Cat and Mouse

The bestselling author of Team Yankee, "master of military fiction" Harold Coyle returns. In a novel both exciting and frighteningly realistic, Harold Coyle demonstrates once again that one of the nation's most important struggles is being fought on its own territory.

Freedom. It is brought settlers to America's coasts, and it's the ideal that many laid down their lives to preserve. But, as the greatest nation in the world enters the new millennium, America finds itself once again split over the concept of liberty and justice for all.

When one man decides to send a message to the government by bombing a federal building, the explosion is felt all across the country. The chain reaction that follows resonates most powerfully with members of a rebel band in Idaho who call themselves "Patriots" they want freedom from government control, no matter how much deadly force it takes. Their well-planned acts of terrorism soon show the government that they cannot be ignored and that definite action is needed.

Thrown into the battle is Lieutenant Nathan Dixon, fresh from VMI, and a soldier who stands in the very large shadow of his father, the revered General Scott Dixon. Sent to quell a potentially dangerous situation, he'll need every bit of his training, for Nathan finds himself catapulted into the first battle of a new American war of secession.

Covering the news is Nathan's stepmother, prominent anchorwoman Jan Fields. As the country watches, Jan discovers that Idaho's charismatic governor, George Oliver "GO" Thomas has an agenda of his own, one that may truly have a revolutionary effect on the whole country.
Using the hard-edged style that made him famous, Harold Coyle takes us inside an all too plausible America where a nation is divided over the ideals on which this country was founded. In this modern military thriller, Coyle gives us an intimate portrait of the men and women who fight to uphold their, visions of America against all enemies.

They are your neighbor and the person who delivers your mail. They teach your children and build your homes. Every day you see them but do not notice them, that is not until they are needed. Only when disasters strike, whether it be natural or man made do they become something quite different, something more than a fellow citizen. Throughout our nation’s history they have been called many things; the militia, the home guard, the National Guard. But regardless of their title they have always been unique, something more than ordinary people. Their willingness to be both a good citizen in peace and a warrior when called upon make them soldiers.

The nature of the mission, to man a security zone that separates the nation of Israel from the newly created Palestinian state present him and the Guardsmen of Company A with a unique set of problems few are able to predict. Together the professional officer and the citizen soldiers he leads must find a way to navigate their way toward an uncertain future in a troubled land.

Part of that future involves dealing with those who are determined to use the arrival of the Americans to further their own political and personal goals. One of these men is Hammed Kamel, a microbiologist who seizes upon the introduction of American forces in a place some still call the Holy Lands as an opportunity to strike a telling blow against the two nations who have oppressed his people, the Palestinians for decades. Together with a crops of like minded men, Kamel sets in motion a train of events that places the citizen soldiers of Bedlow, Virginia and their community on the other side of the world in jeopardy.

Courage is often enough to drive a soldier forward, to cause him to climb out of his foxhole and face enemy fire. But it takes something else, something more than courage to keep HIM going when every instinct, every shred of reason dictates that he do otherwise.

This hard truth becomes self-evident when the men belonging to Recon Team Kilo, a Special Forces A team operating deep in hostile territory, is overwhelmed by indigenous forces. Stripped of their leadership and unit cohesion, the survivors struggle to stay faithful to a code of conduct in the face of brutal imprisonment and an uncertain future. Isolated from their brethren, each man is forced to rely upon his own skills and strengths.

Some rise to the occasion with a defiance that is unnerving to their captors and some draw upon an inner grace that sees them through their darkest hours. Others, alone and suffering, find themselves wavering as they are hammered by an unending drumbeat of depraved cruelty.

The challenges faced by those selected to rescue the men of Recon Team Kilo are no less daunting, the catalysts that propel them and see them through any diverse. For Robert Delmont, Special Ops Plans Officer, a compelling need for atonement colors his recommendations. He steers the Army's senior leadership toward a course of action that allows him to become an active participant.

Courage is not a factor for the commander of the unit selected to execute Delmont's plan. A dedicated professional, Lieutenant Colonel Harry Shaddock has no doubt that the men under his command will follow him anywhere--even into an operation designed to save fellow soldiers while putting his own in harm's way.

While Dermont, Shaddock, and other members of the armed forces bend their collective efforts to save the survivors of Recon Team Kilo, the families of those men must endure a trial no less daunting. They must find a way to deal with their fears and their emotions as they stand on the sidelines watching their loved ones killed off, one by one, by a ruthless foe in a contest that demands more of them than any had imagined. In order to triumph, all must reach out and draw upon something within, something more than courage.