Aim True, My Brothers
Page 31
“Think she’s gonna sue us again?” Charlie asked.
“Probably. That girl’s always had more lawyers than brains.”
“And the sense of humor of a scalded cat.”
Bob smiled pleasantly enough, knowing Charlie couldn’t know the half of it, and turned back to his scotch and the window. The big jetliner dropped lower and lower, but his mind continued to be elsewhere. All things considered, it was dawning on him that his decision to get out of the Army might have been a mistake. True, Special Operations was a savage, no-holds-barred world, but it was important and invigorating, and he was exceptionally skilled at it. He loved the men he fought alongside. That was a cliché, but they were brothers and that bond would never break. And after a day like today, he’d rather be fighting on the Amu Darya River in Afghanistan than the Potomac. Sadly, it might even be safer.
Below, dozens and dozens of commercial, office and light-industrial buildings stretched toward the horizon. To his left, he saw a tall white municipal water tank. Painted on its side in bright green was the profile of an Indian chief in a full war bonnet. Almost directly down, between the airplane and the water tank stood a three-story, blue glass office building. That was when he saw the woman in the white dress run out onto the roof. He would never forget the image of her running, stumbling in the loose pea gravel, nor of the man in the dark blue business suit chasing her. He appeared older, with graying temples, a white shirt, and a rich, red-striped tie. He looked almost dignified, like a politician on a Sunday morning news show, one of those preachers from South Carolina on cable TV, or a jungle cat on the prowl — calm and under control as he ran her to ground. In that instant when she looked up at the airplane and at Burke, the man in the dark suit looked up at him too; their eyes locked on each other’s and his sadistic expression burned itself into Burke’s brain. Then, as quickly as the two figures appeared below him, they were gone from his view.
Desperate to stop him, Burke unbuckled his seat belt, stood, and tried to step over Charlie to get into the aisle, but that accomplished nothing. Sabrina Fowler, the flight attendant, leaped out of her jump seat in the galley and dashed down the aisle to their row.
“Mr. Burke, get back in your seat. Now!” she ordered. Like a good middle linebacker, she cut him off and boxed him in. Her knees were flexed, her weight was evenly distributed on the balls of her feet, and she stood in a perfect “triple-threat” athletic position to stop him cold. She placed the palm of her hand against his chest and shoved him back into his seat before he could get one foot into the aisle. Wherever he thought he was going, he wasn’t going to get there.
“You told me you’d behave,” she glared down at him.
“Come over here and look,” he turned and pointed out the window, his jet-black eyes flashing. “There’s a woman being killed down there!”
“I don’t think so, now fasten your seat belt!”
“I’m serious, come here and look,” he asked as he leaned toward his window.
Her patience exhausted, she said, “I knew I shouldn’t have given you that third drink!”
“But he’s strangling her.”
She leaned forward and got right into his face. “Buckle that seat belt, or I’ll have you arrested when we land. You got that?”
Finally, he complied and snapped the belt in, but he continued to argue with Charlie and with her. “You saw her, didn’t you, Charlie?”
“Bob, I was over here with my nose in a spreadsheet. I didn’t see…”
Reluctantly, Burke turned back to the flight attendant. “Look, ask the captain and the rest of the crew up in the cockpit. They must have been looking out there too. Or ask the other passengers on this side of the plane. Someone else must have seen it.”
“I’m not about to ask anybody anything until after we land.”
“Okay, but I want to talk to the police as soon as we do.”
“Oh, that won’t be a problem, Mr. Burke,” she answered sarcastically. “I’m sure they’ll want to talk to you, too. Now sit down, and shut up!”
XXX
If you enjoyed this Preview Chapter of my best-selling contemporary suspense novel, you can obtain a copy at the Kindle Book Site http://amzn.to/2muFG9C Also, you can see sample chapters of my other books at my web site http://www.billbrownthrillernovels.com
HIGH PRAISE FOR THE AUTHOR’S EARLIER NOVELS:
The Undertaker — 76 Five-Star! Reviews out of 150 on Amazon.
5-Stars! “This story was delicious! Snarky and wired, cynical and funny, it was everything a good mob thriller should be and more.”
What Book is That?
5-Stars! “Awesome Must Read! This one had me jumping in, head-first. From the beginning to the end, I was kidnapped and taken for an exciting and thrilling ride. And to top it all off, it was hilarious.”
Passion Reads
5-Stars! “Great fun! It is a thriller with enough action, intrigue, humor and romance to please the most jaded reader. My recommendation? Buy this book and have some quality entertainment time. You won’t regret it.”
