Professor and secret government analyst Ian Sanderson's bad day gets worse when he arrives home one miserable November evening to find an apparently incriminating photograph in a FedEx envelope in his doorway, followed by increasingly threatening photographs over the next two or three weeks. It isn't just Ian being set up: his partner, Randy, a lieutenant colonel working on a top-secret Pentagon project, is also at risk. Someone obviously wants something, but what? And from whom?<br><br> Soon, a mysterious caller demands that Randy disclose information about the project he's been working on. When he refuses, Ian's and Randy's sons, David and Paul, are kidnapped from an Amtrak passenger train. Resourceful and intelligent, the boys manage to escape-only to find themselves lost and alone in a remote wilderness. With time running out, can Ian and Randy track down their blackmailers? Or will the man known only as The Broker claim another set of victims?

The Burdens of Truth

“Yeah, Dad, I guess I am,” Paul said.


It took a while for six guys to settle on how many pizzas and what kind, and the order was finally placed. When it arrived, we settled down around the fire and munched away. Mike opened a bottle of Cabernet to go along with it. “Who’s the designated driver this evening?” George said.


“Whichever one of us that didn’t drive last night,” Mike said.


“Well, I guess that settles that. Drink a glass for me, please.”


“Babe, you can have one, but no more until Communion.”


Robbie, despite his intention to stay awake, was sound asleep by the time the babysitting crew arrived. Mike offered them the remnants of the pizza and told them to help themselves to the wine, and we went down to Mike’s car. As we were pulling out of the garage, I said, “Should we have warned them about the bad guys?”


Chapter 57