Action Thriller Archives - AMERICAN PRAETORIANS

Across the Rubicon – Non-State Actor is Out

The Rubicon Has Been Crossed The war came back at Pallas Group Solutions. Chris and Nick both found themselves fighting for their families’ lives. In response, they struck back. Now, with two major underworld figures dead, who had facilitated crimes for the People’s Republic of China, the cartels, and others, the war has entered a new phase. There’s no going back. There is only the fight. As Pallas Group Solutions becomes a Non State Actor. Get it today in ebook and print. So we come to the end of the Brave New Disorder arc. This won’t be the last we see of Pallas Group Solutions, though. There will be more to come in the future. The world continues to change, but the war in the shadows goes on.

Non-State Actor Chapter 2

Somebody had heard something. I heard a voice speaking Mandarin on the other side of the door. And he didn’t sound like he was unconcerned. After all, a garage door isn’t silent when it goes up. They had to know that somebody had just broken in. The question was, how ready were they? The door ahead of me opened, and the light flashed on. Fortunately, while I’d been keeping to the shadows as much as possible, my night adaptation hadn’t kicked in all the way, thanks to the porch lights, so I wasn’t blinded, as the short Chinese man with a Glock in his hand peered out through the door. The pistol was all I needed. His eyes widened as he took in the three figures moving toward him with purpose, and he hesitated for just a second before lifting the gun. He should have dropped it and run. In that split second of hesitation, I already had my sights on him and my finger tightening on the trigger. The gun barked in my fist, and his head snapped back a little as my 9mm hollowpoint punched a puckered hole in his forehead. He stiffened, then fell down the steps

Non-State Actor Chapter 1

This was not a neighborhood of Colorado Springs that I would ordinarily have been comfortable walking through, alone, at night. Even strapped—there was no way any of us were going anywhere unarmed anymore, especially not after the attempts on our families recently—there was a significant threat to worry about, and that had nothing to do with our target. After all, there had been an armed robbery right on the street only a few blocks away, only a few nights before. It wasn’t so much that any operator who worked for Pallas Group Solutions had much to worry about from an armed robber—not that any such criminal encounter couldn’t go horribly wrong in seconds—but that it was probably going to result in that operator having to break off, reducing the number of guns we had on target. If it didn’t canc the mission altogether. I turned a corner and scanned the street ahead of me. On the surface, it looked like an ordinary residential street. There was nothing visible to point out the gang presence there. Even most of the yards were reasonably well kept up, though there were still a couple with more than one vehicle pulled up on the

Frontiers of Chaos Is Out!

Today’s the day. Follow Pallas Group Solutions into the violent darkness of the Frontiers of Chaos. A killing in Seattle A massacre in Northern California A mysterious new client In the aftermath of what appears to be a targeted killing, a mysterious billionaire approaches Pallas Group Solutions with a new job. He seems to be more interested in their intelligence gathering capability than security. None of them are prepared for what they find. In a whirlwind of violence and intrigue, the contractors of Pallas Group plunge into a world of human trafficking and elite capture. And find themselves on the hunt for an underworld facilitator who’s closer than they expected. It’s a pursuit from the Pacific Northwest to the Tri-Border Area of South America. And as the bodies pile up, things can only get darker. Get it in ebook, paperback, or hardcover today. (Audio will be in production soon.)

Silver or Lead on Audio

It’s finally here for you audiophiles. Silver or Lead is out on audio. Threats Lurk in the Shadows…. And Sometimes in Plain Sight The Pallas Group Solutions Contractors have put the hurt on Chinese operations in Mexico. In the aftermath, alliances shift and powers that hadn’t appeared to be involved before start to take a hand. In a world of unrestricted warfare, PGS has to adapt. While the Chinese covert war has changed axes, Chris and his fellow contractors head south to deepen the disruption, entering into the Northern Triangle of Central America. But their involvement is no longer as clandestine as they’d hoped. And new foes are joining with the old to come after them. Can they stay one step ahead? As some people have pointed out, yes, the title came from Pablo Escobar’s infamous ultimatum, “Plata o Plomo.” The police (or whoever else) could take his silver, or they could die. While this story isn’t about Pablo, who’s long dead, the principle remains the same, and we see it in action quite a bit in these pages (or hours, if you’re listening to it). Check it out.

