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

“No argument there,” Uncle Randy said.


We went to the Y and swam laps with our guests, then returned to the house and consumed a healthy breakfast. “Are you sure you don’t want us to hang around here today?” Jared said.


“There’s no need. We aren’t going anywhere, and neither are Dad and Uncle Randy.”


“And, if anyone leaves the house, we’ll go together,” Paul said.


“Okay,” Jared said, “but we’ll check in by phone from time to time.”


“Enjoy your day. I’ve got a ton of reading to do, and so has Paul.”


Chapter 83