by S L Shelton
Langley: The general term used for the CIA Headquarters in Langley, Virginia.
M4: A short military assault rifle
mikes: Military: Means "minutes"
MP5: A short military assault rifle. Machine pistol.
NATO: North Atlantic Treaty Organization. US Military Allies.
NCS: The CIA, National Clandestine Service
Negative: “No”
Op: A tactical or otherwise covert operation
Oscar Mike: Radio term. Phonetic military alphabet for "on the move."
Out: Radio term. Signing off of discussion. Not to be confused with "over," which means end of a statement. Usage: "Roger. Out," which would translate to: "I understand. I'm signing off now."
Outbound: Moving away from a position
P226: Semi-automatic handgun used by SEALs. Manufactured by SIG Sauer.
P229: Semi-automatic handgun manufactured by SIG Sauer, comes in .40 S&W, .357 SIG, and 9mm.
Package, Tango or Target: A covert description of a person or object of interest in an operation
Petty Officer: Navy non-commissioned officers. Ranks include Petty Officer 3rd Class, 2nd Class, 1st Class, Chief Petty Officer, Senior Chief Petty Officer, Master Chief Petty Officer, Command Master Chief Petty Officer, Fleet/Force Master Chief Petty officer, and Master Chief Petty Officer of the Navy
Popcorn: Small bomblets that are dispersed using various methods. When dropped from a bomber, a bomb deploys in mid-air, spreading bomblets over the ground which then become visible anti-personnel or anti-vehicle land mines.
Roger: Military radio term. It means "understood" or "acknowledged"
SITREP: Situation Report
State: The US State Department
Tango: Target or Bad Guy
The Hague: Home of the World Court, where war criminals are often tried. Also the Location of the US Embassy in the Netherlands.
Throat mic: A tactical microphone usually used in conjunction with a headset or integrated earbud speaker and often activated with a push button trigger on the hand or glove. Can also be activated by a voice-activated setting or "VOX."
UBL: Usama Bin Laden
VOX: The voice-activated setting on a radio microphone
Wait one: Hold on. Hold your horses. I'll get back to you.
Zip Cuffs: A zip tie device with two separate zip ties in which hands or legs are bound in lieu of handcuffs or shackles.
Acknowledgments
A debt of gratitude to my editor, Brenda Errichiello, for her tireless efforts in taking my first, very raw, novel and helping me turn it into a reality.
Thanks to Melissa Manes at Scriptonis for the extra proof editing. It’s quite an honor to have a vocal fan jump onboard this project. Your efforts have made my story better.
To my wife, Diane, who has provided me with more support than I ever thought possible and certainly more than I felt I deserved. If not for you, this story would still be knocking around in my head instead of being real.
To my friend Don Cooper, whose fount of wisdom seems inexhaustible. In matters of law enforcement, military, world events, chemistry, and so much more, I thank you for being my sounding board, encyclopedia, and friend.
And finally, a big thank you to my former business partner, Jo Ann. If it hadn't been for what we started together all those years ago, I wouldn't have had the opportunity to fulfill this dream.
Look for Scott Wolfe's return in
Unexpected Gaines
Books by S.L. Shelton:
Hedged
The Scott Wolfe Series:
Waking Wolfe
Unexpected Gaines
Danger Close
Wolfe Trap
Harbinger
Predator’s Game
Splinter Self (Coming 2016)
Back story: Lt. Marsh
Follow S.L. Shelton at:
wolfeauthor.wordpress.com
www.goodreads.com/WolfeWriter
facebook.com/SLShelton.Author
I hope you enjoyed reading Waking Wolfe. If you did, I’d like to encourage you to post a review on Amazon and on www.goodreads.com. Your reviews are the best way to keep an author churning out the work. Feel free to contact me on Twitter if you have any questions or thoughts about the stories. I love hearing from you…you make this process a joy for me.
Very best regards,
S.L. Shelton
Twitter: @SLSheltonAuthor
An excerpt from
Unexpected Gaines
3:35 p.m.—Burbank, California
John drove into the parking garage where the signal was coming from, roughly thirty minutes after it had stopped moving. He drove past the vehicle without looking at it and continued up to the next level, parking in a space on the slope just above and behind the Bronco so we could see it without being obvious. Gaines was not in the vehicle.