Frontiers of Chaos Chapter 2

Seattle wasn’t the place for an armed Good Samaritan, but I couldn’t exactly let the guy murder our mark, either. Not that I had any particular attachment to Wise, but I also didn’t know for sure why we were supposed to be surveilling him in the first place. The client had been almighty close-mouthed about that part, and only the fact that I trusted Thad “Goblin” Walker as much as I did had led me to accept the mission as briefed. He had to have a reason for accepting as vague a tasking as this one, so I’d play along. That meant, though, that without knowing for sure that Wise was a bad guy, I couldn’t just sit by and watch him get stabbed to death in the street. Wise wasn’t paying attention to anything but the traffic, angling across the street, probably mainly to avoid the homeless weirdos on the corner. So, he didn’t see the hitter in disguise as the armed bum moved toward him, his hand dropping low, the knife now concealed in his palm and sleeve. The man was speeding up, the façade of chemically-enhanced vagrant falling away as he closed in on his prey. This

Frontiers of Chaos Chapter 1

“Here he comes.” Ken was looking up while I lounged in the opposite chair in the outside dining area of Matsu. In most places, that wouldn’t have been a great position for surveillance. Sitting out in the open like that wasn’t giving me a warm and fuzzy about our tradecraft. That was assuming a couple of things, though. The first, that our target had the situational awareness to notice us, which he hadn’t in the last two days, and the second, that anyone looked at anyone else for more than a passing glance in this city, anyway. We weren’t a mile from the Alaska Way Viaduct, which was a notorious homeless camp in a city that was increasingly becoming one big homeless camp. The cops only went certain places, and the rest of the city was on its own. In fact, there were two obviously homeless people, one of them aggressively gesticulating and yelling inarticulately, just down on the corner. So, the urge to not make eye contact with anyone was even stronger there at the moment. That actually made life easier for us. Sucked to be a Seattleite, though. I would have thought that a sushi restaurant on the

Silver or Lead

Today is release day for Silver or Lead, the third Pallas Group Solutions thriller and the third in the Brave New Disorder series. The PGS contractors go a little farther afield in this one, and discover some new enemies. Just how deep does the rabbit hole go? Threats Lurk in the Shadows… And Sometimes in Plain Sight The Pallas Group Solutions Contractors have put the hurt on Chinese operations in Mexico. In the aftermath, alliances shift and powers that hadn’t appeared to be involved before start to take a hand. In a world of unrestricted warfare, PGS has to adapt. While the Chinese covert war has changed axes, Chris and his fellow contractors head south to deepen the disruption, entering into the Northern Triangle of Central America. But their involvement is no longer as clandestine as they’d hoped. And new foes are joining with the old to come after them. Can they stay one step ahead? You’ll love this action thriller because the action is as brutal as a bullet to the head. Get it now. *** Only ebook and paperback are live right at the moment, though the hardcover should be available soon. Audio is coming, but due to schedules, it

The Dragon and the Skull

The second Pallas Group Solutions thriller, The Dragon and the Skull, Book 2 in the Brave New Disorder series, is out today. As Threats Continue to Converge… And the Bodies Pile Up… There’s No Choice but to Go On The Hunt Actions have consequences, and Chris Grant and the men of Pallas Group Solutions know it. After the fight on the border, the cartels are going to be out for blood. The only way forward is to hit them before they can hit PGS. While some contractors go on the offensive in the Southwest and Northern Mexico, others are tracing the Chinese connection. They’ll find a web of subversion, terror, and murder they hardly suspected. But Pallas Group Solutions hires hunters. Will they be tough enough to face both the Chinese Dragon and the Narco Death’s Head? The Dragon and the Skull is now available in ebook, hardcover, and paperback. Audio is currently in production, and should be available within the next couple of weeks. If you haven’t read the first book, Gray War, you can get it in ebook, hardcover, paperback, or audiobook. (You can also get signed copies of the hardcovers from the store, here.) *** The Dragon and the

Marque and Reprisal Chapter 2

“Dad? Looks like Uncle Hector’s here.” John Brannigan looked up from the table. Hank, leaner and shorter than his father by several inches, was peering out the door at the driveway, noticeably staying out of the light, off to one side, where a newcomer shouldn’t be able to see him. The boy had been an officer, but he’d learned. He should have, given the fact that his old man had been something of an infantry legend. Still. He’d learned even more since he’d left the Marine Corps and become a member of the secretive mercenary team that called itself Brannigan’s Blackhearts. Brannigan shut the ledger in front of him with a faint frown and got up to step around the table and move to the other window. Sure enough, that was Hector Chavez’s car pulling up the driveway. “That’s weird. Usually he calls ahead.” “Maybe the cell signal’s not working up here again.” “Wouldn’t that be a shame,” Brannigan growled. The only reason he had the infernal device in the first place was because of the Blackhearts. Otherwise, he would have been perfectly happy to go completely off grid up here. Thrusting his .45 into the back of his waistband,