As We Fall Read online

  As We Fall

  Against All Odds Series Book 1

  Jack Hunt

  Contents

  Also by Jack Hunt

  ONE - SYSTEM DOWN

  TWO - TRAPPED

  THREE - CLOSING IN

  FOUR - BREAKDOWN

  FIVE - DARKNESS

  SIX - AFTERMATH

  SEVEN - FIFTY/FIFTY

  EIGHT - PROMISES

  NINE - DOWNFALL

  TEN - TROUBLE MAKERS

  ELEVEN - DELAYS

  TWELVE - THE FUTURE

  THIRTEEN - FORE

  FOURTEEN - RECLUSE

  FIFTEEN - LAZARUS

  SIXTEEN – I’M SORRY

  SEVENTEEN - THE ROAD

  EIGHTEEN - THE WOMAN

  NINETEEN - ALONE

  TWENTY – INDEBTED

  TWENTY-ONE - DISCOVERY

  TWENTY-TWO - ASHES TO ASHES

  TWENTY-THREE - HOME

  A Plea

  Reading Team

  About the Author

  Copyright © 2018 by Jack Hunt

  All rights reserved.

  No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

  As We Fall: Against All Odds Book 1 is a work of fiction. All names, characters, places and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events or locales is entirely coincidental.

  Also by Jack Hunt

  Click here to receive special offers, bonus content, and news about new Jack Hunt’s books. Sign up for the newsletter.

  The Agora Virus series

  Phobia

  Anxiety

  Strain

  The War Buds series

  War Buds 1

  War Buds 2

  War Buds 3

  Camp Zero series

  State of Panic

  State of Shock

  State of Decay

  Renegades series

  The Renegades

  The Renegades Book 2: Aftermath

  The Renegades Book 3: Fortress

  The Renegades Book 4: Colony

  The Renegades Book 5: United

  The Wild Ones Duology

  The Wild Ones Book 1

  The Wild Ones Book 2

  The EMP Survival series

  Days of Panic

  Days of Chaos

  Days of Danger

  Days of Terror

  Mavericks series

  Mavericks: Hunters Moon

  Time Agents series

  Killing Time

  Single Novels

  Blackout

  Defiant

  Darkest Hour

  Final Impact

  For my Family

  A massive and well-coordinated cyber attack on the electric grid could devastate the economy and cause a large-scale loss of life.

  Dr. Richard Andres, U.S National War College.

  ONE - SYSTEM DOWN

  Losing his luggage at Boston International Airport was the first bad omen. Sam Wade stood in line behind an impatient, disgruntled rabble of travelers, trying his daughter’s number. Once again it went straight to voicemail. Damn it! He already had reservations about meeting her after all these years but his ex-wife, Helen, had reassured him that it was important to try. It wasn’t so much Anna he was concerned about as it was hearing the lies her grandfather had spoon-fed her.

  “And as I told you, sir, you are going to need to fill out an Air Carrier Claim Report. I cannot locate your baggage and our computer system is down right now. I’m sorry but—”

  “Typical!” A businessman at the front of the line dressed in high-class threads cut her off. “You know, I have a good mind to file a lawsuit against you, the airport and the airline. This is unacceptable.” The self-entitled millennial in his late twenties jabbed his finger in her face as he leaned against the public information booth, refusing to listen to the rep who was doing her best to remain composed. The line of people behind him groaned and told him to hurry up. He’d held up the line for the past ten minutes and despite every effort being made by the representative to assure him that his luggage would eventually be found, he couldn’t seem to grasp that nothing could be done. He pulled out his phone and looked as if he was dialing a number, probably his lawyer, or whoever was in charge of manscaping his immaculate beard.

  “Sir, I’m going to need you to step to one side. There are others that need help,” she said.

  “Help?” he scoffed, waving paperwork in front of her face with one hand while holding a phone up to his ear with the other. “Lady, you really should consider another career as this one isn’t doing you any favors. No, I’m not going anywhere, not until I get my baggage. Where is your supervisor?”

  Unable to reach whoever he’d dialed, he returned to bitching and complaining.

  A mother juggling two kids interjected, “Excuse me. She’s told you, she can’t help. Now would you please for the love of God move on as—”

  Before she could finish the guy turned around and told her where to go with a few unsavory words thrown in for good measure.

  “I beg your pardon?”

  “You heard!” He turned his back on her and returned to berating the service rep. The rep was looking for a co-worker, security, anyone who would step in to assist but there was no one at hand. Sam shook his head and pulled at his denim shirt collar. A bead of sweat trickled down the side of his face. It was warm, and if the temperature inside was anything to go by, it was clear that the computer network wasn’t the only thing that had given up the ghost — there was no air conditioning or someone had decided to shut it off. He figured the cooler weather they’d been experiencing in the first week of October was the cause. Sam bit down and tried to stay out of it. Leave it be. Someone from security will come along and handle it. It wasn’t his way to interfere with disputes but on the other hand the guy was being a jerk, and had clearly been drinking. Sam had seen him on the plane from California ordering back-to-back whiskeys, and then witnessed the heated exchange with an air stewardess when he was told he’d reached his limit for the flight. Under any other circumstances he might have chuckled at the jerk’s misfortune if it wasn’t for the fact that he was in the same predicament. Still, that didn’t give him the right to act like an asshole.

