MR. PETRIE, HAVE YOU EVER BEEN A PIRATE? Before December 2, 2002, Roger Petrie would have laughed off such a question as absurd. Although he and his older brother Tom were sea-faring men, their experiences in the Navy and Merchant Marine were a far cry from the stuff of pirate legends. That was before their cargo ship MV Belvedere floundered during a violent eastern Caribbean storm that fateful winter night. Before they woke up the following morning and a ship commanded by a bloodthirst rogue that had no business being there, in that time, appeared and changed their lives forever. The brothers had to rely on their twenty-first century wits and technology to escape death, both at the hands of their new, sadistic captain and crewmates and the governmental authorities' intent on their destruction. To their friends and family, the brothers had been lost at sea, the Belvedere disappeared without a trace. People were shocked when, through a bizarre set of circumstances, the brothers were found and rescued from an uncharted island, close to where the Belvedere had disappeared two years prior. Not wanting to recount what had happened to them in those lost years, the brothers returned home. Roger resolved to forget the past and build a normal life, marrying Rebekah, moving to Sarasota FL, and raising two children. Tom moved to Sarasota as well, to be near Roger's family, and to start a new chapter in their lives. The past proved more difficult to ignore than Roger imagined. His new wife and her friends were mystified as evidence—ancient weapons, valuable coins, names of ships and captains long since vanished—keeps surfacing. As the evidence mounts, Rebekah is left to wonder; did something unbelievable happen to her husband and his brother after their ship was lost? And can Roger deflect her suspicions without destroying his family and driving himself insane?
Two thousand years ago, ancient Sparta developed a training system called the Agoge that produced the fiercest warriors the world had ever seen. It was said that one Spartan soldier was the equal to four enemy soldiers, and Sparta's system was the envy of the known world. Can't get around the facts. I'm a lethal government operative, trained from an early age. Guns, planes, hands-didn't matter, I'm proficient with them all. I'm irrationally drawn to Raisa Sokolov, a beautiful, mysterious Russian woman thrust into my life through a bizarre set of circumstances. Thirdly, certain experiences haunted me more than Moby Dick vexed Ahab. Could I function effectively in light of everything I'd seen and done? Should I take the CIA's warnings about Raisa seriously? Fast forward to April 1967. The United States was in crisis, younger generations revolting after years of war in Southeast Asia. A desperate President Johnson signs off on a program designed to find the best and brightest among America's youth, children who could be taught from an early age to embrace devotion to the country. A program that eerily resembled that of Sparta's. Seven-year-old Damon Harker, who possesses extraordinary mental and physical skills, is among those chosen. His parents grudgingly give permission for Damon to enter this new "educational enhancement" program, ignorant of its military bent. Damon is forced to lie to them about what he is really doing, which tears at his psyche. As Damon grows he and his fellow "Spartans" are pushed into hostile environments as their handlers test them to gauge the effectiveness of the training. Damon's military prowess is called upon again and again, his skills and intelligence enabling he and his team of covert operatives to complete seemingly impossible missions. But are his handlers treating him more like a machine than a person, downplaying the psychological toll these operations are taking on a young boy / man? While dealing with past memories, Damon must confront a monstrous evil in his hometown, where he meets the beautiful, mysterious Raisa Sokolov, seven years his senior. He engages soldiers of the shadowy Lashkar Legion, suffering grievous injuries in the process. Raisa is tasked with helping nurse him back to health, but can she be trusted, or is she not exactly what she seems? The CIA harbors many suspicions about her, but is mercurial CIA officer Steve Tolliver a friend or foe?
In December 2002 Roger and Tom Petrie were lost at sea, their ship vanished. They were found alive two years later on a deserted island. Roger wants to forget the past, but his new wife wonders-what happened to the brothers the two years they were lost at sea? And can Roger deflect her suspicions without destroying his family?
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