Hostage Read online

  Book Two

  Don Brown

  HOSTAGE

  ZONDERVAN

  HOSTAGE

  Copyright (c) 2005 by Don Brown

  All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, down-loaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of Zondervan.

  Mobipocket Edition April 2009 ISBN: 978-0-310-53913-1

  Requests for information should be addressed to:

  Zondervan, Grand Rapids, Michigan 49530

  Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

  Brown, Don, 1960 -

  Hostage / Don Brown.

  p. cm. -- (The Navy justice series ; bk. 2)

  ISBN-13: 978-0-310-25934-3 (pbk.)

  ISBN-10: 0-310-25934-7 (pbk.)

  1. United States. Navy -- Fiction. 2. Courts-martial and courts of inquiry --

  Fiction. I. Title.

  PS3602.R6947H67 2005

  813'.6 -- dc22 2005015807

  All Scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the Holy Bible: New International Version (r).NIV(r) Copyright (c) 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved.

  All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means -- electronic, mechanical, photocopy, recording, or any other -- except for brief quotations in printed reviews, without the prior permission of the publisher.

  07 08 09 10 11 17 16 15 14 13 12 11 10 9 8 7 6 5 4

  This book is lovingly dedicated to my wife of twenty years,

  Rhonda W. Brown.

  May the Lord bless her and keep her, may the Lord

  make his face shine upon her, and give her peace,

  this day, and forevermore.

  With much love, this Ninth Day of August,

  in the Year of our Lord, two thousand and five.

  HOSTAGE

  Also by Don Brown

  Treason (Navy Justice Series, Book 1)

  Defi ance (Navy Justice Series, Book 2)

  Contents

  TITLE PAGE

  COPYRIGHT PAGE

  CHAPTER 1

  In the hills near the Dean E. Smith Center South Campus, University of North Carolina Chapel Hill, North Carolina

  Dean E. Smith Center South Campus, University of North Carolina Chapel Hill, North Carolina UNC Versus Duke: Halftime

  CHAPTER 2

  Office of the Commanding Officer Navy Trial Command Building 73 32nd Street Naval Station San Diego, California

  CHAPTER 3

  Council of Ishmael headquarters Rub al-Khali Desert 250 miles southeast of Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

  CHAPTER 4

  Navy JAG Appellate Government Command Washington Navy Yard Washington, D.C.

  CHAPTER 5

  800 feet above USS Harry S. Truman 32 degrees 22 minutes west longitude 35 degrees 18 minutes north latitude 327 nautical miles WSW Lajes Field, Azores, Portugal North Atlantic Ocean

  CHAPTER 6

  Main plaza entrance United States Supreme Court Building Maryland Avenue Washington, D.C.

  CHAPTER 7

  River entrance The Pentagon Arlington, Virginia

  CHAPTER 8

  Main gallery United States Supreme Court Maryland Avenue Washington, D.C.

  CHAPTER 9

  Council of Ishmael headquarters Rub al-Khali Desert

  CHAPTER 10

  Officer's Club Washington Navy Yard Washington, D.C.

  CHAPTER 11

  Council of Ishmael headquarters Rub al-Khali Desert

  CHAPTER 12

  Execution chamber United States Disciplinary Barracks U.S. Army Base Fort Leavenworth, Kansas 2330 hours

  Council of Ishmael headquarters Rub al-Khali Desert

  CHAPTER 13

  Point Cires, Morocco Southern shore of the Strait of Gibraltar 1700 hours

  CHAPTER 14

  Port Mahon, Minorca Balearic Islands Western Mediterranean 2100 hours

  Radio Communications Center USS Harry S. Truman Western Mediterranean

  CHAPTER 15

  Officer's Country (Officer's berthing area) USS Harry S. Truman Western Mediterranean

  FIRST ENDORSEMENT

  Radio Communications Center USS Harry S. Truman Western Mediterranean

  U.S. Navy helicopter Special Mission 448 52 nautical miles ESE of USS Harry S. Truman Altitude 500 feet Western Mediterranean

  Radio communications center USS Harry S. Truman Western Mediterranean

  U.S. Navy helicopter Special Mission 448 54 nautical miles ESE of USS Harry S. Truman Altitude 300 feet Western Mediterranean

