“Pretty sure, Chair Force,” Thibodaux said. “And if it can’t, they know where to find us.”
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
I am especially grateful to Brian Krosschell for engineering my first visit to the Kobuk River region of Alaska. I fell in love with the land and the people from the start. And thanks to him and his wife, Lila, for help with the Yup’ik and Inupiaq languages and culture. The village of Ambler is real, as is the surrounding terrain. Needle is fictional, but is a representation of many of the villages up and down the river.
As always, many thanks to Ty Cunningham, my brother-in-arms and jujitsu sensei for walking through the fight dynamics with me. My friend, Special Agent Michele Lakey endured several lunch meetings while I peppered her with questions about what it was like to be a female agent in the FBI. Sonny Caudill, Steve Arlow, Steve Szymanski, and Dan Cooper always provide valuable insight into the world of aviation, boats, and motorcycles. Brandon Spanos made sure I got the Russian language right. Daniel O and his buds at the Anchorage Police Department helped with the ins and outs of how APD might deal with a terrorist attack. I’m grateful to Ben O and the men and women of the OSI detachments in Yokota, Japan, and Anchorage, Alaska, for their friendship and assistance. My old friend and fellow deputy U.S. Marshal, Troy Meeks, put up with all sorts of questions about tactical medicine under austere conditions. Thanks, bud. I have to give credit to my friend Tyson Bundy for coming up with the idea to use a spent rifle casing to fix a broken oil line. Don and Nancy Finck and Justin at Anchorage Arctic Cat helped me out with questions about the effects of gunfire on an ATV — and even talked me into buying a new Arctic Cat so I could do further “research.” Jim Hyde, Dusty Wessels, and the rest of the gang at Raw-Hyde have been an incredible resource as I attempt to hone my riding skills so I can write with some authority on Jericho Quinn’s abilities with a motorcycle. Many thanks to Amanda Sundvor at ICON for answering my questions about Quinn’s Truant motorcycle boots. She was nice and informative enough to make me want to buy a pair of my own. Readers often ask if I’m doing some sort of product placement in these books. The truth is, I always enjoyed it when Ian Fleming told us the brand of watch Bond wore, lighter he used, or car he drove. I put Quinn on a BMW because I ride a BMW. He wears a TAG because I’ve worn a TAG for thirty years. He uses a Cardo Bluetooth intercom because I do. He carries a Riot sheath knife and a ZT folder because those are the blades I depend on.
I am extremely grateful to my agent, Robin Rue, and her assistant, Beth Miller, at Writers House who have become good friends. My editor, Gary Goldstein, is a gem to work with — a big thanks to him and all the folks at Kensington Publishing.
And most of all, thank you to my sweet bride, Victoria, my partner in crime, writing, and adventure.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
A native of Texas, MARC CAMERON has spent over twenty-nine years in law enforcement. His assignments have taken him from rural Alaska to Manhattan, from Canada to Mexico and points in between. A second-degree black belt in jujitsu, he often teaches defensive tactics to law-enforcement agencies and civilian groups. Cameron presently lives in Alaska with his wife and his BMW motorcycle.