PRAISE FOR
RED DECEPTION
“RED HOTEL combined the authors’ real world experiences into a very compelling, breakneck-paced scenario that captures the imagination. RED DECEPTION takes us even further into the complex world where globalized economics and travel are integrally woven into politics, terror, intrigue, and more. Fiction that’s all too real!”
WILL GRIMSLEY
MAJOR GENERAL, US ARMY, (RET.)
“Forget “ripped from the headlines,” because RED DECEPTION threatens to write its own! RED DECEPTION is everything a great thriller is supposed to be! High stakes, incredible action scenes, a deadly plot, and a dynamic hero in Dan Reilly. Gary Grossman and Ed Fuller have crafted a relentlessly riveting tale that hones in on our greatest fears and takes us right to the brink in breathless fashion.”
JON LAND
USA TODAY BEST-SELLING AUTHOR
“RED DECEPTION is a Thriller with a capital “T”! Not for the faint of heart. The doomsday scenarios depicted in this fast-paced, can’t-put-down nail-biter are real-world accurate and truly scary. Dan Reilly is a terrific new hero for today’s troubled times!”
RAYMOND BENSON
AUTHOR, BLUES IN THE DARK AND THE BLACK STILETTO SERIAL AND JAMES BOND NOVELS
“RED DECEPTION provides an in-depth and realistic ground-level view of the type of asymmetric Nation-state–sponsored threats faced by the Agencies tasked with protecting the United States both domestically and abroad. Thoroughly researched with thrilling pacing, it follows a worst-case scenario with the resulting fallout and a complex investigation that unfolds all over the Globe.”
EDWARD BRADSTREET
SPECIAL AGENT—DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY HOMELAND SECURITY INVESTIGATIONS (HSI)
“As the former Director of Intelligence (J2) for the U.S. Pacific Command in Hawaii and Joint Chiefs of Staff in the Pentagon, I know these dangerous scenarios are plausible, which makes RED DECEPTION all the more thrilling. Infrastructure attacks, Russian aggression, bumbling national leaders, North Korea malign activity, Venezuelan dangers—Fuller and Grossman’s exciting story mirrors reality. Oh, and the U.S. needs more heroes like their daring CIA Officer Dan Reilly!”
REAR ADMIRAL PAUL BECKER, USN (RET.)
FORMER DIRECTOR OF INTELLIGENCE, U.S. PACIFIC COMMAND
“RED DECEPTION is an adrenalin-laden thriller and as true to life as it gets. As a former intelligence operative (linguist/analyst—Soviet/Warsaw Pact) with assignments to Field Station Augsburg, Germany and the Defense Intelligence Agency at the Pentagon, I know that all of the explosive events, all of the alliances, and all of the deceit detailed in this book are realistic. Grossman and Fuller possess a keen insight as to the interaction(s) amongst governmental, military, intelligence, and business leaders and operatives. Compelling insight into the world of high-stakes drama, deception and intrigue; full of intricate relationships, and the complexity of independent, yet interconnected scenarios. RED DECEPTION just can’t be put down. I want more. Outstanding!”
G. MICHAEL MARA, JR
FORMER MEMBER OF THE U.S. ARMY INTELLIGENCE & SECURITY COMMAND (INSCOM)
“Heart-pumping excitement—another page-turner from Fuller and Grossman. RED DECEPTON paints a picture of reality in our world today. Politics, economics, terrorism, travel, intrigue, deceit at home and overseas. An above-the-fold thriller by any measure!”
FRANK HELMICK
LIEUTENANT GENERAL, U.S. ARMY, (RET.)
“With their novel, RED HOTEL, acclaimed journalist and thriller writer Gary Grossman and international hotel executive and Army combat veteran Ed Fuller showed how the world we live in has changed. RED DECEPTION takes the genre to another level, demonstrating how a true-to-life thriller can deliver vital information over even what the news media provides. Besides keeping us on the edge of our seats, RED DECEPTION is so prescient, filled with deep insights into the real worlds of espionage and politics, while giving us a window that sheds light onto the darkest aspects of political intrigue and human nature.”
