Prologue

November 2006

Richard Carter, Sr., was sitting at a local bar, alone. Scattered throughout the establishment were a dozen or so of his best men dressed like normal civilians, set to blend in with their surroundings. Even one of the two bartenders working that night was one of the Richard’s men. The security guards at the door was two more. Needless to say, Richard was safe wherever he went. He sat towards the back of the bar with the bathrooms behind him, facing the entrance, sipping on a short glass of Jack Daniels on the rocks. The place was fairly packed. A few couples out on dates mixed in with coworkers enjoying a much needed drink on a Friday night after a long week of work.

This location was not somewhere that Richard would have picked, but the person he was set to meet did. He was used to the finer establishments. Being the head figure of an underground government entity, as well as a former General in the U.S. Army, had its perks. The target was someone Richard had been after for quite some time now. The only reason this meeting was agreed to stood on the grounds that Richard’s target could safely walk in and walk out. When presented with that ultimatum, Richard went against his better judgment and accepted. Now, he sat on his bar stool, sulking in the fact that he gave his word and had to let the one man that has eluded him for years go free after he would be so close to him in person.

Just as Richard was set to finish the last bit of his drink, the code word for when his target had arrived was clearly heard in his earpiece. Richard’s eyes began rummaging the bar as the description of his target was being relayed through his earpiece. He spotted the man and waited for him to make his way over. Richard ordered another drink and the bartender that was there for his protection produced one for him. Shortly after receiving his drink, Richard’s target sat down next to him. Within seconds, Richard pulled out his earpiece and took off his lapel pin, that doubled as a microphone and gave both to the man that had just sat down next to him, who then dropped them into Richard’s fresh drink. The two men talked for what seemed like ten minutes. At the end of their conversation, the culprit produced an envelope from inside his jacket, handed it to his pursuer and was on his way.