American operator, p.37
American Operator, page 37
part #4 of Tier One Series
“I have a well-placed asset in the Office of the Director of National Intelligence. This asset is one of only a handful of people in the entire US intelligence community who knows about this group.”
“What about on our side? How many people know?”
“Three. The asset and the two people in this dacha,” Arkady said, leaning forward and setting his coffee cup on his desk. “And I mean for it to stay that way.”
“Understood.” Arkady watched him run the tip of his index finger over the long row of stitches on his left cheek. “The American operator who pursued me was good . . . probably the best I’ve ever encountered. If I hadn’t been wearing a vest, I’d be dead. Do you know who he is?”
“No. We have no intelligence on their personnel, save for one piece of valuable information.”
“Which is?”
“That the Director of National Intelligence, Kelso Jarvis, founded the group and handpicked its charter members. Jarvis was a JSOC Tier One Navy SEAL Commander before he transitioned to the dark side. He favors this group and protects them.”
Valerian turned back to face him. “Which is why Jarvis was my target in Istanbul?”
Arkady nodded. “With Jarvis out of the picture, my asset would likely gain access to Ember personnel files and, quite possibly, control over the activity itself,” he said, sharing only half of the equation. No need to reveal more than he had to, even with a trusted asset like Valerian.
“Do they know about us?”
“Very, very good, Valerian,” Arkady said, smiling broadly. “That is exactly where your head should be. This is the difference between a good spy and a dead spy. You must always make the flip.” Valerian nodded, but Arkady could tell the expression was lost on him, so he continued, “The natural inclination is to think in terms of us versus them. It’s how the human mind is preprogrammed, but I have spent my entire career doing the reverse—thinking in terms of them versus us.”
“I don’t understand.”
“One of the more interesting axioms of quantum mechanics is the observer effect. Have you heard of this?”
Valerian shrugged. “Nyet.”
“The observer effect simply holds that the mere act of observing an event impacts the outcome of the event. Every interaction with an adversary, even something as seemingly innocuous as observation, compels a change—sometimes a change in tactics, sometimes a change in strategy, sometimes a change in policy, and sometimes a change in all three. Do you see where I’m going with this?”
Valerian nodded.
“By deviating from your mission parameters in Istanbul, you have drawn our adversary’s attention. Once your PKK operatives failed, you should have disappeared into the shadows. Either you misunderstood my orders or you misunderstand my definition of failure. Killing Kelso Jarvis was the objective of the operation, but not at any cost. By revealing yourself to Task Force Ember, you forced an observation that might not otherwise have happened. They do not know the details of our organization or even our nature, but you gave them a glimpse behind the curtain. They have observed us, and that observation changes everything. Do you understand what you have done?” Arkady growled, the rage he’d managed to keep under control until now percolating inside him.
“Yes,” the spy said, looking at the floor. “I’ve forced us to change our behavior.”
“That’s right,” the old spymaster said. “Tactics, strategies, policies that were effective before are now vulnerable and subject to exploitation. You have made everyone’s job much more difficult, my impetuous friend.”
“So what do we do?”
“That is not the first question you need to ask.”
“Okay,” Valerian said, realization setting in. “What are the Americans going to do?”
Arkady nodded. “That’s right. First we must contemplate our adversary’s next move, then we can contemplate ours. So the board has been set. The players are seated at the table and the clock has started. Only one king—Zeta or Task Force Ember—will remain standing when this chess game is over.”
Valerian nodded.
“Are you ready to play?”
“Yes.”
“Very well, then. You’re Kelso Jarvis, playing white. I’m me, playing black. You get to make the opening move. So tell me, Valerian . . . What will it be?”
AUTHORS’ NOTE
We’d like to acknowledge you, the Tier One readers, for your earnest support and online reviews. Without your passion and enthusiasm for the characters and the series, we wouldn’t be writing this acknowledgment today. You have embraced John Dempsey and the Ember Team and, in doing so, brought them to life. So thank you for the gift of your attention, your time, and your hearts and minds.
With the last novel, Crusader One, we closed out the first trilogy in the series. American Operator marks the beginning of the next installment, with Dempsey and the rest of the Ember team facing a new and rising threat—an old enemy resurrected and refashioned for the twenty-first century. As such, we’ve got exciting and gut-wrenching developments coming your way in the next two books, so stay tuned.
We’re also very excited to announce that we are planning stand-alone shorts and novels tied to the Tier One universe and intended to spotlight other members of the Ember team. The first one will be coming soon, hopefully in 2019, and we can’t wait to hear what you think. Additionally, we have two other stand-alone novels in development with new characters facing emerging threats straight out of tomorrow’s headlines. For news and regular updates on all these, please join our mailing list at www.andrews-wilson.com.