“The boxes are still in the back,” he said as he turned the engine off. “But I couldn’t tell if they were empty or not.”
“Want me to go over and look in?” I asked.
He thought about it for a second before answering.
“No. He could be using that tactical camera and receiver to monitor,” he finally replied. “Let’s just sit tight for a while.”
We watched it for an hour, seeing no movement. My stomach was making horrific noises, and after about thirty minutes of John listening to it without so much as an acknowledgment, he abruptly turned to me.
“Oh for God’s sake. Here,” he said, handing me two twenty-dollar bills. “Go get us some food.”
“But what if he comes back?” I asked, feeling as if I’d been asked to scrub the toilet.
“We’ve got the tracker. I’ll wait for you.”
I left the truck, happy to be able to stretch my legs. I walked down the stairs of the parking garage and let my mind unspool from the puzzle it was working on. I took a deep breath and looked up into the LA sky as the sun beat down on the top of my head.
“Damn, LA is hot in July,” I muttered.
I looked around the corner for a place to get food and spotted a deli about a block away. Walking along the bright, broad boulevard, I was enjoying the beautiful people and their lack of modesty. So much skin!
I arrived at the deli and fell in place behind a small line of customers. After finally getting to the counter, I ordered food and drinks for both of us, and then, while my order was being prepared, I stopped at the bathroom. By the time I came back out, my food was ready, so I picked it up and took a leisurely stroll back toward the garage, snacking on French fries as I went—a guilty indulgence.
I got to the staircase, and as I moved to go up, my other voice chimed in.
Careful, it whispered into my ear.
I looked down at my feet and then up the stairs and saw no obvious hazards.
“I know how to walk up a flight of stairs,” I muttered as I began to climb.
Quiet, it whispered as I got to the level we were parked on.
When I came around the corner, a man in Marine fatigues was standing by the passenger-side door. He was rummaging through my bag and computer case.
I set the food and drinks down quietly and walked along the back edge of the wall, careful to step with the sides of my feet to remain as quiet as possible. When I was within two parking spaces from him, I started to move out so I could get behind him.
I could see John through the open back door, lying in the seat, handcuffed and unconscious—but I could no longer see Gaines.
As I stepped across an empty space, he suddenly appeared out of nowhere, flying down on top of me from above. He knocked me to the ground with a kick to my shoulder, and I rolled backwards, trying to avoid a stomp to my chest.
I rolled down through the narrow gap between levels and managed to get back to my feet before he came through the same way. There was no way I was going to be able to beat this guy. He was too fast too strong, and I still wasn’t 100% because of my wounds.
He made a rapid movemen
t toward me, pulling a knife from behind him.
“Not again,” I whined aloud.
That comment caused him to hesitate for a split second, but it didn’t stop his advancement toward me.
“Dude! I’m tech support,” I protested, throwing my hands up in the universal sign of “Whoa.”
Amazingly, this stopped him, but he kept the knife held high.
“How’d you find me here?” he asked.
There was no point in lying to him. We were no longer working undetected.
“My phone. It’s in your spare,” I revealed, jerking my thumb back towards the Bronco.
A confused look crossed his face. “Your phone?” he asked incredulously.
He walked over to the Bronco and sliced the cover on the spare with his knife. The T-shirt-wrapped phone dropped to the ground. He reached down to pick it up, opening the T-shirt and allowing the phone to drop to the ground. I reached out to try and catch it before it hit, but he stepped forward with the knife.
Crack! went the phone. I rolled my eyes and let my shoulders slump. Not my phone!
“A phone?” he asked.
“It’s all I had,” I replied honestly. “I’m not Company. I don’t have all your cool toys.”
“Not Company?” he smirked, verifying he had heard correctly.
I nodded.
He dropped my Melvin’s T-shirt after looking at it, and then opened the rear window of his Bronco with his free hand.
“Then why are you here with Temple?” he asked as he reached into the back without looking and withdrew a very mean-looking handgun.
My adventure in Europe had awoken an interest in guns. I recognized it as a Desert Eagle .50 Cal from my research—an impressive and quite intimidating piece of hardware.
There were papers wrapped around it; he removed them and tossed them back into the Bronco.
“He’s not under orders,” I said, raising my hands higher. “He told me he needed help finding a friend who was in trouble.”
“Scott! Shut up!” I heard John yell from behind me. He had regained consciousness.
