{"product_id":"operator-down-isbn-9781101984833","title":"Operator Down","description":"\u003cb\u003e\u003cb\u003e• A \u003ci\u003eNew York Times\u003c\/i\u003e Bestseller • Former Special Forces officer and\u003ci\u003e New York Times\u003c\/i\u003e bestselling author Brad Taylor delivers a heart-pounding thriller where Pike Logan's search for a Mossad agent and ally puts him on a collision course with a ruthless military coup in Africa—and tests his loyalties to the Taskforce\u003c\/b\u003e.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eIt was supposed to be a simple mission. Nothing more than assessing whether a merchant in the fabled Israeli Diamond Exchange was involved in a scheme that could potentially embarrass the state of Israel. But nothing is ever simple in the world of intelligence, as Aaron Bergman—a former leader of an elite direct action team under the Mossad—should have known. Executing the operation as a contractor, a cutout that gave the State of Israel plausible deniability, he disappears without a trace.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003ePike Logan and his team know none of this, but he's tracking an American arms dealer in Tel Aviv who may—or may not—be attempting to sell sensitive nuclear weapons components to the highest bidder. When Pike's team breaks up an attempt at killing Shoshana, Aaron's partner, they stumble upon much more than they expected—a concerted conspiracy to topple a democratic African country.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eBeginning to untangle a web that extends through both the American and Israeli intelligence community, Pike is forced to choose between his Israeli friends and his Taskforce mission, even as the coup begins. But Aaron's disappearance is the one mistake the plotters made. Because Shoshana is the greatest killing machine the Mossad has ever produced, and she will stop at nothing to help Aaron, even if it means killing Pike Logan.\u003cb\u003ePraise for \u003ci\u003eOperator Down\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e“[A] page-turning thriller...Taylor is one of today’s premiere authors writing about the world of special ops.”—Associated Press\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“Brad Taylor’s Pike Logan thrillers just keep getting better, and \u003ci\u003eOperator Down\u003c\/i\u003e is his most ambitious and fully realized yet....Taylor continues to stand with Brad Thor and James Rollins at the top of the action-thriller genre. But \u003ci\u003eOperator Down\u003c\/i\u003e features the polished echoes of Daniel Silva and even John le Carré, a thriller that’s at once both cerebral and muscular, a rare combination that Taylor pulls off with skill and aplomb.”—\u003ci\u003eProvidence Journal\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“Former Delta Force officer Taylor relies on his familiarity with modern combat logistics to create credible characters and complex plots that pulse with intense intrigue, authenticity, and realism. Fans of military thrillers will enjoy how this narrative mirrors current events in the worldwide war on terror.”—\u003ci\u003eLibrary Journal\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“As usual in the Pike Logan series, the spycraft and related technology are fascinating, the dialogue crackles, and all the players are operating in an international sea of moral ambiguity. Recommend Pike Logan to readers who like their spies tough, smart, and bordering on superhuman.”—\u003ci\u003eBooklist\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“Bestseller Taylor excels at quality action scenes....Series fans...are sure to relish this entry.”\u003ci\u003e—Publishers Weekly\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“With his experience as an officer in the U.S. Army's Special Forces, Taylor brings firsthand military knowledge to the Nephilim ‘Pike’ Logan series....A believable account of elite operators working outside traditional government parameters to track international villains.”—\u003ci\u003eKirkus Reviews\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eMore Praise for Brad Taylor and the Pike Logan series\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“Brad Taylor continues to tackle one of the pressing fears of today—terrorism. The plots and the characters are fictional but Taylor's meticulous research brings that sense of chilling believability to his Pike Logan thrillers....Taylor delivers a high-energy thriller in \u003ci\u003eRing of Fire.”—\u003c\/i\u003eOline Cogdill, \u003ci\u003eSouth Florida Sun-Sentinel\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“Pike ranks right up there with Jason Bourne, Jack Reacher, and Jack Bauer.”—John Lescroart, \u003ci\u003eNew York Times \u003c\/i\u003ebestselling author\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“Fresh plot, great action, and Taylor clearly knows what he is writing about....When it comes to tactics and hardware, he is spot-on.”—Vince Flynn, #1 \u003ci\u003eNew York Times \u003c\/i\u003ebestselling author\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“Logan is a tough, appealing hero you’re sure to root for.”—Joseph Finder, \u003ci\u003eNew York Times\u003c\/i\u003e bestselling author\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“[Pike Logan is a] feisty, devil-may-care hero.”—Steve Berry, \u003ci\u003eNew York Times \u003c\/i\u003ebestselling author\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“Taylor has become one of the very best writers of thrillers with a military and special-ops background....Comparisons to Vince Flynn and Brad Thor are expected and not inaccurate, but Taylor is now in a class by himself.”—\u003ci\u003eBooklist\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“Slick, exciting action and credible complexity are the hallmarks of Taylor’s high-caliber thrillers.”—\u003ci\u003eLibrary Journal\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e“Few authors write about espionage, terrorism, and clandestine hit squads as well as Taylor does.”—\u003ci\u003eHouston Press\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e“Action packed...Those who prize authentic military action will be rewarded.”—\u003ci\u003ePublishers Weekly\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cb\u003eBRAD TAYLOR\u003c\/b\u003e is the author of the \u003ci\u003eNew York Times\u003c\/i\u003e bestselling Pike Logan series. He served for more than twenty years in the U.S. Army, including eight years in 1st Special Forces Operational Detachment-Delta, commonly known as Delta Force. He retired as a Special Forces lieutenant colonel and now lives in Charleston, South Carolina.1\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e Being a spy is a lot like being a bank robber. In espionage-as in      crime-it's always the little things that get you. You can plan for      an entire operation, allowing for one contingency after another,      foreseeing when and where things might go wrong, but you      inevitably miss the little things. A drop of sweat on a doorknob,      drywall shavings left behind after the installation of a bug, a      nick from a tension wrench in the brass plate of a lock. Small      things with huge impacts.