Kirjahaku

"Who the hell is Reaper?" The murder of federal witness Alexander Felton, known as "Felt," would not be news if it weren't for the fact that his body was discovered in his prison cell at the Los Angeles State Prison where federal authorities were trying to hide him. Felton was a bad guy in his own right, but he ended up the target of a notorious hitman known only as Reaper. FBI Special Agents John Swenson and Chris Mantel are called in to investigate the killing, and while on-scene in a secure state prison sorting through Felton's murder, Reaper strikes again right under their noses. The race is on to stop this professional hitman that no one has ever seen as he methodically assassinates key witnesses in a high profile federal case and who also has the Iron Eagle in his sights.Flap matter: The Los Angeles U.S. Attorney's Office has been attempting to prosecute notorious Mexican drug lord and kingpin Marco Espranza for over a decade. Assistant U.S. Attorney Stewart Feldman tried unsuccessfully to convict him, only to have juries tampered with, witnesses disappear, and threats made on his life. His lack of success and appointment to U.S. Attorney for Los Angeles have forced him to turn the case over to his second-in-command Candice Polk.Polk is trying Espranza for the fifth time and feels she has the case to get a conviction. But threats turn to reality when Feldman and his wife are gunned down at a Santa Monica restaurant by a professional hitman known only as Reaper. The murders quickly spin the city and government out of control, and it's up to the Iron Eagle to find Reaper before he completes his list of kills, including the Eagle himself.

"What the hell does the Jolly Roger application do? Are we dealing with twenty-first century pirates?" Back Matter: In a small San Fernando Valley apartment, Kevin Bartlett and Coco Harold are putting the finishing touches on the Jolly Roger. The skull and crossbones logo of the downloadable encryption app flies on the Internet, promising users a way to share encrypted files for free. But nothing is ever truly free. Unsuspecting users, while seeking privacy, are unknowingly making their devices and computers slaves to a deep web application that could destroy not only Los Angeles but the world.Inside Flap: When Kevin's mother Cindy arrives at his apartment for their lunch date, she finds her son's lifeless body, but all of his computer equipment is missing. Autopsy results reveal the young hacker's been murdered after his departure from a high-level cyber security firm. But Kevin was more than a hacker; he's former Los Angeles County Sheriff Jim O'Brian's estranged son. Together with the FBI, Jim seeks to solve the mystery based on a single clue: a flash drive with cryptic information about Kevin's work for an unknown employer. While the FBI's best and brightest work to disable the Jolly Roger, one of their own is brutally murdered, leaving even the Eagle uncertain that he can stop what appears to be a massive international cyber-attack that could wipe out the world as people know it.

"We don't want this in the press."Back matter: When Marvin Sid and his partner Ben Carter are killed on PCH in the early morning hours, authorities initially believe it might be a case of road rage. Others believe the two off-duty CHP officers were targeted due to their position in law enforcement. But when Carter's brother suffers a brutal attack just days after Ben's death, including the unauthorized harvesting of part of his liver, the Los Angeles Sheriff's Department and FBI are forced to unravel a string of sickening crimes against unwitting donors, which financially benefit a select private group of organ "middlemen." What has always appeared to be a selfless giving act has become big business for those in the field of organ procurement - big business with a lethal, immoral edge. Inside flap: On any given day, there is an extreme shortage of available organs needed for transplantation. But where needs exist, so do criminal enterprises. Other Peoples' Organs Procurement Association privately monitors all resources to acquire organs for high-paying clients who don't want to linger on the UNOS list. Now, a sudden rash of killings reveals that victims as diverse as prostitutes and police officers alike are being targeted for their organs...without their consent. Sheriff Samantha Pritchard and FBI Agent John Swenson must locate the killers who supply these organizations with human body parts before yet another unsuspecting person falls victim.