  CHAPTER 16

  United Flight 392 Altitude 31,000 feet Somewhere over northeastern Arizona

  CHAPTER 17

  Radio communications center USS Harry S. Truman Western Mediterranean

  Room 442 Hilton Wilmington Riverside 301 North Water Street Wilmington, North Carolina

  U.S. Navy helicopter Special Mission 448 58 nautical miles ESE of USS Harry S. Truman Altitude 50 feet Western Mediterranean

  Radio communications center USS Harry S. Truman Western Mediterranean

  CHAPTER 18

  Outside Hilton Wilmington Riverside 301 North Water Street Wilmington, North Carolina

  Room 442 Hilton Wilmington Riverside 301 North Water Street Wilmington, North Carolina

  CHAPTER 19

  251 Andropov Ulitza Krugloye Mogilev region Republic of Belarus

  Outside St. Mary's Catholic Church 412 Ann Street Wilmington, North Carolina

  251 Andropov Ulitza Krugloye Mogilev Region Republic of Belarus

  CHAPTER 20

  Charles E. Lindberg Field San Diego International Airport San Diego, California

  Oakdale Cemetery 520 North 15th Street Wilmington, North Carolina

  Navy Trial Service Office Building 73 32nd Street Naval Station San Diego, California

  Oakdale Cemetery 520 North 15th Street Wilmington, North Carolina

  CHAPTER 21

  Squadron briefing room Viper Squadron USS Harry S. Truman Central Mediterranean

  Navy Exchange 32nd Street Naval Station San Diego, California

  Oakdale Cemetery 520 North 15th Street Wilmington, North Carolina

  Squadron briefing room Viper Squadron USS Harry S. Truman Central Mediterranean

  CHAPTER 22

  Westbound Interstate 20 Lauderdale County, Mississippi Mile marker 10

  CHAPTER 23

  Navy Trial Service Office Building 73 32nd Street Naval Station San Diego, California

  Council of Ishmael headquarters Rub al-Khali Desert

  301 North Water Street Hilton Wilmington Riverside Wilmington, North Carolina

  Received of: LT Diane Colcernian, $320.00 for Rental of Chrysler LeBaron. To Be Returned in Five Days.

  CHAPTER 24

  Aeroflot Flight 305 Descending from 5,000 feet 50 nautical miles east of Tel Aviv

  Office of the Chief Wilmington Police Department 115 Red Cross Street Wilmington, North Carolina

  CHAPTER 25

  Westbound US 90 78 miles west of San Antonio, Texas Midmorning

  Office of Lieutenant Commander Zack Brewer, JAGC, USN Navy Trial Service Office Building 73 32nd Street Naval Station San Diego, California

  CHAPTER 26

  Flight Deck USS Harry S. Truman Eastern Mediterranean 204 miles SSE of Limassol, Cyprus />
  Jaffa Gate Western entrance Old City of Jerusalem

  International Bridge spanning the Rio Grande Del Rio, Texas - Ciudad Acuna, Mexico United States - Mexico border

  CHAPTER 27

  Altitude 500 feet 15 nautical miles east of the Israeli coastline Eastern Mediterranean

  International Bridge spanning the Rio Grande Del Rio, Texas - Ciudad Acuna, Mexico United States - Mexico border

  Wailing Wall Old City of Jerusalem

  CHAPTER 28

  The Oval Office The White House Washington, D.C.

  Syrian Desert Approximately 200 miles east of Damascus Near the Iraqi border

  CHAPTER 29

  Council of Ishmael headquarters Rub al-Khali Desert

  Syrian Desert Approximately 200 miles east of Damascus Near the Iraqi border

  CHAPTER 30

  Situation Room The White House Washington, D.C.

  CHAPTER 31

  Bikur Holim Hospital Jerusalem

  Israeli cabinet meeting Emergency session Government building Jerusalem

  CHAPTER 32

  Mount Helix La Mesa, California East San Diego County

  City Morgue No. 3 East Jerusalem

  CHAPTER 33

  Situation Room The White House Washington, D.C.

