STONE COLD: A Cameron Stone Action Thriller

By THOMAS LEBRUN

Raines and Cameron Stone, with members of the NYPD, have successfully thwarted an attempt to blow up New York City's infrastructure. Raines and Cameron are protectors; they fight alongside counter-terrorist agents and members of the New York City Police Department in a concerted effort to save New York. The battle did not come without a price. Raines was shot in the head. Cameron's girlfriend Sara, who's full-term with his child, was rushed to the hospital after being hit with a poison-tipped bullet. Both sides lost good men; the remaining terrorists escaped or were arrested.
After believing Sara has died; Cameron leaves the hospital in an emotionally dark place. He wants to find those who are responsible and make them pay. His otherwise stable, tactical demeanor has been overpowered by a hunter out for revenge. In other words, he has gone "Stone Cold."
Cameron's stepbrother Michael is in touch, helping him regain his focus and return to his training mode. Staying out of harm's way, the party continues to move the injured to different locations while their antagonists, teams from the Far East, multiply. The enemy aims to take Raines and Cameron out once and for all in a climactic fight to the finish. A mysterious visitor, a sadistic psychopathic fighter, and a computer whiz make "Stone Cold " an action thriller not to be missed.

• Language: English
• Publisher: BookBaby
• Release date: Jun 25, 2023
• ISBN: 9798350908381

Book preview

Prologue

Cameron left the hospital later in the evening; a simmering rage enveloped his very being. Sara was dead. The people who were responsible will be found and held accountable. Cameron knew he was on his own for the most part. Raines was down, and Glover wasn’t going anywhere for a while. Phil, his man in the field, was also limited to one arm. His goal was to find Mike Evans, and as far as Cameron knew, he was wounded and wouldn’t move about freely based on the street battle that saw battle-hardened men being injured and killed. Cameron found Phil posing as a homeless man and staking out the last known building where the wounded man was last sighted. There was a high probability that a subject identified as Mike Evans was likely aided into the building for some medical treatment. Phil indicated that there had been no sign of movement or anyone coming or going. Erringly quiet.

Phil suggested bringing in the Swat team, an NYPD bomb squad, and dogs of the same ilk. Phil knew that Cameron had a lot on his mind with the loss of Sara, and he may have to be the one to make the decisions, at least for now. They agreed that the best action was to call the NYPD based on recent police and private sector security events that resulted in a joint operation that saved the city from a catastrophic disaster. Since the terrorists were still at large, both teams would have to trust one another until all parties were caught or killed. Easier said than done.

The police arrived with three German shepherds. The handlers let the dogs do their job. The dogs methodically sniffed around the building, and one started to bark frantically—front and center on the massive door. A portable X-ray machine was guided to the closed door and transmitted digital imaging back to the technician to be analyzed. Nothing noteworthy was amiss, but the dog’s training was still on point, indicating something was wrong. Dogs of this caliber were very seldom mistaken in their assessments. No activity was noted, or objects of suspicious nature inside, and even any foot traffic heading out to the back of the building caused the dogs to react similarly. Although not certain, Phil indicated that no one was coming or going from the building. A locksmith was called in, looked at the front door, and was confident he could open it. The locksmith was given a vest with a bomb plate, a helmet with a face shield, and the like should anything go south. Cameron, who was dressed similarly, stood nearby.

The locksmith went to work, methodically getting his tools to work the tumblers until he heard a click. His dogs were barking. The locksmith turned to Cameron and said he had listened to the click, but based on his experience with locks, it was a strange sound. He looked at Cameron quizzically, and Cameron bolted into action. He ran and tackled the locksmith with momentum, bringing them both off the steps and onto the small lawn in front of the building structure. Just as the explosion blew the front door of the building off its hinges, two dogs went flying, yelped, and ran to their handlers. Next time, employing the relatively new and improved robot dogs to identify explosives of all types is the widespread consensus. The front door of the building had bounced off one of the cruisers; no one was injured as far as Cameron could see. However, he would bet that his ears would be ringing for a while. He felt a little jagged pain in his side; his phone was damaged; the faceplate had a rough edge, and the broken glass had punctured his vest and skin, stitches for sure.

The one time I didn’t wear my turtle-skin shirt, Cameron

thought aloud.

