“And I’ve already added another ingredient to this stew,” Buster said. “Spooks. We’ve been recruiting “observers” as never before.”
“I don’t know about you guys, but I’m feeling a lot better than I did a couple of days ago,” Meg said.
“Keep in mind, folks,” Admiral Pollard said. “We only have to get it wrong once for the enemy to succeed.”
Like Meg, I was feeling better too. I felt pissed off at Jack Pollard for raining on our little parade, but then I realized that he was dead-on right. One mistake and we’re fucked.
Chapter 65
“Here, have some more water, admiral.”
“Admiral?”
“Oh my God, it’s great to hear you speak. We were worried about you.”
“Where am I? Who are you?”
“I’m Valerie Goodwin, your private nurse. That wonderful wife of yours hired me to take special care of you. You’re at Bethesda Naval Hospital.”
“Who’s my wonderful wife, and why did she hire you to take care of me?”
“Short-term amnesia is to be expected after what you went through. We’re all hoping that it’s only short-term. The fact that you’re talking is a great sign. To answer your question, your wife is Commander Meghan Fenton. She hired me after you went through surgery right after the assassination attempt. Am I making any sense? Do you recall anything?”
“Valerie, I have no idea what you’re talking about. You called me admiral, then you said my wife is a commander. Maybe I’m losing my marbles, but I just don’t remember a damn thing.”
“You came close to losing more than your marbles, admiral. Taking a bullet in the head usually means the end but thank God they got you into surgery fast. From all the tests they performed, you have no physical limitations, only a loss of memory. Just this morning you did 40 minutes on the treadmill and then lifted weights. You’re in terrific physical health. Don’t worry, everything will come back to you. I’m going to call Commander Meg at the Pentagon. She can be here in a half hour. Get some sleep.”
I dozed off for a few minutes. When I woke up, a beautiful woman in a Navy uniform was standing next to the bed holding my hand. Could this be the wife that the nurse told me about?
“I’m sorry, but I guess that nurse, what’s her name, Valerie, told you that I’m having a problem remembering things.”
“You remembered Valerie’s name. That’s a great sign, honey.”
“You called me honey. Are you my wife?”
“Yes, I am. I came close to being your widow. How about a kiss.”
Meg lowered the rail on my bed and leaned over to kiss me. Valerie had discreetly left the room.
“Wow. That felt wonderful. My God, you’re pretty. Can you please tell me what’s going on? Valerie said something about me being shot in the head. She called it an assassination attempt. Would you please start by telling me who the hell I am?”
“I’m going to speak slowly. Close your eyes and concentrate on my words. Your neurosurgeon told me that’s a good technique to revive your memory. You’re Fleet Admiral Harry Fenton, the Navy’s first five-star admiral since Chester Nimitz. You’re also Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. A temporary chairman has been appointed, but President Blake told me the job is yours again as soon as you get better. I’m your wife, I should say your loving wife, Meg Fenton. Like you, I’m in the Navy and I hold the rank of commander. Any recollections showing up?”
“Pentagon? Pentagon? Valerie said you were at the Pentagon. I think I have an office there. Yes, it’s next to yours. I think you’re my chief of staff. Is that right?”
“Oh my God, just keep talking, Harry.”
“Give me another kiss first.”
“That’s just what my Harry would say.”
She kissed me again. Oh, my Lord, this woman is beautiful.
“I recall the words Alahu Akhbar, or something like that. That’s the last thing I remember. Am I making sense?”
“Yes, that’s what the would-be-assassin shouted just before he squeezed the trigger. I pulled out my service revolver and killed the bastard myself before he could fire again. It may sound crazy, but you were lucky as hell, baby. It was a low-caliber bullet and entered your skull at a spot where it didn’t do too much damage.”
“How long have I been here, Meg?”
“Six weeks, the longest six weeks of my life.”
“Wait, some stuff is coming back to me, honey. Is it okay if I call you honey?”
