Part 94 (2/2)

The stories are always exaggerated, of course. The Taliban blame it on drones, on CIA kill squads, on U.S. surges.And, who knows, maybe that accounts for some of it.

Call it 1 percent, overall.

For the rest?

I've been to three of those sites, and I've seen photo doc.u.mentation of eight others. The Taliban at those sites haven't just been shot-they've been torn apart. Even if you put the pieces together, it doesn't add up to whole bodies.

I've walked those three scenes.You can read a firefight by sh.e.l.l casings and footprints.

In all of them there was only one set of footprints going in, and one coming out.

Just one.

American military combat boots.

I'm a reasonable guy, a rational man, so I guess there are a lot of very reasonable and very rational explanations for all that.

But, go ahead . . . name one.

Acknowledgments.

The authors would like to thank the ever-ebullient Ed Schlesinger for his keen eye and his enthusiasm, the das.h.i.+ng Howard Morhaim for his agent-ly shepherding, and NECON, where this book was dreamed up.

David Liss would also like to thank his Gemini Ink novella workshop, and Jonathan Maberry sends out his grat.i.tude to the fans and supporters of the Joe Ledger thrillers.

About the Authors.

kelley Armstrong is the New York Times bestselling author of the Cainsville modern gothic series, Otherworld urban fantasy series, Darkest Powers and Darkness Rising teen paranormal trilogies, and the Nadia Stafford crime trilogy, as well as coauthor of the Blackwell Pages middle-grade trilogy. She grew up in Ontario, Canada, where she still lives with her family. A former computer programmer, she's now escaped her corporate cubicle and hopes never to return.Visit .

christopher golden is the New York Times bestselling author of such novels as Of Saints and Shadows and The Myth Hunters. He has cowritten three ill.u.s.trated novels with Mike Mignola, the first of which, Baltimore, or,The SteadfastTin Soldier and theVampire, was the launching pad for the comic book series Baltimore. His current work-in-progress is a graphic novel trilogy collaboration with 324 ABOUT THE AUTHOR S Charlaine Harris ent.i.tled Cemetery Girl. Golden was born and raised in Ma.s.sachusetts, where he still lives with his family.Visit .

david liss is the author of seven novels, most recently the historical urban fantasy The Twelfth Enchantment. His previous books include A Conspiracy of Paper, which was named a New York Times Notable Book and won the 2001 Barry, Macavity, and Edgar awards for best first novel. The Coffee Trader was also named a New York Times Notable Book and was selected by the New York Public Library as one of the year's 25 Books to Remember. A Spectacle of Corruption was a national bestseller, and The Devil's Company has been optioned for film by Warner Bros. Liss is also the author of numerous comics and graphic novels.Visit .

Jonathan maberry is a New York Times bestselling author, multiple Bram Stoker Award winner, and freelancer for Marvel Comics and Dark Horse. His novels include Extinction Machine, Fire & Ash, a.s.sa.s.sin's Code, Ghost Road Blues, Patient Zero, and many others. Nonfiction books include Ultimate Jujutsu, The Cryptopedia, and Zombie CSU. Jonathan's award-winning teen novel, Rot & Ruin, is now in development for film. Since 1978, he's sold more than twelve hundred magazine feature articles, three thousand columns, two plays, greeting cards, song lyrics, and poetry. He teaches the ”Experimental Writing for Teens” cla.s.s, is the founder of the Writers Coffeehouse and cofounder of the Liars Club. Jonathan lives in Bucks County, Pennsylvania, with his wife, Sara Jo, and a fierce little dog named Rosie.Visit .

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