The Final Escape: A Matt and the General Book

By Harry Katzan Jr.

Usually teams play games. One team wins and the other loses. However, not all games are regarded as sports. There are other games in life and they also are played with teams. Teams are comprised of players, but not always. There are business, government, and ad hoc games. In this book, the General leads his team in two international thrillers, both with teams of players. There are also teams of teams. This means one team employs a team to compete against the other team.
In this book, the team led by the General competes against a team represented as a Country. In this instance, the General’s team is composed of Matt, Ashley, Anna, and Sir Charles Bunday. .Matt is Dr. Matthew Miller, mathematics professor, as the chief strategist of team. He is brilliant. Ashley is Matt’s wife who is a perceptive professor, as is Anna. The General is Les Miller, an Army hero, who is a rich businessman who likes to help people. Sir Charles is the General’s war buddy and a member of the BSS. The team has solved many problems for the President of the U.S.
In the first episode, the team is called upon to retrieve an English scientist names Prince Michael of England who is a scientist and graduate of Oxford. Michael is kidnapped by the Iranians to solve atomic defense problems. At least, that is what the Americans think. As it turns out, Matt and the General determine that the Iranians need someone to solve the pandemic problem for them. They badly need a vaccine. Through a process of intrigue and intelligence, the problem is solved through drone technology and the story ends well for the English and the Iranians.
The team does not have a chance to rest before they are asked to obtain strategic information from China through a double agent. The spy’s cover is blown and the team has to extract the double agent with an ingenious escape through Russia.
The President is impressed by the team and asked to help with his “Archive of Office.” The previous episodes covered in previous books are summarized. Enjoy the book.

• Language: English
• Publisher: iUniverse
• Release date: Jun 7, 2022
• ISBN: 9781663240934

Harry Katzan Jr.

Harry Katzan, Jr. is a professor who has written several books and many papers on computers and service, in addition to some novels. He has been a advisor to the executive board of a major bank and a general consultant on various disciplines. He and his wife have lived in Switzerland where he was a banking consultant and a visiting professor. He is an avid runner and has completed 94 marathons including Boston 13 times and New York 14 times. He holds bachelors, masters, and doctorate degrees.

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Copyright © 2022 Harry Katzan Jr.

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except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

This is a work of fiction. All of the characters, names, incidents,

organizations, and dialogue in this novel are either the products

of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously.

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ISBN: 978-1-6632-4092-7 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-6632-4091-0 (hc)

ISBN: 978-1-6632-4093-4 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2022910666

iUniverse rev. date: 06/03/2022

For Margaret, as always

INTRODUCTION

T his novel, as in the previous twelve stories in the series involving Matt and the General, with the assistance of their associates and friends, Matt and the General combine their efforts to solve three major problems that involve the safety of the United States. In this instance. Escape is set in the beautiful area of middle New Jersey, the United States in general, and in several foreign countries.

As in the previous novels, Matt Miller, who has a PhD degree from a prestigious university, uses mathematical thinking and solid logic, along with the organizational ability of General Les Miller, his grandfather, to solve three major problems, recognized by the President and the Intelligence Director of the United States.

In this set of episodes, the action includes a governmental kidnapping, the problems of the military situation with China, and the ongoing situation with the worldwide pandemic. Throughout, the activity uses the knowledge of General Mark Clark, the President, and three important women including Ashley, who is Matt’s wife, Anna, who is the General’s wife, and Ann, who is General Clark’s wife.

The scene changes rapidly, but always in the scope of no violence, no sex, and no bad language. The book typifies the conventional beach read in that the subject matter can be read as three separate stories.

This is the thirteenth book in the Matt and the General series. The sequence has been interrupted while the author tended to academic pursuits. Nevertheless, expect Matt and the General to return to action with their combination of sophisticated planning and intellectual activity. Enjoy reading the book. You deserve it.

The Author,

June 1, 2022

PROLOGUE

T his book starts off where the previous book in the series leaves off.

In Part I, The Monarchy, Prince Michael is missing as is his son. The Monarchy is in a panic. The retired queen, now named Katherine Penelope Radford through the efforts of the Royal Lexicographer, called her friend the General. The U.S. ambassador to the United Kingdom, called the President and the U.S. Chief of Intelligence. The U.S. militry goes on standby alert, and the 6th fleet is moved to the Middle Atlantic. An aircraft carrier is prepared for action in the midde east. The location of the missing persons is not known, but the Intelligence directorate thinks it has the footprint of an Iranian operation. They check with a mole in Tehran, the capital of Iran, and their suspicions are confirmed. The mole say that he can locate the royalty but then his cover would be blown and requests, in that case, to have an immediate extraction from Iran. Mark Clark, former four star general and former chairman of the joint chiefs of staff, now director of national intelligence and the President agree to his request and the project is underway. An overall plan is made and the General and his team are called into action. Two threads are identified: one to locate and grab the daughter and the other to locate and extract Prince Michael and the mole. Clark and the President agree that is a risky plan and the right people will be required. The General and his team are selected and his team is called into action. Matt makes an operational plan that would be costly but probably successful.

