Freedom Does Matter (Mercenaries Book 2) (50 page)

Read Freedom Does Matter (Mercenaries Book 2) Online

Authors: Tony Lavely

Tags: #teen thriller, #teen romance fiction

References

* THE QUOTATION IN CHAPTER 14:

New Zealand Herald, 0530 20 October, 2012, “Return to El Alamein.” Accessed on 20 October, 2012

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10841742

**These definitions (Wad al-Yad and
^cUrf
ī contracts) are from “Landownership disputes in Egypt,” Authors: Asger Toft Johannsen, Marianne Nabil Mahrous and Maria Graversen, August 26, 2009,
Arab West Report.
See http://www.arabwestreport.info/landownership-disputes-egypt-case-study-tensions-around-abu-fana-may-2008

The Nest

THE NEST IS A FICTITIOUS archipelago sited in the Commonwealth of the Bahamas. It is described by the map in the front matter, as well as here.

Cartography based on “Eastern Caribbean.” 21.680164° N and 73.463645° W. Google Earth. Image date not given. Accessed April 7, 2013.

There are seven islands, listed in order of decreasing size.

Port Cay: 11050 feet by 4050 feet (largest dimensions in two orthogonal directions). Average elevation is 15 feet, and the maximum elevation is 50 feet, both above mean high water (mhw). Port Cay houses the team’s airfield (8000’ by 200’ asphalt runway, heading east-west, east end is 18’ elevation, dropping to 12’ at the west end.). The island was artificially extended to accommodate the runway. To support aircraft operations, the island also has a hangar. The Nest’s communication and radar facilities are adjacent to the hangar.

Bon Secours Cay: 7000’ x 2000’, avg. ele., 15’; max. ele., 40’ mhw. The name denotes the home of the team’s hospital. The camp’s administration and security offices are adjacent to the hospital. Homes occupy most of the other area.

Nord Cay: 4100’ x 1940’; avg. ele., 15’; max. ele., 25’ mhw. Northernmost island. Team member homes.

Sud Cay: 2000’ x 3000’; avg. ele., 18’; max. ele., 40’ mhw. Southernmost occupied island. Sud Cay has the only deep draft dock on its eastern shore. More homes and storage facilities.

Home Cay: 3200’ x 1580’; avg. ele., 13’; max. ele., 20’ mhw. First island settled; Ian Jamse and Kevin deVeel’s homes are there.

Cottage Cay: 2600’ x 1200’; avg. ele., 10’; max. ele., 30’ mhw. A community of cottages for single or unattached team members. The southwest shore has a protected lagoon; the team’s small boat anchorage is there.

Tiny Cay: 2000’ x 1000’; avg. ele., 8’; max. ele., 10’ mhw. Uninhabited with only brush, Tiny Cay lies about two miles south and slightly west of Sud Cay. It is used for training.

All islands except Tiny Cay have a dock with boats capable of navigating between islands. Bon Secours has three of them due to its relatively central location.

Cell phone and WiFi service are provided, with a connection to BTC. Security monitors all coastlines for intrusions as well as passing traffic.

The team’s aircraft are leased, including two Gulfstream g150’s, a B737-700C and a Piper Mirage. The team owns outright a Lockheed C130 retired from US Air Force service. The hangar is capable of protecting these as well as a Eurocopter EC-135.

