“Hullo,” she said in British-accented English, her Yorkshire heritage obvious even from the single word.
“Hey, sorry I couldn’t pick up. I was a little busy.”
“How busy can you be on a day like today?” Gwen asked.
“You’d be surprised at how much I have going on,” Steven protested. “What’s up?”
“A strange call came in a few minutes ago. The gentlemen said he needed to speak to you immediately,” Gwen said.
“Okay…did you get a name?”
“Winston Twain. Mean anything?” Gwen asked.
Steven mentally file-referenced Twain. It was familiar, almost on the periphery of ‘very important’, but after racking his brain for a few moments the sensation of familiarity flitted away. Which didn’t necessarily mean anything – he’d been scattered since…
No point dwelling on the unpleasant.
“Not really. What did he want?” Steven asked.
“Just said it was a matter of significant importance.”
“Significant? Fine. What’s his number?”
“He didn’t leave one. Said he’d call back. He sounded like another Yank. I think the call might have been international,” Gwen opined.
Steven considered Gwen’s words – most calls of actual ‘significant importance’ tended to leave call-back numbers. Especially ones from the States, assuming her instinct was correct. Which it usually was. Gwen had been his office manager and handler since the inception of his software business three and a half years ago. She had an uncanny knack of being able to read people and was rarely wrong.
An uncomfortable silence hovered over the line.
“You’re still going to jump today?” Gwen asked.
“Yes,” Steven said.
“Jump out of a perfectly good plane, right?”
“Right.”
“Dropping at thirty-six feet per second, at a speed of–”
“Stop it. I have to go,” Steven protested.
“Cheers, then, and remember: what goes up…” Gwen disconnected.
As he fought the morning traffic towards Lucca, a city roughly half an hour northwest of Florence, Steven suddenly remembered what the name Winston Twain meant.
“I’ll be damned,” Steven muttered to himself.
Winston Twain.
Arguably the most respected cryptologist in the world.
Purchase The Voynich Cypher by Russell Blake
Character List
In alphabetical order
“Andrei” - Black Flag Operative, Russian Group, assigned to Petrovich’s Kazakhstan team
Audra Bauer - Deputy Director of National Clandestine Service
Karl Berg - CIA agent, National Clandestine Service liaison to Weapons of Mass Destruction Center
Dustin “Dusty” Bremer - CIA agent assigned to U.S. Embassy in Astana, Kazakhstan
Goran Brujic - Former paramilitary commander in Srecko Hadzic’s White Panther criminal organization
Susan Castaneda - FBI Special Agent, Legal Attaché, U.S. Embassy in Buenos Aires, Argentina
Dr. Valeria Cherkasov - Emergency room doctor, Monchegorsk Central Hospital
Lieutenant Commander Scott Daly - U.S. Navy, SEAL, Assault Force Commander, Operation Bold Scimitar
Rear Admiral Mark DeSantos - U.S. Navy, Head of the Strategic Support Branch under DIA control
Major Stepan Eristov - Zaslon Group Spetznaz leader, Stockholm
Richard Farrington - Black Flag Operative, head of the Russian Group. Wanted by the FBI
Ernesto Galenden - Wealthy Argentinian business tycoon supporting General Sanderson’s program
Lieutenant General Frank Gordon - U.S. Army, Head of Joint Special Operations Command
Josif Hadzic - Srecko Hadzic’s nephew
Srecko Hadzic - Imprisoned Serbian war criminal, awaiting U.N. trial at the Hague, Netherlands
Eric Hesterman - FBI Special Agent, Domestic Terrorism Branch, Part of Ryan Sharpe’s Task Force
Jared Hoffman - Black Flag Operative, sniper, trained by Daniel Petrovich
Konrad Hubner - Black Flagged Operative, European Group, Assigned to Stockholm operation
Darryl Jackson - Brown River Security Corporation executive
Miljan Jendzejec - Former enforcer in Srecko Hadzic’s White Panther criminal organization
Major General Bob Kearney - U.S. Army, Head of the Defense Intelligence Agency
Sarah Kestler - White House Counterterrorism Director
“Leo” - Black Flag Operative, Russian Group, assigned to Petrovich’s Kazakhstan team
Sergeant Malyshev - Active duty Russian Army, assistant to Captain Sabitov
Thomas Manning - National Clandestine Service Director
Enrique “Rico” Melendez - Black Flag Operative, sniper, trained by Daniel Petrovich
Frank Mendoza - FBI Special Agent, Operations Section One, Al Qaeda Investigative Unit
Jeffrey Munoz - Black Flag Operative. Urban operations instructor, Wanted by the FBI
Brigadier General Lawrence Nichols - U.S. Marine Corps, Head of USMC Special Forces Command
Dana O’Reilly - FBI Special Agent, Domestic Terrorism Branch, Lead Analyst for Ryan Sharpe
Daniel Petrovich - Black Flag operative, aka Dario Russo, Marko Resja, Wanted by the FBI
Jessica Petrovich - Black Flag operative, aka Natalia Russo, Zorana Zekulic, Wanted by the FBI
Yuri Prerovsky - Federal Security Services (FSB), Russian Federation. Assistant to Alexei Kaparov
Anatoly Reznikov - Rogue Russian Scientist
Captain Maxim Sabitov - Russian Army reservist, leader of Monchegorsk uprising
Brigadier General Terrence Sanderson - U.S. Army retired, Black Flag program founder, Wanted by the FBI
Hans Schafer - Black Flagged Operative, European Group, Assigned to Monchegorsk and Stockholm operation
“Sergei” - Black Flag Operative, Russian Group, assigned to Petrovich’s Kazakhstan team
