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Chapter 3

Howe swung the door open. “Home!” he yelled.

He heard his mother talking in the kitchen, muttering about the food or maybe complaining that he was late.

“Hey,” he said, coming through the small dining room.

“Well, about time.” His mother turned from the stove and kissed him. Howe saw she hadn’t been talking to herself but to his friend Jimmy’s wife. They’d just arrived for dinner. “Hey, Deb,” he said to her.

“Hey yourself. And you’re Alice?”

Alice stood in the doorway, a bashful smile on her face. Whether it was the light or the smile or something else, she looked more beautiful than ever.

“How’d you get hooked up with this character?” Deb asked.

“I tried to rent him an apartment.”

As his mother introduced herself, Howe slid toward the back of the kitchen and helped himself to beer. A few minutes later, with the women showing no sign of needing him or even noticing that he was still there, he slipped out the side door and went to find Jimmy. He found him hauling out some brush in the side yard.

“Working for your supper?” he asked his friend.

“I figured I’d at least earn a beer.”

Howe handed him his.

“Don’t mind if I wipe the bottle,” said Jimmy.

“I would if I were you.”

“So? They catch the bastard?”

Howe shook his head. He trusted his friend more than just about anyone in the world, but he still had to be careful what he said. After the first flush of stories, the news reports had been very vague about what had happened, saying there seemed to be a Korean connection but not really explaining. And of course they didn’t know about Howe’s role in it all.

It was clear that the UAVs had been launched at sea. Dalton said the booster would have made it possible. The Navy had several candidates, but thus far the ships they had checked had turned up clean.

More than likely, the man Howe had rescued had been involved in the attack. They knew who he was now: a high-ranking relative of Kim Jong Il who’d commanded a military unit as well as a development facility. He’d been too well known to sneak out of the country on his own — or maybe too cunning to miss the chance of turning his escape into a gesture of defiance against the Americans. It was just a matter of time before they found him, Howe thought.

But it might also be just a matter of time before he struck again.

It wasn’t his job to worry about it. He’d been thanked for getting involved — but also subtly reminded that it wasn’t his job.

Screw that, he’d told them all. Except the President.

“Don’t drink it all,” said Howe, reaching for the bottle.

“Get your own,” laughed Jimmy. “You can afford it.”

“It’s not the money, it’s the principle,” said Howe. But he let his friend keep his beer.

About Jim DeFelice

Jim DeFelice is the bestselling author of two thrillers Coyote Bird and War Breaker. But he is best known for his collaborative work with — amongst others — Dale Brown. Dreamland which he wrote with Brown was a New York Times bestseller.

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