“Of course, baby,” A tear rolled down her cheek. She leaned down and put her face next to mine.
“Oh, my God, you smell nice.”
We kissed again.
“We were having a celebration of some sort in my office. It’s a big office and a lot of people were there.”
“Do you remember what we were celebrating?”
“We prevented something. The word EMP is in my head. Yes, we stopped some sort of attack.”
“Thanks in large part to your leadership, Harry, we identified and disabled six EMP devices. The event of May 6, 2021 never happened. Do you recall what EMP means?”
“Yes, it means Electromagnetic Pulse. North Korea had plans to detonate the weapon over North America. I also remember that you and I were sailing and went forward in time through a thing called a wormball, no, a wormhole. We met a guy named Roger on Martha’s Vineyard who went through an EMP attack. He came back with us and his wife came to the dock to meet him.”
“Do you remember where the dock was located?”
“Yeah, a place called Leyte Hall in Rhode Island. I think we own it. It’s named after a battle we were involved in when we went through another wormhole to World War II. Yes, the Battle of Leyte Gulf.”
“And because of you, Harry, we saved a few hundred thousand lives.”
“I recall that you sank a battleship, Meg.”
“Welcome back, admiral. You’ve been gone too long, baby.”
Characters – The Violent Sea
Akhbar, Gamal – Buster, CIA Agent
Arnold, Jake – Chief of Staff to President Blake
Atkins, George – See Akhbar, Gamal
Bergold, Roland - LTJG, US Navy SEAL
Blake, Dee – First Lady of the United States
Blake, Matthew – President of the United States
Borman, Sandy – Ensign, Meg’s aide
Brinkman, Marty – Captain USS Gerald R. Ford
Brinks, Lionel – CIA researcher
Carlini, William – Director of the CIA
Clancy, Tim – Resort manager
Cramer, Janey – Professor – Roger’s wife
Cramer, Roger – Professor – resident of Martha’s Vineyard
Dexter, William – Admiral, Commander in Chief, Pacific Fleet
Fenton, Harry – Admiral, United States Navy
Fenton, Meg – Naval Officer - Harry’s wife
Halsey, William - Admiral, United States Navy
Jamison, Michael – Secretary of Defense
Johnson, Mike – Commander, Chief of Staff to Admiral Spruance
Johnston, Hugo – Secretary of the Navy
Kalish, Brad – Weapons officer, USS Gerald R. Ford
Kim Jong-un – Supreme Leader of North Korea
Logan, Ben – Lieutenant, US Navy SEAL
Morton, Bill – Commander, Executive Officer USS Gerald R. Ford
Munckton, Robert – Chief of Naval Operations
Munson, Nancy – Head nurse, Naval Hospital at Pearl Harbor
Nicoletti, Fred – Admiral, Commander of Carrier Strike Group 26
Nimitz, Chester – Fleet Admiral of the United States Navy
Parker, Sam – Lieutenant, former gunnery officer of the USS Enterprise
Sampson, Father Rick – Chaplain, Carrier Strike Group 14
Simone, Bradley – Chairman, Joint Chiefs of Staff
Spruance, Raymond – Admiral, United States Navy
Thompson, William – Commander, Navigator USS Gerald R. Ford.
Tomkins, Spencer – Admiral, Harry’s Successor as Commander of Carrier Strike Group 14
Yakuri, Jimunu – Japanese Ambassador to the United States
Xi Jinping - President of China
The Books of Russ Moran
All books are available on Amazon.com, and also as ebooks on The Kindle or a Kindle app on your smartphone or iPad.