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e In this case, the little thing happened before Aaron Bergmann had      even left Israel, when a travel voucher routed through Mossad      headquarters included a man who had been specifically excluded      from the mission read-on. For a specific reason. And that little      thing would prove devastating for Aaron and his neophyte      apprentice.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e Casually tapping the tablet in front of him, Aaron said, \"Alex,      turn just a tad bit to the right. I'm missing the man on the      left.\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e Across the table from him Alexandra Levy shifted slightly, her      face aglow. She said, \"This is so exiting! Straight out of a James      Bond movie.\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e He chuckled, then said, \"Right there. Good.\" He hit record on the      tablet.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e Alex stiffened a little bit, as if she were posing for a      photographer, holding her angle. She whispered, \"That thing will      really read their lips? Tell us what they're saying?\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e Aaron said, \"Yep. If you can keep the camera on them, but don't      look so rigid. Relax a little. I'll tell you if it shifts off.\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e Aaron continued manipulating a piece of software in his tablet,      something that was highly classified and usually reserved for      active Mossad agents. A simple button camera in Alexandra's blouse      was tied by Bluetooth to his tablet and seemed to be out of a 007      movie, but in truth, both were commercially available to anyone      who wanted them. The secret was the software churning through what      the camera sent it.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e Artificial intelligence for facial recognition had grown by leaps      and bounds in recent years, and the Mossad had taken that in a      different direction, focusing on the spoken word. They'd      replicated the human act of lipreading in the cyberworld,      designing a software suite that could decipher what was being said      without hearing sound.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e Alex relaxed her body a bit, contrition floating across her face.      \"Sorry. This isn't my expertise. You should be doing the camera      work.\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e He laid the tablet on the table and took a sip of beer, saying,      \"You're doing fine. This beats working in the diamond exchange,      right? Keep up the talent and I might recruit you for my firm.\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e She grinned and said, \"No, no, this is enough excitement. I enjoy      being able to help-I've never even been to Africa-but I'll stick      with my boring job.\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e There was no fear in the statement. No realization of the risk. It      was like she thought they were executing a high school senior      prank. She had no idea of the threat level.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e That would come later.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e She glanced over the balcony toward their target and said,      \"Besides, I don't think your partner would agree to that. I think      she hates me.\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e Three people sat at the table they were filming, two white and one      black. Their target was a man of about thirty-five, and unlike the      rest of the patrons in the restaurant, he was dressed in a suit as      if he were still working in his office in Israel. The other white      man looked like he was about to head out on a safari, wearing      cargo pants and a shirt that had more pockets than a      photographer's vest. He had shaggy blond hair, ice-blue eyes, and      a feral quality. Aaron had seen his type plenty of times before,      but only in a war zones. It intrigued him.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e The final man was tall, with a thin mustache and coal-black skin.      He was dressed like a local but didn't act like one. Ramrod      straight, he showed not a whit of humor. Had they held the meeting      at a cafŽ in downtown Johannesburg-where the target was      staying-they would have attracted attention by their very      disparate appearances, but they didn't here. Which explained why      Aaron's target had chosen this restaurant. The one thing remaining      was to find out why the meeting was occurring.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e The only man Aaron recognized was the one the Mossad had asked him      to track-an employee of a diamond broker in Tel Aviv. The other      two were a mystery, but he'd know about them soon enough, when      they reviewed the footage later.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e The primary problem with the lipreading software was choosing a      language-try to lip-read German when the target was speaking      Chinese and you'd get gibberish. Here, in the township of Soweto,      just outside the city center of Johannesburg, South Africa, he was      sure they were speaking English. There was no way the black man      spoke Hebrew, and he would be astounded if his target from Israel      spoke something like Swahili or Afrikaans. No, they'd be speaking      English, and the fact that his method of recording the      conversation came through in visual rather than auditory form was      a plus in the current environment.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e The outdoor balcony they were on belonged to a restaurant called      Sakhumzi, as did the patio holding the target's table. Just a      stone's throw from the historical houses of Nelson Mandela and      Bishop Tutu, in the section of Soweto known as Orlando West, the      restaurant hosted a smorgasbord of local food and native      performers and was a permanent stop for tour groups large and      small traveling to see the ghetto made famous in the uprising      against apartheid. Because of it, there was a constant drumbeat of      laughter and clapping-something that had no effect on the      lipreading software. As long as Aaron could keep a line of sight      with whoever was talking.