The Thirteenth Echo

When An Iraqi Insurgent Stops The Execution Of A U.S. Soldier During A Live Internet Web-Cast An Unlikely Hero Emerges Whose True Motivation Could Determine Not Only The Future Of The World'S Newest Democracy But That Of The United States Itself. President John G. Sumner'S Earlier Dreams Of Teaching History At An Ivy League College Suddenly Become More Appealing As He Watches A Live Web-Cast Of A U.S. Soldier Being Beheaded. Hours Earlier God'S Monocle An Advanced Spy Satellite Identified A Mass Of Fissionable Material In Northern Iraq. The Mission To Retrieve The Material That Has Left Most Of The Team Members Dead Was Supposed To Be A Slam-Dunk. Now With Less Than An Hour Until The Next Execution The President Turns To The Legendary Major Bobby Handle To Formulate A Desperate Rescue Attempt. Handle'S Done It Before But Can The Major Perform Yet Another Miracle?With Time Running Out Bobby Rushes To Save The Life Of Laurel Crickowski The Next Team Member Targeted For Execution. The Entire World Watches As A Sword-Wielding Insurgent Drags Laurel To Her Knees When The Unthinkable Takes Place. The Sound Of Gunfire Erupts As The Radical Cell Members Are Murdered In A Bloody Betrayal. Moments Later Handle Arrives To Find That He Has Been Upstaged By A Young Rebel Ahlmed Mahkeem Who Has Just Single Handedly Saved Crickowski And The Remaining U.S. Soldiers.The Web-Cast Of Mahkeem'S Rescue Instantly Becomes The Top News Story Across Every Major Network In America Catapulting The Ex-Rebel To Hero Status Overnight. The President Assigns Handle To Investigate The Failed Mission And Provide Security For The Defected Iraqi While The White House Scrambles To Capitalize On Ahlmed'S Fifteen Minutes Of Fame. Major Handle Has His Hands Full Keeping America'S Newfound Friend Alive While Fanatic Rebels Target Mahkeem For Death. Along The Way The Major Uncovers A Cold-Blooded Plot By A Highly Placed U.S. Government Official Working With A Cell Of Radical Muslim Terrorists To Bring Down The Presidency Threatening The Future Of Both Countries.