THE HUNT FOR NJONJO
THE STORY
When three CIA employees go missing in the depths of the African wilderness, there is only one man to find them. That man is Jack Casey, a retired CIA operative, and nothing can stop him -- because one of the missing men saved his life.
Casey is lucky to be alive after a horrific helicopter crash in the jungles of Zimbabwe. He alone survived, and he owes his life to fellow CIA operative Mike Shocklee. He is alarmed when he learns through the intelligence grapevine that Shocklee and two colleagues have been kidnapped by an African soldier.
Colonel Simon Njonjo, a rebel soldier who is loyal to the ousted former president of Zimbabwe, has mounted a brutal attack on Harare Station, a CIA outpost. The bloody assault leaves many station personnel dead and three missing, including Mike Shocklee. No sign of them can be found in Zimbabwe; no ransom is requested, and it's suspected the men have been taken into Mozambique for political purposes. It also is suspected that they will be mistreated, and quite probably tortured or killed. But the CIA's hands are tied when the American president makes it clear that no rescue teams are to search across the border in Mozambique; the unstable political situation there makes the CIA employees expendable.
Jack Casey disagrees; if no one else will go, he will. Despite his retirement status and his settled, comfortable life with his wife, Cherie, he searches for a way to unofficially mount his own search. Returning to Zimbabwe and calling on old friends and allies, Casey is determined to find and rescue the man who pulled him out of the helicopter wreckage. Casey knows the hostages are in grave danger in the hands of Simon Njonjo, a man who will stop at nothing to see his leader returned to the presidency -- through any means necessary.
ENDORSEMENT
“Based on decades of real world experience, author Jack Kassinger delivers a dynamic tale that reads as if it happened yesterday…or may happen tomorrow,” said Kathie McGuire, director of Brighton Publishing LLC. “In a style reminiscent of classic Techno-thrillers like Tom Clancy’s Hunt for Red October, and Robert Ludlum’s The Bourne Supremacy, The Hunt for Njonjo brews up an intense combination of technology, tension, and terror.”
PURCHASE
Books can be purchased on:
Genre: Spy Fiction
ISBN: 13: 978-1-62183-24-1
eISBN: 10: 1-621-832204-X
EXCERPT
After camping out another week at the embassy, the IRT team leader conferred with Ambassador Hallford and suggested that they conclude their investigation and head back to Washington. The ambassador agreed; why the FBI has sent the team out to begin with when the CIA was fully capable of handling the matter was a mystery he hadn't been able to unravel. He wanted them out of his hair probably as much as Parker did.
Ambassador Thomas Hallford was a holdover from the previous administration, a career diplomat who had spent the majority of his overseas career on the African continent. He thought well of the agency and even more so of the men who had helped remove Mkipii. He was particularly fond of Shocklee. He had met the man several times after the coup, getting briefed on program activities and coordinating political activities the embassy needed to initiate in order to help Matapu's fledgling government. The ambassador understood Washington politics, but the message he was soon to receive, while at Foggy Bottom, would give him a great deal of consternation regarding the politics of the current administration and, in particular, the Secretary of State.
With the IRT on its way back to Washington, Parker was able to spend more time personally talking to each of the newly arrived personnel. They asked many questions about the attack on the station and how they would be used to search for the missing employees. His answers were very detailed with regard to the REDEMPTION operation, but vague in nature with regard to the hunt for Njonjo.
He was concluding one such meeting with a newly arrived SAD officer when the man presented him with another surprise.
"Almost forgot," the officer stated, while rising to leave. He reached into his backpack and retrieved an envelope and handed it to Parker.
"Who's this from?" asked Parker, as he examined the envelope.
"I don't know," the man replied. "It was handed to me by one of the ops support assistants in Miller's office, the one responsible for pouching mail to the station. She said the envelope was left on her desk with a sticky note attached informing her to send it to the station via diplomatic pouch, but since the pouch had already been sent, she asked if I would mind carrying it out you."
