Michael and Ellen exchanged a quick, worried glance.
“Tell her what you told me,” Dan said, glowering at the man sprawled on the ground before him.
“P...Private Carmichael, Royal Army,” said the frightened soldier, glancing quickly from face to face.
Ellen’s eyes widened. Royal Army?
Dan read her look perfectly. He shrugged. “That’s what he claims--that he’s a soldier in the army of some King. From what I’ve seen of his buddies they’re all in uniform and well armed, so it could be true.”
Jim’s lips compressed in a thin line.
Ellen’s brow furrowed and a shadow settled on her face. Her greatest fear...
Michael took her free hand and gave it a gentle squeeze. His back popped as he sat up straight. In the depths of his brown eyes a golden flame flickered to life.
Cast of Characters
Washington DC
Carl Borzowski--Science Advisor to the President, a tall, slender, good-looking man with thinning blonde hair, devoted to mathematics, physics and Jack Daniels whiskey since breaking up with his fiancée, Monica Helms. A man who, as it turns out is ultimately responsible for saving the world.
Doctor (PhD) Harold Garrison--Astrophysicist in charge of the Spacewatch program, a small, dark man with deep set brown eyes who, next to his family, loves astronomy, Chicago Cubs baseball and old Marvel comic books.
Sheila Garrison--Harry Garrison’s wife
Robby Garrison--Harry and Sheila’s son
Donna Markwright--Executive Secretary to the President, a serious woman with a serious job, who wears severely tailored business suits, her hair in a tight bun and who has a bit of a crush on The President.
Hammond Powell--President
Farley Moffat--Chief of Staff
Morgan Hamilton--National Security Advisor
Juan Salazar--FEMA Director
Eli Cohen--NASA Director
Alexander Winthrop--Homeland Security
General Roland Mabry--Secretary of the Air Force, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs, only the second black man to hold the job. Tough, smart and driven to succeed.
Peter Capelli--Secretary of Defense, a balding political appointee who tries his best but who is out of his depth.
Admiral Donald Muzarki--Chief of Naval Operations
Admiral Grierson--Coast Guard
General Arnold Senecot--Army Chief of Staff
General Frank Rabson--Marine Corps Chief of Staff
Arthur McRae--Secretary of State
Royce Bannister--Director FBI
Monica Helms--American Broadcasting Network reporter/newscaster, Fair skin, long, jet-black hair, a deceptively angelic face, green eyes, and a figure-eight shape completed a package that mesmerized any man who wasn't blind or gay. The sexiest shark in the sea and, oh yeah, Carl’s ex-fiancée.
Angela Tremont--onsite reporter, American Broadcasting Network
Barry Saberhagen--Reporter, American Broadcasting Network
Ethan Hamilton--Scientist at Fort Dix, Morgan Hamilton’s son
Jana Potucek--Makeup artist for the President
Californians
Doctor (PhD) Raoul Garcia--Scientist, Genius, Inventor. A small, intense man of pure Castilian decent, whose family had settled California generations before the Gold Rush, Raoul betrayed his aristocratic bearing by routinely tripping or slipping and wounding himself.
Doctor (PhD) Ariel Garcia--Raoul’s wife, a tiny, if somewhat stout, brilliant scientist with sparkling, hazel eyes and graying hair.
Sara Garcia--Surgeon, Raoul & Ariel’s granddaughter, short curly brown hair and warm gray eyes, not beautiful, but highly intelligent and tougher than cured concrete.
Sergeant Carswell--Crooked Supply Sergeant, overweight.
Joseph Scarlatti (Joey the Giant)--A minor mobster with major ambitions, who comes by his sobriquet naturally. 7’4” tall, 360 pounds of solid, freakishly strong muscle. He can rip the arms off a man as easily as another might pull the wings off flies. Joey is also smart enough to hide his intelligence from his bosses.
