The HBS Author's Spotlight SHOWCASES James Moushon's Short Story: Operation Key Witness.
This Short Story is included in the HBSystems Publications FREE Promotion for the Jonathon Stone Mystery Series. There are 17 short stories in the collection.
Each short story in the series will be FREE in the next few months.
This Short Story is FREE until 7/1/2022.
James Moushon is a writer who spares no unnecessary words. His clear concise writing style makes this story speed along. A solid lead character at the center, this is a great short story with a satisfying conclusion.
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Operation Key Witness
A Jonathon Stone Mystery Short Story
Author: James Moushon
AVAILABLE
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A witness against a terrorist is in danger and Stone is on alert.
Jonathon Stone and Chuck Chun are assigned to escort a witness from the Philippines to LA to testify against her terrorist husband. After an air marshal is killed in flight, Jonathon and Chuck go on high alert.
The CIA team finds out there is a professional hit contract on the witness, and it is non-exclusive. The twists and turns of the op lead the two into the Islamic World of terror.
Excerpt from Operation Key Witness
The white clouds were floating by the plane’s window as I gazed at the greenish-blue ocean below. I loved to fly. Being a pilot was a life-long dream. Being a CIA special agent was my reality. Even the simplest ops were filled with danger.
Fellow agent Chuck Chun was sitting in the aisle seat. We had flipped for the window seat and Chuck had lost. Several hours earlier we had departed from Manila, headed for Los Angeles. This trip was not a pleasure trip. It was all business. Chuck and I had a very special package to deliver to the states. Sitting between us was a dark-haired woman, in her mid-thirties, with very rough features. This woman’s name was Jullian Husin. She had been a part of a terrorist cell operating in the Philippines.
For some reason, she had a change of heart. She was going to testify against her estranged husband, who is the leader of the terrorist group in Manila.
I smiled at her. She lowered her head and continued staring at the back of the seat in front of her.
“Are you okay?” I asked.
She nodded.
“You are safe with us,” I continued.
She looked up at me. “You don’t know that. They have ways to reach anyone they want.”
She spoke remarkably good English. That was all she had said since we had picked her up from the authorities.
“You speak good English?”
She half-way smiled. “I was born in the US.”
We hadn’t been told that in our briefing.
“I went to school in Michigan, just outside of Detroit. That’s where I met my husband.”
“What is his name again?”
“Habib. Habib Husin.”
She looked down again.
Just then I heard the ring from my sat-phone. Chuck pointed down at my bag under the seat in front of me. I’d almost forgotten we had brought that along. Our cell-phones had no reception here but our satellite phone was active almost anywhere. I fished it out of the bag.
“Hello, Stone.”
God, I missed caller ID.
“Wiley, here. I have something important.”
“Can you hold on for a minute? I need to change locations.”
I squeezed by Jullian and Chuck and headed for the galley at the rear of the plane. It would be safer to talk there. The meal service was going on so there was only one flight attendant in the area.
“What you got, Wiley?”
“Russ wanted me to pass this on. A maid at an apartment complex in the San Pedro area just found a male body. He had been dead several days, according to the police.”
“My condolences to the family. Why are you telling me this over a secure line in the middle of an op?”
The flight attendant looked at me. I must have raised my voice.
“No, Jon. This guy had your witness’ itinerary and flight number written in a notepad. The police are still searching his apartment. His name was Oscar Hammel. He was on one of our watch lists. He’s a gun-for-hire. The FBI is there now.”
“Wiley, you might want to alert Homeland. He probably was going after our witness. We were to turn over Jullian Husin to the FBI when we landed.”
“Well that sounds like good luck,” Wiley said.
“What do you mean?”
“An assassin with the itinerary gets wacked before he can carry out the contract.”
“Wiley there is an old saying in Blackjack, no matter how good a hand you have, you never know if you won until you see the dealer’s hole cards.”
There was silence on the other end as he digested what I had just said. Then a response, “I will let you know what the FBI comes up with.” I smiled at the flight attendant who was making coffee in the galley and headed back to my seat.
Author Genre: Mystery & Thrillers, Satire
Website: James Moushon - Mystery Writer / Author Advocate
Author's Blog: Indie Author’s Corner
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Twitter: @jimhbs
E-Mail: james.moushon@gmail.com
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Amazon Author Profile and Book List
Author Description:
James Moushon is a Mystery writer and an Author Advocate. All his novels and short stories feature CIA Agent Jonathon Stone.
James is currently wearing two Hats. He is a Mystery Writer and a Book Publishing Blogger. You can find his blogs at:
HBS Author’s Spotlight
The blog's purpose is to help authors get exposure in the book publishing industry. He has interviewed and showcased over 600 authors to date.
Reader's News Flash
The purpose of this blog is to help Readers find the latest information about an author’s books, giveaways, promotions, and general news.
Indie Author's Corner
The Corner is a collection of Author advice and studies including Marketing, Social Media and other major topics created to help writers in today's ever changing world of book publishing.
He has spent the majority of his adult life developing computer systems and thinking about writing mysteries.