  CHAPTER 34

  Near Villa de Cos Central Mexico

  Villa de Cos -- 8 Acapulco -- 255

  CHAPTER 35

  Office of the Commanding Officer Navy Trial Service Office Building 73 32nd Street Naval Station San Diego, California

  CHAPTER 36

  Council of Ishmael headquarters Rub al-Khali Desert

  CHAPTER 37

  LCDR Zack Brewer's residence 4935 Mills Street La Mesa, California

  CHAPTER 38

  L'office de droit de Jean-Claude la Trec 56, rue Charles de Gaulle Paris

  CHAPTER 39

  LCDR Zack Brewer's residence 4935 Mills Street La Mesa, California

  CHAPTER 40

  United Nations Emergency Security Council meeting First Avenue and 46th Street New York, New York

  Council of Ishmael headquarters Rub al-Khali Desert

  CHAPTER 41

  Israeli Cabinet meeting Emergency session Government building Jerusalem

  CHAPTER 42

  Municipal Cemetery No. 8 The West Bank Jerusalem

  CHAPTER 43

  Office of the Commanding Officer Navy Trial Service Office Building 73 32nd Street Naval Station San Diego, California

  CHAPTER 44

  Office of Lieutenant Commander Zack Brewer, JAGC, USN Navy Trial Service Office Building 73 32nd Street Naval Station San Diego, California 1700 hours

  L'office de droit de Jean-Claude la Trec 56, rue Charles De Gaulle Paris

  LCDR Zack Brewer's residence 4935 Mills Street La Mesa, California

  Eastbound California Highway 94 Approaching Lemon Grove Avenue exit East San Diego County

  CHAPTER 45

  8 East 4th Avenue Coronado Island Coronado, California

  White House Signals Office Old executive office building One hour later

  CHAPTER 46

  LCDR Zack Brewer's Residence 4935 Mills Street La Mesa, California Midnight, PST

  CHAPTER 47

  Office of Lieutenant Commander Zack Brewer, JAGC, USN Navy Trial Service Office Building 73 32nd Street Naval Station San Diego, California

  CHAPTER 48

  USAF C-17 Globemaster III Special Mission 427218 Altitude 5,000 feet Eastern Mediterranean

  CHAPTER 49

  Room 204 King David Hotel Jerusalem Eight hours later

  CHAPTER 50

  Israeli District Court Courtroom 3 West Bank Division

  Captain T. D. Norgaard, JAGC, USN Military Judge

  CHAPTER 51

  Restaurante Sol Elite Galivanes Port Mahon, Minorca Balearic Islands Western Mediterranean

  CHAPTER 52

  The Oval Office The White House Washington, D.C.

  CHAPTER 53

  Courtroom 3 Israeli District Court West Bank Division

  CHAPTER 54

  Horse caravan Mountainous terrain Location unknown

  Mossad training facility Central Negev Desert

  CHAPTER 55

  Courtroom 3 Israeli District Court West Bank Division

  The Oval Office The White House Washington, D.C.

  Mossad training facility Central Negev Desert

  Situation Room The White House Washington, D.C.

  Syrian Desert 33 degrees 15 minutes north latitude 37 degrees 8 minutes east longitude

  CHAPTER 56

  Courtroom 4 Israeli District Court West Bank Division

  CHAPTER 57

  United States Naval Hospital Naples, Italy

  Horse caravan Mountainous terrain Location unknown

  CHAPTER 58

  Courtroom 4 Israeli District Court West Bank Division

  Mountainous terrain Location unknown

  NCIS Ballistics Laboratory U.S. Naval Station Naples, Italy

  CHAPTER 59

  Courtroom 4 Israeli District Court West Bank Division

  CHAPTER 60

  Courtroom 4 Israeli District Court West Bank Division

  CHAPTER 61

  Israeli District Court Prisoner Holding Cell No. 1 West Bank Division

  Courtroom 4 Israeli District Court West Bank Division

  CHAPTER 62

  Attorneys' lounge Israeli District Court West Bank Division

  Courtroom 4 Israeli District Court West Bank Division

  CHAPTER 63

  Courtroom 4 Israeli District Court West Bank Division

  CHAPTER 64

  Attorneys' lounge Israeli District Court West Bank Division

  Courtroom 4 Israeli District Court West Bank Division Four hours later

  CHAPTER 65

  King David Hotel Jerusalem

  CHAPTER 66

  The Lawn University of Virginia Charlottesville, Virginia

  Western Union office Charlottesville, Virginia Two hours later

  David Ben Gurion International Airport Tel Aviv, Israel Three days later 4:00 a.m. Jerusalem time