Anthony (Tony) Scarlatti--oldest (by minutes) of Joey’s twin sons
Jamal Rashid--Joey’s trusted henchman, hatchet-faced with a prominent nose and jug ears, tall and scarecrow thin, with long, stringy, well-oiled black hair and beady black eyes. The paranoid Jamal is always looking over his shoulder.
Richard Marsh--John Scarlatti’s right hand man
Benny Bonificio (Benny the Bug)--Mobster, Joey’s boss
Lola MaDonna (Irene Walker)--Movie Star, sister to Jill Cantrell. 5’ 3” short. Exquisitely beautiful. Her oversized breasts had led to her first break in film. And…she hated to admit it, they, along with her violet eyes, and fiery red hair were the main source of her continued appeal.
Will Benton--Makeup man, balding with a heavy brown beard and mustache, a gap-toothed smile and rough, callused hands..
Clarissa Benton--Will’s wife, a large blonde woman whose clothes hung on her like she’d lost too much weight too fast.
Patricia (Trish) Benton--Will and Clarissa’s daughter, in her mid-teens she has her mom’s blonde hair. Has alert, intelligent, deep blue eyes.
Alonzo Bonetti--Mobster in Benny the Bug’s family
Nicolo Bonetti--Mobster, Alonzo’s son, 6’4” tall, the epitome of tall, dark and handsome. A man who learned early that the price of betrayal was further betrayals.
Richie Carrerra--Special Agent FBI
Captain Horvak--California National Guard
Lieutenant Perry--US Army Scout
Dr Jason Merriman--Twisted physician in Joey’s army. A fat man in lean times.
Colonel George Romanov--Commander California Marines
Sergeant Potter--Marine
Petty Officer Ian Chadwick--USN Aviation Electronics Technician
The Freeholders (Colorado)
Michael Whitebear--Engineer, Warrior, Husband of Ellen Whitebear, 5’ 10” tall, brown hair, eyes that change color from brown to green when aroused or gold when in combat. A ghost in the woods with a talent for killing and a conscience that hates it.
Ellen Whitebear--Leader of the Colorado Freeholds, Michael’s wife, very long blonde hair, hazel eyes and clear, pale skin. As strong-willed, intelligent and capable as she is beautiful.
Steven Whitebear--Michael and Ellen’s two year old son
Jim Cantrell--Musician, Leader of The Troubled Land Band. Tall, lean and courageous. A man whose curse is to often be too late to help and whose gift is to never stop trying.
Jill Cantrell--Jim’s wife, sister of Lola MaDonna
Jacques and Denise Lachelle--Keyboard and Piano (him), Vocals and Rhythm guitar (her), Troubled Land Band, Jacques and Denise, inseparable as wine and song, her, 5’2” “short,” with delicate, almost dainty features and coffee colored skin, heavy on the cream, complimented by large doe eyes framed by long, thick lashes. He was average height, though lean, with slightly darker, rougher skin from past acne and tightly coiled black hair. He had a sunny disposition, backed by a dazzling smile, moved with a kick-boxer’s agility and played piano with zeal.
Leona Perry--Principal, Freehold Charter School
Aaron Goldstein--Mechanical engineer, Skilled Ultralight pilot, Aeriella’s brother. A featherweight Golden Globe boxer in his youth, former stunt pilot for several Hollywood movie studios.
Moira Goldstein--Teacher, Freehold’s Charter School, Aaron’s wife,
Emil Smolensky--Retired Gunnery Sergeant, Prepper. Smolensky looked like he’d been carved out of a rather large block of granite, well, except for the prosthetic leg. That was steel.
Randy McKinley--Freeholder, One of that rare breed who does everything that needs to be done, no matter how hard, with a sense of humor and without complaint.
Mariko McKinley--Artist, Randy’s wife. A tiny, delicate and beautiful Japanese/American who stands equal to any man with her fierce courage.
Terrell Johnson--Mechanical genius, former helicopter pilot US Army
Shirley Johnson--Potter, Terrell’s wife
Dr Taraq Fariq--Physician, OBGYN turned politician opposing Ellen’s policies, who becomes a good battlefield surgeon.
