by Jack Mars
The CIA director nodded and reached behind him. On a narrow end table were four small wooden boxes, each a dark cherry and varnished to a high sheen. Mullen set them atop the president’s desk wordlessly.
“It is my great privilege to bestow upon each of you the highest award the Central Intelligence Agency offers,” Pierson told them. “It is one of the rarest honors the United States can offer; only a few dozen individuals in history have received it. This award is given only to those who display voluntary acts of extraordinary heroism, involving the acceptance of existing dangers with conspicuous fortitude and exemplary courage.” The president lifted one of the polished boxes and held it reverently in both hands. “This is the Distinguished Intelligence Medal for Valor, also known as the Intelligence…” Pierson paused and smiled sheepishly. “I’m so sorry. Director Mullen, is this the Intelligence Cross, or the Star? I can’t seem to keep them straight.”
An electric tingle ran up Reid’s spine. His shoulders quaked visibly.
Straight.
Mullen answered the president, but his words were lost to Reid’s ears.
Straight.
With just a single word from President Pierson’s lips, the floodgates opened suddenly and without warning in Reid’s mind.
Strait.
The strait.
As sudden as a lightning strike, he remembered. Memories of covert operations in deserts and European capitals surged back like a deluge. Memories of White House visits, meetings, briefings and debriefings. Weapons training. Combat. Flight lessons. Languages. Interrogation tactics.
He remembered.
He remembered everything.
He felt Maria’s hand on his. His eyes met her expression of concern. He was trembling and couldn’t seem to control it.
You okay? she mouthed.
He nodded slightly as he remembered their tryst. The memory was simply there, as if it had never left—the feel of her skin. The shape of her hips. The taste of her mouth on his.
The room felt as if it was spinning slowly. He was vaguely aware that Pierson was handing a box and medal to Watson.
Agent John Watson. Born and raised in Detroit. Real name: Oliver Brown. Lost his six-year-old son to leukemia three years ago.
Reid squeezed his eyes shut. It was too much, all at once. He blinked twice, his vision blurry, and caught the gaze of Secretary of Defense Quentin Rigby. Retired four-star general. Once ordered the destruction of a US Army report that detailed the accidental deaths of a hundred and forty-four civilians outside of Kandahar when a ballistic missile misfired and struck a small village.
My god. He had information on all of them, every single one of them. It was information he was not supposed to have. Information that could get him killed.
His knees buckled and he slumped. Maria’s arms tightened around him, catching him before he hit the carpet. “Kent,” she said urgently. “Are you alright?”
Reid looked into her eyes again. Maria Johansson.
He begged his brain not to. He wasn’t sure he would like what it conjured.
Her real name is Clara. She told you that after your night together.
But you already knew that.
You already knew everything.
“Yeah,” he murmured. “Yeah, I’m okay.”
“Agent Zero?” said Pierson. “Do you need to sit?”
“It’s, uh…” Reid cleared his throat, forcing himself up on his shaky legs. “It’s just the pain medication. For my hand. Made me a bit woozy. But I’m… I’m okay.”
Pierson smiled and nodded. “I understand. No one here will be offended if you sit.”
“Really. I’m okay.”
Strait. The Strait of Hormuz. That’s what he had discovered two years earlier. The plot, the conspiracy, the manufactured war—the intention was for the US to gain control of the narrow strait between the Gulf of Oman and Iran, a global thoroughfare for oil shipping and one of the most strategic maritime chokepoints the world over.
He knew the stages of the plan. He knew who was involved. He knew that it was already set in motion. It came pouring back to him. He knew it all, but he hadn’t acted because he didn’t have solid evidence.
Too much. It was too much to take in at once. Yet one thing was certain: he had spent the last three months constantly anxious about who he could trust, who he shouldn’t trust, and now he understood why.
He was the one that couldn’t be trusted. He had spent months meticulously gathering intel on everyone that might be involved, anyone close to him. Like tiny data files in his memory, he had something on each of them. He knew about them.
