Chris

1992. All across the United States respectable, upstanding citizens are showing up dead. These deaths could be accidents, and they don’t appear to be connected—until a fatal fall from a high-floor window attracts some unexpected attention. That attention comes from the secretary of defense. All of a sudden he wants an interagency task force to investigate. And he wants Jack Reacher as the army’s representative. If Reacher gets a result, great. If not, he’s a convenient fall guy.

Don Riley, head of the CIA’s Emerging Threats Group, has never seen anything like this. Riley and his team are tasked with identifying national security threats before they become tomorrow’s bad news. But shortly after an Iranian vessel delivers a surprise attack to a US Navy Warship in the Arabian Gulf, a series of seemingly unrelated attacks crop up around the globe.

FBI Special Agents Kim Otto and Carlos Gaspar’s off-the-books assignment leads them to the surviving members of Jack Reacher’s elite military unit. Five years ago, Reacher sorted and destroyed a team of arms dealers before he moved on. But he made mistakes. Now, his bad luck and trouble legacy plunges Otto and Gaspar into the minefield of a grudge war between Reacher’s fearless old friends and chilling new enemies.

Lieutenant Anthony Pacino reports aboard the “project boat” USS Vermont two years after having survived the catastrophic sinking of the Piranha. Pacino quickly learns that Vermont’s missions are all ultra-secret with the boat reporting only to the sub force commander, the national security advisor, and the president: Vermont does the dirty deeds that need doing in deadly silence and obscurity. After Vermont misses the mark on an easy mission, there are questions asked about her ability to conduct the next mission.

The explosion of a Chinese freighter - carrying illegal workers - in Charleston Harbor is the first sign that someone is capping Chinese interests abroad. After explosions in South Africa and Taipei, Op-Center roots out the cause: Warring factions in the Chinese government. But still reeling from budget cuts and an almost devastating attack by an electromagnetic pulse explosion, Op-Center itself sustains a third hit: The removal of Commander Paul Hood, replaced by a three-star general from the Army. Op-Center is now under the control of the Pentagon.

Before 9/11 America was protected by a covert force known as the National Crisis Management Center. Commonly known as Op-Center, this silent, secret mantel guarded the American people and protected the country from enemies. The charter was top secret and Director Paul Hood reported directly to the president. Op-Center used undercover operatives with SWAT capabilities to diffuse crises around the world, and they were tops in their field. But after the World Trade Center disaster, in the interest of streamlining, OP-Center was disbanded—leaving the country in terrible danger.