Introduction

FBI Special Agent Regan Manning and her team must protect the dignitaries at the Alaska Energy Summit from the growing mob of protestors who oppose a plan to put a nuclear waste facility in Alaska’s interior. Along with the menacing mob, the VIPs themselves pose a threat to each other as political agendas collide. Regan, a former Juneau girl, is plagued with old ghosts and escalating personal and professional tests—especially when the U.S. energy secretary goes missing. Amid the chaos, Regan inconveniently falls in love. Perseverance is the first in a series of political thrillers featuring Agent Manning.

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Excerpt

DREAD WEIGHED on her like a coat of thick mud, dulling the usual thrill. Even being tapped mission team leader wasn’t enough to shake it off.

The Bombardier Dash 8 turboprop bucked and bounced as it cleared the last layer of clouds. Rain streamed in horizontal stripes along the windows, distorting Regan’s view of the rippling waterways below.

Everything looked gray. Just like it always did.

“Man, it’s beautiful up here,” said Nick, peering out at the snow-capped peaks. His eyes were bright, one foot bopping in anticipation.

Regan envied his excitement, his lack of connection to the place they were headed.

The rest of the team chattered like magpies, grating on her nerves. The plane hit an air pocket; someone said, “Whoa, hang on to your hat!”

“It isn’t usually this bumpy coming in,” Regan announced. A wave of nausea hit, something she seldom experienced flying, turbulent or not. She pressed a hand to her lips.

Nick said, “How long since you’ve been back?”

“Five years.”

Not long enough.

“Five years? Why so long?”

She shrugged. It was easier to chase other people’s demons than face her own.

There were few signs of life below. Just tree-shrouded mountains and pewter ribbons of water stretching in every direction as far as the eye could see.

A mental image snuck past the gatekeeper in her brain: trails strewn with pine needles, the way the tree canopy cast an emerald glow and made the forest seem magical. Playing hide-and-go-seek, her favorite childhood game.

Funny to think she’d made a career of it.

Regan closed her eyes and locked her thoughts on the mission checklist until the aircraft was on final approach, traveling north along Gastineau Channel.

As they skirted past Douglas Island on their left, Regan gazed at her old stomping grounds. She felt a stirring in her chest and put a hand over it, as if to snuff it out.

Mount Roberts loomed on their right, almost close enough to touch. She looked for the familiar landmark on its side, the multi-leveled carcass of the old goldmine. But it was gone, imploded so it could no longer lure people who were too damn dumb to comprehend the danger of entering an abandoned mine.

She absently rubbed the scar above her left elbow.

The team reveled in the birds-eye view of Juneau, pointing and babbling like school kids on a field trip. Regan stared at the bulkhead in front of her.

Minutes later, they touched down. The turboprop taxied past an Alaska Airlines plane, jetway cupped at its side, and came to a stop on the tarmac, twenty yards from the terminal building.

Regan took a deep breath and plopped an FBI cap on her head, pulling her auburn ponytail through the opening in back. She slipped into a Bureau-issue windbreaker, as though the attire would somehow restore her Regan-as-agent equilibrium.

It’s just another mission, she told herself.

Too bad her stomach wasn’t buying it. She closed her eyes and took another deep breath.

Do NOT throw up. It is unprofessional.

Nick reached over and squeezed her hand. “Welcome home, partner.”

Ten seconds later, they heard the explosion. view abbreviated excerpt only...

Discussion Questions

1) Do you feel that women in leadership roles, like Agent Manning and Secretary Vargas, are under more pressure to perform well and judged more harshly than men in similar roles? If so, in what ways do you think that pressure led to some questionable decisions by the two women?

(2) How do you think Regan’s relationship with her father influenced her career choice and performance of it?

(3) Do you feel that Regan’s actions regarding Congressman Slade at the end were appropriate? Why or why not?

(4) Do you think Regan made the right choice in the last scene of the novel?

Weblinks

»	Publisher's Book Info
»	Author Robin Lehman's web site

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