Author's Book List
Operation Bank Withdrawal - A Jonathon Stone Mystery Short Story
Several heists in downtown LA cause a National Security problem.
A bank robbery in downtown LA is one in a series of heists being investigated by the FBI. As FBI Agent Jodi Shannon tries to catch the robbers, a fingerprint in the wrong place gets Jonathon Stone involved. The history of old town Los Angeles provides the key to solving the crime and preventing a National Security disaster.
Order the Book From:
Amazon
Kindle Unlimited
Operation Arrow Drone - A Jonathon Stone Mystery Short Story
An FBI agent is murdered, and a group of terrorists are the primary suspects.
Jonathon Stone and FBI Agent Jodi Shannon team up to investigate the murder of an FBI agent who was auditing a classified project that had gone astray. The agent had gotten caught in the middle of a mass shooting at a Naval Air Station. The violence accelerates as Jonathon tries to catch a group of terrorists and avoid a disaster in Southern California.
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Amazon
Kindle Unlimited
Operation Raging Bull - A Jonathon Stone Mystery Short Story
An American traitor seeks refuge in a sanctuary city.
The FBI believes there is US troop information being leaked to rebels in Syria. After a special meeting in San Francisco, Jonathon Stone and Dale Oak, who is already undercover in Detroit, are assigned the operation.
The FBI is asking for D.O.T.’s help because of their problems dealing with sanctuary city policies in the area. As Stone narrows it down to one suspect, the operation unexpectedly expands.
Order the Book From:
Amazon
Kindle Unlimited
Operation Adrift - A Jonathon Stone Mystery Short Story
A ship with no passengers leads to a terrorist plot.
An empty cargo ship suddenly appears in the LA Harbor. Problem: there are no passengers or crew. Jonathon Stone finds out that the ship was abandoned at sea and the CIA had been tracking the vessel from the Far East. The op seems to be stalled until Jonathon gets information from an unexpected source which leads him to a terrorist plot on American soil.
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Amazon
Kindle Unlimited
Operation Misdirection - A Jonathon Stone Mystery Short Story
A dead CIA agent leads Stone to investigate a Middle East connection.
A female CIA agent is found dead in a motel in Long Beach and her husband, a Long Beach detective, quickly becomes the prime suspect. Jonathon Stone is given the task of investigating the murder of one of his own. His findings reveal the dead agent’s unscheduled trips to the Middle East, a cover-up by the FBI, and espionage.
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Amazon
Kindle Unlimited
Operation Hidden Truth - A Jonathon Stone Mystery Short Story
Espionage, terrorist, and government secrets are all in play.
A plea bargain turns deadly, and a known gun runner is the primary suspect. Jonathon Stone becomes involved with the FBI to try to catch the elusive terrorist. With espionage and government secrets in play, the DHS suddenly becomes a problem. Jonathon needs to be on top of his game for this op.
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Amazon
Kindle Unlimited
Operation Runaway - A Jonathon Stone Mystery Short Story
A Hawaiian espionage case is solved at a luau.
NSA information leaked by a spy sends Jonathon Stone and his fellow agent, Chuck Chun to Hawaii to stop the flow of information. Is our suspect a whistleblower or is it espionage? Their assignment: neutralize and stop the flow of information. At a luau in Paradise, they get help from an unlikely source before Jonathon and Chuck can complete their mission.
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Amazon
Kindle Unlimited
Operation Deadline - A Jonathon Stone Mystery Short Story
Stone and the FBI investigate a murder with Middle Eastern ties.
A hit and run death of a man on the CIA’s watch list sends Jonathon Stone on another op. This time he teams with FBI Agent Jodi Shannon. They quickly find out it was a planned murder and the victim was part of an investigative reporter’s study of a Middle-Eastern student group. Then, a second murder with a similar MO occurs and Jonathon is sent in a different direction.
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Amazon
Kindle Unlimited
Operation Red Dragon - A Jonathon Stone Mystery Short Story
An assassin on the job and Stone takes a gamble.
Jonathon Stone’s plans for a quiet gambling experience are interrupted by the sighting of a known gun for hire from Mexico. A casual weekend in the desert for Jonathon changes into an apparent assassination plot. With the FBI and the Secret Service involved, Jonathon tries to apprehend the elusive hitman before he can do damage.
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Amazon
Kindle Unlimited
Operation Listen Close - A Jonathon Stone Mystery Short Story
Murder by a terrorist needs Stone’s bag of tricks to solve.
A man is found dead in the trunk of a cab in downtown LA and an FBI investigation reveals that Jonathon Stone is connected to the murder. The Victim: A Chinese Special Agent on assignment in the US. The Suspect: A Russian cabbie who is wanted for terrorism in Hong Kong. Stone and Chuck Chun go into the CIA bag of tricks to solve the murder.
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Amazon
Kindle Unlimited
Operation Little Havana - A Jonathon Stone Mystery Short Story
Stone is in the middle of an international crisis because his suspects don’t want to play ball.
