Brief

Pete Novak is sent to investigate a situation in Europe that has gotten out of control and led to the deaths of several CIA operatives. Novak soon realizes, however, that the people responsible for these murders may be CIA as well. The CIA is housing a world changing technology in a program so shrouded in mystery that even those with top levels of clearance know nothing about it, and protecting that asset soon becomes a worldwide race to the death.

What We Liked

- This is an espionage adventure with high stakes, fast paced action scenes but also close up views into the personal lives and struggles of the characters. Readers see into the core values and beliefs of the characters, informing their actions and justifying the wild places that the plot goes.
- As a film, this would be an exciting, thriller blockbuster with big explosive scenes and fun personal moments peppered in.
- This would be great to develop into a television show based on the main characters and the various missions they complete. Viewers would tune in every week for the rush and excitement of battle scenes and new clues in the season-long mysteries.
- Key points: Action Scenes; Multiple main characters; High-stakes plots; Complex characters; Subverts genre expectations

Synopsis

Tony Spencer is on vacation with his family after retiring early from the CIA when he gets attacked by a jellyfish and dies. His last words are a mysterious "Maria Dean." The coroner notices something odd about the death and realizes that it was an assassination and not a jellyfish accident, but keeps this information to himself the first time that the CIA investigates.

Meanwhile, Laszlo Csegnerny wakes up from one of his frequent nightmares and realizes that he must again go on the lam. Laszlo has been haunted by vivid nightmares of demons his entire life, and reacts violently to them with screams and self-mutilation that when he was a prisoner at a secret government torture facility, he scared the torturers. Laszlo has recently discovered the location of what he believes to be the source of his demons and is able to evade authorities and make it from Germany to Canada without a trace. Once in Canada, he arms himself and meets up with two hippies. He soon realizes that the hippies are planning to murder him and goes along with them for the cover. Once they attack and Laszlo defeats them, he realizes that one of the hippies was actually a Russian sleeper agent and realizes that both the Russian and United States intelligence agencies are after him. However, he is still able to make it into the United States without tripping any major alarms.

In Virginia, Pete Novak has been assigned a special case by his uncle, Doc Kriegel, the deputy department head of the CIA. Pete's wife, Sarah, is disappointed that he has to leave her for an unclear amount of time and is not reassured to learn that his bodyguard, JT Brannon, will not be going with him. JT was a special field agent until he took too many bullets on a mission, and would have been fired if Pete had not stood up for him. JT is indebted to Pete and would die for him. Despite this, Sarah does not like JT and considers him creepy. Nevertheless, Pete is soon off on a flight to Germany and JT works out extra protection for him behind the scenes.

JT is a smart and seasoned agent and decides to investigate the recent death of Tony Spencer himself. He learns of Tony's mysterious last words and meets with the coroner who confirms that Tony's death was no accident. JT soon realizes that it was CIA men who were responsible for the recent string of CIA operative deaths, and manages to send a convert message to Pete in Germany. Some thugs try and chase JT off the road and he manages to evade them but realizes he must fake his own death. He arranges it with the help of his old friend to look like he was in a helicopter that got downed.

In Germany, Pete meets with Wild Bill and learns about the case he was sent to investigate. Wild Bill tells him very little and Pete realizes that whatever this is it is bigger than he had initially thought. JT's people in Germany kidnap Pete for his own protection and deliver the information to him about the potential CIA responsibility in the deaths of the agents. While with JT's German allies, Wild Bill goes into a coma and Pete's hotel room is watched. Pete learns of JT's "death" and heads back to the States. He sets up a meeting with Doc Kriegel to inform him that they may have CIA agents who are killing off other CIA agents, and asks him about "Maria Dean," realizing that Tony Spencer had meant "meridian." Doc is furious that Pete somehow knows about this highly classified information but fills Pete in: extraterrestrial beings that are far more advanced than humans have been secretly helping the CIA on Earth. This help has primarily come from an alien they call "Mike," who is dying but wanted to help prepare the citizens of Earth against a possible threat to all life in the near future. They realize that Laszlo is heading to the base where Mike is located in Denver to kill it, believing the alien to be responsible for his nightmares, as Laszlo and one of the CIA operatives killed both had interesting DNA similar to Mike's DNA.

Phil O'Donnell, a coworker of Pete's at the CIA, and one of the men behind the murders of the other operatives, watches the conversation covertly and decides he has to take out Pete. A few nights later, he and his men invade Pete's house not realizing that only his wife and kids are inside. Luckily, JT was also inside and saves Sarah and the kids, getting riddled with bullets in the process. Pete makes it to Denver just moments before Laszlo and manages to talk him down from attacking Mike, but then O'Donnell and his cohorts show up. O'Donnell would have been able to kill Pete if not for one of his men turning on him and agreeing to resign rather than kill Pete. Laszlo is saved and taken to a psychiatric facility, and JT ends up surviving his attack.

About The Author

Andrew Ceroni served a distinguished career as a Senior Supervisory Special Agent focused in Title 18 U.S.C. Chapter 37 espionage investigations as well as counterespionage and antiterrorism operations throughout Europe, the Middle East, and the Pacific Rim. He is a graduate of numerous intelligence and law enforcement training forums.