Last week, I shared some incredible news about a new spy thriller series I’m starting in March. The new series will feature Jack Storm, an “extractor” with the CIS. Jack made an impressive appearance and played a significant role in extracting Carrie and Nathan from an almost impossible situation in Foreign Interference (Carrie Chronicles Book #5).

If you haven’t read that book, or if you need to refresh your memory about Jack, keep reading below for a jaw-dropping excerpt. There might be minor spoilers in this excerpt, so enjoy at your own risk… 🙂

…

Carrie looked around. They were in a small park with tall trees and shrubs and skyscrapers towering on all sides. An ambulance and several police vehicles were parked up ahead, about fifty meters away. “A chopper? How is he going to land?”

“He’ll have to find a way.”

“Will be a tight squeeze.”

“Very much so.”

She looked at the space between the nearest skyscrapers. “I’d get in that way if I were the pilot. But there’s no margin for error.” She frowned. “Can’t we escape on foot?”

Nathan shook his head. “It’s impossible. The police have locked down the whole area. Thankfully, a couple of men helped me bring you here. I told one of the paramedics that you were okay, just needed to breathe.”

Her eyes rested on his gauzed arm. “How are you?” she asked in a warm but tired voice.

“Flesh wound. One of the paramedics gave me something to patch up the wound.”

Carrie nodded. “How long before the chopper comes?”

“Anytime now.”

She searched the sky and thought she saw a tiny dot that was growing larger by the second. “He’s right there.” She pointed it out to Nathan.

He looked up and smiled at her. “Your sharp eyesight is back.”

Carrie nodded. “I’m sorry this happened.”

“No worries. Will you be able to make it?”

“I’ll give it my best shot. Help me up.”

He brought her slowly to a sitting position. Carrie stretched her legs and arms. “I feel fine,” she said and looked at the red helicopter.

The aircraft was circling the skyscrapers, obviously trying to find a way to get to the landing zone.

Carrie followed the helicopter for a moment, then she shook her head. “I don’t think he can do it.”

“Moretti said the pilot, Rob, is the best. He’s been doing this for thirty years. If anyone can pull this off, it’s him.”

They stood up by the trees, remaining hidden from the view of the uniformed police and paramedics. The traffic had stopped, but there were a lot of onlookers and passersby. Torre Krystal was to their right. Black smoke was billowing, and police sirens filled the smoky air.

She noticed a white helicopter circling the top of the tower and said to Nathan, “There’s another chopper.”

Nathan turned his head. “Maybe it’s a news channel. Doesn’t look like a police chopper.”

Carrie looked at the red helicopter, which seemed to be hovering over the open space between the two nearest skyscrapers and right above the small park.

“What’s he doing?” Nathan asked.

“I think… I think he’s going to drop like a brick.”

She had barely finished her words, when the helicopter did just that.

The pilot must have disconnected the engine from the rotor system because the helicopter began to drop precipitately. The main rotor was still spinning, albeit slower than what Carrie would have liked, if she had the controls.

The pilot was performing an autorotation maneuver, adjusting the pitch of the blades to catch the movement of air. It was a difficult maneuver that needed to be executed to perfection. If done right, it would allow the pilot to drop and land exactly on the tight spot in the small park. Catching the air that was coming from the bottom of the rotor system, the pilot would keep the blades spinning all the way as he glided to the ground, avoiding a crash.

Of course, it was easier said than done.

The helicopter dropped a few meters more, coming down faster and faster.

Carrie bit her lip, then she and Nathan stepped to the side.

The helicopter was swinging back and forth, but overall staying in the same place, as it was coming down.

“Still too fast, too fast,” Carrie said.

“Is he going to crash?”

“I hope not.” Carrie bit her lip.

The helicopter was now about ten floors up. It was still going much faster than what Carrie would have done. Pull up, she thought. “Pull up!” she shouted.

The helicopter continued its gravity-driven freefall.

“He’s going to crash.” Nathan pushed Carrie away from the trees.

They braced themselves against the wash of the helicopter blades, which was bending the tops of the trees. Plastic bottles, paper, and other debris were thrown around because of the strong winds.

“Run, run,” Nathan said. “That’s insane!”

Carrie shook her head. “No, he knows what he’s doing.”

She turned to the side, covering her face with her hands and keeping her disheveled hair out of her eyes. She looked at the helicopter as it kept falling. It looked like it was going to crash and burn, but suddenly it stopped. It hovered with the landing skids about half a meter off the grass.

