Thundertaker: Midnight Rider on a Graveyard Run Part 2

By Gary Koz Mraz

In the first episode of the “Midnight Rider on a Graveyard Run” trilogy, kismet inextricably entwined moto-journalist, Zac King and Central Security Service Agent, Lisette Duran while both were on assignment investigating the Corridor of Death.

In this action thriller, they’re on a motorcycle adventure in the Himalayas. Zac and his sultry sidekick, Liz are warned by Tibetan monks of an impending global pandemic launched by an underground Chinese faction to create financial destabilization. Operation “Thundertaker” battles the evil faction, toxoplasmosis mind-control, and a hidden agenda that shakes humankind to its core. Meanwhile, Liz discovers her own shocking personal history.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Gary Koz Mraz
• Release date: Apr 12, 2020
• ISBN: 9780463678534

Gary Koz Mraz

Gary "Koz" Mraz, an author and renowned moto-photo journalist writes for prominent travel and lifestyle magazines. He has published numerous travel books and the Adventures of Zac King thriller series. Koz travels the world on two wheels -- from China's great wall to the Himalayan Mountains, to Europe and the back roads of America. His travel adventures feature interesting people and unique destinations in entertaining prose. Raised by a Wiccan Priestess, who published a magazine called "Occult Americana," and a father who owned a nightclub called "The Zombie Club," Koz was surrounded by beatniks and hippy chicks psychedelics at 13, motorcycles and metaphysics at 14. Since then, travel and adventure have become his mantra.

Book preview

THUNDERTAKER

Midnight Rider on a Graveyard Run Zac King series

Part 2

Published by FIRE & a PRAYER PRESS

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored or transmitted in any form by any process – electronic, mechanical, photocopying or otherwise – without the prior written permission of the author.

The Adventures of Zac King

Written by Gary Koz Mraz

ISBN-13: 978-1490935089 Print Editions

ISBN-10: 1490935088 Kindle Editions

Editor: Jennifer BryantBarkley

Cover: Ramsey Lucas

Special thanks to Keith Ball for his inspiration and all the readers and riders who helped the Midnight Rider survive his Graveyard Run.

Shout out to Harley-Davidson, Quick Throttle Magazine, Bikernet.com and EagleRider.

Printed by KDP and distributed by Amazon.

© Copyright Gary Koz Mraz 2019

Part II - THUNDERTAKER

Chapter 11 - Voodoo Priestess

Chapter 12 - Truth be Told

Chapter 13 - Dead City

Chapter 14 - Road to Redemption

Chapter 15 - Revelations

Midnight Rider on a Graveyard Run part 1

Kismet inextricably entwined Zac and Liz while both were on assignment. Journalist Zac King was researching the lonely life of graveyard shift workers for a magazine story called Midnight Rider on a Graveyard Run. Central Security Service agent Liz Duran was investigating the Corridor of Death murders linked to an international organ harvesting conspiracy. They met at a truck stop in Oklahoma and for two months collaborated on cracking the case. They are now romantically involved. This investigation has been officially closed and both Liz and Zac have been debriefed at CIA headquarters, now called the George Bush Center for Intelligence. After a weeklong interrogation Liz and Zac have been officially released.

Chapter 11-Voodoo Priestess

Location: The Hilton Hotel near CIA headquarters in Langley, Virginia. Liz enters the hotel room enraged.

Zac, they've suspended my CSS status and put me on leave of absence! Liz fumes to me.

Leave of absence? For how long? I reply quizzically.

Indeterminate. Un-fucking-believable. The Agency says I need time to unwind, she snarls.

Liz, let it go. You do need to get away. Just let it go.

And just where the hell do I let it go to Zac? she seethes.

Kathmandu. I smile.

I’m sorry. I thought you said Kathmandu.

Yes, I have been planning a travel story to the Himalayas for years—a motorcycle ride from Katmandu to Lhasa. It’s the perfect time of year, and you’ll love the ride. What better than the Himalayas to cleanse your soul? We’ll be riding Royal Enfield motorcycles; it will be awesome. We’ll be traveling a thousand miles through the Himalayas with a small group of riders.

Fine, Liz snaps.

Imagine riding to the world’s highest monastery at the base of Mt. Everest. It’s the perfect way to experience this magical land. Liz, this is a ride of a lifetime… FINE? Do you know how long I’ve rehearsed a pitch to talk you into this?

I said fine, Zac. When do we leave?

We can leave immediately, I reply. I signed my life away to those NSA thugs; a couple-dozen non-disclosure documents and they returned my identity, passport, driver's license, and birth certificate.

I'm a moto-journalist and live out of saddlebags. Liz has been on the move for the last two years, and neither of us has homes, kids, or even cats. The terrain is rugged and the weather unpredictable. We'll sleep at local Monasteries and be traveling through places frozen in time for thousands of years. It's an epic adventure: man, woman, machine, and the mountains. Both of us are in good health, and while most people have to take Diamox for high altitude sickness, Viagra has a similar effect of increasing blood flow at elevation.

The plane tickets are easy to get (check), passports (check), international driver’s license (check), shots (I needed 6) and Viagra… check. I even quit smoking my Chinese Sunays.

In Kathmandu, we are met by the Himalayan Roadrunner staff and hustled through the bustling airport like refugees from another world. The first day got us acquainted with our Royal Enfield motorcycles. Used by the British in the 1950s, they remain the mainstay of Himalayan Roadrunners because of the availability of parts and ease of repair. For me, the right-side shift and clutch took take a little getting used to, but Liz takes to it immediately.

There are three kingdoms of Kathmandu valley: Kathmandu, the big city; Patan, home to the Newars; and Bhaktapur, a preserved medieval tourist destination. We spend our time in Patan, visiting temples and wandering Durbar Square. Patan is woven together with open one-way streets and filled with artisans and craftsmen—indeed a fascinating blend of history, art, religion, and foods. It's cleaner and more dialed-down than the chaos of Kathmandu, with few tourists.

Motorcycling through Nepal to Tibet is an exhilarating experience. Between road closures, herds of Yaks, landslides and aggressive truck drivers, each day provides a new set of challenges. We cross the Chinese border into Tibet and the group spends two days in Nyalam acclimating to the altitude. It is only 12,000 feet, but preparing yourself for impending higher elevations needs to be taken seriously. AMS (Acute Mountain Sickness) varies from light-headedness to downright flu-like symptoms.

Small doses of Viagra daily are helping me immensely through each day's ride. And the evenings? Thank god we have private quarters— I've never seen Liz happier. It's high altitude sexual healing; her dark cloud has lifted. This trip was the perfect prescription.

Spectacular riding takes us up over Tong La Pass with commanding mountain views of the High Himalaya Range. It's here we get our first views of Mount Everest via the saddles of our Royal Enfields. Truly in the middle of nowhere, we pass villages that have never had electricity or running water.

The passing days challenge us with steep off-road inclines, loose gravel, stone and rough tracks. Finally the group arrives at the Rongbuk Monastery guest house at the base of