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    Wanda: A New Life - First Mission
    Wanda: A New Life - First Mission
    Wanda: A New Life - First Mission
    Ebook155 pages2 hours

    Wanda: A New Life - First Mission

    By Margaret Gregory

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    About this ebook

    On her first covert mission for the US Government, Wanda calls on the skills that made her a skilled thief to convince a revolutionary general that she’s an ideal recruit. When her team mates’ covers are blown, it is up to her to ensure that two missing scientists and confidential Government documents are not smuggled out of the US.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherMargaret Gregory
    Release dateJun 5, 2020
    ISBN9781925332643
    Wanda: A New Life - First Mission
    Author

    Margaret Gregory

    I have loved writing stories since I was in high school. Now...some years later...I am enjoying making them come alive again.After being a scientist for years, I have since turned to writing fantasy for upcoming publication and creating science articles for The Australia Times.

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      Book preview

      Wanda - Margaret Gregory

      The Third Generation Series

      Book 5

      Wanda: A New Life

      Part 2 – First Mission

      by

      Margaret Gregory

      Copyright © 2019 by Margaret Gregory

      All Rights Reserved

      Smashwords Edition

      ****

      This book is a work of fiction and any resemblance to persons, living or dead, or places, events or locales is purely coincidental. The characters are productions of the author’s imagination and used fictitiously.

      ****

      Please note that I use Australian spelling throughout.

      You will see ‘ou’ (colour) and ‘re’ (centre) as well as a few other differences from American spelling.

      Cover designed by msgdragon

      Cover Image Credits: © Can Stock Photo Inc. / kikujungboy

      Also by Margaret Gregory

      TYMOREAN TRUST SERIES:

      Book 1 - Power Rising

      Book 2 - Great Ones

      Book 3 - The Return to Earth

      Book 4 – Earth Mission

      Book 5 – Alien Contact

      Book 6 - Invasion

      ATAPI SORCERESS SERIES:

      Prequel – Korvu: The Beginning

      Book 1- The Wild One

      Book 2 – Atapi Sorceress

      THE THIRD GENERATION SERIES:

      Book 1 - Wanda: From Bad to Worse

      Book 2 - Wanda: Choosing Crime

      Wanda – Early Days (anthology) Book 1 and 2

      Book 3 – Wanda: Risking Life to Live

      Book 4 – Erin: The Forcing of Wisdom

      Book 5 – Wanda: A New Life Part 1 – Hidden Secrets

      DRAGON REALM SERIES

      Maeven: Dragon Thief

      Table of Contents

      Part 2 – First Mission

      Chapter 1

      Chapter 2

      Chapter 3

      Chapter 4

      Chapter 5

      Chapter 6

      Chapter 7

      Chapter 8

      Chapter 9

      Chapter 10

      Chapter 11

      Chapter 12

      Chapter 13

      Chapter 14

      Chapter 15

      Chapter 16

      Chapter 17

      Chapter 18

      Chapter 19

      Wanda: A New Life

      Part 2 – First Mission

      Chapter 1

      The two year old Ford Coupe which drove up and stopped outside the Forsythe General Book Store was a very common model and colour. The metallic deep green shimmered in the midday heat of Albuquerque, New Mexico. The car drew little attention – not so the man who emerged from it.

      The man was strikingly handsome and he moved with innate confidence and grace. He glanced around casually, drawing lingering glances from several women braving the summer heat at a nearby outdoor cafe.

      The man entered the book shop, pausing just inside the door to allow his eyes to adjust to the cooler dimness inside the shop. In that brief moment he had taken in everything in view – the book lined walls, the tables, the two other browsers and the owner, an elderly woman with hair as white as the man’s own.

      Jim Phillips smiled as he approached the woman who was sitting at a table with a cash register.

      A friend noticed a copy of Fennel’s Sonnets amongst your recent acquisition of old books. He thought it might be a first edition.

      The woman nodded. Yes, I noticed Fennel’s book. He writes such beautiful verse.

      This was a code phrase and Jim was ready with the counter phrase. They bring joy to all who read them.

      Come through to the back, the woman invited. She was enjoying the attention of the younger, handsome man.

      Once through a beaded curtain, the woman walked over to a shelf and took a paper wrapped parcel from it and passed it to Jim. She returned to the main shop without further comment.

      Jim glanced around the back area – it was more of a store room – but there was a small enclosed office in one corner. He went over to it, entered and locked the door behind him.

      Sitting at the desk, he unwrapped the parcel. It appeared to contain a hardcover book. He opened the cover to reveal a cut out area containing a miniature CD player and an envelope. He placed the player on the desk and looked at the photographs as the disc began playing.

      Good Afternoon, Mr Phillips, a familiar voice began. Three recent events are causing the Government concern. The first is the disappearance of two of our country’s top nuclear scientists – Neil Shaw and Rowan Jefferson.

      Jim studied the face images of the two men.

      The man believed to be responsible for their disappearance is Seb Karlov, a Hungarian born mercenary suspected of being an agent of a European power cartel. Karlov was identified in Washington just before the Pentagon break-in.