BARRY KIBRICK
HOST OF NATIONAL PBS SERIES “BETWEEN THE LINES”
“Gary Grossman and Ed Fuller have done it again in RED DECEPTION. Plot, characters, and details are gripping and captivating. A page-turner by authors who might as well sit on the National Security Council. A fantastic read!”
PAUL DEBOLE
FORMER AIDE TO SENATOR JOHN MCCAIN AND SENATOR LAMAR ALEXANDER, ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR, HISTORY, LASELL UNIVERSITY, AUTHOR, CONSPIRACY 101: AN AUTHORITATIVE EXAMINATION OF THE GREATEST CONSPIRACIES IN AMERICAN POLITICS
“Another thrilling masterpiece from Grossman and Fuller! A real inside view into the shocking behind-the-scenes world of international politics and intrigue. RED DECEPTION is a fact-rich page-turner, expertly fit together like a giant jigsaw puzzle that will keep you completely fascinated right up to the surprise finish. Wow!”
WG GRIFFITHS
“RENEGADE WRITER” HOST, BEST-SELLING THRILLER AUTHOR, “MALCUS”
“RED DECEPTION starts with a shocking series of terrorist attacks against America, then races along at break-neck pace until the mind-blowing ending. There are inept political leaders; new threats to world peace from Russia and North Korea; deadly assassins; and secrets and betrayal everywhere. Gary Grossman and Ed Fuller have given us a must-read thriller that truly feels like it’s ripped from today’s headlines, or even scarier, tomorrow’s.”
R.G. BELSKY
AWARD-WINNING AUTHOR OF THE CLARE CARLSON SERIES
“Wow! Here we go again! I thought RED HOTEL was an adrenaline pumper, but RED DECEPTION takes it all the way up! Each chapter is incredibly realistic, making me hungry for more. No one knows more about operating hotels in hostile environments than Ed Fuller! Grossman and Fuller hit the 10 ring with their latest thriller!”
ALAN ORLOB
TRAVEL SECURITY EXPERT, CEO THE ORLOB GROUP, FORMER VP OF GLOBAL SAFETY & SECURITY, MARRIOTT INTERNATIONAL CORPORATION, U.S. ARMY SPECIAL FORCES, (RET.)
“RED DECEPTION delivers another loud wake-up call that rang so true in RED HOTEL. This time, Fuller and Grossman take us even further into the new Cold War that shows every sign of turning RED hot. Reading RED DECEPTION shows us how fast the map of the world could change yet again!”
ROGER DOW
PRESIDENT AND CEO, US TRAVEL ASSOCIATION
“It doesn’t get better than RED DECEPTION for weaving true insider business and anti-terrorism experience into a heart-pumping international thriller! Ed Fuller has been there. Done it. Lived it. I’ve read all his books, and now his latest collaboration with Gary Grossman exposes more of his world and the dangers that lurk just below the surface. A political reality thriller of the highest caliber.”
DOUG MULDOON
CHIEF OF POLICE (RET.), PALM BAY, FLORIDA, 2013 PRESIDENT FBI NATIONAL ACADEMY ASSOCIATES
PRAISE FOR RED HOTEL BY FULLER AND GROSSMAN
“RED HOTEL, a terrific, fast-paced, stylish, eye-opening spy thriller, with a knowing, insider’s look at the intersects of terrorism, the CIA, and world politics. Ripped right from the headlines, RED HOTEL will forever change the way you look at hotels, and use the phrase Road Warrior.”
BRUCE FEIRSTEIN
“Welcome to my world. RED HOTEL is a thriller that dramatically covers a very real global threat that could redraw nation boundaries and lead the superpowers to the brink of war. Fuller and Grossman echo the warning, ‘If you see something, say something.’ They’re saying it loud and clear in RED HOTEL.”
