Guarding Savage
Page 29
“Yes.”
“It must be past 1:00 in the morning there.”
“Quite right. And your point would be?”
“No. No point. Just asking…”
“Well, sir. I’ve been instructed to schedule another appointment for you to specify your new coach. It seems our last appointment was ruined.”
“Did Jade ask you to set this up?”
“Oh, no sir. His Majesty the Sultan phoned directly. He insisted I call you, right away. His Airbus 340 is scheduled to land at Eugene, Oregon tomorrow. Will that work for you?”
Peter finished the call. “Who was that?” Todd asked.
He answered with a smirk. “Oh, that was George.”
Todd raised his eyebrows. “George?”
“Oh, he works for Rolls Royce. I guess the Sultan isn’t too angry with me after all. He still wants me to pick out my car.”
“A Rolls Royce? You’re going to the factory?”
“I think I might offend the Sultan if I don’t.”
Todd laughed. “You wouldn’t want to do that. And this time, stay out of trouble.”
“Like I ever have a choice?”
“You know what you should do…”
Peter nodded as he dialed his phone. “Hi Kate. How would you like to see England?”
Author’s Post Script
This is the place where I issue my standard warning—Spoiler Alert!—please do not read this until you have finished the novel. I hope you found the story suspenseful and entertaining… and maybe thought provoking as well.
All of the military weapons depicted herein are real, with the following qualifier: The Chinese “ship killer” ballistic missile, known by U.S. military as the DF26 medium-range ballistic missile, is not known to be equipped with a hyper-velocity kinetic penetrator warhead. However, it does carry both high explosive and nuclear warheads that are guided to the target.
Defense against ballistic missiles is very challenging, not unlike what unfolds in Guarding Savage. Unless a ballistic missile is intercepted during the boost phase, when the rocket engine is still attached to the warhead and the missile is ascending, success is very low probability. Attempting to intercept a missile warhead that has passed apogee and is on a downward trajectory has been compared to hitting a rifle bullet, in flight, with another rifle bullet fired from considerable distance.
This is why ballistic missiles pose a significant threat—there simply is no good defense. Oh, and they do move very fast, making the window of opportunity to intercept extremely short.
Tensions between China and Japan are very real, as noted in the Author’s Notes. I’ve conversed with many educated Chinese who truly believe they have a solid legal claim to the Spratly Islands and Senkaku Islands based on historical journeys by Chinese mariners in the early fifteenth century. There are many original maps drawn by Chinese cartographers, plus other genuine historical records, to support the claim. As I am not in a position to judge the evidence, I choose to remain neutral. But I can say that the argument is, at the very least, credible.
There is a brief reference to the Panama Canal Treaties in a conversation between President Taylor and Secretary of State Paul Bryan. I recall well the signing over of the canal by then President Jimmy Carter. It infuriated my grandfather, a retired naval captain who served in WWII. He simply could not understand why the U.S. would give up control of such a vital passage.
Perhaps, as President Taylor suggests, the canal treaties are a good model for how to manage the seemingly conflicting issues of national security, freedom of navigation, and sovereignty.
On another note, I hope you’ve enjoyed following Diesel in this tale. He was very popular in Hunting Savage, so late in the drafting I decided to bring him back in Guarding Savage. You can expect to read more of Diesel’s exploits in future adventures—he’s turned out to be a loyal sidekick to Peter Savage.
Please follow me online at lightmessages.com/dave-edlund for more information about special offers and upcoming events. I’m also on FaceBook (facebook.com/PeterSavageNovels) and Twitter (@DaveEdlund) and of course there is my website PeterSavageNovels.com.
Cheers
DE
About the Author
Dave Edlund is the USA Today bestselling author of the award-winning Peter Savage series and a graduate of the University of Oregon with a doctoral degree in chemistry. He resides in Bend, Oregon, with his wife, son, and four dogs (Lucy Liu, Murphy, Tenshi, and Diesel). Raised in the California Central Valley, he completed his undergraduate studies at California State University Sacramento. In addition to authoring several technical articles and books on alternative energy, he is an inventor on 97 U.S. patents. An avid outdoorsman and shooter, Edlund has hunted North America for big game ranging from wild boar to moose to bear. He has traveled extensively throughout China, Japan, Europe, and North America.
The Peter Savage Series
by DAVE EDLUND
Crossing Savage
Book 1
Relentless Savage
Book 2
Deadly Savage
Book 3
Hunting Savage
Book 4
More to come!
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