The Gray Ship – Book One of The Time Magnet Series
http://amzn.to/16GPumH
“This provocative, intensely powerful novel is a must-read for sci-fi fans and Civil War aficionados, though mainstream fiction readers will find it heart-rending and inspiring as well. A rare read that’s not only wildly entertaining, but also profoundly moving.” — Kirkus Reviews
The Thanksgiving Gang – Book Two of The Time Magnet Series http://amzn.to/1NzBs7N
"I had never read a book before written in an efficient, minimalistic prose. Instead of writing what most readers want to read, he gives voice to life-like characters, with their flaws and prejudices. They are not infallible superheroes. It’s always nice to find a new voice in fiction and to enjoy creativity at its best.” — C. Ludewig. “Breakneck pacing and virtually nonstop action” – Kirkus Reviews
A Time of Fear – Book Three of The Time Magnet Series
http://amzn.to/1zdjaG9
“His story is fascinating, and adds even more depth to this already cavernously deep novel. Amazingly unique, chilling and well written, Moran weaves a future that is both desperate and hopeful. Blending modern fears with science fiction results in a tale that will keep you reading long into the night.” Five stars!” —Heather
The Skies of Time – Book Four of The Time Magnet Series
http://amzn.to/1CCC3jg
In The Skies of Time, you will recognize the two main characters, Ashley Patterson, now an admiral, and her husband, Jack Thurber. They met and fell in love in The Gray Ship, and now they’re in for the adventure of their lives in The Skies of Time. Ashley and Jack have been such prominent characters in all four books of The Time Magnet Series that I feel like they’re old friends. You will also recognize some of the other characters. But if I told you who they are, it would ruin the fun.
“I’m big fan of this series and this one may be the best. I hope there is another book to this series since it keeps getting better. There are a few questions I have about certain events that makes the next one even more suspenseful. These are great books to binge read one after the other.” — Time Travel Fan
The Shadows of Terror – Book One of the Patterns Series
http://amzn.to/1IDQzJS
A novel that explodes off the front page of your newspaper.
Terrorism has a new face, a face that’s obscured in the shadows. The radical forces of destruction have learned to make themselves invisible to the West, and preventing a terrorist attack has become almost impossible.
A new war has begun, World War III.
Rick Bellamy, an FBI agent who specializes in counterterrorism, is engaged in his own war, a war with no end.
Bellamy’s wife, Ellen, a prominent architect, discovers that she’s in the middle of the greatest terror plot to date.
To defeat the enemy, Bellamy first has to uncover the clues, to shine a light on the shadows. He has to find patterns – before it’s too late.
“Move over James Patterson and Mary Higgins Clark. There’s a new guy in town. Russ Moran’s new book – The Shadows of Terror.” — Frank O.
The Scent of Revenge - Book Two in the Patterns Series.
http://amzn.to/1UvDRmw
The world is at war with the forces of terror. FBI Agent Rick Bellamy and his wife, Ellen, find themselves in the middle of a sinister terrorist plot.
Someone is attacking young prominent women, inflicting a horrible disease.
Nobody knows its origin, nobody knows how to stop it, nobody knows how to cure it.
Rick Bellamy and a team of scientists want to go on the offense. But how?
Will the lives of the women be changed forever? When will the attacks stop?
“Heart pounding, can’t put down thriller that will force you to look at terrorism in different light. Life in America will never be the same.” —Cold Coffee Cafe
Sideswiped - Book One in the Matt Blake series of legal thrillers.
http://amzn.to/1MkxX35
Trial lawyer Matt Blake took on a perfect case.
It involved a sideswipe collision in which his client’s husband, an investigative reporter, was killed. The evidence of negligence was overwhelming. Eyewitnesses testified that defendant was talking on his cell phone when he hit the other car.
But was it negligence? Was it an accident?
Or was it murder?
Matt uncovers evidence that the act may have been intentional. Somebody wanted the man silenced. Somebody wanted the man dead.
.
Somebody had a lot to hide.
The signs started to point to the highest levels of government.
An open-and-shut personal injury case suddenly became a vast conspiracy of terror.