Cast

IN ORDER OF APPEARANCE

KEVIN deVeel	One of Jamse’s team, Shalin’s husband
Ian Jamse	Beckie’s fiancé, the team’s leader
Dan Wu	One of Jamse’s team
Sue Jinet	One of Jamse’s team, Rich’s significant other
Derek Hamilton	One of Jamse’s team, Emily’s husband
Millie Ardan	Trauma surgeon, heads hospital, Amy’s mother
Shalin deVeel	Kevin deVeel’s wife, Beckie’s friend
Maurice Boynton	Jamse’s factotum, team member
Beckie Sverdupe	Ian Jamse’s fiancée and teammate
Ginny Clasen	High school girl, helps with Beckie’s horse, Hoshi
Melissa Durst	Beckie’s best friend
Mike Sverdupe	Beckie’s brother
Patrice	Pilot, one of Jamse’s team
Willie Llorens	One of Jamse’s team
Amun Hassan	Egyptian lawyer, land claims specialist
Jean Sverdupe	Beckie’s mother
Sheikh al-Kassis	Head negotiator left side
Sheikh Al Hosni:	Head negotiator right side
Minnah Al Sahaf	A female negotiator who speaks for Al Hosni
Haleef Al Hosni	Recent graduate in London, Sheikh Al Hosni’s grandson, Saliha’s twin
Reverend Billy America	(Rev Billy) A fundamentalist pastor preaching in Kansas, USA
Sarah Willan	Reverend Billy’s 14 YO granddaughter, Deborah and Sam’s daughter
David Willan	Reverend Billy’s 13 YO grandson, Deborah and Sam’s son
William Frankelin	One of Billy’s subordinate pastors, teaches Sunday school
Noorah	Egyptian girl, attempted assassin
Sheikh Abdul-Bari Sedki	Noorah’s sheikh
Saqira	English speaking woman in Noorah’s tribe, Noorah, Tahirah and Nasir’s mother
Else Meyer	One of Jamse’s team, a boffin who handles IT and intelligence
Jean-Luc Fereré	Pilot, one of Jamse’s team
Nasir	Noorah’s brother, ten
Tahirah	Noorah’s older sister, fourteen
Bakr al-Aziz	British Muslim supplier of trash services in London
Go Shen	One of Jamse’s team, handles security for the Nest
Shakti Krishna	Trauma surgeon, one of Jamse’s team
Zhang Xia	One of Jamse’s team, a translator
Li Meili	Teenage Chinese girl rescued by Beckie in Closure
Amy Rose Ardan	Millie’s 15 YO daughter, infatuated with Abby Rochambeau
Alisha Rashid	Music professional, teaches Sarah and David, Labeeb’s sister
Deborah Willan	Sarah and David’s mother, Sam’s wife
Hamza Faraj	Copilot who attempts to crash plane
Jolene Abigail Rochambeau	(Abby) One of Jamse’s team, attracted to Amy Ardan
Rich Quinn	One of Jamse’s team, Sue’s significant other
Mathilde Moreau	One of Jamse’s team, a pilot newly recruited
Emily Hamilton	Derek Hamilton’s wife
Saliha Al Hosni	Recent graduate in London, Haleef’s twin sister
Roni Shalev	Sales coordinator for IAC, an Israeli arms manufacturer
Sam Willan	Kansas state legislator, Deborah’s husband, Sarah and David’s father
Haim Demsky	Head of IAC
Elena Rios	One of Jamse’s team
Labeeb Rashid	Imam at Nassau Islamic Center, Alisha’s brother
Also
Trillian	Jamse’s ocelot
Hoshi	Beckie’s Thoroughbred horse
Duskie Rose	(Duskie) Melissa’s Thoroughbred horse

Acknowledgments

Great thanks to my wife and family for their support!

Thanks to Amy Rose Davis, one of the
Twelve Worlds
contributors, who graciously lent her name to Amy Rose Ardan. I hope she’s not dismayed with the way her namesake character turned out. Find her excellent work at
http://www.amazon.com/Amy-Rose-Davis/e/B004GG38AI/

Also, to Critters.org and the several critters who provided suggestions and comments to improve my work. Among them are Brian, Conny, Liza, Zvi and especially Carol and Phil. Without their efforts, I can’t imagine the problems this story would have.

Like all budget constrained authors, I draw heavily on Google Earth for scenes set in lands not local to me. Any discrepancies in fictionalization are my failure, not Google’s.

About the Author

Tony Lavely lives with his lovely, compassionate wife in Massachusetts, in reasonable proximity to their children and grandchildren. Retirement has provided ample time for him to pursue writing as well as other mundane pleasures.
Freedom Does Matter
is his second novel. One of the Mercenaries stories, it is a thriller in an approximation to the real world.

He was privileged to be a part of the
Twelve Worlds Anthology for Charity
, still available at on-line outlets. This collection of short stories benefits Reading Is Fundamental, and meeting (in an on-linely way) the other authors was great fun and excellent experience. Those guys are great! (‘Guys’ used in the best
The Electric Company
tradition: “Hey, you guys!”)

He reads fantasy and adventure, confidently believes that
The Muppet Movie
is one of the best movies ever made, and his iPod playlist includes works from Beethoven to Twisted Sister.

He blogs at
http://tonylavely.com/

On Twitter: twitter.com/tlavely

Email: atl.for.writing at gmail.com.

At this writing, the Mercenaries stories include (and are best read in the following order):

Coming early in 2016:

Discoveries

In process: