Enemy of Mine: A Pike Logan Thriller

by Brad Taylor

  It took several seconds for the meaning to become clear. Then several more for the implications to sink in. He already knows. And doesn’t care.

  Pike leaned in farther and kissed her again. This time she hesitatingly returned it.

  He said, “I hear Monkey’s Blood can cure anything.”

  ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

  Strangely enough, the first person I would like to thank provided help for something that ended up getting cut completely. A big part of the initial draft of Enemy of Mine was set in Syria. As fate would have it, Rob, my old college roommate, was the defense attaché for the U.S. Embassy in Damascus. We planned on a research trip to both Syria and Lebanon, with him as a tour guide, and he helped with initial plotting from tactical details such as the interior flow of the Damascus airport to strategic information about Hezbollah, President Assad, and the future of the Levant. Then, Syria went up in smoke and my trip fell apart, with Rob becoming preoccupied with cabinet-level visits and car bombs. Sorry all of that got cut, Rob, but rest assured the ethos is threaded throughout. The Ghost was born in our conversations. Glad you made it home safely.

  With the Levant portion of my trip in shambles, I had to rely on old-fashioned research into Beirut. I’ve now read a ton of dry books on Hezbollah and the Palestinian problem, but only one really captured the atmosphere of Lebanon. Michael Totten, a journalist who spent a great deal of time all over the Levant, wrote The Road to Fatima Gate, which I used relentlessly. If you have any interest, I’d recommend picking it up.

  There are a couple of unnamed drivers in Qatar and Dubai who helped immensely, one from Bangladesh and one from Egypt. Want to know what’s going on at the local level, beyond the tourist hype and the official government line? Hire an unregulated cabbie. They love to showcase their knowledge and are more than willing to do things that some would say are a little gray. My wife was convinced I was going to end up as a ransom demand, but it was the best money I have ever spent on any of my research.

  Thanks to Axe, Slappy, and Sergeant Major “A” for helping with the dive scene. I’m not a combat diver, but I am PADI certified, so I figured how hard could it be to write an underwater scene? Turns out, diving with a rebreather is a little bit different than open-circuit diving, and luckily I had them to correct my mistakes. If any remain, rest assured, they’re mine alone.

  Stuck in a barracks with Axe, he also gave my complicated elevator ambush a sanity check on my explosives planning—along with catching a huge mistake on the IED the Ghost places on Knuckles’ car.

  I have to give a shout-out to J-Boy, who claims he invented a widget I used in the book. I’m fairly certain I’m the one who invented it, but he remembers it differently, so I’ll give him his due. More importantly, he also confirmed my dim memory of diplomatic pouch procedures.

  The case officer in Beirut, code named Cedar Hill, is a real person. Well, at least a real name. Here in South Carolina there’s a wonderful organization called the Barrier Island Free Medical Clinic that provides continuing primary health care to uninsured adults living at or below 200 percent of the federal poverty level. All of its doctors are volunteers, and all of its operating costs are donated or generated through fundraisers. One of the founding members enjoyed One Rough Man and contacted me out of the blue, asking if I would let them auction off a character name in this book at their annual charity golf tournament, with the proceeds benefiting the clinic. Completely flattered, I said yes, and Cedar Hill became Louis Britt. I haven’t met him, but I hope he enjoys the character.

  Seeing my name on the cover of a book is still a surreal experience, and I’m indebted to my agent, John Talbot; my editor, Ben Sevier; and the entire Dutton team. Thank you for keeping me on track and preventing me from making rookie mistakes, both on the page and in the publishing world, period. It amazes me when I’m out buying dinner and see my book in a grocery store, and I’m under no illusions about how it got there.

  Finally, to my wife, for not only the usual rap-on-the-knuckles fifth grade grammar checks, but also for keeping the house together on my frequent absences. She had a lot of practice during my Army years, but it’s looking like being a writer/security consultant is going to give those deployments a run for the money. I oogly moogly you.

  ABOUT THE AUTHOR

  Brad Taylor, Lieutenant Colonel (ret.), is a twenty-one-year veteran of the U.S. Army Infantry and Special Forces, including eight years with the 1st Special Forces Operational Detachment—Delta, popularly known as the Delta Force. Taylor retired in 2010 after serving more than two decades and participating in Operation Enduring Freedom and Operation Iraqi Freedom, as well as classified operations around the globe. His final military post was as Assistant Professor of Military Science at the Citadel. His first two Pike Logan thrillers, One Rough Man and All Necessary Force, were national bestsellers. He lives in Charleston, South Carolina.