Lou Dobbs - Putin's Gambit

Thomas Brothers Financial was closed, but they had acknowledged he was a victim in the fraud that had funded terrorism. After all the effort the news media had put into the story, now they only focused on the conflict in Estonia, and he had barely been mentioned on TV again.

The FBI, mainly through Tonya Stratford, had been surprisingly forthcoming and kept him updated on the investigation that was still ongoing. They had linked a number of incidents together, including the bombing of a bank in Switzerland and some of the lone wolf attacks across the U.S. Some of the attacks were simply copycats, but others had been coordinated. There was a general belief that it was a smoke screen to allow the Russian military to invade Estonia.

He had watched the news more in the last two weeks than he had in the years he had been out of the Marine Corps. Once the balloon went up and he knew he had friends on the front line, he was desperate to hear anything he could about the fighting in Estonia. He’d also noticed, at least here in the United States, that the general public had refocused its attention and this nonsense of U.S. citizens fighting for ISIS was finally being taken seriously.

Walsh had spent a week in Philadelphia with his mom and younger sister and felt like his priorities were straight for the first time since he left the marines. He would never go back to Wall Street.

The day before, he had visited his friend Charlie, who was living in a halfway house designed to help older vets in Yonkers and attending AA meetings on a daily basis. With a decent diet and no drinking, the former Army Ranger looked ten years younger.

Walsh appreciated the breeze blowing off the river, but when he turned his head he saw who he had been waiting for. His friend Mike Rosenberg walked toward him. Walsh had never considered himself a hugger, but he embraced his friend. This guy had really gone out on a limb for him and more than anyone else was responsible for uncovering the conspiracy.

They had talked on the phone every day since the bad dream had ended. Walsh had even worked up the nerve to tell him that when he grabbed the suicide bomber in Afghanistan he thought it was just a thief and the pack was full of supplies.

Rosenberg laughed and said, “You really thought I hadn’t figured that out years ago? C’mon, Tubby, give me some credit.” Talking to Mike or Bill Shepherd was like wearing a comfortable old shirt. It always felt right.

Now all he had to do was restart his entire civilian life. After what he had been through that would seem easy.

LOU DOBBSis the host of Fox Business Network’s Lou Dobbs Tonight . A legendary broadcaster, Dobbs is the winner of four Emmy awards, a bestselling author, and one of the most respected and insightful voices on politics, economics, society, and business. For three decades, Dobbs has brought an unwavering American perspective to the most important issues of the day, whether national security, sustainable economic growth and prosperity, global business, finance and trade, or education and public investment. You can sign up for email updates here.

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JAMES O. BORNis an award-winning author of eleven novels. He is a former U.S. drug agent and special agent with the Florida Department of Law Enforcement. He has been involved in investigations in such areas as organized crime, economic crimes, drug cartels, and public corruption. You can sign up for email updates here.

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PUTIN’S GAMBIT

Copyright © 2017 by Lou Dobbs and James O. Born

All rights reserved.

Cover art by Getty Images

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ISBN 978-0-7653-7652-7 (hardcover)

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First Edition: June 2017