Book Pleasures
5-Stars! “An exciting, action-packed thriller that had me hooked from the first page. There is romance, mystery, intrigue and superb humor spread throughout the novel, which has been written in a fast paced and engagingly witty style. I really enjoyed this book as it was funny, entertaining and exciting.”
Books and Things
Amongst My Enemies — 77 Five-Star! out of 134 Amazon Reviews.
5-Stars! “A great cold war thriller! A very suspenseful, edge-of-your seat thriller. Reminded me of books by Alistair MacLean and Tom Clancy. If you are looking for a Cold War thriller, this one was very engaging.”
Two Ends of the Pen
5-Stars! “A must read for historical fiction and suspense fans! I really enjoyed this story of Mike Randall and the U-Boat from Nazi Germany. It had a very realistic feel. The descriptions of the Nazi SS guys had me cringing… a great pick for history and suspense buffs.”
The Alaska Bookie
5-Stars! “This is not just another war story! It takes the reader to the heights and dregs of the human condition… speeds along like a Ken Follett or Eric Ludlum novel of old. For those who love adventure and thrills, this novel will leave you breathless and wanting more from this skillful writer. Splendidly written!”
Crystal Book Reviews
5-Stars! “An entertaining historical thriller! Reminds me of Jeffery Deaver’s Garden of Beasts and Frederic Forsythe’s The Odessa File. It provides one answer to the eternal question: What must good men and women do when evil walks among them? Dean Koontz has made a career answering this question.”
Book Pleasures
Thursday at Noon — 44 Five-Star! and an average of 70 Amazon Reviews.
“A thriller in the purest cliffhanger vein ... (The) technique is flawless. It could only have been learned by way of a thousand Saturday afternoon matinées.”
The New Yorker
“Writing in the vein of Forsythe and Follett, Brown has produced a fast paced thriller…”
Publisher’s Weekly
“(A) mesmerizing tale… Brown is adept at making the unlikely seem all too real… explosive, fast paced action.”
Worldwide Library, Rave Reviews
5-Stars! “A well-crafted thriller! Thursday at Noon is well-written and action packed from the start. It is a tense and fascinating journey, an exciting thriller filled with action and intrigue.”
David Brown
5-Stars! “Another winner! Brown has penned another great read. This story pulls you in and won’t let you go, taking you through twists and turns you could never predict. Another great tale from a master of the genre!”
Author Gary Showalter
Winner Lose All — 48 Five-Star! and an average of 4.5 on 70 Amazon Reviews.
5-Stars! “An exciting, riveting read that explores courage and treachery, love and fear. Another crackerjack novel of World War II, following last year's Among
st My Enemies. The reader is right there, carried along for one wild, breathtaking ride.”
Glynn Young, Amazon Reviewer
5-Stars! “I have read all of William Brown's e-books and can say that all are great reads. The way Brown combines his military knowledge, his familiarity with European villages and his ability to create very real characters into the world of espionage in a time that was near the end of WW II is remarkable.”
GinnyReader, Amazon Reviewer
5-Stars! “If you want a really good story, one that pulls you into the action, then this is the book to read. Winner Lose All is a WW II era drama with a strong list of characters, both the good guys/bad guys, and some you just can't decide where they fall in this tale of intrigues. It's a non-stop adventure.”
Tanya, Amazon Reviewer
5-Stars! “I liked Winner Lose All for both the characters and the emotional struggles they had to suffer. As usual, a very good read from William Brown, and I'm looking forward to his next novels.”
Thomas Duff, Amazon Reviewer
CONTENTS
TITLE PAGE
PART ONE
CHAPTER ONE
CHAPTER TWO
PART TWO
CHAPTER THREE
CHAPTER FOUR
CHAPTER FIVE
CHAPTER SIX
CHAPTER SEVEN
PART THREE
CHAPTER EIGHT
CHAPTER NINE
CHAPTER TEN
CHAPTER ELEVEN
CHAPTER TWELVE
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
CHAPTER NINETEEN
CHAPTER TWENTY
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
PART FOUR
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
PART FIVE
CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX
CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN
CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT
CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE
CHAPTER THIRTY
CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE
EPILOGUE
CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
PREVIEW — BURKE’S WAR
HIGH PRAISE…
COPYRIGHT PAGE
Aim True, My Brothers
Copyright 2013 by William F. Brown
All rights reserved.
No part of this book may be used or reproduced by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping or by any information storage retrieval system without written permission of the publisher except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles or reviews.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously.
Cover Design by Todd Hebertson.
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