Phil checked on Cameron and threw him his phone upon seeing Cameron’s damaged phone and that Cameron was coherent and talking to himself. Cameron was fine. He smiled inwardly. Phil ran with an officer to the back of the building. No one was seen leaving. Phil then looked around to see if any cameras nearby may have picked up some footage of the comings and goings in the last six hours. Luckily, two cameras on the outside of the building may prove helpful. One could only hope. Cameron dialed Michael’s number immediately, which seemed like half a ring; Michael answered a bit out of breath.

Not knowing it was Cameron on the other end, Michael asked if Cameron was okay, as they had seen the explosion on the news.

Cameron said, Michael, it’s me. We are okay. How is the baby?

Michael breathed slowly to get the right message to Cameron, The baby is fine, but more importantly, Cameron, Sara is alive. We moved around a bit in the hospital. We had a visitor who had been snooping, but she didn’t find anything and escaped. I will fill you in more when you get here. Be careful, he added. Oh, and Cameron, Glover suggested you come in as you have been in the field for almost three days. Take a break, and we’ll get the bad guys, he reassured Cameron. He also asked if you could drive an ambulance. Michael could hear the air release from Cameron as he told him the good news about Sara.

Chapter One

Mount Sinai Hospital

At the hospital, late in the evening and hours after hearing of the explosion in the city, Glover, Raines, and Michael agreed to move themselves, as well as Sara and the baby, to another wing on a different floor with rooms more secure than the one they had now. It took some time, but they were all on the same floor, just in other parts of the hospital. They conducted the move without drawing too much attention, so only a few people knew what was happening; it looked like business in the hospital was normal. The hospital and police were willing to work with them for a short period and did not want anyone else in the line of fire. Knowing that their attackers were intelligent and determined, eliminating Raines, Glover, and Sara and moving them about seemed wise. They all knew, without a doubt, that they would have visitors sometime soon.

Unbeknownst to Raines, Michael had gotten ahold of Cameron. He kept trying to get ahold of him about the move with Sara and to tell him that Sara was alive but had no luck. Either he had his phone off or it got damaged in the explosion. So, they just watched the live news as it unfolded. Finally, Michael joined Raines in his room and indicated he had talked to Cameron and told him Sara was alive and was with her baby. Raines appreciated the update.

A shift change at the hospital saw security officers, orderlies, nurses, and doctors of all nationalities enter and run the hospital on the graveyard shift. A petite, oriental female figure entered the hospital fully credentialed as a doctor. All her badges passed muster, and a case-sensitive bar code for further authentication was required based on the city’s recent violence and terrorist activities. She went to the eleventh floor and checked in to the nurse’s station. Although the nurses did not necessarily know her, the young doctor had all the proper credentials, which removed any doubt about who she was. Plus, being shorthanded because of Covid, they needed more time to scrutinize everyone who came through the doors, most of whom were still wearing masks and face shields.

The doctor made her rounds, made herself at home with small talk, and investigated who was in what rooms and how adequate the security was. All seemed pretty standard, with the occasional NYPD officer talking at the nurse’s station; no one seemed alarmed, and no hospital codes were heard. Very quiet and uneventful shift so far. Everyone seemed comfortable. Fushi took out her phone and called her contact.

Hi, it’s me, Fushi. What rooms do you think all parties of interest are in?

Condescendingly, the voice on the other end hesitated momentarily and asked if she was on the eleventh floor. He often couldn’t understand her words based on her accent, so he had to repeat his questions several times. While doing her rounds, he also asked her if she could find the nursery where there should be a newborn male. She could tell she had irritated him with the call and would be alone until she found all parties. While acting innocent, Fushi went to the nurses’ station and asked where Sara Stone might be, not knowing that Sara and Cameron were not married. In unison, two nurses told her that Sara had died after childbirth. Fushi faked tears and was consoled by the senior nurses just as two staff members passed her with a body, which was being taken to the morgue. Fushi said they had been good friends for quite some time with the nurses.

Meanwhile, a nurse eavesdropping on the conversation hit a special button that alerted Glover’s and Raines’ new room that they had a possible breach. The nurse texted Glover and said the tip-off was that the new nurse asked about Sara Stone; she was unaware they were not married and that Sara checked in under Sara Smith. Dan, Cameron’s teammate, was sent to identify this new person of interest and get a picture if possible. Finally, Cameron’s brother Michael left to check on Sara and the baby at the two secure locations in another part of the hospital. Upon arriving at Sara’s room, he was shocked to see that Sara was nowhere in the room. However, Michael didn’t panic, well, not right away; he then went to the baby’s room. There, he found Sara holding her baby, both sleeping soundly. Michael put the baby back in the crib next to Sara.