A man in his late twenties with large brown eyes, a clean-shaven face, and rugged facial features slid open the door on the starboard side. He gestured to them with his gloved hand.

“That’s not Rob,” Nathan said.

“No, but he’s awesome.”

Carrie bolted toward the helicopter as fast as her shaky legs allowed her. She looked to her left and saw several police officers also dashing toward the helicopter. When she was a couple of steps away, she dove into the cabin and rolled across the floor.

Nathan slid next to her three seconds later. The helicopter began to climb before he even had a chance to close the door.

The pilot waited until Carrie and Nathan had buckled up and had put on a helmet and communication gear, then said, “My name’s Jack, Jack Storm. Glad to be in your service.” His voice was full and firm.

“That was quite impressive,” Carrie said.

“Thanks,” Jack replied.

The helicopter dipped forward, then Jack steadied it, and it began to climb.

Carrie looked down at the officers still running toward the helicopter. A few of them had drawn their weapons, but they weren’t opening fire. She had returned her eyes to the cockpit when a couple of thumps came from the port side. She looked down, then to her left.

The gunfire was coming from the white helicopter that had been observing Torre Krystal.

“We’re taking fire,” Nathan said.

“I know, I know,” Jack replied in a very calm voice.

The helicopter banked slightly to the left and kept climbing.

More rounds came from behind the helicopter. The engine noise hadn’t changed, and no smoke billowed, but Carrie worried how long the helicopter could withstand the relentless fire.

“Please hold on to something,” Jack said.

The nose of the helicopter dropped as it veered to the right. Jack was going to try sliding through the tight space between the nearest skyscrapers.

Carrie nodded her approval. It seemed to be the only way out, considering the constant volley of bullets pounding the helicopter.

All of a sudden, the aircraft turned sharply to its right side. Carrie and Nathan held on to handles on the side of the helicopter, feeling their world thrown off balance. The seatbelts tight across their legs and chests kept them in place.

Carrie’s dizziness returned. She clenched her teeth, trying not to black out again. She suppressed the gag reflex at the back of her throat and began to draw a series of small, shallow breaths. She closed her eyes for just a moment. When she opened them, all she could see was the blue sky with just a couple of white, fluffy clouds.

The helicopter was rolling sideways in between the buildings. Jack would need to use the cyclic control of the aircraft and add some collective. This would increase the total thrust of the main rotors. The tricky part was to keep the momentum and execute the maneuver to perfection, gliding between the buildings that didn’t offer much clearance for error.

Carrie almost held her breath, but the helicopter remained steady. It didn’t drop, and it didn’t move left or right. It just flew flawlessly in a direct line in the middle of the buildings.

Jack tilted the helicopter back to its original position. A calm look rested on his face. No sign of machismo. No gloating. Just a pilot carrying out an almost impossible feat without as much as a prideful smirk. “Everyone okay back there?”

“Yes.” Carrie nodded.

Jack had turned the helicopter to the left, so Carrie looked through the window. The pilot of the white helicopter attempted to repeat Jack’s hair-raising maneuver. The helicopter swung sideways as it flew through the tight space. Its skids were perhaps two meters away from one of the buildings, while the rotor blades were spinning dangerously close to the other building.

“He’s going to make it,” Carrie said.

Jack shook his head. “No. Too unstable. The rotor will touch.”

He was right.

A moment later, the helicopter veered to the left. The main rotor’s hub at the top of the mast clawed against the windows of the left-side tower. The blades cut through the glass, shattering it. They broke into large chunks, and the helicopter spun around. Its tail rotor crashed into the building and broke off upon impact. The rest of the helicopter dropped down, crashed into the street, and exploded into a large fireball.

Carrie heaved a sigh of relief.

Jack shook his head. “That’s too bad for them, but good for us. Ready to head out, folks?”

“Sure thing,” Nathan said.

“Where’s out?”

“Wherever you want. My order was extraction.”

Carrie smiled. “And you did that amazingly.”

“How’s your arm?” Jack asked Nathan.

“Okay. What happened to Rob?” Nathan asked.

“Sick. Food poisoning. I was called in on short notice.”

Carrie said, “Let’s get out of the city. I’ll call Moretti and see where he wants us to go next. But as far as I’m concerned, our mission in Colombia is over.”

…

If you have never started Carrie’s series, but this has piqued, your interest, Priority Target – Book # 1 is a great place to start.

Here’s the link to Priority Target:

https://books2read.com/Priority-Target