“This book hooks you in from the first line. Sideswiped draws you into the world of Matt Blake and you become emotionally attached to him and his journey. The story itself is so well-written and moves quickly there is never a dull moment.” —Sarah Elle
“Moran demonstrates the depth of his writing talent by developing a new genre with Sideswiped, a legal thriller. Branching out from his previous novels dealing with time travel, Moran goes in a whole new direction with Book One in the Matt Blake series. He creates a wild but totally believable story of modern day intrigue and suspense. Moran also deftly weaves into this book some of my favorite characters from his prior novels. I am looking forward to starting Book #2 - The Reformers — Frank from Lynbrook on August 16, 2016
The Reformers - Book Two of the Matt Blake series of legal thrillers, is the sequel to Sideswiped.
http://amzn.to/2m8uMdu
The forces of radical Islam are on the run.
Their leadership has been decimated, their ranks thinned, their power disappearing by the week.
Their recruiting efforts have been cut off, the radical websites shut down, and the attraction of jihad is losing its appeal among the young.
With targeted assassinations, military strikes, as well as the loss of oil fields and gold mines, radical Islam is fast losing power.
But who is responsible?
It isn’t the United States Government. It’s a new force the world has never seen before.
Lawyer Matt Blake and his wife Diana find themselves in the middle of the most gigantic plot the world has ever seen, a conspiracy that’s only begun to grow.
“I’ve been a fan of the author, Russell Moran, since reading Sideswiped a few months ago, so I admittedly went into this book with quite high expectations. That being said, I had no idea that “The Reformers” was going to play out in the way that it does and I can see myself giving this book a re-read in the future. In fact, I am even more impressed by the storyline of this read than the last and it has left me excited to see more.” Lucidity.
The Keepers of Time – Book Five of the Time Magnet Series http://amzn.to/2wjVSTt
Admiral Ashley Patterson and her husband Jack have done it again. They’ve traveled through time, 200 years into the future—aboard a nuclear aircraft carrier, Ashley’s flagship.
They discover a new world, a strange new world—a post-nuclear war world—one that is both a beacon of hope, and a cry of despair.
They meet a group of people who call themselves The Keepers of Time, an organization dedicated to preserving history and culture amid the horrors of a dystopian future.
The world around them has harkened back to a primitive and savage past, one that includes human sacrifice.
Ashley knows they must have to get back to the present to warn the government of the unspeakable horrors that await.
But finding the way back to the present is their greatest challenge, an
almost insurmountable one.
“A wild time travel yarn that starts fast and doesn’t slow down until the end.”
A Reunion in Time
http://amzn.to/2tneIsg
What if a 37-year-old adult travels back 20 years in time and finds himself in high school, followed by his 36-year-old wife? They’re now teenagers, 17 and 16.
Adults in teenage bodies, they struggle to convince the people from their past that they are real, not apparitions. With the benefit of hindsight, they know the history of the past 20 years, and it isn’t pretty.
Rick and Ellen are married, and now have to adjust to married life as teenagers in 2001. Rick is a senior FBI official and Ellen is a famous architect.
But everybody sees them as kids. Nobody believes that they’re married, and nobody believes their stories—until Rick and Ellen predict 9/11.
How do they find their way back to the year they came from? How do they warn the authorities of the cataclysm that will occur in the future? The answer is to find the time portal—the wormhole—that brought them to 2001. But the site has changed. It’s no longer the place where they crossed the wormhole. Will they live out the balance of their lives beginning as teenagers? “We've all wish we could go back to earlier times with the mind we have now. This Russell Moran book takes you there and it is a fun creative romp well worth reading. A Reunion in Time is highly recommend!” Kindle Customer.
The President is Missing – Book Three of the Matt Blake series.
http://amzn.to/2t9v7wu
While he was addressing the nation from a submerged nuclear submarine, President Blake’s message is suddenly cut off. Anyone listening heard an explosion. The explosion was followed by floating debris five minutes later.
The Violent Sea Page 21
