The Blackfire Protocol by Clifford Beck - HTML preview

Chapter 1

He was born in a small Midwestern town, a place many would refer to as a ‘hole in the wall’. On a windy day, one could stand outside and watch the fields roll with the golden color of wheat. Towns like this made their living on only one industry – wheat and served as the breadbasket of the country. This was a place where everyone helped their neighbor, went to church, and acted according to the teachings of Christ. And they all voted democratic out of

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principle. Frank was not much different, named after the man his parents believed to be one of the greatest presidents in history—Franklin Delano Roosevelt. They deified him for the work he had done as the architect of the social security system. Although it was known that he invented it to get the country through the Great Depression, it stood as a continued lifeline for decades to come. One man had saved countless millions from financial ruin.

To say the town was ‘tight-knit’ would be an understatement. Everyone knew everyone else, and when one's child got into trouble, the entire town took responsibility. Every adult was, in essence, the parent of every child, and when the streetlights began to flicker on, every child knew it was time to go home lest they incur the wrath of whatever adult happened to be present. The townspeople saw the safety of their children as its top priority. After all, one generation cannot have a future without the next. But it was Frank who was seen as the town’s shining star, excelling not only in sport but academics. His intellect sparkled at an early age, yet with no single focus. However, the subjects he gravitated to were American history and civics. After he had finished his homework, he was allowed to watch television. But rather than be consumed by family programs and cartoons, young Frank chose to watch documentaries. Both his parents and neighbors believed that such content would poison his mind, but Frank thrived on it. As he sat in front of the television, he absorbed every minute listening to the words of JFK, and watching the Apollo moon missions. But he was exposed to horrors of war as

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well, the slaughtering of innocent men, women and children somewhere in a distant Asian land. As much as he was affected by the tragedies of history, he was also impacted but what was then referred to as ‘human interest stories’. These reflected the pleasant things of life and many times illustrated the good that people can do. From this point on, he swore to himself that if was ever within his power he would do whatever it took to make the world a better place.