RED HAZE: A Werewolf Story for the 21st Century (29 page)

“I’ve been hit in my left shoulder. I’ll move to the retrieval area utilising night vision, over.”

“He sounds fatigued,” said Jeanette.

“THAT’S A NEGATIVE RED HAZE…”

Jeanette Descard could not believe what she had just heard. “Colonel, what the hell are you talking about? We have a retrieval team ready to pick Ash up, GET THEM IN!”

The Colonel raised his right hand, palm open, the meaning being obvious. Keep quiet!

“Say again Control,” replied Piper.

“You are on your own Red Haze. No retrieval is available at present. I suggest you take immediate action to secure your safety.” For a few seconds only the sound of static could be heard as Jeanette, Nick and Jean-Paul gazed in shock at the Colonel.

“Very well Control, I’m making my way into the forest to secure better cover.” Piper winced as searing pain cut through his shoulder. Just what the fuck is going on, he thought?

“Nick, I want a full operational view of the warehouse facility and Piper’s location, QUICKLY!” Charles Mann was in no mood for arguments.

“Yes sir!” Nick shook his head in disbelief, the look on his face telling of mistrust as his fingers typed urgently at his keyboard. Just what the hell is happening, he thought.

Angrily, Jeanette Descard walked purposefully over to the Colonel, “Colonel, what is going on, Ash is wounded and…”

“CUT THE BULLSHIT JEANETTE,” Charles Mann’s raised voice made CEATA’s Chief Criminal Psychologist reel back in shock, the deep-rooted look in his eyes spelling trouble.

“Yes Herr Standartenfuhrer, he is wounded but has managed to escape, he won’t get far.” The burly security guard, standing with several others around him spoke earnestly into his mobile phone, “of course Herr Standartenfuhrer, yes…of course, we’ll get him, he won’t get far. I will call you as soon as we have him.”

“Well?” Another guard waited for his colleague’s reply.

“We take the shit alive if possible; get your men ready, we’re moving into the forest, I WANT AS MANY MEN AS WE CAN SPARE!”

Within minutes further guards appeared, their modified MP44s at the ready. “He has night vision, so he has an advantage,” said one.

“No he doesn’t…” the burly man smiled as he prepared to give further orders to his men. “GET THE TIGER UP!” he shouted.

GLOSSARY

AH-6 Little Bird:
Small, agile recon and attack helicopter utilised by many of the world’s special forces and armed services.

AK-47:
Russian Assault Rifle developed by Mikhail Kalashnikov, based on an original design from Germany’s MP44.

BBE:
Netherlands National Counter Terrorist Unit

BVD:
  Netherlands National Intelligence and Security Agency

CEATA:
Central European Anti Terrorism Agency. A European, top secret, highly covert agency based underneath NATO’s SHAPE Headquarters in Casteau, near Mons in Belgium.

CEATA Code Alert and Level Status explanations:

For Field Agents:

Code 1:
Immediate Action required

Code 2:
Immediate Stand-By Alert

Code 3:
Alert Notified-Action Pending

For Senior Command and Admin

Level 1:
Urgent-Top Secret-Eyes Only (High Command and Field Agents)

Level 2:
Important and Urgent (High Command and Heads of Departments)

Level 3:
General Admin-Non Urgent (All CEATA Departments)

CIA:
United States Central Intelligence Agency

Das Reich:
The 2
^nd
Waffen SS Division

DST:
French Directorate of Territorial Security

Europol:
European Union Law Enforcement Agency.

FSB:
Russian Internal Intelligence Service. (Formerly known as the KGB)

GIGN:
French Police Counter Terrorist Unit

GSG-9:
German Police Counter Terrorist Unit

Interpol:
The International Criminal Police Organisation

Kampfgruppen:
German word for Battle Group

Leibstandarte:
The 1
^st
Waffen SS Division

Mossad:
Israeli Foreign Intelligence Service

MP40:
German Sub Machine Gun used extensively in World War 2, commonly known as the Schmeisser by Allied troops.

MP44:
The first modern Assault Rifle, developed in Germany during the latter stages of World War 2 for use by elite Waffen SS Grenadiers.

NATO:
The North Atlantic Treaty Organisation

Nordland:
The 11
^th
Waffen SS Division

SAS:
Special Air Service

SHAPE:
Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe. NATO’s Military Headquarters based in Casteau, near Mons in Belgium.

