Bent Spear: Missing Missiles Over America

By Stephen Austen

Others in The Paladin Papers Series:
“PAVE BOLO: Target Iran” is the fifth story in “The Paladin Papers” military techno-thriller series. It is also a thought-provoking prequel to its companion story “411: Cybergeddon. Iran is reeling. The “Stuxnet” computer vrus infects its nuclear program control systems. Iranian leaders are hungry for revenge. Resisting calls to halt their nuclear programs, a crushing cyber-strike against the United States is planned. It’s time for PALADIN and his Onyx Ops team to derail Iran’s nuclear ambitions. They unleash one unique weapons system tracing its legacy to the Cold War and another taken from the pages of tomorrow's science fiction in a single, decisive masterstroke.

“ONYX OPS: The Paladin Papers” - Masters of black ops ruthlessly navigate today’s globalization. From World War II, to the Cuban Revolution and the Kennedy assassination, through the CIA’s Operation Phoenix and the oil fields of Vietnam. It leads to today’s Afghanistan. Must-read, fast-paced fiction with high-impact insights into the geopolitics of global resources. You will think about this long after you put it down.

TACIT ALUMNI: Tracking Terror” - in a world of Global Jihad, it is September 11, 2011, the tenth anniversary of 9/11. From downtown Washington DC to Area 51 to Somalia and the Gulf of Aden, “PALADIN” and his high-tech Onyx Ops team commemorate this tragic event in their own special way. Follow the masters of global black operations at Onyx Ops as they orchestrate new technologies in the relentless hunt for terrorists.

This is an excursion into the near future of Radio Frequency IDentification (RFID) technology and the possibilities it raises. We justifiably fret over the “asymmetric attacks” from our adversaries. We sometimes forget that we have the technological means at our fingertips to leverage some “asymmetric attacks” of our own.

I hope you'll enjoy reading these as much as I did in writing them.

Thank you!
Stephen W. Austen

• Language: English
• Publisher: Stephen Austen
• Release date: Feb 7, 2010
• ISBN: 9781452300573

Stephen Austen

I was born in Lafayette, Louisiana and raised in New Orleans. But I truly grew-up as I travelled or lived in some thirty-four states. A Human Resources Manager, I now reside with my family in North Carolina. My writings and interests are eclectic. My latest series, The Paladin Papers, are fast-paced, fact-based military/techno thrillers. Based on today's events and often set in the near future, they offer thought-provoking entertainment. They will keep you thinking long after you put them down. I am certain you will enjoy reading these stories as much as I did writing them. . .

Book preview

Bent Spear: Missing Missiles Over America

A Story By

Stephen W. Austen

Published by Stephen W. Austen

Copyright 2010 Stephen W. Austen

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The Paladin Papers:

Bent Spear: Missing Missiles Over America

A Story By

Stephen W. Austen

Foreword

"A B-52 bomber mistakenly loaded with six nuclear warheads flew from Minot Air Force Base, ND, to Barksdale Air Force Base, La., on August 30, resulting in an Air Force-wide investigation, according to three officers who asked not to be identified because they were not authorized to discuss the situation" -- Army Times, September 10, 2007.

"The weapons were always in our custody and there was never a danger to the American public." – Air Force Spokesman.

Chapter 1

Minot Air Force Base

North Dakota

31 AUG 07 0017 hours

Minot Air Force Base is located about an hour north of Bismarck in North Dakota. No matter the hour or the day, the runways are busy with the near-constant transit of B-52H strategic bombers. Tonight was different, though. A thin, chill wind blew steadily from the high plains, gusting over quiet aircraft on the concrete ramps, down empty streets, past locked doors and dark windows. This was the start of the Labor Day weekend and many of the base personnel had departed on leave.

But now after midnight, lights still burned in one office.

Lieutenant Colonel Nathan K. Leavitt, Commander of Minot's 5th Munitions Squadron, studied his coffee mug emblazoned with the 5th Munitions’ crest. He thought about trying another sip, but the sharp warble of the STU III secure phone on his desk demanded attention. He was already having a bad day that was getting worse and it wasn't yet daybreak.

About a minute into yet another one-sided conversation, he could only listen in stunned silence, gripping the receiver of the secure phone in a white-knuckled fist. The digital signal was choppy as spoken words rolled through the polymorphous encryption of the Red Enclave secure communications network, but the message was clear and explanations were futile.