  EPILOGUE

  EXCERPT

  Black Forest Cafe Near the Limmat River Zurich, Switzerland

  Femme du Monde School of Modeling International Headquarters North American Division Madison Avenue, New York City

  U.S. Naval Medical Center 620 John Paul Jones Circle Portsmouth, Virginia

  About The Publisher

  Share Your Thoughts

  CHAPTER 1

  In the hills near the Dean E. Smith Center

  South Campus, University of North Carolina

  Chapel Hill, North Carolina

  Lying on his belly in the thick underbrush, the gunman peered through the powerful magnifying scope. It was about two hundred yards down the hill, he estimated, from his position to the main entrance of the brick arena.

  Close enough for a shot. Far enough for an escape.

  Students flocked like massive herds of sheep through the building's glass doors, their heads and faces grandly visible through the crosshairs of the scope.

  Dozens of infidels sacrificed to Allah's glory in an instant. His heart raced at the thought. His breathing quickened. He caressed the cold trigger with his finger, waiting to squeeze it. Longing to purify the sinful American ground with spilled blood.

  Whistling wind whipped through the tops of the Carolina pines. A surge of excitement, like an electrical shock, shot through his body.

  My destiny is with Allah the Merciful, who controls the wind.

  He pulled his trigger finger from the cold steel. His glorious destiny would depend on patience. For a bit longer.

  The blood of the redhead and her companion would ensure his place in Islamic Glory. He would await their emergence. Allah would bring them from those doors at the anointed moment. And when they appeared in the crosshairs, he would execute Allah's vengeance and justice.

  All praise to Allah! Blessed be the
prophet -- peace be upon him.

  Dean E. Smith Center

  South Campus, University of North Carolina

  Chapel Hill, North Carolina

  UNC Versus Duke: Halftime

  Lieutenant Diane Colcernian tried in vain to protect her eardrums from the spontaneous, alternating chants of the boisterous crowd.

  "TAAAAAR!"

  "HEEEEEELS!"

  "TAAAAAR!"

  "HEEEEEELS!"

  Diane's date, Lieutenant Zack Brewer, pumped his fists into the air, contributing to the baby-blue cacophony now reaching ear-splitting levels.

  His excitement mimicked that of a kid under the Christmas tree, a beaming kid handsomely decked out in his "Carolina Blue" T-shirt with the interlocking NC on the front. Hers, a gift from Zack, was identical to his and to twenty thousand others in the Dean Dome.

  He screamed with exhilaration when one of the Carolina players, a Rashad somebody, dunked the ball. She smiled, shaking her head in bemused disbelief.

  "Let's just wear jeans and Carolina stuff," Zack had said earlier. "This is the Duke game. The fans will be so pumped up we'll never get spotted. I promise."

  She believed him. After all, basketball wasn't that big of a deal when she was an undergraduate student at the University of Virginia.

  Promises, promises.

  They sat three rows behind the Carolina bench, so close to the court they could hear the famous Duke coach unleash a profanity-laced tirade, first at his players, then at the referees, and then, at halftime, at the crowd as he trotted off the court with his team. Zack, who had warned Diane earlier that the Duke coach was known for spewing such obscenities, not to mention appearing in tacky credit card commercials, cupped his hands and joined the thousands of UNC fans in a cascading chorus of boos aimed at the Blue Devils as they disappeared into the tunnel under the Dean Dome.

  When the boos turned into a groundswell of applause, Diane sensed she was being watched. A man sitting behind them tapped her on the shoulder and pointed to the large electronic screen over center court.

  There they were on the jumbo screen, displayed for everyone in the arena and anyone who happened to be watching on national television -- the image of her flaming red hair and Zack's cute dimple.

  "So much for anonymity, Lieutenant," she said. Then, sheepishly, she smiled and waved at the camera. Another surge of applause followed.