Freedom Does Matter (Mercenaries Book 2) (50 page)

References

* THE QUOTATION IN CHAPTER 14:

New Zealand Herald, 0530 20 October, 2012, “Return to El Alamein.” Accessed on 20 October, 2012

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10841742

**These definitions (Wad al-Yad and
^c
Urf
ī contracts) are from “Landownership disputes in Egypt,” Authors: Asger Toft Johannsen, Marianne Nabil Mahrous and Maria Graversen, August 26, 2009,
Arab West Report.
See http://www.arabwestreport.info/landownership-disputes-egypt-case-study-tensions-around-abu-fana-may-2008

The Nest

THE NEST IS A FICTITIOUS archipelago sited in the Commonwealth of the Bahamas. It is described by the map in the front matter, as well as here.

Cartography based on “Eastern Caribbean.” 21.680164° N and 73.463645° W. Google Earth. Image date not given. Accessed April 7, 2013.

There are seven islands, listed in order of decreasing size.

Port Cay: 11050 feet by 4050 feet (largest dimensions in two orthogonal directions). Average elevation is 15 feet, and the maximum elevation is 50 feet, both above mean high water (mhw). Port Cay houses the team’s airfield (8000’ by 200’ asphalt runway, heading east-west, east end is 18’ elevation, dropping to 12’ at the west end.). The island was artificially extended to accommodate the runway. To support aircraft operations, the island also has a hangar. The Nest’s communication and radar facilities are adjacent to the hangar.

Bon Secours Cay: 7000’ x 2000’, avg. ele., 15’; max. ele., 40’ mhw. The name denotes the home of the team’s hospital. The camp’s administration and security offices are adjacent to the hospital. Homes occupy most of the other area.

Nord Cay: 4100’ x 1940’; avg. ele., 15’; max. ele., 25’ mhw. Northernmost island. Team member homes.

Sud Cay: 2000’ x 3000’; avg. ele., 18’; max. ele., 40’ mhw. Southernmost occupied island. Sud Cay has the only deep draft dock on its eastern shore. More homes and storage facilities.

Home Cay: 3200’ x 1580’; avg. ele., 13’; max. ele., 20’ mhw. First island settled; Ian Jamse and Kevin deVeel’s homes are there.

Cottage Cay: 2600’ x 1200’; avg. ele., 10’; max. ele., 30’ mhw. A community of cottages for single or unattached team members. The southwest shore has a protected lagoon; the team’s small boat anchorage is there.

Tiny Cay: 2000’ x 1000’; avg. ele., 8’; max. ele., 10’ mhw. Uninhabited with only brush, Tiny Cay lies about two miles south and slightly west of Sud Cay. It is used for training.

All islands except Tiny Cay have a dock with boats capable of navigating between islands. Bon Secours has three of them due to its relatively central location.

Cell phone and WiFi service are provided, with a connection to BTC. Security monitors all coastlines for intrusions as well as passing traffic.

The team’s aircraft are leased, including two Gulfstream g150’s, a B737-700C and a Piper Mirage. The team owns outright a Lockheed C130 retired from US Air Force service. The hangar is capable of protecting these as well as a Eurocopter EC-135.

Cast

IN ORDER OF APPEARANCE

Acknowledgments

Great thanks to my wife and family for their support!

Thanks to Amy Rose Davis, one of the
Twelve Worlds
contributors, who graciously lent her name to Amy Rose Ardan. I hope she’s not dismayed with the way her namesake character turned out. Find her excellent work at
http://www.amazon.com/Amy-Rose-Davis/e/B004GG38AI/

Also, to Critters.org and the several critters who provided suggestions and comments to improve my work. Among them are Brian, Conny, Liza, Zvi and especially Carol and Phil. Without their efforts, I can’t imagine the problems this story would have.

Like all budget constrained authors, I draw heavily on Google Earth for scenes set in lands not local to me. Any discrepancies in fictionalization are my failure, not Google’s.

About the Author

Tony Lavely lives with his lovely, compassionate wife in Massachusetts, in reasonable proximity to their children and grandchildren. Retirement has provided ample time for him to pursue writing as well as other mundane pleasures.
Freedom Does Matter
is his second novel. One of the Mercenaries stories, it is a thriller in an approximation to the real world.

He was privileged to be a part of the
Twelve Worlds Anthology for Charity
, still available at on-line outlets. This collection of short stories benefits Reading Is Fundamental, and meeting (in an on-linely way) the other authors was great fun and excellent experience. Those guys are great! (‘Guys’ used in the best
The Electric Company
tradition: “Hey, you guys!”)

He reads fantasy and adventure, confidently believes that
The Muppet Movie
is one of the best movies ever made, and his iPod playlist includes works from Beethoven to Twisted Sister.

He blogs at
http://tonylavely.com/

On Twitter: twitter.com/tlavely

Email: atl.for.writing at gmail.com.

At this writing, the Mercenaries stories include (and are best read in the following order):

Sandfall

Allure

Freedom Does Matter

Connections

Coda?

Coming early in 2016:

Discoveries

In process:

Princess
(working title)

Ralf and Catrin
(working title)

The links will take you to Amazon, where you may peruse more information on these, and of course, purchase one or more.