squeezes my hand, tight. She’s talking to me calmly. Mom? What? Please, what—
* * *
Whoosh.
* * *
His small, cluttered home office. Little mosquitoes swarming around his table. A six-year-old asking him what he’s doing.
* * *
Whoosh.
* * *
Holding a picture book reading to a baby boy on the bottom bunk. Justin and I laughing at the pictures. He’s shaking my car keys in his tiny hands. Wait…?
* * *
Whoosh.
The little baby girl, pink dress, with tiny slip-on sneakers, wedged between two twin dads, one on each side of – me?
* * *
Whoosh.
* * *
Scenic overlook. Autumn-colored trees dotting the valley below. His leg barely touching mine creates static electricity.
* * *
Whoosh.
* * *
Bright light…blinding whitest light ever. Floating closer to the seductive white light. The other three Dorothys floating with me. Blissful. Then I suddenly pull away from them. Someone, something, tells me, “Go back.”
* * *
Whoosh.
“Tracey, is all the hardware organized for the halo?”
“Ready, Dr. Wrightson.”
“Drill please.” The surgeon fires the drill bit into my skull. “Anterior skull screws,” he says.
“Freaking amazing she survived,” the nurse comments while handing over the screws. “Have they identified her?”
“Haven’t heard yet. They took pictures of her just before surgery,” Wrightson answers.
Whirrrr….Looking down at the doctors and nurses. Feeling the drill vibrate in my skull, shaking me. Smelling the drill’s heat, the burning bone. Is this for real?
Chapter 2
Andy
Reaching across her desk covered with small stacks of legal pleadings and letters, Angie Tipton reduces the volume of the music playing through her cell phone and presses the speaker button on her office phone.
“Myra, have you seen Andy?”
“Not yet.”
“Okay, let me know when he shows. He’ll stop here before his 11:00 o’clock hearing at D.C. Superior because I have the file he needs.”
Angie checks the clock on her monitor, and then sips from her coffee cup. 10:15 a.m. Typical she thinks. I wonder if he forgot. He famously forgets stuff, even when I remind him the day before. Better text him, she concludes.
Where r u? Jones hearing at 11.
She turns the music back up and fingers her way through the Jones file, assuring everything is in place in each divided file, the way he likes it.
“He just walked in,” Myra reports through the intercom.
“Good morning Angie, got the Jones file?” Andy asks a few seconds later, peering into her office.
“Here you go. Cutting it a little close aren’t you? Uh, where are your socks?” She says, feeling motherly. But Angie is not a mother. Angie was a model in college during her college years at Georgetown. Never super model stuff, just magazine shoots, but only because of school. After graduating at the top of her class, she took a job on Capitol Hill as a congressional aide, but her Congressman lost his reelection bid. That’s when she applied for the paralegal job and Andy hired her. Just months before 9/11, when terrorism changed the U.S. forever.