I placed my palm on the glass. I don’t know why. Maybe it was a romantic or childish need to feel the heat of that light. But the glass was cold.
And yet …
I smiled.
The cold was okay. The fact that I was up here in the darkness of my room, in the darkness of my thoughts, was okay. The flame was still there. If this was who I was, and if it wasn’t for me to be part of the light, then maybe that was as it should be.
I am what I am. I’m a hunter and a killer. I’m the Cop and the Warrior, and the Modern Man. As I—as we—watched the light from the vigil candles spread, the answer to the question was there. It had always been there.
Was this my life?
Yes.
Acknowledgments
As Joe Ledger’s biographer (ahem) I rely heavily on the brilliance, insight, experience, and patience of a variety of experts. Thanks to Dr. John Cmar of the Infectious Disease Department of Johns Hopkins University Hospital; Dr. Steve A. Yetiv, professor of political science, Old Dominion University; Dr A. M. Dodson, FSA, Research and Teaching Fellow, Department of Archaeology and Anthropology of the University of Bristol; Dr. Pawel Liberski of the Department of Molecular Pathology and Neuropathology, Medical University of Lodz, Poland; Philadelphia police officer Bob Clark; the men of the 1/111th Infantry Battalion–Recon Platoon, with Thirty-sixth Brigade–Iraqi Army Recon; Marie O’Connell, Jackie Szambelak, and Dr. Barry Getzoff; Michael Sicilia of the California Homeland Security Exercise and Education Program; Walt Stenning, Ph.D., former head of psychology at Texas A&M University; Michael E. Witzgall; Ken Coluzzi, chief of Lower Makefield, Pennsylvania, police department; the International Thriller Writers; authors David Morrell, Gayle Lynds, Sandra Brown, John Gilstrap, Jason Pinter, and Eric Van Lustbader; George Schiro, M.S., consulting forensic scientist; Greg Dagnan, CSI/Police/Investigations Faculty–Criminal Justice Department, Missouri Southern State University; Peter Lukacs, M.D.; Ted Krimmel, SERT; and Suzanne Rosin, winner of the “Name Joe Ledger’s Dog” contest.
And special thanks to Javier Grillo-Marxuach, Michael De Luca, and Matthew Snyder; Fran and Randy Kirsch, Charlie and Gina Miller, Arthur Mensch, Sam West-Mensch, and Greg Schauer; Geoff Strauss; Nancy Keim-Comley, Janice Gable Bashman, and Tiffany Schmidt; and Rachel Stockley and Ian Graham.
And, of course, Michael Homler, Joe Goldschein, Matthew Shear, and Nadea Mina at St. Martin’s Griffin and my agents, Sara Crowe and Harvey Klinger.
And to the wonderful staff at the Starbucks in Southampton, where much of this book was written (yes, I do believe I’ll have a refill).
Also by Jonathan Maberry
Fiction
Rot & Ruin
The Dragon Factory
Patient Zero
Ghost Road Blues
Dead Man’s Song
Bad Moon Rising
The Wolfman
Nonfiction
Wanted Undead or Alive
Vampire Universe
The Cryptopedia
Zombie CSU
They Bite!
Praise for The Dragon Factory
“While Joe has announced his retirement, eager readers can look forward to one more volume in this humorous, over-the-top cross-genre trilogy.”
—Publishers Weekly
“This is like a video game on steroids mixed with The Island of Dr. Moreau. Maberry has done an excellent job of ratcheting up the action while downplaying the ick factor that sometimes runs through his earlier books. Expect this straight-ahead thriller to hook action-crazed readers and inspire them both to seek out the first Ledger book and eagerly anticipate the next installment.”
—Booklist
Praise for Patient Zero
“Plenty of man-to-zombie combat … a fast and furious read.”
—Publishers Weekly
“An enjoyable read … hard to set down.”
—Fangoria
“Heated, violent, and furious … as palatable as your favorite flavor of ice cream. A memorable book.”
—Peter Straub, New York Times bestselling author
“Night of the Living Dead meets Michael Crichton.”
—Joseph Finder, New York Times bestselling
author of Power Play
“Joe Ledger and the DMS have my vote as the team to beat when combating terrorist threats on a grand scale!”
—David Morrell, New York Times
bestselling author of First Blood and Creepers
“Brilliant … it puts the terror back in terrorist.”
—James Rollins, New York Times bestselling
author of The Judas Strain