Dale Brown: Edge of Battle

EDGE OF BATTLE DALE BROWN

CAST OF CHARACTERS

MAJOR JASON RICHTER, U.S. Army, commander Task Force TALON

DR. ARIADNA VEGA, Ph.D., deputy commander Task Force TALON

CAPTAIN FRANK “FALCON” FALCONE, USAF, operations and intelligence officer Task Force TALON

FIRST LIEUTENANT JENNIFER MCCRACKEN, USMC, deputy commander for operations Task Force TALON

CID PILOTS

HARRY DODD, Sergeant First Class, U.S. Army, Task Force TALON

MIKE TESCH, formerly of the Drug Enforcement Administration, Task Force TALON

SAMUEL CONRAD, President of the United States

SERGEANT MAJOR RAYMOND JEFFERSON, U.S. Army, National Security Adviser

THOMAS F. KINSLY, Chief of Staff

GEORGE WENTWORTH, Attorney General

KELSEY DELAINE, director of Federal Bureau of Investigation

SPECIAL AGENT JANICE PERKINS, Kelsey DeLaine’s assistant and bodyguard

CHRISTOPHER J. PARKER, Secretary of State

LEON POINDEXTER, U.S. ambassador to United Mexican States

ALEXANDER KALLIS, director of National Intelligence

RUSSELL COLLIER, Secretary of Defense

GENERAL GORDON JOELSON, USAF, commander U.S. Northern Command

JEFFREY F. LEMKE, Secretary of Homeland Security

JAMES A. ABERNATHY, director of U.S. Customs and Border Protection

ANNETTE J. CASS, U.S. Attorney, southern district of California

BRUNO WATTS, FBI deputy assistant director for counterterrorism; new FBI commander of Task Force TALON

ANGELICA PIERCE, Special Agent in Charge, FBI San Diego field office

OPERATION RAMPART PERSONNEL

BRIGADIER GENERAL RICARDO LOPEZ, national deputy director of the Army National Guard, commander of Operation Rampart

GEORGE TRUJILLO, deputy director of Customs and Border Protection, deputy commander of Operation Rampart

CAPTAIN BEN GRAY, USAR, Rampart One, Boulevard California

SERGEANT MAJOR, JEREMY NORMANDIN, USAR, Rampart One

BORDER PATROL AGENTS

PAUL PURDY

ALBERT SPINELLI

ROBERT “RAIDER” O’ROURKE, nationally syndicated radio talk-show personality in Henderson, Nevada

FAND KENT, producer, Bob O’Rourke’s The Bottom Line radio talk show

GEORGIE WAYNE, sound engineer, Bob O’Rourke’s The Bottom Line radio talk show

COMMANDER HERMAN GEITZ, American Watchdog Project

UNITED MEXICAN STATES GOVERNMENT OFFICIALS

MS. CARMEN MARAVILLOSO, President of the United Mexican States

FELIX DÍAZ, Minister of Internal Affairs, Director-General of the Political Police

JOSÉ ELVAREZ, deputy minister of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, director of operations of the Political Police and Sombras (Special Investigations Unit)

HECTOR SOTELO, Minister of Foreign Affairs

GENERAL ALBERTO ROJAS, Minister of National Defense

RAFAEL NAVARRO, Attorney General

ARMANDO OCHOA, deputy consul general, United Mexican States consulate, San Diego

MAJOR GERARDO AZUETA, border task force commander, Mexican Army

LIEUTENANT IGNACIO SALINAS, company commander, Mexican Army

MASTER SERGEANT JORGE CASTILLO, Mexican Army

ERNESTO FUERZA, “Comandante Veracruz,” drug and human smuggler

YEGOR VIKTORVICH ZAKHAROV, former Russian oil company executive and oligarch, military leader of the Consortium terror group

SMUGGLERS

VICTOR FLORES

MARTÍN ALVAREZ

LUIZ VASQUEZ

WEAPONS

CONDOR,an unmanned airship, resembling a seagull or large bird, with a 120-foot wingspan; built of lightweight carbon-fiber skin and Mylar; ducted prop-fan engines; maximum endurance thirty-six hours; maximum altitude ten thousand feet aboveground; maximum speed ninety knots; maximum payload two thousand pounds, including cameras, UHB radar, or air-dropped CID units.

GUOS,a grenade-launched unmanned observation system; small man-launched drones capable of carrying satellite-uplinked images; can fly up to one thousand feet aboveground for up to two hours.

GULLWING,an unmanned reconnaissance aircraft (also known as a UAV), assembled and launched from a Humvee, endurance eight hours; maximum altitude five thousand feet AGL; mini-turbojet powered; retrieved by flying into a recovery net; carries a variety of sensors including low-light TV, UHB radar, and imaging infrared; capable of transmitting images and data by satellite; can be steered from ground stations or by commands from a CID squad.

MMWR,a millimeter wave radar, capable of detecting tiny amounts of metal from long distance and even underground.

SA-14,an improved version of the Russian SA-7 man-portable surface-to-air missile; 2.2-pound warhead, maximum target range 3.6 miles, maximum target altitude ten thousand feet.

TEC-9,nine-millimeter semiautomatic pistol.

VH-71,next-generation presidential transportation helicopter, called Marine One when the President is on board.

ACRONYMS, ABBREVIATIONS, AND TERMINOLOGY

AG—Attorney General

AGL—above ground level

AMO—Air and Marine Operations (Department of Homeland Security)

APC—armored personnel carrier

ARTCC—air route traffic control center

ATV—all-terrain vehicle

BDU—battle dress uniform

“bent”—device or system inoperable

BORSTAR—Border Patrol Search, Trauma, and Rescue

BORTAC—Border Patrol Tactical unit

CBP—U.S. Customs and Border Protection Service

CHP—California Highway Patrol

CID—Cybernetic Infantry Device

Council of Government—Mexican presidential advisers

DAICC—Domestic Air Interdiction Coordination Center

DCI—Director of Central Intelligence

DDICE—digital distant identification and collection equipment

DHS—U.S. Department of Homeland Security

DNI—Director of National Intelligence

DRO—U.S. Deportation and Recovery Operations Service

DSS—Diplomatic Security Service

ETA—estimated time of arrival

ETE—estimated time en route

FEBA—forward edge of the battle area

FLIR—forward-looking infrared

FM—farm to market

FOL—forward operating location

GSW—gunshot wound

GUOS—grenade-launched unmanned observation system

Humvee—high mobility wheeled vehicle

HUWB—high-powered ultra wideband radar

ICE—U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement

INS—Immigration and Naturalization Service, changed to USCIS (see USCIS)

klick—kilometer

LZ—landing zone

MANPADS—man-portable air defense system

MMWR—millimeter-wave radar

Mode C—radio signal that reports altitude to air traffic control radar

Mode 3—radio signal that reports aircraft identification information to air traffic control radar

MOU—memorandum of understanding

NIS—(pronounced “nice”) nanotransponder identification system

NORTHCOM—U.S. Northern Command

NVG—night vision goggles

OAS—Organization of American States

OHV—off-highway vehicle

OTH-B—over the horizon-backscatter long-range radar

OTMs—other than Mexicans—illegal immigrants to the United States from countries all over the world who cannot easily be deported and, because of budget shortfalls and overcrowding in detention facilities, are often released from custody with nothing more than a notice to appear (see permiso ) before a deportation judge. Over 60 percent of OTMs fail to appear for deportation hearings and are untraceable by immigration officials.

PDA—personal digital assistant (handheld computer/organizer)