Setting

…. US military personnel levels in Iraq peaked in 2007 with the presence of approximately 170,000 troops. An already deadly insurgency grew and evolved. US and coalition partners responded by growing the force and putting more boots on the ground. The US war machine was bigger and broader than during the invasion four years earlier. ….

 —————————————————–

…. The US military industrial complex mobilized and presented a thirst, hunger, and level of consumption beyond most imaginations. ….

 —————————————————–

…. Convoys of cargo trucks plied the roads twenty-four hours a day.

These convoys were often escorted and protected by civilian contract security personnel, mostly men. Some had prior military or tactical training. The work was dangerous, but it paid well….

 —————————————————–

…. Violence continued to escalate throughout the country in 2007….

 —————————————————–

…. Inevitably, someone would be captured and held hostage….

 —————————————————–

Chapter 1

When Everything Goes Wrong…Taken Hostage

Day 1: April 15, 2007

The morning began like any other. Fine dust suspended in the air acted as a prism and bent the light—the sky exhaling a dramatic multicolored sunrise. A blood red horizon was gently consumed by the rising sun. Such opulent mornings evoked a sense of serenity—maybe even hope and promise.

That was a mirage—the place was Iraq, during the troop surge—there was no fucking serenity. It had melted into the desert sand, taking hope and promise with it. ….

 —————————————————–

Chapter 15

Meeting Donovan…Quirky People from NSA and GCHQ

Day 83 (continued): July 7, 2007

…. Everyone was required to be logged in and out of the SCIF, or Sensitive Compartmented Information Facilities. The soldier knew these two and signed them out—which meant the upper echelon of British command at headquarters had instructed the soldier to do so.With his voice low and directed at only the immediate group, Kyle said, “These two are some of Donovan’s British colleagues. They usually stay on the other side of HQ, where all Americans need a British escort.”
Each of the two men had his own peculiarities. ….

 —————————————————–

…. Jensen was with the General Communications Headquarters, the Brits’ NSA, simply referred to as GCHQ. Like his counterparts from NSA, Jensen exercised great discretion and preferred to be unnoticed like background noise.

NSA and GCHQ personnel owned background noise. ….

—————————————————–

…. John nodded enthusiastically, and they both laughed. He told Donovan the “secret” four-digit combination. Donovan simply nodded and said, “OK, got it.

Donovan did not need to write it down or repeat it to himself. He immediately remembered three and four-digit sets of numbers and how they associated with something else; he had complete recall of even the most complicated numeric relationships. People at the NSA had odd and very necessary skills. ….

The opinions expressed in this book are the writers and not that of the FBI or the US government.

Copyright 2023 Joseph Niland