“Yes, sir?”
“I’d follow you into combat anytime, son.”
Matt paused at the strong sentiment from the seasoned soldier.
“Likewise, sir.”
In Yemen, four houses down from the raid objective of the Americans an ambulance arrived with a dialysis machine in the back. The medics disembarked rapidly and carried a stretcher into the suburban house, which was surprisingly unaffected by the blast of the server farm.
They found their way into the bedroom past several AK-74 toting security personnel who had materialized from the vapor. They loaded the tall patient on the litter and immediately hooked him up to the IV bags and heart rate monitors.
Securing him in the ambulance, they got the dialysis treatment underway, and under heavily guarded escort, sped away into the Yemeni desert night.
Author’s Note:
The idea for Hidden Threat came from two places. First, ever since September 12, 2001 I have believed that we under-resourced the fight against Al Qaeda. As you have just read in Hidden Threat, I take creative license and put both Matt and Zach Garrett into the fight in Afghanistan and, more importantly, in Pakistan, where I believe we need to be to win this war.
Secondly, I have seen the impact of war on families and, in particular, on soldiers and their children. Amanda’s struggle on the home front in parallel with Zach’s in combat is symbolic of the agony I have witnessed in many different families and situations. The main point is that it takes courage to be a kid and have a parent in a war.
I would like to thank my editor, Shane Thomson, for his diligence, as well as Tim Schulte and Stan Tremblay at Variance Publishing. Also, thanks to the wonderful Jessi Alexander for allowing me to use her lyrics from the song “This World is Crazy” off her album Honeysuckle Sweet. Also, congratulations to Mary Ann Singlaub for winning the contest to have her name used in the novel during last year’s USO sponsored book release for Rogue Threat.
And most importantly, thanks to you, the reader, for your interest and loyalty.
AJT