The Big Burn
SHE'LL NEED NERVE, SKILL AND COURAGE TO SUCCEED WHERE OTHERS HAVE FAILEDRaging wildfires on a Malaysian island have authorities calling in expert smoke jumper Anna Quick. Being recruited to extract a stranded party trapped in the inferno has Anna's blood racing and her instincts on high alert. But the mission quickly blazes out of control when she discovers the "authorities" are the CIA, the stranded party is someone she knows and she's been living an ugly lie. Anna's desperate for answers, but as shocking revelations uncover bitter deceptions, she begins to see that the truth will set her free, but lies just might save her life….
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“Go, go, go!” Brock screamed.
The pilot took the chopper airborne and as they raced up over the canopy of trees below, Anna caught a glimpse of the second helicopter coming up behind them.
Brock sat down beside Anna.
“I’ve had bad dates before, Quick,” Brock yelled over the roar of ammunition firing, “but this is ridiculous.”
“Sorry about that,” she yelled back. “I’ll try for dinner and a movie next time.”
“I’m going to hold you to that.”
“I hope you do.”
Suddenly, there was an intense shudder in one of the engines, followed by violent shaking. It didn’t stop. Brock’s eyes widened.
Anna could hear the pilot shouting into the radio before he turned to them and hollered, “We’re going down. Hang on. It’s gonna be a rough—”
Dear Reader,
I’m surrounded by Bombshells so it was easy for me to write about one. Between my wife, daughter and daughter-in-law, I had plenty of material to draw upon to create Anna Quick. She’s a combination of all three of these dynamic women, with a touch of mama-bear-defending-her-cubs just for fun.
I hope you enjoy reading about Anna and her adventure as much as I enjoyed writing about her.
Best,
Terry Watkins
TERRY WATKINS
as a high school student spent time tracking and camping in the mountains of Pennsylvania. Later he would do just about everything, from serving his country in the military to earning an MFA in writing from the American Film Institute. He’s credentialed in industrial firefighting and has carried a top secret clearance for work as a security officer. Settled now in San Diego with his wife, author Mary Leo, Terry is busy putting his love of action-adventure into novels.
For Aaron: beloved son, friend and teacher.
1970–2005
Contents
Prologue
Part One: The Smoke Jumper
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Part Two: Warrior
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Part Three: The Strait of Malacca
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Part Four: Operation Fierce Snake
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Part Five: Operation Blowback
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Chapter 30
Prologue
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Jason Quick pulled the laptop from the bloody hand of the dead Malaysian, then rifled through the man’s pockets until he found the keys. They were in the right-hand pocket of his jacket. The key ring held the JumpDrive memory stick Jason was hoping for. A backup for the laptop. He quickly yanked it off the ring and started down the alley where a car waited.
The nervous-looking Malaysian standing beside the car yelled at him in Malay, urging him to hurry. Another man, sitting behind the wheel, also insisted that he hurry.
Jason was about ten yards away from the car when he heard shouts behind him. He turned just as a man came after him, firing his weapon.
Jason felt the searing pain of the bullet as it went through the inside of his left thigh.
He spun, dropped to one knee and fired three rounds.
His pursuer went down—only to be replaced at the mouth of the alley by two more men trying to stop him.
More gunfire erupted.
The Malaysian waiting for him at the car returned the gunfire, while Jason rose and limped toward him. Bullets screamed both ways, pieces of stucco flew from the walls, men yelled obscenities in Manglish, the Malay’s version of English, and a perfect description of the mangled combination.
The passenger car door opened and Jason dived inside.
His Malaysian partner, now hunkered down on the ground beside the passenger door, was hit twice. As Jason tried to get him inside, the car lurched forward and the man slipped from his grip.
He had no choice but to leave him.
“Get the hell out of here! Go! Go! Move it!” Jason yelled while turning to look behind them as their car blasted out of the alley and then swerved through the clogged streets of Kuala Lumpur. He could see the great towers behind him, tallest buildings in the world. And he could see a black car, a Mercedes, battling traffic to catch up.
He had to get to the dock. The speedboat was waiting. There was no chance of making contact now, of delivering the laptop to the right people. He’d have to get to the island and wait there until someone could manage to extract him.
Every terrorist in Jemaah Islamiyah would be after him. And every pirate looking to cash in. And the vast, well-organized crime syndicates working the Strait of Malacca, with its seventeen thousand islands in the waters of this, the most important oil and goods shipping route on earth, would be looking for him.
He held the coveted laptop against his chest with the protectiveness of a man who thought he was holding the living heart of Western civilization.
“We need to find my daughter,” Jason said as the driver swerved to avoid crashing into an oncoming car, then straightened out and raced down the street.
Chapter 1
Southern California
Anna Quick felt a rude jolt when turbulence from an eighty-mile-per-hour gust of superheated air slammed violently into the jump plane. Her breathing was shallow from the tight constraint of the chest strap on the jump harness as she stared out the open door, the plane orbiting drunkenly over the raging inferno below.