Ryan Sharpe - FBI Special Agent, Domestic Terrorism Branch, Task Force Commander
Frederick Shelby - Director of the FBI
Gerald Simmons - Assistant Secretary for Special Operations and Low Intensity Conflict
Dmitry Solomin - Russian Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR), Stockholm
Captain Vasily Tischenko - Russian Air Force Special Operations helicopter pilot
Lieutenant Colonel Grigory Zadornov - Russian Federation Army, Battalion Commander
Black Flagged Redux Equipment Primer
AK-74 Assault Rifle with ACOG Scope
AKS-74u Assault Rifle
Mi-28 Havoc Attack Helicopter
BTR-80 Armored Transport
RPG-7 Rocket Propelled Grenade with Launcher
GAZ-2975 “Tiger”
MP-7 Submachine Gun
PP-2000 Submachine Gun
G-36C Assault Rifle
GAU-17 Minigun (7.62mm)
Mk18 Mod 1 Assault Rifle
M4A1 SOPMOD Assault Rifle
MK43 Mod 0 Light Machine Gun
M1014 Combat Shotgun
World Map
Europe and Asia
Map of Kazakhstan
Acknowledgments
I have more people to thank for a variety of critical roles, which underscores the fantastic response I have experienced from my previous novels, Black Flagged and The Jakarta Pandemic. I’m going to switch up the order here, so be patient.
Drum roll please…
To my wife, the very first pre-reader. She has developed an insightful, critical eye for my writing and knows when I wander too far astray. I know a number of writers who don’t let their partners read their magnum opus until it’s a finished and polished product. I say pass it along in the early stages.
To Jeroen ten Berge for a stunning cover design. Words can barely describe his ability to simultaneously capture both the core of
a book’s theme and the essence of a writer’s vision.
To my pre-readers…the list grew significantly since Black Flagged. Bill, who listened to my original concept for this book and told me “you can’t do that.” This is the best kind of advice a writer can receive, and he was dead right; Joe H., for colluding with my wife and pushing me to tighten up the main plot. A little “between the eyes” honesty, early in the game, kept me focused on the novel’s core; Trent, for finally informing me that I overuse commas. He staged a punctuation intervention that was badly needed. He also gave me some deep insight regarding my writing style, which will pay dividends in the future…and on the final version of this book; Bruce, for providing excellent feedback and another comprehensive redline; Glen, for finally identifying the right genre for the Black Flagged series. Technothriller. Dead on. Welcome to the team and thank you for your insight about character development; Nancy, for providing an additional female perspective. G36C assault rifle or M4A1? Who cares, right? She looked past all of this and focused on the characters and the story. I need this, since I often get a little too preoccupied with the technical details; Finally, to Jon, a long-time reader and the most recent addition to the pre-reader crew. He was one of the earliest reviewers of The Jakarta Pandemic.
To my writing group for their fantastic initial reaction and advice. I learn something new every time we meet, and you guys really squared me away with the start of Black Flagged Redux. I will forever tread lightly with back story. I would apologize for the violence you had to endure reading my selections, but Joe S. topped it with his amazing undead novel. Joe, I owe you a debt of gratitude for your encouragement of my writing career and your input regarding my latest book. Congratulations on finishing The Reawakening. Coming soon?
To Felicia A. Sullivan, still my editor extraordinaire. I’m one book closer to writing another post-apocalyptic thriller. You can see some of the potential in Black Flagged Redux…who says I can’t write a zombie novel?
Finally, to Russell Blake, a talented author and great friend. Russell has redefined the concept of “dedication to writing” and has an incredible knack for the business side. His blog (russellblake.com) serves as a guiding light for indie authors interested in maximizing their exposure to the reader world. He also writes incredible thrillers. I have included excerpts from two of his most acclaimed novels, King of Swords and The Voynich Cypher, which are both available for the Kindle at Amazon.
Excerpt from King of Swords
Excerpt from The Voynich Cypher
Go back to Features Index
Table of Contents
Dedication
Acknowledgments
About the author
About Black Flagged Redux
IN THE BLACK
BLACK TIDE
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
BLACK OPS
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Chapter 30
Chapter 31
Chapter 32
Chapter 33
Chapter 34
Chapter 35
Chapter 36
Chapter 37
Chapter 38
Chapter 39
Chapter 40
Chapter 41
Chapter 42
Chapter 43
Chapter 44
Chapter 45
Chapter 46
Chapter 47
Chapter 48
Chapter 49
Chapter 50
Chapter 51
Chapter 52
Chapter 53
Chapter 54
Chapter 55
Chapter 56
Chapter 57
Chapter 58
Chapter 59
Chapter 60
Chapter 61
Chapter 62
EPILOGUE
Bonus excerpt from Black Flagged series
Excerpt from The Jakarta Pandemic
Prologue
Arrival
Chapter 1
Excerpt from King of Swords
Introduction
Excerpt from The Voynich Cypher
PROLOGUE
CHAPTER 1
Character List
Black Flagged Redux Equipment Primer
World Map
Europe and Asia
Map of Kazakhstan
Acknowledgments