Finally, we’d like to address a common thread we’ve observed in numerous reviews and mail we’ve received from you, the Tier One readers. Many of you have been moved by the service and sacrifice of these characters. Many of you have commented that you hope and pray that a “real-life” John Dempsey is out there, protecting American citizens abroad and at home. To this we say, sleep easy tonight—he is out there right now, embodied in mind and spirit by the thousands of courageous and committed men and women in the US Armed Forces and intelligence community who are forever and always watching your six.
GLOSSARY
AFSOC—Air Force Special Operations Command
AQ—Al Qaeda
BDU—Battle Dress Uniform
BUD/S—Basic Underwater Demolition School
BZ—Bravo Zulu (military accolade)
CASEVAC—Casualty Evacuation
CENTCOM—Central Command
CIA—Central Intelligence Agency
CO—Commanding Officer
CONUS—Continental United States
CSO—Chief Staff Officer
DIA—Defense Intelligence Agency
DNI—Director of National Intelligence
DoD—Department of Defense
Eighteen Delta—Special Forces medical technician and first responder
Ember—American black-ops OGA unit led by Kelso Jarvis
EMP—Electromagnetic pulse
EOD—Explosive Ordinance Disposal, the Navy’s “bomb squad”
EXFIL—Exfiltrate
FARP—Forward Area Refueling/Rearming Point
FOB—Forward Operating Base
HUMINT—Human Intelligence
HVT—High Value Target
IAEA—International Atomic Energy Agency
IC—Intelligence Community
IDF—Israeli Defense Forces
IED—Improvised Explosive Device
INFIL—Infiltrate
IRGC—Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. A branch of the Iranian Armed Forces
IS—Islamic State
ISIS—Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham
ISR—Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance
JCS—Joint Chiefs of Staff
JO—Junior Officer
JSOC—Joint Special Operations Command
JSOTF—Joint Special Operations Task Force
KIA—Killed in Action
MARSOC—Marine Corps Special Operations Command
MEDEVAC—Medical Evacuation
MEF—Marine Expeditionary Force
MOIS—Iranian Ministry of Intelligence, aka VAJA / VEVAK
Mossad—Israeli Institute for Intelligence and Special Operations
NCO—Noncommissioned Officer
NCTC—National Counterterrorism Center
NETCOM—Network Enterprise Technology Command (Army)
NOC—Non-official Cover
NSA—National Security Administration
NVGs—Night Vision Goggles
OGA—Other Government Agency
OPSEC—Operational Security
OSTP—Office of Science and Technology Policy
OTC—Officer in Tactical Command
PJ—Parajumper/Air Force Rescue
QRF—Quick Reaction Force
RPG—Rocket Propelled Grenade
SAD—Special Activities Division
SAPI—Small Arms Protective Insert
SCIF—Sensitive Compartmented Information Facility
SDV—SEAL Delivery Vehicle
SEAL—Sea, Air, and Land Teams, Naval Special Warfare
SECDEF—Secretary of Defense
SERE—Survival, Evasion, Resistance, and Escape
SIGINT—Signals Intelligence
SITREP—Situation Report
SOAR—Special Operations Aviation Regiment
SOCOM—Special Operations Command
SOG—Special Operations Group
SOPMOD—Special Operations Modification
SQT—Seal Qualification Training
SSGN—Nuclear-powered cruise missile submarine
TAD—Temporary Additional Duty
TOC—Tactical Operations Center
UAV—Unmanned Aerial Vehicle
UN—United Nations
UNO—University of Nebraska Omaha
USN—US Navy
VEVAK—Iranian Ministry of Intelligence, analogue of the CIA
ABOUT THE AUTHORS
Photo © 2012 Jennifer Hensley
Photo © 2015 Wendy Wilson
Brian Andrews is a US Navy veteran, Park Leadership Fellow, and former submarine officer with degrees from Vanderbilt and Cornell Universities. He is the author of three critically acclaimed high-tech thrillers: Reset, The Infiltration Game, and The Calypso Directive.
Jeffrey Wilson has worked as an actor, firefighter, paramedic, jet pilot, and diving instructor, as well as a vascular and trauma surgeon. He served in the US Navy for fourteen years and made multiple deployments as a combat surgeon with an East Coast–based SEAL Team. The author of three award-winning supernatural thrillers, The Traiteur’s Ring, The Donors, and Fade to Black, and the new faith-based thriller War Torn, he and his wife, Wendy, live in Southwest Florida with their four children.
American Operator is the fourth novel in the Tier One Thrillers series. Andrews and Wilson also coauthor the Nick Foley Thriller series (Beijing Red and Hong Kong Black) under the pen name Alex Ryan.
Discover exclusive content and sign up for their newsletter online at www.andrews-wilson.com. Follow them on Twitter: @BAndrewsJWilson.
Brian Andrews, American Operator
