FRIDAY FIRST: Chaos Theory

I must admit that no matter how many books I’ve written, I always get excited when a new book releases. And today is release day for my new book CHAOS THEORY. I really enjoyed researching for this book, especially finding cool places like where the first scene is set, Piirissaar Island in Estonia. If you’re curious, check it out online. Such a neat little place.

If you didn’t pre-order this one or are just wondering what it’s about, here’s where you can dive into the first chapter with this week’s installment of Friday First.

Happy reading!

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CHAPTER ONE

PIIRISSAAR ISLAND | ESTONIA

TITUS BLACK EASED off the throttle of the trolling motor as his small fishing boat glided across the glassy waters knifing through the heart of Piirissaar Island. The moon shone bright overhead, glistening on the surface. A fresh outdoor aroma wafted across the barely detectable breeze. As Black crouched low anticipating possible incoming fire, he marveled at the natural habitat, seemingly untouched by the drumbeats of time.

Life as it should be.

Nestled on the Estonian side of Lake Peipus, Piirissaar Island seemed unaware that technology had stormed the shores of the mainland just a few kilometers away. Black figured it’d be a nice place to escape for a quiet relaxing vacation—if he wasn’t there to kill some people. But thoughts of time off would have to wait. He had more important matters to attend to, chiefly bringing home Kyle Porter.

According to CIA Deputy Director Robert Besserman, Porter was a CIA officer who’d managed to infiltrate the Fullgood Initiative. He had remained shut out of the group’s inner ring, but he’d still managed to gain some valuable information. Unfortunately, word came back to Langley that he’d been compromised and was currently detained as a prisoner in the hope of exchanging him for some of the organization’s captured operatives. But with Porter no longer an asset to the agency and nothing more than a liability, Besserman needed the officer extracted—and without risking any other agency members. All those parameters necessitated him contacting the Phoenix Foundation for help.

“Have you laid eyes on the compound yet?” asked Christina Shields, Black’s partner who was positioned off the main shore in an idling fishing trawler.

“I haven’t laid eyes on anything except trees and water,” Black whispered into his coms. “It’s like time forgot this place.”

“You can bet the Fullgood Initiative hasn’t forgotten about that place, especially with Porter being held there,” she said. “Just keep your eyes peeled and be ready for anything.”

“Roger that.”

Black, one of the Phoenix Foundation’s top field operatives, proceeded down the waterway for a few more minutes before reaching a small clearing with a dock and a cozy green clapboard house. A light near the front door illuminated the front porch, furnished with a pair of wooden chairs. With the cooling temperatures, a wispy fog had settled just off the ground.

Guiding his boat to the edge of the bank, Black loosely tied off around a tree stump. He stepped onto the grass and remained low. The creak of the screen door on the front porch sent him scurrying for cover behind a large bush. As the door slammed behind a guard, he scanned the area before igniting his lighter to fire up his cigarette. He took a long drag and then exhaled before looking around the property again.

“There’s nothing here,” the man called over his shoulder in Russian. “I told you that you were imagining things.”

Seconds later, a pair of heavy footsteps thumped onto the deck, echoing off the water. A second guard peered into the darkness before grunting. He muttered something to his partner before they both returned inside.

“Anything yet?” Shields asked over the coms.

“I can confirm there are at least two guards watching the compound.”

“Think there’s more?”

“They’d be hard pressed to get many more than that into this small house along with Porter,” Black said. “I’m estimating they’ve got two bedrooms in this house max—and I doubt anyone is sharing a room with Porter.”

“If you feel good about approaching the house now, you’ve got the green light from me.”

“Roger that. I’m heading there now.”

Black crept onto the front porch, careful to step lightly to avoid alerting the men of his presence with a stray creak. He unscrewed the lightbulb and then hopped over the railing. After he’d retreated around the side of the house, he waited for the men to notice the light had gone out.

There was some shouting followed by heavy footfalls.

Black donned his infrared glasses and waited for one of the guards to step outside. The moment he did, Black took a shot. He only needed one.

The man crumpled to the ground, hitting it with a thud that echoed off the nearby water. The other guard cracked the door before closing it, wise enough not to become such a quick victim. He turned off all the lights before shouting something through an open window.

Black couldn’t make out what the man was saying. Not that it mattered. With orders to extract Porter, Black wasn’t interested in engaging in a dialogue with the other guard. However, Black recognized that he needed to act quickly before the guard contacted others about the intrusion. That possibility drove Black’s urgency.

He peered through his goggles and noticed a heat signature emanating from a room just off the main entryway. Due to its smaller size, Black assumed it had to be a bedroom. The man was near the window, lying prone on the floor. Just as Black was about to charge in and start shooting, he paused.

What if that’s Porter?

Black needed to get a closer look. If the man in the room could move around more freely, Black could confirm if it was either a guard or Porter.

Black activated a smoke grenade and tossed it through the window. When the device hit the ground and started spewing smoke, the heat signature jumped up and raced out of the room.

“I’ve got you now,” Black said to himself.

He shot open the door and raced after the guard, who was sprinting toward the back door. Black shot him twice before he fell face first in the hallway.

Room by room, Black cleared the house. He waited for the final room where Porter was being held before crashing inside.

Porter raised his hands in the air and tucked his chin into his chest, eyes closed. “Please don’t shoot me. Please don’t shoot.”

