The Last Patriot

“The rest of the crew?”

Turning around to face the boat, Harvath placed two fingers in his mouth and whistled.

In a blinding flash of white, Bullet appeared from belowdecks and started barking.

“We’ve got two weeks until the president wants me back in Washington,” he said. “Where do you want to go?”

“I don’t care,” Tracy replied as she grabbed his chin for emphasis, “as long as we’re the only…ones…there.”

EPILOGUE

WASHINGTON, D.C.

Andrew Salam and his dog stepped inside from the rain, and he searched through his coat closet for the ratty old towel he used to clean the dog’s paws. Once all the mud was gone, he kicked off his running shoes and followed his dog into the kitchen where he filled his bowls with food and fresh water.

Grabbing a bottle of Evian from the fridge for himself, he spun off its cap and chugged half of it down in one long swallow. It was good to be home and even better now that his life was starting to get back to normal.

The FBI had asked him to come to work for them, but Salam’s heart wasn’t in it. Not right now at least.

Picking up the remote, he turned on the kitchen television set and tuned to one of the cable news channels. Some political pundit was droning on about “change” and the upcoming presidential elections. Salam paid no attention to it. He just liked having the TV on for background noise.

Taking his bottle with him, he walked over and sat down at his kitchen table. He had a stack of mail he’d yet to go through that had been growing higher with each passing day. Most of it was junk mail, but there were probably bills in there too, and he prided himself on settling his debts on time.

As he began sifting his way through, a very unusual envelope caught his attention. It bore the return address of a hotel he’d never heard of along with a postmark from the British Virgin Islands.

Carefully, Salam opened the envelope and removed a piece of paper. Taped to the center was some sort of locker key and below it a note. The handwriting was familiar and as he read the words, his heart stopped in his chest.

Andrew, I know you will do the right thing with this.

Matthew Dodd (aka Sean Riley)

AUTHOR’S NOTE

The idea for this novel had many parents, so to speak. It was born in part from an Atlantic Monthly article by Toby Lester entitled “What Is the Koran?” I had discovered the piece while doing research on another novel and had tucked it away for future use. When I came across an article written by Gerard W. Gawalt, formerly of the Library of Congress, entitled “America and the Barbary Pirates: An International Battle Against an Unconventional Foe,” I started wondering if there was a way I could combine the historical relevance of the Koran with Thomas Jefferson’s experience with the Barbary pirates to create a thriller that would be relevant today.

In writing this novel, I have created a work of fiction based largely on fact. That said, I have taken creative license in some areas and will attempt to list them here.

Mohammed’s lost revelation as depicted herein, as well al-Jazari’s preservation of same, is of my own making. The plot device of Mohammed being assassinated by one of his companions is also of my own making (though there is evidence that Mohammed was assassinated). The concept of abrogation and everything else related to the Koran in this novel is true.

The cipher found by Jefferson in the first edition Don Quixote

is fictional. Cervantes, though, did suffer horribly during his captivity and much of his experiences in the Muslim dungeons of Algiers greatly influenced and figured prominently in his work.

Thomas Jefferson did keep a suite of rooms at the Carthusian Monastery in Paris while U.S. minister to France and invented his Cipher Wheel during this time.

Of the fifteen fireplaces at Poplar Forest, one was indeed left unrenovated, but is located in the room used by Jefferson’s granddaughters, not in his library/parlor. Some of the entablature details, as well as Poplar Forest’s hours, have been changed to suit my purposes in this novel.

The weapons, equipment, and other gear used by Scot Harvath, Aydin Ozbek, et al, including the revolutionary new Integrated Tourniquet System clothing, are current and accurate.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

More than ever, I want to thank my beautiful and brilliant wife, Trish, for all of her love, support, and assistance with this novel. She is my muse, my best friend, and one of the most amazing people I have ever known. Without her, none of this would be possible. Thank you, my love.

I also could not do what I do without you, my readers. Thank you for all of your wonderful emails, your appearances at my signings, and all of the wonderful word of mouth you have given my novels. The reason my work has grown in popularity is because of you.