Book three in The Orphan Trilogy resumes five years after book one, The Ninth Orphan, ends. It’s an action-packed finale in the life story of Nine, the ninth-born orphan, whose idyllic lifestyle is shattered when his son is abducted by operatives of the Omega Agency, the shadowy organization that once controlled every aspect of his life.
With an average review rating of 5 out of 5 Stars on Amazon, The Orphan Uprising is attracting some stellar comments from reviewers…“A heart tearing, mind splitting, gut churning crusade,” according to Welcome Home Soldier Reviews; “An extreme roller coaster ride of emotions,” says My Scribe World; “Constant action and very fast paced,” according to J.Winstead.
Here’s an excerpt from The Orphan Uprising (The Orphan Trilogy, #3):
Nine studied his opposite closely. For once, he seemed to be telling the truth. He motioned to Naylor to move over. The old man gave up his seat for Nine who resumed reading, scrolling through the file’s contents at the rate of a page a second just as he’d been taught to do as an operative-in-waiting at the Pedemont Orphanage.
With every page, his concern for Francis grew. The document contained a litany of medical horrors that ranged from never-before attempted organ and face transplants to unsanctioned cloning procedures and flat-lining experiments. Medical and scientific text was supported by graphic photographs of subjects – children and teenagers – who had been subjected to these experiments. Some were grotesque in the extreme.
Nine opened the second confidential file. It was headed Medical Laboratory #1 and related to Omega’s secret lab in DRC, or the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Scrolling through the pages of this file, the former operative could see it made for equally gruesome reading. If anything, the scientific experiments being conducted at the DRC lab were even more horrific than at the lab in Greenland.
Naylor fidgeted nervously as Nine continued reading. He could imagine what was going through his rogue operative’s mind.
The awful reality of what Francis was going to be subjected to slowly dawned on Nine. It was clear he’d been abducted for some sort of experiment. But what? He looked up at Naylor and pointed his Glock at his head. “Talk old man. And make it good. Tell me why you took my son.” With that, he pulled a mini-digital recording device from his pocket and placed it on the desktop between them. A red light indicated it had been recording all along. “You’ve already hung yourself, so you might as well tell me everything.”
Naylor’s eyes were drawn to the recorder. Tearing his eyes away from the device, he could tell from the expression on Nine’s face that there was murder in his heart. He had to control the sudden pressure in his bladder to prevent himself from pissing where he sat. “I can explain.” He took a deep breath. “You’re the only one of the Pedemont orphans who has a child. Coming from a mixture of your exceptional genes and your wife’s regular genes, Francis has unique DNA. He’s a one-of-a-kind.”
“What will be done to him exactly.”
Naylor hesitated. Nine waved his Glock menacingly, prompting him to continue. “He will assist our cloning program,” Naylor continued. “He’ll undergo a range of tests- -”
“Tests? What tests?” Nine was growing more alarmed by the second.
“I don’t have specifics, but they’ll be scientifically conducted and monitored by Doctor Andrews’ team.”
Nine could feel his disbelief and anger growing in equal measure. He felt like his head was about to explode. Irate beyond words, he jumped to his feet and pistol-whipped Naylor, leaving the old man’s face cut and bloodied. “You bastard!” Nine swore at the Omega boss who now lay groaning on the carpet. “Just what gives you the right to play God with my son?”
As Nine remonstrated with Naylor, he didn’t hear the faint sound of someone behind him until it was too late.
The first that Nine realized something was wrong was when he tried to sit up. He couldn’t. And he had a splitting headache. When he attempted to open his eyes, the light was blinding and everything seemed to be spinning.
As normality slowly returned, Nine realized he was lying on the floor of Naylor’s den. It dawned on him he’d been bushwhacked and he cursed that he hadn’t been more attentive.
The staffer he’d seen outside was now standing alongside Naylor, talking to someone on his cell phone. He was holding Nine’s Glock in his other hand and he surveyed the intruder as he spoke. Naylor was gingerly dabbing at his bloodied face with a tissue.
“He’s conscious now,” the staffer said into his phone. “Don’t worry, he won’t give us any more trouble.”
“Tell them to get here fast,” Naylor said, glaring at Nine. “I want this son-of-a-bitch in secure confinement at HQ.”
“Get here quick,” the staffer said before ending the call. He turned to Naylor. “They’re only ten minutes away.”
Nine guessed the staffer was referring to reinforcements from Omega. The former operative knew once he was interned at Omega’s underground HQ, he’d never be seen again. And neither would Francis. He realized he had to escape within the next minute or two. How to distract them? A desperate plan came to mind.
Naylor remembered the mini-recorder on the desktop. Its red light indicated it was still recording. He picked up the device and hurled it against a wall, smashing it.
Nine chuckled. “You realize I’m also wired,” he lied.
Naylor looked down at him, horrified. He hadn’t considered that someone on the outside could have been listening to the conversation these past few minutes. If that was the case, he knew he was finished. Naylor turned to his staffer. “Search him.”
The staffer handed the Glock to Naylor. “Shoot him if he tries anything, sir.”
Naylor trained the Glock on Nine as his staffer bent down to frisk the intruder. That was the opening Nine had been waiting for. He reached up, grabbed the staffer by his ears and pulled his head down. At the same time, he raised his own head sharply off the floor, effectively delivering an old fashioned Liverpool Kiss, or head-butt, knocking the man senseless.
To order The Orphan Uprising (The Orphan Trilogy, #3), or view the Amazon reviews, go to: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00BFC66DM/
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Happy reading! – Lance & James
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Morcan Books & Films 