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e Aaron focused on the computer, tapping icons and ensuring three      computer-generated squares remained over the men's mouths. He      said, \"Position is good. Keep that.\" When he hadn't responded to      Alex's statement, she repeated, \"Your partner doesn't care for me      at all. I thought she was going to throw me out of your house.\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e Aaron looked up from the tablet and said, \"Shoshana? She doesn't      hate you. She's just mad because I brought you instead of her. She      was aggravated at me for the decision. It's nothing personal.\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e Making sure not to disrupt the camera angle, she said, \"I don't      think so. When you left the room, she was . . . a little scary.\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e Aaron laughed and returned to the tablet, offhandedly saying, \"You      need to get to know her. She's not all knives and death threats.      She just acts that way. She understands that she didn't have the      knowledge base for this mission. When we fly back, I'll take you      to dinner. The three of us.\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e Alex smiled and said, \"I'd like that. I think she thought . . .\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e Aaron looked up from the tablet and said, \"Thought what?\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \"That we . . . I mean, you and me . . . might . . .\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e Aaron scoffed and said, \"You're twenty years younger than me.\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e She said, \"Yeah, but it was the Mossad that asked me . . . you      asked me . . . I mean, they wouldn't do that unless it was for a      reason.\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e Aaron realized she thought she really was in a movie. And that she      was hitting on him. A twentysomething sabra who worked inside the      Israeli diamond exchange, she was no doubt attractive. Brown hair,      brown eyes, liquid skin, and a quiet intelligence surrounded by an      innocence he no longer possessed, he would have hunted her like a      wolf a decade ago, but no longer. She deserved to live in her      innocence. His entire existence was ensuring people like her could      do so. He decided to put an end to the fantasy.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \"Alex, I picked you because you understand the diamond market.      Yes, you're attractive, which meant I could use you to blend in,      but I need your knowledge. Period. You watch the tape, you tell me      what they're talking about within the diamond world, and I write      an assessment. That's it. This isn't a complex thing. We're not      here to save Israel from Blofeld. We're here to save Israel from      embarrassment. That's all. It's a simple mission.\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e Turning red, she tilted forward and whispered, \"What does that      mean? I wasn't suggesting anything.\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e He said, \"You're screwing with the camera angle. Lean back.\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e The target at the table answered a cell phone.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e Aaron said, \"Shit. Lean back-now.\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e Alex did so abruptly, causing the camera to sway wildly. Aaron      said, \"Stay still.\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e The man turned away from them, still on the phone.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e Aaron said, \"We need to move. You need to move. Stand up and go to      the bathroom. Walk by the table and get me a shot of his face as      long as you can. Stop and ask the table for directions, but not to      him. Let him keep talking on the phone.\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e Hesitantly, Alex stood. More forcefully than he wanted to, Aaron      said, \"Go.\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e She did, sidling between the throngs of tour bus patrons and      locals, threading between the tables and down the stairs, the      picture on Aaron's tablet jumping left and right. She reached the      patio and it stabilized. She walked toward the restrooms, then      stopped at the table, asking directions. He recorded about a      fifteen-second snippet of the phone conversation, unsure if the      software would be able to utilize the footage because the target's      face was partially obscured by his smartphone.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e He glanced over the balcony to see the interaction, and she broke      contact, doing a passable job of being a tourist. He saw no      outward interest in the interruption.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e Aaron ignored the rest of the feed, wondering if Alex would be      smart enough to cut it off if she really chose to use the      bathroom. She did. Or maybe the Bluetooth simply lost contact      because of distance. He grinned and took a sip of his beer,      surreptitiously giving the target table a side-eye.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e The Israeli was asking a waitress for the check. Aaron immediately      picked up his phone and called Alex, telling her to return.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e The men tossed some rand on the table, preparing to leave, and he      saw her coming across the patio. She mounted the stairs to the      balcony and he stood, saying, \"Hopefully they take the same car.      If they split up, we'll stick to the target.\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e Hidden by the balcony railing, they let the group exit the      restaurant, then followed, getting to the parking lot just as they      were loading a single car. A part of him spiked at the action,      since they'd arrived in two separate cars.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e He should have listened to his sixth sense. Lulled by the minimal      threat of his mission, he thought he had his bases covered, but he      had forgotten a hard truth he'd learned in the past: In warfare,      the enemy gets a vote.","brand":"Dutton","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":46300083355877,"sku":"NP9781101984833","price":10.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1842\/7735\/files\/9781101984833.jpg?v=1767734241","url":"https:\/\/k12savings.com\/products\/operator-down-isbn-9781101984833","provider":"K12savings","version":"1.0","type":"link"}