Gaines looked in the direction of our SUV and then back at me.
“Scott?” he asked, narrowing his eyes at me. “Lift your shirt.”
The request caught me off guard. I hesitated for a second.
“Now! Lift it,” he repeated, the tension in his voice growing.
I did as ordered. He saw my scars and a broad grin appeared on his face.
“So you’re the one, huh?” he choked, breaking into a laugh. “The Boy Scout who took out Jovanovich and Popovich…Tech support, my ass.”
“I don’t know what you’ve heard, but those were accidents,” I replied defensively.
“Scott! Shut the hell up!” John yelled again.
Acclaim for
S.L. Shelton’s
HEART-POUNDING
Action Thrillers
Waking Wolfe
“Waking Wolfe is a tightly written story with engaging characters and fast-moving events… Throw in loose nukes, colorful Russian mobsters, nefarious Serbs, and some CIA guys and you’ve got yourself a thriller.”
—Susan Hasler, Former CIA Analyst
Author of Project: Halfsheep
“The pages of this novel are filled with non-stop action and atmosphere so rich you feel as if you are there. Shelton is amazing at keeping tension throughout the storyline, and it was incredibly difficult to put this book down… This is an amazing debut novel. There’s no wonder why S.L. Shelton has received high praise and five-star ratings from a slew of high-profile reviewers.”
—J.C. Wing
Author of Alabama Skye
“This was a great read. From the start it engaged my interest with an exciting setup that quickly drew me in… I highly recommend this book to anyone who likes spy or action thrillers. It's a roller coaster filled with great characters and nearly non-stop excitement.”
—C.C. Bradley
Author of Interim
“Shelton hits the bull’s eye dead center for political espionage with Waking Wolfe… Imbued with rich detail and realistic, high-powered adventure, this action-packed, cleverly devised plot whisks the reader along for a non-stop ride where ‘boy-next-door’ techno geek, Scott Wolfe, evolves into amateur international spy.”
—Donna Cummins
Author of Rain of Terror and A Reason to Kill
“[Waking Wolfe] was one of those books where you jump in hoping for, at the very least, a semi-entertaining read, but instead end up craving more after turning the last page. Shelton's debut took me by surprise and I have to say, it was awesome.”
—Book Addict 24-7 Reviews
Bookaddict24-7.com
Unexpected Gaines
“Shelton has created in Scott Wolfe a character that may just rise in importance to the level of Tom Clancy's Jack Ryan—this story will cover a mere two weeks of time, but the action that occurs is compacted so tightly that the timeframe is soon forgotten.”
—Grady Harp
Amazon Top 100, Hall of Fame Reviewer
“A gripping tale from cover to cover! Superb characters with flaws as well as heroic attributes, with a thunderous storyline that leaves you craving more! Excellent!”
—Amazon Reviewer
“If you liked Shelton’s first book then you will really like [Unexpected Gaines]. If you have not read his first book, then shame on you because you are depriving yourself of the chance to read one of the best new authors writing today.”
—LTC R. Huber
U.S. Army (Retired)
Danger Close
“I was a fan of this series from the very beginning. S.L. Shelton’s first novel kicked off a wildly entertaining ride, and his story just keeps getting better and better with each installment.”
—J.C. Wing
Author of Alabama Skye
“Certainly a book series just waiting for the big screen… True to form, the author has given us a spy thriller with all the action needed to get our attention… S.L. Shelton leaves us ready and eager for the next adventure. Awesome.”
—W.N. Amazon Reviewer
Wolfe Trap
“Wolfe Trap will grab you from the first sentence, and before you know it, you’re on the last page. The book is fast-paced and action-packed.”
—Melissa Manes
Author, Editor
“I’ve spent a good deal of time with Scott Wolfe in the recent months…he’s taken me on some hair-raising adventures. None so wild as this latest one. My advice to you, fellow readers? Buckle your seat belt, hold on tight and enjoy the ride. You have no idea what’s in store for you…but I can absolutely guarantee that you’re going to love it.”
—J.C. Wing
Author of Alabama Skye
Harbinger
“S.L. Shelton is without a doubt one of the best spy/espionage novelist I have run across in a long time. I'd put his Scott Wolfe series in the same league as Lee Child's Reacher series. Fast paced, fun interactions between characters and great action.”
—Chuck Hester
Author
