Enemy Among Us-A Jordan Wright Thriller
Read Enemy Among Us-A Jordan Wright Thriller Online
Authors: Randy Reardon
Copyright © 2011 Randy Reardon
All rights reserved.
ISBN: 1456508288
ISBN-13: 9781456508289
E-Book ISBN: 978-1-61397-604-3
Library of Congress Control Number: 2011905422
What Readers are saying about Enemy Among Us;
ENEMY AMONG US by Randy Reardon is a solid read that should make the hairs on the back of your neck stand up because the plot the evil doers in this thriller are working sounds like something out of today’s headlines. It’s no stretch to imagine the madmen who fancy themselves the government of Iran doing despicable deeds in order to wreak devastation on The United States. Randy Reardon’s story is well-plotted, has solid characters you can feel for and credible action and technique. In short, ENEMY AMONG US has everything a thriller needs to scare the heck out of a reader. As authors of eighty-two novels ourselves, we recommend ENEMY AMONG US.
Just finished this book, what a great read. I couldn’t put it down. If you like Grisham, Baldacci, Patterson or Ludlum, this book is a must read!!!
I recommend this as a book that will frighten you!
Randy Reardon has created an interesting hero and solidly drawn subsidiary characters, all of whom reveal a depth of humanity. Most importantly, Reardon has hatched a complex plot that is scarily realistic, so much so that it will make you feel uncomfortable, because it could so easily be the headline on the seven o’clock news. In THE ENEMY AMONG US, the enemies of America concoct a convoluted plot that would never be expected and could not be guarded against, as it mines new depths of evil. The background detail — setting in particular — is very nicely laid out. This is a good, solid read you shouldn’t miss.
CONTENTS
ITALY
“Forgive me father, for I have sinned,” Jordan nodded toward the man, taking the seat offered. A moment of silence fell between them. Jordan looked at the wall and then at the Priest. “It has been six weeks since my last confession.”
The Priest again nodded and Jordan realized the Priest while making eye contact was not necessarily engaged. Jordan couldn’t blame him. It seemed it was a small parish, one of hundreds dotting the countryside of the Umbria region. Jordan wasn’t sure why he had picked this church. It had more to do with his desire to get this over with rather than any spiritual calling. He knew what he was about to say would snap the Priest back to an attentive mode. It always had that impact.
“I confess to the using the Lord’s name in vain,” Jordan started and the priest acknowledged, “and I killed six men.” Jordan thought the Priest was going to fall out of his chair and moved forward to catch him.
The Priest recovered and stared intently, not sure what to do. A man’s instincts take over regardless of their devotion or occupation. The instinct was to flee a room you found yourself in with a newly confessed killer. But as in every other case, this Priest recovered, gained his composure and made eye contact with Jordan.
“My son, you have confessed to the greatest of sins, before I can grant you absolution, I must ask you what drove you to commit these acts?”
“It’s my job,” Jordan quietly replied.
The priest shifted in his seat. Jordan could see the perspiration appear on the man’s brow.
“These men were sworn enemies of my country. If I hadn’t killed them, they would have killed many, many others.”
“I see, so you are a soldier?”
“Not really.” Jordan could see the hesitation return to the priest. “I work for a government agency that supports anti-terrorism efforts throughout the world. We don’t wait for the bad guys to come to us, we go to them.”
“I see. Do you do this often?”
“Whenever I’m asked.” Jordan sighed.
“We are often called upon to do things to protect others. Yours seems to have been an extreme version of that call. The men you killed were they Christians?”
“Not likely.”
The Priest nodded. “Yours is not an easy confession to hear.” Both men paused, which gave, which gave Jordan a chance to think about the events of the past day that led him to be in this room, within this church.
He had arrived at Leonardo Di Vinci airport on the overnight from Newark. Preferring not to stay on the large motorways he had exited the E-45 about an hour from the airport and plotted a route taking the SS3, passing through quaint villages until he spotted Trevi and felt the need to stop. Trevi, an ancient town situated on a sharply sloping hillside standing out in the flat plains of the surrounding countryside was visible from a great distance, rising from the earth like a sentinel and drawing you towards it like a siren of the sea. A walled city, with narrow streets and a large number of people milling about, Jordan quickly found the first car park and left his vehicle. He wandered for quite a while knowing what he had to do, but needing to find the right place.
Trevi was a city of churches, Jordan stopped at six before he came upon the Church of St. Emiliano. A plaque by the door stated that Emiliano was the first bishop and Patron Saint of the town as well as a martyr. He entered through the main door and saw the man he needed to speak to enter a room at the side of the church.
Jordan snapped back to focus in the room when he noticed the purple Biretta on the table next to the priest. The cap of a Bishop. “Oh great, what have I done now,” he thought to himself. A Bishop may have a whole different idea of penance than a small parish priest.
Jordan noticed the man staring at him, staring at his cap.
“You’re a Bishop?”
“Yes, my son I am.”
“What are you doing here?”
“It’s a long story, but it’s where I’ve been assigned.”
“I see. My guess is you didn’t ask to be assigned here. Where were you before?”
“Rome, the Holy See.”
“This is quite a change.” Jordan stared at the Bishop.
“Politics are everywhere. I fought battles where men were not killed, but they were eliminated nonetheless. I bet on the wrong man and found myself in the position I had placed many others. Maybe we are more alike than you think young man. We both had to undertake tasks though unpleasant needed to be done to protect a greater good. I have no regrets for my action, and I don’t believe you should either.”