Quick Silver: When the Pentagon is Held Hostage-So is the World

Terrorists take over the Pentagon and gain control of the ultimate satellite superweapon, called Quicksilver, in this warp-speed techno-thriller with the most engaging underdog protagonists since Jurassic Park. A cadre of multinational terrorists murder a busload of Annapolis midshipmen headed for a NATO ceremony at the Pentagon, and then use their victims identities to clear security, taking VIP hostages and gaining control of the building. The president barely escapes, but he loses his security force and leaves most of his cabinet, and the First Lady, behind. Midshipman Amy Nuke Bethune happened to miss her ill-fated bus, but made it to the Pentagon just in time to get trapped inside, bad news for the commandos who offed her classmates. She joins up with Tom Chase, an irreverent ex-FBI electronics whiz and consultant to General Vanovich, the developer of Quicksilver, now held hostage. Meanwhile, the terrorists take satellites out of orbit and wipe out a Colorado base with Quicksilver while making impossible demands. Major Margaret Sinclair (a former Delta Force commando, Toms ex-wife and Vanovichs second-in-command) persuades the White House to send her in instead of nuking the buildingand all the hostageswith a deep penetration bomb. Amys guerrilla skills and Toms smarts plow through defenders as they aim for the terrorist stronghold, unaware of the enemys level of access to Quicksilver codes. Although the disaster formula is familiar, and the terrorists motivation is not entirely credible, the hair-trigger plot and heroics are gripping, and the mix of formidable but feminine heroines and reluctant heroes adds a new twist to the scenario. This followup to the Reeves-Stevenses bestselling Icefire insures their entre to the techno-thriller elite. 75,000-copy first printing; major ad/promo; author tour. (May) FYI: The authors also co-write a Star Trek series with William Shatner.