In Part II, The Double Spy, America’s secret hypersonic space vehicle (HSV) had been unit tested and is ready to go into production. It is a costly venture but will protect the United States for an extended period of time. The President, through secret channels, often has inside information when there is a leak in U.S. security. In this instance, the President thinks there is a leak, and then China announced a similar project. The President thinks that the Chinese announcement is a carefully planned bit of propaganda. The HSV is a costly endeavor, and the President needs to know for sure if the Chinese has an comparable project. The General and his team are called into action, and Matt comes up with an ingenious solution.

In Part III, The Final Project, the President is up for election and needs an unbiased view of exactly going on with the pandemic. If a person looks at the news, all one gets is a point of view to start with and attestations from related scientists for that point of view. President Strong needs Dr. Matt to tell him what to do.

The novel picks up from Part I.

CHARACTERS IN THE BOOK

The General – Les Miller. Former military General and Humanitarian. P-51 pilot and World War II hero. Has bachelors, masters, and doctorate degrees.

Matthew (Matt) Miller – Professor of Mathematics. Has PhD degree. Grandson of the General. Sophisticated problem solver and strategist.

Ashley Wilson Miller – College friend of Matt Miller. Former Duchess of Bordeaux. Married to Matt Miller. Has Master’s degree and is a Receiver of the National Medal of Freedom.

Marguerite Purgoine - Retired creative writing Professor and an associate of the team. Has PhD degree. Known as Anna for some unknown reason. Wife of the General.

General Clark - Mark Clark. Former Four Staar General and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Appointed to be U.S. Director of Intelligence.

Ann Clark – Wife of General Clark and associate of the team. Formerly combat colonel in the U.S. Army.

Sir Charles (Buzz) Bunday – P-51 pilot and Army Air Force buddy of Les Miller. Member of the British Security Service. Knight of the United Kingdom.

Kenneth Strong – President of the United States.

Elizabeth Strong – Wife of Kenneth Strong and is First Lady of the United States.

George Benson – Associate to the President and Chief of Staff.

Kimberly Scott – The Intelligence specialist of the U.S. Has PhD degree and an extensive pubs record.

Harry Steevens – Expert mathematician and former college friend of Matt Miller. Policeman in New Jersey.

Catherine Penelope Radford – Retired Queen of the United Kingdom and personal friend of the General.

Prince Michael (Davis) - Son of the Queen, educated at Oxford, and renowned astrophysicist and developer of an important pandemic vaccine. Has PhD degree.

Harp Thomes – Academic friend of Matt and professor of mathematics at ETH Zürich Switzerland. Has PhD degree.

Kimberly Jobsen Thomas – Wife of Harp Thomas and international banking consultant. Has MBA degree.

Alexi Belov – Russian Mathematician and professor at a prestigious U.S. university. Has PhD degree.

Dimitri Aplov – Russian Virologist at U.S. think tank. Has PhD degree.

Wuan Singh – Chinese Mathematician and professor at ETH. Has PhD degree.

Adam Benfield – Iranian terrorist leader known as Atalus. Spy for the United States and England. Has PhD degree.

Robert Peterson – Iranian director of technology. Former student associate of the General. Has PhD degree.

And a few others

CONTENTS

Introduction

Prologue

Characters In The Book

PART I - The Monarchy

Chapter 1:     Getting Started

Chapter 2:     Serious Problems Emerge

Chapter 3:     Ashley

Chapter 4:     Matt And The General

Chapter 5:     The Problem And The Plan

Chapter 6:     Project Escape

Chapter 7:     Matt Does It Again

Chapter 8:     The Plan Unfolds

Chapter 9:     Travel To Iran

Chapter 10:   The Game Changes

Chapter 11:   The Trip Home

PART II - The Double Spy

Chapter 12:   The Chinese Problem

Chapter 13:   The Chinese Solution

Chapter 14:   The General’s Problem

Chapter 15:   The Escape

PART III - The Final Project

Chapter 16:   Presidential Visit To The General

Chapter 17:   The People In The Archive Report

Chapter 18:   The Archive Report

Afterword

About This Book

About The Author

Books By Harry Katzan, Jr.

PART I

THE MONARCHY

Chapter 1 – Getting Started

Chapter 2 – Serious Problems Emerge

Chapter 3 – Ashley

Chapter 4 – Matt