STEVE TIDWELL
FORMER FBI EXECUTIVE ASSISTANT DIRECTOR, CRIMINAL, CYBER, RESPONSE AND SERVICES BRANCH
“Dire exp
loits. A beguiling read. A battle of wits that heads up every page.”
STEVE BERRY
NEW YORK TIMES BEST-SELLING AUTHOR
“Feverishly paced with surprising twists and turns, RED HOTEL starts with a bang and the action gets faster and tenser from there. Get ready for one late night when you dive into this gem of a read!”
DANIEL PALMER
BEST-SELLING AUTHOR
“Laced with drama culled from recent events, RED HOTEL places the reader directly into the role of intelligence analyst and operative as well as business and political strategist. Read RED HOTEL and it’s doubtful you’ll ever travel again without conjuring up possible intrigue from observations that used to seem like normal occurrences.”
JOHN TIERNEY
FORMER MEMBER OF THE U.S. HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES MEMBER, HOUSE INTELLIGENCE COMMITTEE AND CHAIR, NATIONAL SECURITY SUBCOMMITTEE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, CENTER FOR ARMS CONTROL AND NON-PROLIFERATION
“Grossman and Fuller deliver gritty insider detail in their thriller RED HOTEL, bringing fact and fiction together in an explosive mix. RED HOTEL is a must read for international travelers and anyone seeking to understand the new Russia.”
K.J. HOWE
BEST-SELLING AUTHOR, THRILLERFEST EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
“I got to know Ed Fuller in Iraq when I was Deputy Commanding General US Forces Iraq. RED HOTEL takes me right back to our in-depth discussions and it spells out tomorrow’s threats that we better pay attention to today. Take a deep breath, jump into this novel scenario from authors Fuller and Grossman. I dare you to try to go to sleep tonight once you begin.”
FRANK HELMICK
LIEUTENANT GENERAL US ARMY (RET.)
“There is nothing more deceptive than an obvious fact.”
SIR ARTHUR CONAN DOYLE
Copyright 2021 by Gary H. Grossman and Edwin D. Fuller
FIRST EDITION
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without permission in writing from the publisher, except by a reviewer who may quote brief passages in a review.
RED Deception is a work of fiction. Places, incidents portrayed, and names are the work of the authors’ imagination. Any resemblance to actual locales, events, or persons, living or dead, is coincidental.
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To my beautiful Italian wife Michela for your support, patience, friendship and never-ending love. And to our beautiful growing family, Scott, Elizabeth, Alex, Cameron and Nolan.
ED
To Stan and Debbie Deutsch. Through all the years and all the miles, true friends.
GARY
REAL WORLD NEWS
NORTH KOREAN SPIES IN THE U.S. DEFECTORS REVEAL STARTLING NUMBERS
CNN conducted interviews with two former North Korean agents revealing that hundreds of North Korean spies are working in the United States at any given time. One man talked about their lives as spies saying he was first recruited in high school and received years of special training from martial arts to rigging explosives.
CALIFORNIA ON HIGH ALERT
State and federal law enforcement agencies have boosted security patrols on and around the Golden Gate Bridge and the Oakland Bay Bridge after officials learned of a potential terrorist threat. “The best preparation,” said the California governor, “is to let terrorists know we know what you’re up to. We’re ready. It’s not going to succeed.”
NORTH KOREA, VENEZUELA AGREE TO STRENGTHEN DIPLOMATIC, COMMERCIAL TIES
RUSSIA’S WORST KEPT SECRET: IT WANTS ITS FORMER SATELLITE NATIONS BACK
From Sofia to Prague, Warsaw to Budapest, people all across the former Soviet East bloc are looking uneasily at Russia to see how far President Vladimir Putin will push his more adventurous foreign policy and his new pique with the West.
PRINCIPAL CHARACTERS
WASHINGTON, D.C.