Wayne Anderson--Medic
Jack Quist--Rancher
Iskos Theodoratus--Machinist & Heavy Equipment Operator
Don Haley--Refugee who becomes a Freeholder
Marcia Haley--Don’s wife
Garrett & Linda Haley--Don and Marcia’s children
Other Colorado Characters
Randy Kellogg--Feeder, Denver Zoo
Hobbes--Very upset Tiger
Huey, Louie & Dewey--Triplet bears at the Denver Zoo
Leroy Parsons (aka Mustapha ben Muhammad, aka Viper)--Self-proclaimed prophet, preacher, gang leader, epileptic. Six feet tall, muscular and fit. Women found his smooth, almost hairless, black skin and chiseled features pleasing. He often practiced a warm smile that melted panties.
Shark Cassidy and Skull--Two of Viper’s thugs. Both sported poorly done jail house tattoos of spider webs, daggers and other creepy crap, mean streaks, foul tempers and a morbid fear of their boss Viper. Where they differed was Shark had a full head of dreadlocked hair and a relatively straight nose, whereas Skull, as his name implied, bore a shaved head and a squashed nose that looked like it had repeatedly encountered a ball bat.
Marcus Robitaille--Attorney, Viper recruit becomes Viper’s second in command who looks enough like Viper to be his double.
Darnell Wooley--one of Viper’s thugs
Lifter--another of Viper’s thugs
Cadillac--another of Viper’s thugs
Brandon Silva--Captain in command of Viper’s reserves
Ladell Shore--Captain Silva’s top Sergeant
Ranger--Viper’s sniper
Heather--Emil’s Smolensky’s daughter
Darla--Emil’s granddaughter, so full of life her curly blonde hair bounced even when she was standing still.
Nick Dobbs--Sergeant, Denver Police
Wilson Jennings--Officer, Denver Police
Chad Bailey--Brit working for MCI/computer programmer , cornflower blue eyes and chestnut brown hair, slightly crooked front teeth and a mild overbite.
Josh Adams--another MCI employee, tidy wheat blonde hair, diamond stud left ear.
Doctor Dale Lewis--physician, an old black country doctor with a good heart and white hair.
Nurse Hawkins--Dr Lewis’s nurse
Lieutenant Dan Osaka--Cadet USAF Academy, 6’1” tall, skinny at 140 pounds, almond-shaped, brown eyes, black hair.
Daryl Bartell--Cadet USAF
Fallon Vanderwahl--Cadet USAF
Dorsey McLeod--Cadet USAF
Enrico Gutierriez--Cadet USAF
Utah, Mormons
Bob Young--Mayor of Provo Utah, Bob was medium height, with a bit of middle-age spread. He wore his brown hair in a flat-top cut that had been out of style since roughly the decade he was born. He didn’t care. He got elected by virtue of strong integrity, decent morals, a sterling reputation and being a “Young” in Utah.
His wife, Betty, six years younger, was a woman of sharp features, sharper insights and bright smiles, who wore her hair “big” and claimed it matched her belly since she was pregnant with their third child. She teaches courses in canning and other forms of long term food storage.
Adam Young--Colonel US Army, Steely eyes, iron gray hair (crew cut of course) steel in his backbone too. A small man who stands tall on principle.
Edward Cummins--Scout for Bob Young
Fern & Cheryl Cummins--Neighbors of Bob and Betty Young, Ed’s wife and daughter
The ISS Crew (26 total, 19 women, 7 men)
General Alice Anderson--USA--Project Genesis mission commander, brunette
Commander Clark Kent--Great Britain--Zero G Construction Engineer, carrot reddish hair, pale blue eyes. Bass guitar and vocals.
Colonel-General Pavel Yurimentov--Russia--Cosmonaut, Husband of Ludmilla
Colonel Ludmilla Gagarin--Pavel’s wife, mother of first baby born on the moon, a boy named Yuri (after her grandfather) A small attractive woman with gray eyes, curly brown hair a pert nose and slightly crooked teeth.