  Adjusting his carry-on strap, Sam stepped out of line and made his way to the front. Sam tapped the guy’s arm, and he turned with a twisted expression. His breath stank of alcohol and cigarettes.

  “Okay, I get it. You’re pissed off because they lost your luggage. Me too, but holding up the line isn’t getting you or any of us anywhere. Do us all a favor, take the form, fill it out and then phone later. And give the woman a break; she’s just doing her job.”

  “Piss off!”

  “Pleasant.” Sam smiled. “Listen…”

  He was about to continue when the guy interrupted him. “Buddy, back off, I’m in no mood.”

  “Really? Good because neither am I, in fact I’m late for a meeting.”

  “Well the sooner they find my luggage, the sooner you can be on your way. That goes for all of you,” he said yelling over his shoulder.

  With that said he turned his back and leaned against the counter, asking the lady to check her computer system again. Sam rolled his lower lip below his teeth and looked at the line, he shook his head and tapped him again. This time the guy turned and stabbed his finger against Sam’s chest. “I told you—”

  In a split second, Sam grabbed his wrist, twisted it around and locked it upward causing the man to groan in agony. He was barely applying any pressure and the
guy was whining like a little kid. “Listen, I know Starbucks probably forgot to put soy in your latte this morning, and you probably didn’t get the upgrade to first class, and that pill you’re taking with the grand hopes of growing that micropenis of yours isn’t working out but here’s the deal — all these fine people behind you have problems too and right now you’re being a first-class asshole. So you’re going to take the paperwork that lady has given you, and be on your way, do you understand?”

  The prick offered back a look of defiance. Sam applied more leverage and he squealed like a stuck pig before nodding enthusiastically. “Okay, okay!”

  “Good.” Sam released him and stepped back to watch him walk away.

  The man cursed under his breath and disappeared into the crowd.

  No one clapped, or thanked him, they simply pushed forward eager to get their troubles solved. Sam adjusted his ball cap, and got back in line. From there on out, it didn’t take long to reach the front of the line. The lady at the front desk leaned forward. “Thank you,” she said in a low voice. Then she asked, in her normal tone, “How can I help?”

  “That computer of yours wouldn’t by any chance be working now, would it?”

  She grimaced and glanced at it. “Unfortunately not, sir.”

  “How long has that one been down?”

  “Twenty minutes.”

  “Can’t you use another?”

  “I wish. We’ve been having issues for the past few hours. Our tech guys are working on it. I expect it’ll be up soon if you want to wait.” She looked over her shoulder at the sound of a phone ringing. “Hold on a second.” She walked away while Sam checked his text messages. No reply from his daughter. It didn’t make him hopeful about their reunion. Would she even be there?

  So much time had passed since he’d last seen Anna. She was eight years old when he walked out the door, when he turned his back on Colorado, and all the bullshit her grandparents had put them through. He shook his head at the thought of it all. After sixteen years in service with the Navy SEALs, countless deployments in Iraq and Afghanistan, along with constant training, it had taken its toll on his marriage. Had Helen been willing to move away from the town she was raised in, perhaps they might have stayed together. Then again, who was he kidding? So many of his teammates were on their second or third marriage, the smart ones never got married at all. Unfortunately their specialized career didn’t make raising a family easy. Though many were tight-lipped about it, struggles with alcohol abuse, post-traumatic stress disorder, anger and emotional numbness were rampant. And then there were those who only managed to get a few hours’ sleep a night. It eventually wore them down. Although they lived their lives to a higher standard, and were perceived by many as the best of the best, it didn’t mean they were unbreakable or immune to personal struggles.

  Since retiring at the age of thirty-nine, Sam had to deal with his own personal battles of adjusting to civilian life, and the only way he’d been able to cope was to throw himself back into the field by transitioning into private contracting for the State Department. Sometimes it meant spending four to six months overseas at a time but that was where he felt at a home, right alongside his buddies, gun in hand, living the life of a warrior. Besides, the pay from contracting was good, much better than what he got as a SEAL. Depending on the contract he could bank thirty-four thousand for thirty days of work. Still, he wasn’t getting any younger and since last year he’d been tapering off, chewing over going into business with another SEAL buddy on a coaching and training center based out of California. They were still hashing out the logistics of it all but he was excited about helping others. In many ways being useful was the only thing he wanted — that and to reconnect with his daughter.

  The rep hung up and turned back to him with a smile.

  “Good news, I hope?” Sam asked.

  She shrugged. “Looks like our system is going to be down longer than I thought. Sorry. Here’s the form you need to fill out, and that’s the number to call,” she said circling in red a phone number at the top of the paper.