"The fallen, the flag, the national anthem, and America have been disrespected. It ends now " Back matter: On a cool Sunday morning at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, the Sentinels had taken the field. In an all-too-familiar sight, superstar wide receiver Golden Madden knelt to the jeers and boos of a waning crowd as the national anthem began. Madden's previous antics included spitting on the color guard before games and yelling profanities as the anthem was sung. As the refrain echoed in the near empty stadium, a single shot pierced Madden's helmet and the skulls of two of his kneeling teammates, starting a counterrevolution. While federal and state law enforcement officials investigate, FBI Deputy Director John Swenson, aka The Iron Eagle, finds himself caught in a deadly game of cat and mouse with an ethical twist. Should he stop the events from unfolding despite their aim to restore respect for God, Country, and the American flag? Inside flap: As a retired veteran and the owner of the Los Angeles Sentinels football team, Aaron Clintock has had to endure the antics of his players as they disrespected law enforcement and the military under the guise of a political protest. While grieving for his son, a major in the United States Marine Corps killed in a black op the previous summer, he feels that the protests originally sparked by police brutality have become a free-for-all platform for players to say what they want when they want. With pressure from the league, the players' unions, and others, he's powerless to stop his team from spiraling out of control until one fateful Sunday when local police refuse to protect the players, and three of his athletes are gunned down on national television. As the bodies lay under tarps on the field, a quiet sense of satisfaction appears on his face. The dark secret he now carries, though, could bring him into the talons of the Iron Eagle.

"I thought this was a mythical manner of torture." Back Matter: Steven Black had two obsessions: books and Joanne Fontaine, the head librarian for Los Angeles County. While Fontaine was pleasant, she was also firm in her disinterest in dating. Steven was also the heir to Black Robotics, an AI company founded by his late father and managed by Beverly Hampton, a young aggressive executive. When Steven's brutalized body is found near the library entrance, law enforcement is drawn into an investigation of savage cruelty reminiscent of a mythological form of torture. The apparently random killing quickly becomes part of a pattern when the fifteen-year-old daughter of a secret service agent is found similarly brutalized in her own bed, indicating that the nightmarish torture method is, in fact, quite real. Flap Matter: Kristy Yates was a lively, well-liked high school junior when her mother, a senior agent with the Los Angeles office of the Secret Service, found her hanging from wires in her bedroom. Her lungs had been pulled through her back and looked like wings. EMTs declared her dead, and the FBI was called in since Yates' mother is a federal employee. When Los Angeles County Coroners Jade Morgan and Jessica Holmes arrive on the scene, the two women are greeted by John Swenson and Chris Mantel. Surprisingly, Kristy is still alive and is rushed to Northridge Hospital in an effort to save her life. As the second victim, and the only one found alive, Kristy may hold the clue the Iron Eagle needs to flush out a brutal killer with a depraved taste for murder.

"There was someone in that room I saw them I know they were there."Back Cover: Tamara Jenkins was a happy young woman in the prime of her life. She had gone to the doctor for some routine tests, and, in a matter of hours, her world crumbled around her as she was diagnosed with stage three melanoma that had metastasized throughout her body. She underwent emergency surgery and was in the ICU at Northridge Hospital. Shortly after three a.m., Doctor Brian Cantor was making his rounds when he spotted a figure moving from Tamara's room into an adjacent hall. Less than thirty seconds later, a code sounded, and Doctor Cantor found Tamara hemorrhaging and flatlining. He called a code, but there was no way to save her. Brian swore to all in the room that he saw someone enter and exit. But who? Was it a coincidence or the hospital's angel of death?Inside Flap: Doctor Brian Cantor had been a promising young surgeon until he got hooked on pain medication. He had a breakdown the previous year and had just gotten his license back and was trying to get back on his feet. In the weeks leading up to his breakdown, he swore that he saw someone going into and coming out of patients' rooms just before they died. Due to the drugs, he was believed to be psychotic and was hospitalized despite a long-held rumor about the hospital's angel of death known only as the Comforter. Once recovered, Doctor Cantor returned to Northridge Hospital, only to see someone exit Jenkins' room moments before her death. What at first glance appeared to be a terrible accident revealed, instead, that Jenkins was indeed murdered by someone desperately trying to act in secrecy. As a possible witness, Doctor Cantor's life now hangs in the balance as the killer's actions bring the Iron Eagle into the hunt to end the mysterious string of deaths once and for all.