Jonathon Stone teams up with FBI Agent Maria Sanchez in Miami to try to solve the murder attempt of an exiled Cuban baseball player. As news stories continue to fuel the growing tension between the US and the Cuban people over a government change in policy, Jonathon is thrust into the middle of an international crisis.
After another murder attempt of a ballplayer, the op takes a sudden shift from the Little Havana area of Miami to the Everglades. While Stone and Sanchez struggle to find out who is at the bottom of this, their focus abruptly changes to a freelance reporter and a mystery man.
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Amazon
Kindle Unlimited
Operation Asian Tiger - A Jonathon Stone Mystery Short Story
A Far East mission is not quite after all.
Chuck Chun joins Jonathon Stone in a mundane assignment in Singapore. The dull surveillance op quickly turns from boring to the search for terrorists and the solution of an international tragedy. The Royal Malaysian Police are going in the wrong direction as Jonathon uses the vast resources of the CIA to zero in on the truth.
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Amazon
Kindle Unlimited
Operation Camp Navajo - A Jonathon Stone Mystery Short Story
Explosives are missing and Stone is on the case.
Camp Navajo Weapon Station near Flagstaff, Arizona is robbed and Jonathon Stone and fellow agent Dale Oak are dispatched to the area to insure that CIA weapons stored at the site are intact. Upon arrival, he finds the FBI has taken charge and has quickly caught the thieves.
Case closed. After a drive through the area and listening to the details of the crime from the FBI, things just didn’t add up. A complete search of the facilities finds explosives are missing and Jonathon is tasked with finding them before they are used.
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Amazon
Kindle Unlimited
Operation No Sanctuary - A Jonathon Stone Mystery Short Story
Mexican cartel violence erupts in the sanctuary city LA.
A gang war erupts in East LA between neighborhood gangs and the notorious MS-13 gang from San Salvador and a Mexican cartel from Tijuana is right in the middle of the conflict. CIA Agent Jonathon Stone is assigned the operation. He joins a crime task force to try to stop the violence and capture the cartel leaders. Along with FBI Agent Jodi Shannon, he pursues the elusive Raul Romero, the cartel kingpin who he has been after for a decade.
Drug trafficking, gang shootings, and politics all play a role as Jonathon battles the sanctuary city LA which seems to protect the innocent and the guilty.
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Amazon
Kindle Unlimited
The Cajun Ghost - A Jonathon Stone Mystery
ARIZONA SENATOR AND U.S. SENATORIAL CANDIDATE, TAD CLOSEN SHOT DOWNTOWN PHOENIX DURING PARADE
CIA Agent Jonathon Stone’s purchase of an old rifle from a gun dealer leads him on a search for the owner of the gun. When he finds the owner, a Cajun gun for hire, he discovers that he was one of the shooters in downtown Phoenix the day Senator Ted Closen was assassinated. As the search accelerates, fellow agent Carol Haney joins Stone on a journey that goes from California to the French Quarter in New Orleans to Phoenix to the mountains in Northern Arizona.
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Amazon
Kindle Unlimited
Game of Fire - A Jonathon Stone Mystery
An explosion and fire rocked a Southern California mall and it is quickly determined it is arson. The timing of the incident is special because it interrupts the Tet New Year’s Festival and Parade in Little Saigon, an area just east of Long Beach.
Enter veteran CIA Agent Jonathon Stone. Already in pursuit of the gun-running Minh family, he connects with a special FBI task force to assist in the investigation of the explosion and Minh quickly becomes their number one suspect.
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Amazon
Kindle Unlimited
Black Mountain Secrets - A Jonathon Stone Mystery
CIA Agent Jonathon Stone goes undercover to help in an FBI investigation after a fellow agent is murdered on the Colorado River.
Stone continues the agent’s investigation of suspects who are stealing top-secret documents from a secret Army base in the middle of the Mohave Desert. The trail leads him from the rugged Black Mountains of Nevada to Laughlin, a gambling oasis on the Colorado.
As things heat up in this desert paradise, Stone dodges bullets and attempts on his life until he reaches the ultimate showdown. Jonathon Stone truly needs lady luck on his side to catch the spies and get through this ordeal alive.
Mystery Writer James Moushon brings to life Jonathon Stone, an undercover CIA agent assigned to the off the books CIA division – DOT.
He throws Stone right into the middle of action. As the mystery unfolds, Stone uses his wealth of knowledge and keen analytical mind to complete his dangerous assignments, while at the same time battling his love for gambling and drinking and the ladies.
Book Trailer: Black Mountain Secrets
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Joy, the Little Girl from Hope - A Summer At The North Pole
We join Santa and Ms. Claus relaxing on the porch after a hard day’s work. It is summertime at the ranch as everyone prepares for Christmas Eve. Many things have changed over the years but the goal of bringing joy to the world is still the same. Things are just more modern now.
One of the tasks Ms. Claus oversees is the many letters received from children. Just as things seem to be going smoothly, they receive a heartbreaking letter that changes the mode of the day. Santa must take care of this problem immediately.
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Amazon
Kindle Unlimited
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