  Sam scooped up the sheet and thanked her before heading to purchase a Charlie Card, which would let him use Boston’s bus and subway system. He’d planned on staying for three or four days at a hotel in the city and reconnecting with his estranged daughter before flying back with her to Colorado, where her mother was having heart surgery. The whole idea was Helen’s. She’d called him out of the blue a month ago to let him know that she’d fallen ill and it had given her a lot of time to reflect on the past. Although they hadn’t seen eye to eye over the years, she wanted to make sure that Anna had a chance to reconnect with him.

  Of course, Sam jumped at the opportunity after eleven years of being pushed to the sidelines with little to no communication. He was prepared to do whatever it took, he only hoped Anna might too.

  Sam took the Silver Line bus to South Station and then caught the subway train to Harvard Square. It was cheaper and faster than going by taxi. Helen had told him that the freshmen stayed in dorm buildings that surrounded what was known as Harvard Yard. The transit station was just across the street from it, a short walk away. As he emerged from the station, he was greeted by the sight of red brick, Georgian style buildings, and crowds of students, tourists and shop workers. He crossed the busy street and entered the sprawling grassy area that was enclosed by black fences and red brick. Pathways fissured out in different directions to each of the dorm halls. Sam fished out of his pocket a scrap of paper with the name of Anna’s dorm and began scanning the buildings. She was staying in Thayer Hall. He asked two young guys for directions and they pointed him to the north side of the yard.

  At the main entrance, he noticed there was no intercom, and with her not answering her phone, he figured he’d have to wait outside until someone came out or she arrived. Sam took a seat on the steps, reached into his backpack, fished out an apple and spent the next hour people watching. Students stared at him as they walked by. He felt uncomfortable and out of place. He glanced at his phone multiple times, and tried her number again. Frustrated, he was just about to make a call to Helen and see if she could get hold of her when he spotted her among a group of three girls heading his way. Sam fished into his pocket for the photo, then looked at the most up-to-date one Helen had sent to his phone. She had changed a lot. He took a deep breath, straightened up and brushed off his pants, and slung his bag over his shoulder.

  The last photo he had of her was from when she was fourteen. He’d asked on numerous occasions for an updated one but never got a response until recently. Anna now had longer hair; straight, dark, just like her mother. It flowed past her shoulders. She had high cheekbones with ocean blue eyes, and had strong features, a small button nose and a slim physique. She was wearing a dark blue peacoat, blue jeans and dark black boots. Her hands were tucked into her pockets and she was smiling at least until she saw him. He caught the flash of horror then her quick attempt to cover it by looking away. As they approached the main door, she glanced down and tried to act like she hadn’t seen him.

  Sam shifted from one foot to the next, cleared his throat and said, “Anna.”

  The other girls looked at him then at her. Realizing she couldn’t duck inside without being rude, she motioned to the others to go on without her and told them she would catch up with them later. Sam heard them ask, “Who is he?” Anna didn’t answer.

  Sam stepped back to take her in. “Wow, you’ve really grown up.”

  As soon as her pals had gone inside and the door swung shut, she leaned against the wall not making eye contact with him.

  “What do you want?” she asked chewing the corner of her lip.

  “Didn’t you get my messages? I phoned multiple—”

  “I guess not.”

  There was a pause as she looked across the yard with an uninterested expression.

  “Um, well, I’ll be taking you back to Colorado.” Her eyes narrowed, and Sam shifted his weight. “I mean, I’m going to be here
for a couple of days and then we’ll fly back.”

  “Why?” she asked.

  “Because it’s faster than driving.”

  She shook her head. “No, I mean, why are you here?”

  “To take you back.”

  “I’m nineteen years old. I don’t need an escort.”

  He smiled. “Your mother thought it would be good for us to spend a little time together before—”

  “No, I get that, but she was meant to be here.”

  He shifted uncomfortably. “Well, she can’t make it. They pushed forward the date of surgery and it was her request that I bring you home.”

  “We’ll see about that.” She stepped down off the step and started walking away.

  Sam frowned. “Anna, hold up. Where are you going?”

  “I have things to do. I study.”

  Sam quickened his pace to keep up with her.

  “Yeah, Harvard. What about that? I always knew you would do great things.”

  She scoffed and shook her head ever so slightly.

  He continued, “Look, I’m going to be staying in a hotel not far from here, I thought maybe we could go out for dinner tonight. You know, I’ll take you somewhere nice and we can chat. I no longer work for the military so I have all this free time on my hands and—”

  Anna stopped and spun around, a look of fury on her face. “Oh so now when it’s convenient for you, you decide to show up and want me to drop what I’m doing?” She gritted her teeth. “You’re such an asshole.”

  She turned to walk away and Sam stood there dumbfounded.

  “Hey, hey, Anna.” He caught up and reached for her arm. The second he latched hold she shrugged him off.

  “What do you want from me? Huh? What do you want?”

  “I want to spend time with you. You’re my daughter.”

  “What a crock of shit. What are you getting out of this, huh? Is she paying you?”

  Sam offered back a confused expression. “Paying me? No, I just want to get to know you.”