Dan Reilly
President, International
Kensington Royal Hotel Corporation
Alexander Crowe
U.S. President
Ryan Battaglio
U.S. Vice President
Pierce Kimball
National Security Advisor
Elizabeth Matthews
Secretary of State
Carl Erwin
Former CIA Director
BD Coons
US Army General
Tom Reardon
Former FBI Agent
Donald Klugo
Private Security Consultant
Bob Heath
CIA Case Officer
Vincent Moore
FBI Agent
Reese McCafferty
FBI Director
Gerald Watts
CIA Director
CHICAGO, IL
Edward Jefferson Shaw
President/Founder
Kensington Royal Hotel Corporation
South Atlantic
Chad Barquist
U.S. Air Force Cpt.
Lou Tiano
Kensington Royal COO
Alan Cannon
VP, Global Safety and Security
Chris Collins
Senior Vice President, Legal
Kensington Royal Hotel Corporation
Brenda Sheldon
Executive Assistant to Dan Reilly
Pat Brodowski
Kensington Royal CFO
Lois Duvall
Kensington Royal VP Public Relations
Spike Boyce
Kensington Royal IT Executive
RUSSIA
Nicolai Gorshkov
President, Russian Federation
Martina Kushkin/Maria
Pudovkin
FSB Agent
Pak Yoon-Hoi
SVR Agent
LONDON, ENGLAND
Marnie Babbitt
Barclays Bank Executive
NEVADA
Richard Harper
An Engineer
NEW YORK
Savannah Flanders
New York Times
Investigative Reporter
BRUSSELS, BELGIUM
Nato Secretary General
Carlos Phillipe
KIEV, UKRAINE
Ilya Volosin
Former Ukrainian Special Forces Officer
PROLOGUE
CANADA/US BORDER
NEW BRUNSWICK/MAINE
MARCH
The rented Cessna 207 dropped to fifty feet above the tree line. One hundred fifty feet below Boston Air Route Traffic Control Center and NAV Canada’s radar sweeps. The flight originated from a private airport outside of Edmundston, Canada; a week-long rental by sport fishermen who boasted about catching bass at Témiscouata-sur-le-Lac, to the northwest.
For three days the tourists flew the route to the fishing destination, landed, even fished. Just before dawn on the fourth day, today, the fishermen were overheard saying they wanted to explore other regions.
They flew east, then south, skirting a stretch of the 611-mile border between the Canadian province and the state of Maine. Fifty-two minutes into the flight, the plane suddenly dropped down off its current course. Boston lost them. So did Bangor, Maine’s radar, which swept Area D low altitude sectors. Calls went out. Urgent calls. The pilot reported that he had a fuel line issue, but control of the aircraft.
“Do you require assistance, Cessna 4251?” asked Bangor control.
“Negative BGR. Negative. Checking all systems. Stand by.”
The standby bought the pilot time to hug the border between the US and Canada below the MVA—the minimum vectoring altitude. In other words, below approved altitude. And soon below radar.
The pilot, experienced and trained elsewhere, shot across the border, then suddenly climbed higher. High enough for his passengers, who weren’t good at playing fishermen, to prepare to parachute.
The heading, practiced abroad, took them over flat farmland, clear of trees, roughly two miles from the small Maine town of Limestone in Aroostook County, population 2,300. For a few hours it was about to be 2,300 plus four.
Approaching the drop zone and reporting he had gained control, the pilot leveled at 7,300 feet and announced “Ready” to his passengers in their native language. One by one, twenty seconds apart, they stepped out onto the fixed landing gear and bailed out.
The moon provided enough light for the men to touch down within one hundred yards of one another without incident. They silently gathered up their chutes, removed backpacks reverse-strapped to their chests, stuffed in the silk and laid low for ten minutes.
The lead skydiver searched the sky for the plane. But it was already out of earshot, heading back on its intended course, and, according to plan, radioing that he would set down back in Edmundston after dropping off his passengers for another day at the lake.
Convinced the route was clear, the leader gave the signal for his team to rise and begin walking across the field. If all had gone well on the ground, there’d be an SUV waiting for them in a 4H—whatever that was–parking lot. It was chosen because unlike a shopping center or convenience store lot, there were no cameras. The order was to stay out of sight.