Spetsnaz:
Russian military term for elite troops specialising in various forms of counter terrorist and general warfare activities.

SVR:
Russian Foreign Intelligence Service

TASS:
Russian News Agency

Totenkopf (Death’s Head):
The 3
^rd
Waffen SS Division

Waffen SS:
Adolf Hitler’s ‘Armed’ branch of the SS. The Waffen SS were quite possibly the first ‘Elite Force’ in modern warfare, being trained for highly specialised tasks in warfare and combat in general. The Waffen SS utilised the finest equipment available to the German armed forces during World War 2 and had many items of weaponry and clothing manufactured especially for their unique operational requirements.

Waffen SS Ranking Structure:

Reichsfuhrer SS:
Commander in Chief of all SS Divisions/Units

Obergruppenfuhrer:
General

Standartenfuhrer:
Colonel

Sturmbannfuhrer:
Major

Haupsturmfuhrer:
Captain

Untersturmfuhrer:
Second Lieutenant

Scharfuhrer:
Sergeant

Rottenfuhrer:
Corporal

Sturmmann:
Lance Corporal

Wiking:
The 5
^th
Waffen SS Division

ABOUT IAN REDMAN AND THE RED HAZE CHRONICLES

“You have to read the first three novels in the series to understand the origins of Piper’s kind and the ongoing, brutal fight for survival which is about to commence. Everything in these storylines is based on fact, including the descriptive elements regarding the pack of werewolves Piper ultimately fights against. The concept behind The Red Haze Chronicles is brand new and totally unique within the werewolf genre as Piper begins a continuous war against his own kind whilst fighting against modern criminal issues such as terrorism, illegal immigration, sex trafficking and arms dealing in a violent, brutal, intensively researched series of novels.”

Ian Redman has three key interests in his life, all of which have helped sow the seeds for the creation of The Red Haze Chronicles. “For many years I have been utterly fascinated with wild grey wolves, their biology, taxonomy and behaviour. Throughout the 1990s I studied wolves intensively. As the main researcher and speaker for British wolf conservation team Wolf HELP, (Helping Education for Lobo Preservation) I lectured throughout the UK and on two occasions in the United States.”

Ian talks passionately about the world’s largest dogs and the world of wolf research in general. “Considering my wolf studies were always on an amateur basis, several of North America’s finest and most respected wolf research biologists fully endorsed my studies and kindly helped provide me with photographic slides of wild wolves in their natural habitat to enhance my presentations.”

Ian is very proud of the steadfast friendships he nurtured with many of America’s and Canada’s foremost wolf researchers. Such notables as L David Mech, Diane Boyd, Lu Carbyn and Steven H Fritts to name but a few gave their full support to Ian’s studies and lectures throughout the 1990s.

Ian’s interest in wild wolves has taken him on two occasions into the heart of Minnesota’s wolf range. He has also studied wolves at Wolf Haven near Seattle and lived for two weeks in Russia, studying the wolves of the Taiga forest.

In 2000 Ian also became fascinated with the world of modern terrorism, covert operations and hi tech weaponry, which he has been studying in depth ever since.

But with this new interest came another; an interest that was to play a key part in his planning for the first three novels of The Red Haze Chronicles. “The history, weaponry and fighting tactics of Nazi Germany’s Waffen SS fascinate me, and have done so for several years.”

Over the last six years Ian has utilised the knowledge he has gained from these interests and written the first three in what will be a major series of ongoing, violent but highly entertaining werewolf novels to be collectively known as The Red Haze Chronicles. “I want to share the adventures of Ash Piper with millions of readers, both male and female. I want my readers to believe wholeheartedly in Piper and the world around him and especially in the pack of werewolves within the storylines. I have based the behavioural characteristics, shape and body language of these creatures on my wild wolf studies, thus helping the reader to believe that in the world of Red Haze…werewolves do exist. Piper’s adventures are a very realistic series of adult orientated Horror/Thrillers. Everything from the werewolves themselves to the group of terrorists who bring unholy chaos to Europe, have been thoroughly researched and developed within the series.”

Ian writes in his free time and is currently working on the fourth novel in the series entitled RED HAZE: Lethal Symmetry, which he hopes to publish on the Kindle in March 2013. Further novels are also planned, including RED HAZE: Bloodlines and RED HAZE: Kill Me Again.