“Relax, compadre,” Black said as he removed his goggles and turned on the light. “I’m here to take you home.”

“Oh, thank God,” Porter said. “I was wondering if the agency was going to leave me out here to die.”

Porter’s hands were bound together and fastened to a bar spanning the foot of the bed. Black didn’t require more than a few seconds to free Porter.

Immediately, Black sensed something was wrong.

“Did you get him?” Shields asked over the coms.

“I have the package in my possession,” Black said as he grabbed the back of Porter’s upper arm and guided him toward the door.

“How did you ever find me out here?” Porter asked.

“Just shut up,” Black said. “I find it hard to believe they only had two guards assigned to watching you if they were really concerned about a rescue attempt.”

Porter shrugged. “These guys aren’t exactly top-shelf mercenaries. But then again, are you certain there’s only two men here?”

With that question, Porter reached his hand into his pocket while spinning around. Black felt Porter’s arm slip out of his hand and realized what was happening.

“This was a trap,” Black said over the coms while diving into the other bedroom to his right just off the hallway. Porter fired a couple of shots into the dark before sprinting out the back of the house.

Black turned on his night vision goggles and peered outside. A bullet zipped through the window, shattering it.

“This isn’t an extraction any longer,” Black whispered in the coms.

“How can I support?” Shields asked.

“If you don’t hear from me after a few minutes, you’re going to need to get onto the island and take care of Porter yourself. He’s wearing a gray hoodie and jeans.”

“Roger that,” she said. “I’ll be waiting for an update soon.”

Black crouched low, snaking his way back to the front of the house and exiting through the front door. He raced away from the house momentarily to regroup. Then he approached the back of the home through the woods surrounding the property. Carefully picking his way through the woods, he reached a spot providing him with a wide field of view. He scanned the area with his goggles before he noticed a heat signature lying on the ground, arms extended in front of him with a weapon.

Black eased up behind Porter and stuck a gun barrel into his head. “Don’t move.”

“All right, all right,” Porter said. “Just relax.”

“Do you always shoot people who come to rescue you?” Black asked.

“I wasn’t sure you were affiliated with the agency.”

“Uh, huh.”

“I swear, man. You didn’t give me the code phrase.”

Black grunted. “But I did.”

“What was the phrase then?”

“Relax, compadre,” Black repeated. “You’re a trained agent. There’s no way you missed that.”

Porter whipped his gun around as he tried to flip over. But Black stomped on Porter’s wrist. He yelped in pain as the gun fell out of his hand.

“You can cut the act, Porter,” Black said. “I know this was a setup.”

Porter sighed and then whistled.

Black heard footsteps rustling through the leaves coating the forest floor. He reactivated his infrared goggles and noticed two other men hustling toward him with weapons.

Black dove to the ground and pocketed Porter’s gun. Then Black rolled a few feet away before lying on his back and shooting at one of the men. He stumbled forward, hitting the dirt face first. Black turned in the other direction and fired two more shots at the other guard, who shared the same fate as his colleague.

“Got any more surprises?” Black asked Porter.

“What can I say,” Porter said. “You got me.”

Then Porter lunged toward Black with a knife. Black scrambled out of the way before ending the threat with a pair of shots, felling the CIA officer.

“It’s over,” Black said over the coms.

“Good,” Shields said. “Can’t believe we walked into this trap.”

“Either someone in the agency was working with Porter to set us up or Fullgood managed to turn him. Either way, I’m not leaving this place empty-handed.”

Black searched Porter and found his cell phone. After Black opened the phone by holding it up in front of the dead CIA officer’s face, he began downloading the contents of the phone. Once he finished, he hustled over to his boat and yanked on the starter. The engine rumbled to life before Black cranked the accelerator wide open and headed straight back to Shields.

“I’m on my way back,” he said over the coms.

“I think I can see you,” she said. “And you’ve got company.”

Black glanced over his shoulder and noticed another boat speeding toward him, its spotlight blinding him. He shielded his eyes to try and get a better view of what he was in for. A bullet pinged off the side of the hull, satisfying his curiosity. Crouching low as he navigated the boat, he heard more bullets pinging against the boat and in the water around him.

“Shields, I think I’m gonna need some help,” he said.

“Just stay low,” she said. “I’ve got you.”

More bullets peppered Black’s boat, but he held it steady. Moments later, he watched a flash of light come from the trawler followed by a rocket. It soared over his head before striking the boat behind him, resulting in a fireball that lit up the night sky.

“You don’t mess around, do you?” Black said with a chuckle.

“Is that a thank you?” Shields asked.

“Times a million,” Black said.

“Good. You can make it official with a long back rub tonight while we discuss how we’re going to put these bastards away for good.”

Black smiled. “You’ll leverage just about anything for a back rub, won’t you?”

“Careful or else you might end up rubbing my feet tonight, too.”

A few minutes later, Black reunited with Shields. They tied up Black’s boat so it could be towed ashore. Once they started puttering back to the dock, Shields began sifting through the information Black had retrieved from Porter’s cell phone. After a brief inspection, she handed the device back to Black.

“Find anything?” he asked as he pocketed it.

“This trip was definitely fruitful,” she said. “Turns out Porter was very much turned, so much so that he was scheduled to attend a Fullgood Initiative leadership meeting next week in Rome.”

Black stroked his chin as he stared at the shoreline in front of him. “I wonder how Cicely Calhoun feels about party crashers.”

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