Missions: Marc McGuire

Missions 

An attack of the magnitude never witnessed by many before. Imagine two explosions several minutes apart and the devastation beyond belief. Christine Dupont would take on this case and now added as part of the Direction de la Surveillance du Territoire, team. The site of the attack would remain in her mind visualizing the remains and stench of the bodies that were ripped apart. Her role is to get answer, faces of the terrorists and uncover who was behind it as the bombs that exploded the Avenue drs Champes-Elysees area in Paris France. 

Our second main character is Doyle O’Gara who is a new member of the software developer at Sentinel Systems Corporation. This company works only for the CI A. His role is translation of software that the hope will predict terrorist attacks before they happen. We hear his voice and Christine’s but there’s the catalyst of the attacks , the leader , Mohammed Jamal who created, planned, picked those who would be one so called martyrs and placed the bombs and explosions in just the right place. The money he was able to get, a team loyal to the cause and one young man who would be proud to give up his life to fulfill this mission. 

The DST was not unprepared for this attack, but Dupont would have to coordinate in the best way she could how you deal with those needing medical help, survivors and evidence from the crime scene. The terrorists were smart and knew that this site would have a lot of people there from all over the world. Imagine traveling to Paris and witnessing this carnage as so many from other countries witnessed 9/11.

Her first goal catching up with the forensics team and checking the remnants of the carnage: the cars involved, victims and terrorists remains. 

Doyle O’Gara answered to Suresh Kumar who answered Howard Silver. Waiting in the lobby and greeted by Ronnie Lapoint, he is about to enter a whole new world of technology. Sentinel is aiming to acquire technology that will allow them to combat global terrorism and be able to know and develop word patterns through Echelon software that could disclose and detect criminal activity. Their biggest barrier is language the reason Doyle was hired and interested in translations. As the author flashes back to three days before he attacks and Mohammed Jamal and his interest in Ali Benhadi who might serve a greater purpose in the mission. The target would be Americans and the loss of lives many and small children would be harmed or worse. The Sheik and the Oman and Jamal met, and these words were spoken and will give you the chills: “ when the bloodshed becomes sufficiently revolting, the enemy becomes sick at heart and can no longer tolerate the battle. This is the correct path to victory. “ Chilling! Where will this lead as the author flashes ahead to the fourth day of the investigation with butch Doyle and Dupont present. Adding in Leslie Jumana whose part of the company and heads up a new unit to help better understand Islamic terrorists: 

The chapters flash back and forth between the days of the investigation and those leading up to the day the explosion and attack happened. The author shares the thoughts of the terrorist who was in charge of orchestrating the blast and how he justifies his actions and why he hopes his wife who he abuses at times for not wearing her proper attire, would realize who was behind this tragic incident.

Then Doyle gets a break when a sim card is found and Dupont turns it over to Sentinel to be analyzed for information and hopefully something on it would tell where it was bought, the owner and any messages or calls that could be translated to help further the investigation. Some information is found but Dupont gets a magistrate that ties her hands in many directions until she finally hopes that he will allow her to get more information from two more sim cards that were identified and hopefully their owners. The author had to do research as to how to create a bomb, how to pack a bomb and created the events leading up to the disaster as well as researching how this type of incident would be handled. 

Conflicts arise on both sides as Dupont wants to find out more about the calls placed on those Sim cards and Doyle how the head of translations has the task of uncovering these messages with his team. But, his mind wonders about his hidden romance and then the unusual emails he’s getting from someone who seems to keep him in check, want to know more about his work and yet he finds himself going to places to meet up with this person that sends him on wild goose chances and never physically shows up. Who is the mysterious person? Is it his boss trying to see what and how he reacts or is it someone else? 

We then hear the final preparations as the day of the attack is describe, the two cars the Fiat and the Renault are prepared with the explosives and the young man who will give his life, has videoed his speech to the world is getting ready to become a martyr. But do these young people ever think that they are being blown to bits and that Allah is not going to send them to any kind of paradise? The two men that are preparing the cars, the explosives proves that the author had to do extensive research at some point to unveil the knowledge so many will read through the minds and voices of those that call us infidels, but they are the ones that are infidels. Just what is Leslie Jumana’s role in his life and why does she think he should report the mysterious emails and yet he seems enthralled by them. 

Translations and how they are interpreted are at the heart of this novel as Doyle learns when the translator relates what she was able to take off the card and the tapes she listened to and then things get doubtful. Did she translate it correctly or misinterpret what was said? The French then hear the same information and read it and decipher it as something else as both sides are at odds but at the end Doyle will take the final fall. The Izmir Queen was blown up and lives were lost and the fact that he thought dirty bombs were on it turned out to be anything but radioactive materials they were smuggling girls to become prostitutes but in reality Doyle did not ask his translator they claimed to revisit it and get others to confirm what she heard. The result is tragic as we realize that he was framed for the deaths, the explosions and that the higher ups at Sentinel sold him down the river making it impossible for him not to be arrested and arraigned. But, Doyle has a guilt complex and feels he deserves to be punished but the end result is more than surprising as the author allows readers to revisit the day of that explosion, learn just who Mohammed Jamel really was and his link to Doyle that set him up even before he learned the truth about his identity. An ending that helped us revisit the day of the bombing, the rationale behind the execution and what might happen next as author Marc McGuire allows readers to know that there just might be more to come and have we heard the last of Doyle O’Hara and Christine Dupont? Countries at odds and each side wanting to hold on to the front reigns as both Doyle and Christine and the terrorists each have their own agendas and Missions. A story ripped right out of the headlines and characters that are interesting, dangerous, conniving, deceitful and betrayals on all sides as the author leaves us wondering what is next for the world.

Fran Lewis: Just Reviews