"Do I care about Speaker Kline's safety. In a word, no " Speaker of the House Denise Kline called Los Angeles home, but she wasn't well liked in her district or in Washington. Since she was third in line for the presidency, she had her own Secret Service detail, which she was notorious for slipping every chance she got. On her most recent visit to LA, though, her antics land her in the grip of one of the sickest underground killers in Los Angeles history. Deputy FBI Director John Swenson and Sheriff Jim O'Brian are pulled into the search, but both men have a conflict. Kline's past actions have both men feeling that her absence might actually be a good thing.Inside Flap: When Denise Kline, the Speaker of the House, goes missing, the Secret Service enlists the help of the FBI and the Sheriff's Department, but Assistant Director John Swenson and Sheriff Jim O'Brian seem almost apathetic about her disappearance. While Kline may be third in line to the presidency, Swenson and O'Brian mince no words about their dislike of her. The discovery of her body, however, exposes the existence of an off-the-radar serial killer with a peculiar culinary appetite. As the macabre tale unfolds, Swenson and O'Brian must set aside their feelings to find the killer before others fall victim.

"There was no one around to hear them scream." BACK COVER: George Vail had a long criminal history, so it was no surprise when an anonymous caller reported his murder. After the on-scene investigation was complete, Detectives Butch McConnell and Ann Pratt remained behind and were overtaken by three masked men. Pratt was stripped and brutally raped, and her partner's body camera caught everything on tape before they were both executed with their own service weapons. LA County Sheriff Jim O'Brian and Undersheriff Margo Heller arrive to find a murder scene that was clearly set up to ambush the two detectives. As events unfold over the next few days, it becomes obvious that all branches of law enforcement are under fire by an unknown group of killers with an equally unknown agenda.INSIDE FLAP: When two of Sheriff O'Brian's homicide detectives are murdered in rural LA County, it initially appeared to be a random act of violence. But when an LAPD street officer is gunned down in broad daylight while writing a traffic ticket, and the killer is spotted by an off-duty officer, a police pursuit ensues, ending with the deaths of dozens of civilians. As the crimes garner the attention of multiple state and federal law enforcement agencies, Assistant FBI Director John Swenson and Special Agent Chris Mantel quickly realize the two events are related. As the search for the killers progresses, the attacks continue, and the death toll rises, but no one claims responsibility. The killers' motives and identities remain unclear until a key piece of evidence is revealed. Their well-thought out plan will test the abilities of the Iron Eagle and bringing the killers to justice will put the lives of thousands at risk.

"The Devil is in the Details" Back Matter: Every political campaign has its drama, and the California Gubernatorial race is no different. As Tracy Olson gains ground on incumbent William Martin, though, the sudden suicide of her high profile campaign manager rocks her team to the core. The death, however, is quickly ruled a homicide, and the ensuing investigation leads to a host of criminals with connections to Silicon Valley and a series of unsolved cases dating back years. What Assistant FBI Director John Swenson and Sheriff Jim O'Brian uncover requires a full team effort to solve, yet leaves the Iron Eagle questioning if any amount of justice befitting the crimes can truly be exacted.Inside Flap: Tracy Olson is an up-and-coming political personality in California. While her politics are attractive to voters, she's seen as a threat to the inner workings of state government. Just as her campaign starts to heat up, her very powerful and popular campaign manager, Terry Malcom, suddenly commits suicide. When her body is discovered by staffers, police call in Jade Morgan and Jessica Holmes from the coroner's office. What looks on the surface like a suicide turns out to be anything but. When the actual cause of death turns out to be murder, it raises suspicion about the mysterious deaths of several other political figures in California. A diabolical group of power players is working with a hitman and ridding themselves of their adversaries, sending the Eagle down the rabbit hole of both political and psychological warfare that threatens the very fabric of our republic.