He was trained to be a spy, and he had spied—on his friends. On his coworkers. On his teammates and superiors. On heads of state.
Reid dared to steal a glance over at Riker. She stared back, one eyebrow raised slightly. But nothing new came to him, nothing that he didn’t already know or suspect. She had risen in the ranks after his memory suppressor had been installed; she had been a non-issue back then.
“Agent Zero.” His attention snapped forward as the president stepped directly in front of him, a dark cherry box in his hands. “It it my great honor and genuine pleasure to give you this Distinguished Intelligence Cross.”
Reid nodded, forcing himself to stand straight, to keep himself steady as Pierson lifted the lid to reveal the gold, three-inch-round metal nestled inside the box. He handed it to Reid gently and he took it.
“Thank you. Um, Mr. President.”
“No,” said Pierson. “Thank you, Agent Zero.”
Agent Zero.
That’s right. That’s who I am.
And I know everything.
NOW AVAILABLE!
FILE ZERO
(An Agent Zero Spy Thriller—Book #5)
“You will not sleep until you are finished with AGENT ZERO. A superb job creating a set of characters who are fully developed and very much enjoyable. The description of the action scenes transport us into a reality that is almost like sitting in a movie theater with surround sound and 3D (it would make an incredible Hollywood movie). I can hardly wait for the sequel.”
--Roberto Mattos, Books and Movie Reviews
In FILE ZERO (Book #5), Agent Zero’s memory finally comes flooding back—and with it, shocking revelations about the CIA’s secret plot to spark a war and to take his life. Disavowed and on the run, can he stop them in time?
When an incident in the Strait of Hormuz threatens to mushroom into an all-out war, Agent Zero’s memory comes rushing back, and with it, a chance to uncover the plot that caused his memory loss to begin with. Discredited, with few friends left, Zero is on his own as he tries to stop the CIA while also saving his targeted family.
Yet as he digs deeper, another, more nefarious, plot comes to surface, one which will require him to trust no one, and to risk it all to save the country he loves.
FILE ZERO (Book #5) is an un-putdownable espionage thriller that will keep you turning pages late into the night. Book #6 in the AGENT ZERO series is now also available.
“Thriller writing at its best.”
--Midwest Book Review (re Any Means Necessary)
“One of the best thrillers I have read this year.”
--Books and Movie Reviews (re Any Means Necessary)
Also available is Jack Mars’ #1 bestselling LUKE STONE THRILLER series (7 books), which begins with Any Means Necessary (Book #1), a free download with over 800 five star reviews!
FILE ZERO
(An Agent Zero Spy Thriller—Book #5)
Jack Mars
Jack Mars is the USA Today bestselling author of the LUKE STONE thriller series, which includes seven books. He is also the author of the new FORGING OF LUKE STONE prequel series, comprising three books (and counting); and of the AGENT ZERO spy thriller series, comprising six books (and counting).
ANY MEANS NECESSARY (book #1), which has over 800 five star reviews, is available as a free download on Kobo!
Jack loves to hear from you, so
please feel free to visit www.Jackmarsauthor.com to join the email list, receive a free book, receive free giveaways, connect on Facebook and Twitter, and stay in touch!
BOOKS BY JACK MARS
LUKE STONE THRILLER SERIES
ANY MEANS NECESSARY (Book #1)
OATH OF OFFICE (Book #2)
SITUATION ROOM (Book #3)
OPPOSE ANY FOE (Book #4)
PRESIDENT ELECT (Book #5)
OUR SACRED HONOR (Book #6)
HOUSE DIVIDED (Book #7)
FORGING OF LUKE STONE PREQUEL SERIES
PRIMARY TARGET (Book #1)
PRIMARY COMMAND (Book #2)
PRIMARY THREAT (Book #3)
AN AGENT ZERO SPY THRILLER SERIES
AGENT ZERO (Book #1)
TARGET ZERO (Book #2)
HUNTING ZERO (Book #3)
TRAPPING ZERO (Book #4)
FILE ZERO (Book #5)
RECALL ZERO (Book #6)