      Karlov was a swarthy but clean shaven, dark haired man.

      Since the break-in, a number of top secret documents relating to nuclear energy have been found to be missing. It is believed that a member of the Government is behind the theft. Karlov is now in Santos Caronez, a small strategically placed island in the Bahamas Group, near Cuba. Our agent there reported that Karlov has been seen with Rao Gomez, a revolutionary who has built up a small army of trained men and is actively recruiting more. Karlov has also been seen talking to James Blackman, described as a business intermediary. Blackman has twice been investigated in relation to illegal arms sales.

      There were photos of the khaki clad Gomez and the middle aged Blackman,

      "Your mission, Jim, should you choose to accept it, is to determine Karlov’s involvement in these matters, to rescue the scientists and recover the missing documents before Karlov can take them out of US jurisdiction during a revolution on Santos Caronez.

      As usual, should you or any of your IM Force be caught or killed, the Secretary will disavow any knowledge of your actions. Good Luck Jim. This disc will self-destruct in five seconds.

      Jim put the photos back in the envelope and slipped them into his inner jacket pocket. He watched as the disc became smoke. He returned the player to the cavity in the book and left it on the desk.

      Passing back through the shop, Jim thanked the woman but added, Unfortunately it was not a first edition. He smiled warmly at her.

      The woman nodded. I will watch out for you, she said and returned to her study of an old magazine.

      Chapter 2

      Back in his room at the Hotel Splendid in the centre of Albuquerque, Jim sat down with his briefcase on his lap. He turned it around so the base was towards him, and proceeded to open it. Anyone who tried to open it the normal way would cause the contents to be destroyed. Instead he drew out a narrow tool from a ridge of leather and slid the fine point beneath one of the l-shaped brass corner reinforcements, an inch of the tool disappeared and Jim felt the faint vibration of a spring releasing inside. The case opened into two sections, hinged at the top. He spread it on a low coffee table.

      From one half of the case he took a leather folder with IMF stamped in gold on it. This opened to reveal a data tablet loaded with indexed photographs and news articles.

      It was Jim’s secret file of IMF agents. Each photo had information coded with it and a flick to the side would bring up encrypted notes of the skills and abilities of the person shown. The articles told of the work of specialists in various fields. Again, a flick to the side gave a thorough encrypted dossier on the expert and how they could be contacted. This elite group gave him access to knowledge in areas from computers to cryptology, athletics to zoology.

      Jim with his genius for organisation and detail was already analysing the job ahead, using known factors to determine what skills would be needed. He went through the file slowly, searching for the qualifications most suitable. He seldom needed to refer to his encrypted notes.

      His manner grew introspective as he studied the pictures and dossiers one by one. Each recalled an assignment, an experience or a critical moment in some part of the world or other.

      Now and then, Jim flicked a picture or article up into his select file. When he had completed his perusal he had chosen a team of five, in addition to himself, to prevent a political disaster.

      The first photo was of a lean, clean cut face of a black American man, Brendan Collins. He not only possessed supple sinewy physical strength, but was also a wizard in electronics, mathematics and engineering. His eyes were quiet, but direct.

      The face in the second photo looked as if he were about to deliver a line from a Shakespearean play. The handsome aquiline features capped by dark glistening hair hinted at theatrical drollery, although the eyes expressed a deep inner sensitivity. The man was The Great Zander. Zander period. No last name.

      He could wear any surname for he was a master of disguise along with his other considerable talents. The Great Zander could open up his theatrical make up kit and transform himself into a complete stranger.

      The third photo was of a man who could be regarded as the typical all American male. Paul Jacobsen was blond haired, bronze skinned, well-muscled and fit. He could turn many a head with his physique. The ex-soldier was an expert in setting and defusing explosives and was a crack shot with any known weapon. He had proved to be a dedicated man with no mercy for enemies of America.

      The last two photos Jim looked at together. They were the two newest members of his team. The first was David Martin a young man of many talents. Some of the most useful of these was his ability to ferret out information and to be where he was needed at the critical moment. And if Jacobsen could draw attention, blond haired David Martin had turned inconspicuousness into a fine art. He was an average looking man who seldom drew second glances.

      The last photo was Wanda Martin, David’s wife. She was very easy on the eyes, when she chose to be, though it was a completely natural beauty. Her major skill was the ability to open almost any lock and an ability to act a part so well that even someone who knew her would think her someone else. That she had an eidetic memory and a sixth sense for danger were added bonuses.

      The agents were widely scattered, but such distances meant little in these days of jet travel. Jim asked the hotel switchboard for the long distance operator and put through calls to Washington, Los Angeles and New York. The last call was to a room at the same hotel.

      Wanda and David Martin, married for almost a year, might think him rude to interrupt their long delayed honeymoon, but they had both placed Jim and his organisation above their own occupations and would be eager to get to work.

      Chapter 3

      Jim Phillips spent the rest of the afternoon in a montage of work. David assisted him by

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