Hand
of Fatima
by
Myrna Sokoloff
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
BLURB:
It
had been a year since the sealed casket of Holly's beloved husband
Jake had been flown from the war zone to Dover Air Force Base with an
honor guard. The American flag and the music didn't lesson the agony
of his death for her.
Nobody
ever told Holly what had really happened on that classified mission
in Helmand Province, Afghanistan.
The
painful memory of his death came crashing in on her when Alex, a
former special-warfare operator, approached her on a clear autumn
day. Alex and his teammate TJ had been wounded on the same raid with
Jake.
These
tough wounded warriors were determined to find out the facts, but
they knew for sure that the SEALS had been betrayed.
By
uncovering the treacherous truth about the Helmand mission, this
group of patriots and their friends discover an even more sinister
plot that will put the country in danger . . . and it leads straight
to the White House.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Excerpt
One:
Chapter
8 - THE TRUTH IS OUT THERE
Alex
paced in front of D.C.'s Union Station. He had worked with Susanna
and trusted her but she still worked for the President he did not
trust.
Susanna
saw Alex, took a deep breath and walked towards him. “Alex,” she
whispered.
He
turned and walked into the station and got lost in the crowds
surrounding the fast food restaurants and sat at on a bench.
Alex
started, “Tariq betrayed us.”
Susanna
gasped, “How do you know this?”
“We've
tracked him since the attack in Helmand Province,” Alex said
breathlessly, waiting to see Susanna's reaction.
Susanna
looked stunned.
“Tracked
him—how could you track him? Do you have mercenaries in the field
or is TJ's dad at NSA going outside the wire?”
“Tariq
was there on the day of the attack.” Susanna’s mouth fell open.
Alex
leaned close to her. “I'm not telling you the details because then
you don't know anything to testify to in case…”
“Testify,”
she shouted. “What do you mean? How do you know he was at the site
of the attack?”
Alex
looked glum. “I saw him!”
Susanna
gasped. “Are you sure it was Tariq?”
“Yes
absolutely. You forget I was observing his interrogation at Gitmo.
You know what this means Susanna?” he carefully said.
Susanna
sighed and leaned back on the bench, “The President's poster boy
for Gitmo releases reverts to his old ways…he's still a terrorist.”
“And
worse, he set us up. He just didn't escape into thin air—he led us
into a trap by giving us false info in order to kill us. He was
laughing at us!” Alex was intent on making her see the danger.
Susanna
got up and started walking, pulling her coat around her against the
chill autumn wind. Alex followed but hung behind giving her some
space. Her pace slowed as she faced him.
Alex
pleaded, “We need to tell Holly, wife of a dead SEAL and a
respected analyst.”
“Holly
is not political and she was devastated by Jake's death. To bring it
up again is cruel, especially if she finds out it was avoidable. I am
speaking as her friend!” cried Susanna.
“Don't
you think she would want to know? And if her best friend knew
something, don't you think she'd be mad if you kept it from her?”
asked Alex.
Susanna
looked exasperated. But what he said made her feel unsure of her
position. Maybe Holly would want to know.
“I
tried to talk to her at Temple, but she was with family and besides,
I lost my nerve,” he said, embarrassingly.
“I
know how we can all meet away from prying eyes. It's Sukkot Thursday
night.” Alex looked stunned and smiled.
“I
didn't know you were Jewish!” he laughed.
“Holly
always invites this Catholic to her sister's Sukkah in her backyard
in Connecticut. There will be lots of people all unrelated to our
work. Holly said I could bring guests. Ask TJ. We'll take the train.”
Alex grinned and nodded his head.
Alex
walked out of the station, happy he had met with Susanna. And he was
glad he was going to see Holly again but he didn't want to think of
her in personal terms.
His
thoughts went to Tariq. He was sure he had seen him at the edge of
the staging area, which didn't surprise him. After all, he had
provided the intel. Then he thought he made a mistake and then
everything was explosions, pain and darkness.
Alex was
wounded. In the hospital room and in therapy, he felt like he had
forgotten something important. But he was confused and the doctors
told him some memory loss was perfectly normal after an explosion.
But it
came back to him one night when he was watching The Godfather, and he
called TJ.
“TJ,
remember the scene in The Godfather when Michael was hiding out in
Sicily after killing Sollozo and McClusky. His beautiful Sicilian
wife—what was her name?”
“Appollonia…yeah
I remember her,” said TJ.
Alex
continued dramatically, “She was about to start the car. Michael
called to his bodyguard Fabrizio. He looked back at Michael and then
ran. In that instant Michael knew he had been betrayed and then his
wife turned on the ignition and blew up. It had been meant for him.”
“Yeah,
yeah I get it, but…,” interjected TJ.
“When
I was watching that scene it came back to me. I saw Tariq that day
and when I called to him he looked back with the same expression and
then ran just like Fabrizio and then the explosions started.”
“We
can't use The Godfather as a reason you remembered Tariq. They'll
have you back in psych evaluation and think you are confusing life
with a movie.”
“You
do it all the time,” laughed Alex
“Yeah,
I know, but not at a debriefing.” TJ sighed.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
AUTHOR
Bio and Links:
Myrna
Sokoloff, a veteran author and political campaign expert, embarked on
her professional career in the finance world in New York City.
Combining her banking and investment expertise with her savvy
political mind, Myrna soon turned towards the government scene in
both New York and California, assisting a number of campaigns as a
writer and strategist. Having received her Master's Degree from
Hebrew Union College, Myrna also worked alongside Jewish communities
in New York City on a variety of important concerns.
After
the tragic events of September 11th, 2001, Myrna's approach towards
politics shifted, desiring to raise public awareness and honor the
veterans that have sacrificed their lives for our country. In 2008,
Sokoloff was presented with the opportunity to work on "An
American Carol," joining the team as an Executive Producer and
Co-Writer.
A gifted
wordsmith, Myrna built on her government experience by scripting
humorous political commercials and contributing to the news source
"Breitbart." She continued to write, driven to tell an
alternative story about Benghazi and the events that surrounded the
attack that occurred in 2012. Sokoloff's book the "Hand of
Fatima" was released in September of 2013 and serves to increase
the public's awareness of the event that is still shrouded in
mystery.
Amazon
Author Page:
http://www.amazon.com/Myrna-Sokoloff/e/B00GLDOL2S/ref=sr_ntt_srch_lnk_1?qid=1413853834&sr=8-1
Amazon
Buy Link:
http://www.amazon.com/Hand-Fatima-Myrna-Sokoloff/dp/1492713872/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1413853834&sr=8-1&keywords=myrna+sokoloff
website is now running: http://myrnasokoloff.net/
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