And Father had repeated, so many times in the last two days, that Ram had a choice, at any time, to leave.Preparing for an operation, he told Ram,is preparing to die.
That meant Mother had been prepared to die, too, though she hadn’t expected to die as a civilian casualty in a random bombing by the Soviets. And she hadn’t anticipated that her four-year-old daughter would be sitting at the front of the class, playing dolls, when it happened.
The Soviets had killed Mother. Mother, who used to sing Ram to sleep at night, used to fill him with praise and hope for a better future. Mother, who used to tell him, before he did anything, to ask one question:What would your parents do?
“I want to join,” Ram repeats.
The man comes from around his desk and sits on it, close to Ram. “We’ll see about that,” the man says. “We’ll take it slow.”
“I will do what you say,” Ram says.
“Very good,” the man says. “You’ll be working with me for now. We’ll see how things progress.”
Ram nods and offers his hand. “My name is Ram Haroon.”
“Call me Irv,” Shiels says, shaking his hand.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Writing a novel in reverse chronological order wasn’t easy. It required the help of patient, generous friends, to whom I owe many thanks.
To Carole Baron, for supporting this ambitious project. To David Highfill, my editor, for taking a chance on a unique plotting concept and guiding me through it. To Marilyn Ducksworth, Michael Barson, and Megan Millenky, the best publicists in the business, who got stuck with the job of trying to make me look good (never an easy task). To Christine Zika, for all her hard work and enthusiasm. You guys are the best!
To Jeff Gerecke, my literary agent, for preserving my sanity through the drafting of the novel.
To Randy Kaplan, soon to be a household name in the book world, for his careful and thoughtful review of several drafts of the book. To Connie Stennes, my wife’s drama teacher, in Montevideo, Minnesota, for offering her insights. To Todd (T.A.) Stone, a talented novelist himself, for his advice on how best to ambush a terrorist convoy. (Remind me never to get on your bad side, Todd.)
To Dr. Ronald Wright, a forensic pathologist in Florida, for once again volunteering his time to answer my technical questions. To Adam Tullier, for his critique of an earlier, rather different version of the novel. To Paul Johnson, for his translation of the Arabic language and for his sense of humor. To Drew Powers, for assisting on plot and characterization. If I can get it past Drew, I can get it past anyone.
A now redundant thank you to Jim Jann, a great friend with an incredible eye for nuance, characterization, and atmosphere in a novel. To Dan Collins, for lending an ear on plot and for answering my many questions regarding federal law enforcement.
Thanks to everyone at my law firm for their support and enthusiasm: David Williams, Doug Bax, Kerry Saltzman, Young Kim, Chris Covatta, Michelle Powers, Adam Tullier, and Grant Tullier.
To my wife, Susan, for spending countless hours listening to an obsessive writer ramble on about plot, character, and minor details, when that writer should be spending more time telling her how much he truly, madly loves her.
David Ellis