Parker turned the envelope over again, looking at both sides. His name was typed on the face of the envelope; there was no return address or any indication as to who had sent it to him. He looked at the officer again, but decided not to press him for more information as to who had sent the envelope.
"Thanks," Parker said. "Go ahead and get settled in. It'll be a long day for you tomorrow."
He opened the envelope and took out a small piece of paper, which he immediately recognized as water soluble paper, paper traditionally used by the ops guys. It must have been sent to him by one of the senior division officers. This type of paper was designed and made by the agency's Technical Services Division. It was used to pass written notes and codes to agents. For security purposes, the paper can quickly be dissolved with water or saliva and will rapidly begin to deteriorate after thirty days once removed from its protective shield, and even faster in a high humidity climate. Someone wanted him to read and then destroy the note, but from another perspective, the sender knew he would not be able to retain the note for other purposes, such as proof of a directive.
He unfolded the small pieces of paper to see a single sentence that had been printed with a brown felt-tipped pen.
"Your chance has arrived, don't disappoint me."
It was an unofficial communique, one that contradicted the earlier command channel message from Miller limiting station activities with regard to the missing employees. The new directive was clear to Parker: find the missing men and kill their captors. He decided, without much forethought, to accept the mission, but instinctively he knew that running an unsanctioned operation under the auspices of the presidentially approved finding would be a risky proposition.
He dropped the paper into a glass of water and watched as it disappeared. He looked out the window at an ominous October sky, wondering how his colleagues were doing. They had been missing for nearly a month with no ransom note, no demand for money, or any form of communique from those holding them captive.
PRESS RELEASE
Brighton Publishing signs Jack Kassinger for his third novel “The Hunt for Njonjo”
In a dynamic sequel to his popular Techno-thriller, “Storms over Zimbabwe: The OPCON Finding,” author Jack Kassinger pits the will and resources of retired CIA operative Jack Casey against an army of formidable forces in “The Hunt for Njonjo”
Dec. 23, 2013 -- CHANDLER (AZ)—Brighton Publishing LLC is pleased to announce the signing of novelist Jack Kassinger for his third novel, The Hunt for Njonjo. Destined to become a Brighton bestseller, author Jack Kassinger coaxes covert agent Jack Casey out of retirement to track down an old friend…and a new enemy. The Hunt for Njonjo is scheduled for eBook release in mid-2014 and will be available through Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and other leading retailers nationwide. The print version is currently slated for release in late-2014 and will be available through Ingram, the world’s largest book distributor and On-demand worldwide from the Espresso Book Machine.
When three CIA employees go missing, there is only one man willing to find them in the depths of the African wilderness…
…retired CIA operative Jack Casey.
Soon, it becomes clear that one of the men taken from the CIA’s Harare Station outpost is agent Mike Shocklee—the man responsible for saving Casey’s life years earlier after a tragic helicopter accident.
Now, nothing can stop Casey from finding Shocklee and his fellow captives…
…not even the man who took them—Colonel Simon Njonjo—leader of the rebel army and supporter of the ousted former president of Zimbabwe.
With no leads and no ransom requested, Casey suspects lhe men have been taken to Mozambique for
political purposes. There, they will be tortured mercilessly, then killed as a political statement.
Unfortunately, though, the ClAs hands are tied by an unstable geo-political situation which has made
the ClAs assets expendable.
But Jack Casey wholeheartedly disagrees with America's foreign policy and quickly enlists the aid of
former friends and contacts to mount a search of his own.
But Colonel Njonjo is a man who will stop at nothing to see his leader returned to the presidency...
...by any means necessary.
"With a unique reality to his writing, author Jack Kassinger, delivers a masterful blend of technology,
emotional tension, and a dynamic cast of both heroes and villains,' said Kathie McGuire, director of
Brighton Publishing LLC. "Likened in style and feel to the works of Technothriller masters like, Larry
Bond, Tom Clancy, and Dale Brown, The Hunt for Njonjo takes readers into the heart of the African
wilderness and into the mind of one of the great heroes of modern literature-Jack Casey."