Michael immediately went on his phone to Glover and told him of his findings. Next, Glover called two of his best men and told them to meet Michael at the nurse’s station on their new floor. He had an idea in mind should they be discovered on the new floor. Glover then told Michael of his suspicions and plan and that he had previously called the hospital’s morgue. Dan returned from the eleventh floor to Glover’s room and showed him the picture he had taken of the new doctor. Just as he thought, the picture he held matched the image that Phil had sent them previously to be analyzed, accompanying Mr. Jones. The face seemed to fit Fusako Shigen. Glover had heard of her as a tough woman and seemingly one of the Yakuza’s favorite assassins. Her father, as reported, was the Oyabun of the Yakuza, mainly operating out of Osaka. His name is Kenzo Yamashita. As most Americans know, Fushi was not a woman one would want to get in bed with on many different levels. She killed one of her father’s lieutenants as he tried to have his way with her sexually. Her father told her to take a break and go to America.

Michael met with the officers Glover had asked for, and Michael sent one officer per Glover to stall Ms. Shigen. Dan went back and covered Sara and the baby, and Michael went to safeguard Raines. The other officer stayed with Glover. Glover reviewed a new preliminary plan with Tank that he had if they were discovered. Tank earned his name because he was the size of one and looked the part. Tank told Glover that Smithy was unavailable, but he got a new guy, street smart from the Bronx, Little John. Little John was anything but little; he closely matched Tank’s description. Glover had Tank call Little John and see what was going on. No answer. They tried him on his phone, calling and texting, but nothing. Finally, Tank offered to go and investigate and would be in communication often. Glover called Michael and asked how Raines was doing, as they may have to move again.

Upon arriving at the nurse’s station on the eleventh floor, Tank noticed there was no one there. His hand was on his gun, and stealthily, he walked around until a nurse came up and said, Can I help you?

Tank asked, Where is everyone? I had another officer come here, and we haven’t heard anything. Can you tell me if an officer my size came down here about an hour ago?

The nurse, Megan, said yes, I remember seeing him, and he and a new doctor were conversing, but it didn’t look like it was going well. So, they went out the exit door; he seemed to be chasing after her, and I presume they went to a lower level or even the parking garage. Is everything okay?

Tank hurried down to the lower-level parking lot, where, much to his surprise and shock, he found his partner, Little John, curled up in a ball with a white frothing liquid coming out of his mouth. He immediately called for medical help, and it didn’t take long. They got Little John in the E.R. with all hands-on deck, as Little John was one significant individual, an enormous man. He was alive but barely, and two and sometimes three doctors were working on him, taking blood and monitoring his vital signs. Finally, Tank called Glover and told him the news.

The doctors told Tank that John would live, thanks partly to the fast action of Tank himself in getting him medical help. First, Tank rolled him onto his side so he would not swallow his tongue. Upon checking with the first arriving physician, it was determined that he had been injected with a lethal dose of Ritalin. The doctor told Tank that the needle mark was between Little John’s left upper ribs. A large quantity means your body can’t detoxify the drug fast enough before deadly symptoms occur. The doctors immediately started intravenous fluids, including blood transfusions and medications, to help calm him down, thus reducing his blood pressure and stabilizing his heart rate and rhythm. E.R. staff also attempted to cool with ice packs, mists, and fans. Within a few moments, Little John’s eyes began to flicker.

Welcome back, big guy. We found you sleeping in the parking garage. They both smiled at each other. Tank told him what they thought happened and wanted to know if he had anything to tell them.

Little John told everyone about the small Asian woman posing as a doctor, and when he questioned her, she argued and then ran out. He chased her to the parking lot. She spun and caught him with a needle in the side. Unfortunately for her, he swung just before the drugs kicked in and connected with his ham-sized hand alongside her head, so Little John presumed she would be sporting quite the black eye just as everything went dark. All of this was confirmed on the parking lot tape. However, as the team zoomed in on her face, they still could not positively identify her as she wore her hospital mask. One thing that they could see were her eyes. She was either indeed Asian or had Asian blood in her.

Chapter Two

Jones the Beginning

Albert Jonas Sr. is a billionaire extraordinaire. His net worth is well over three