Christine Jorgensen--USA--Botanist (She prefers “farmer”), mother of first baby born in space, on the ISS, a girl named Angela Jorgensen Kent, a tall, blonde, Minnesota Swede with baby blue eyes.
Mia Torno--Italy--Cartographer/Geophysicist, smooth olive complexion, hair so dark brown it’s almost black, Keeps her hair in a single large braid, gentle brown eyes
Li-Ying Chen--China--Pediatrician/Dietician
Suzy Yakamoto--Japan--Geophysicist/Mining Engineer, Black hair, dark brown eyes, ivory skin.
Dr Sari Vindushanti--India--OBGYN and General Physician, a small, dark woman with huge, deep brown eyes, very pretty and popular with the men
Captain Henri Dupree--USA/Canada--Aurora pilot, Blue-black skin and frizzy black hair. Keyboard and Vocals. Also plays a mean jazz harmonica.
Heinz Obermann--Germany--Electrical Engineer, Blonde, wavy hair, brown eyes, muscular, small. A classical violinist who can fiddle when Henri goes jazzy.
Muhammad Rahotep--Egypt--Solar Engineer, dark, frizzy brown hair, brown eyes and a prominent nose.
Olivia de Garza--Argentina--Structural/Mechanical Engineer, Think Catherine Zeta Jones in her prime, with a dramatic sense of humor. Excellent soprano.
Pauolo Guzman-Garcia--Brazil--Machinist, Tool & Die Maker, Master mechanic who fits the bill of small, dark and handsome perfectly. Guitar.
Kenny Chang--China--Chemical Engineer, black hair, brown eyes, slender build and a bit of a geek, if a martial artist can be a geek.
Marissa Riley--Australia--Computer Engineer & Technician, emerald eyes,
Nyambura Kenyatta--Kenya--Agronomist
Zarita Morshidi--Indonesia--Chef and Pharmacist, dark brown hair and eyes, a charmingly crooked smile
Linette Laverne--France--Waste Management Engineer. A medium brunette with cerulean blue eyes, a narrow face and a charming French accent. A dancer who plays clarinet.
Leila Yoruba--S. Africa--Astrophysicist, percussionist.
Mary Adams--Canada--Aurora Pilot, pale green eyes, dark brown hair, porcelain skin, flexible as a gymnast.
Ceilia Olafsdotter--Iceland--Vulcanologist, Aquamarine eyes, platinum hair
Isabella Cortez--Spain--Meteorologist, guitar.
Linda Green--Great Britain--Hydrologist, chestnut hair, sky blue eyes
Aeriella Goldstein--Israel--Surgeon, Aaron Goldstein’s sister
Elena Montoya--Mexico--Lunar Geologist
Rana Hamide--Turkey--Industrial engineer, short, tightly curled brown hair, large brown eyes, a wide smile full of bright teeth.
Connie Cho--S Korea--Mathematician, Emergency Medical Tech, violinist
Miscellaneous Characters
Otha Gladson--Private, US Army, promoted to Sergeant, Surveyor
Dikeme (Di) M’buto--Dancer, Zululand, Student at Julliard School
Eric Metz--Amish Farmer
Corporal Blevins--Corrupt US Army Corporal
Bill Dean--Feed Store Businessman
Eileen Massey--Customer of Bill Dean’s store
General Arnold Allison--Commander 3rd Brigade, Fort Benning, GA, Adam Young’s CO
Major Jennings--Adam Young’s XO
Wes Haviland--Farmer, Kansas, Sheila Garrison’s father, Prepper
Jonathan and Mabel Hicks--Missouri farmers (Preppers), Weathered faces, gray of hair and somewhat stooped from years.
Hardy Matthews--plague carrier
Alexi & Ramona Federov--Refugee invaders
Alicia Diggs--Surgical trainee under Sara Garcia
Earl Baker--Mountain Man, white hair, demolition expert
Bobbi Baker--Earl’s wife