HAVANA ~TOP SECRET~
Political, Thriller, 71,500 words
$6.95 US
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Havana ~Top Secret~
by David Pereda
Summary
Prominent Miami plastic surgeon Raymond Peters, is still grieving over the loss of his wife Rebbie, when his childhood friend Pepe Orozco, whom he hasn’t seen or heard of in thirty years, reappears in his life with a shocking secret.
Sonia, the teenaged sweetheart Raymond left behind in Cuba, was pregnant. She had a son, who is now terminally ill with cancer and before dying, wants to meet his father. Raymond travels to Cuba with Pepe and finds himself immersed in an unbelievable conspiracy, with far-reaching political implications. He has been lured to the island as part of a diabolical plot that will allow an ailing Castro, to retire peacefully in Mexico and the CIA to run the country. He learns he’s really in Havana, to perform plastic surgery on Fidel Castro and Pepe, to switch their respective identities. Raymond is forced by Castro to do the surgery, or else his life will be in danger. He can trust no one—not even his son, Pepe, or the alluring but married Sonia, with whom he has rekindled their old romance.
Now Raymond must perform the double-surgery and escape Cuba before he loses his life.
The question is, how?
Once they cleared immigration, Raymond had to walk quickly to keep up with his friend. Pepe scrambled through the noisy airport crowd toward the exit like a man with a stomach virus searching for a toilet. His brow was wrinkled, and he had a disgusted expression on his face.
“That was uncomfortable,” Raymond said. “And the sugar business? What was that all about?”
“My cover, Ramon. Everyone in Cuba might suspect I’m with the CIA, but I still need a cover. I buy sugar for a Mexican consortium. Actually, I’ve gotten pretty good at it considering I didn’t know anything about sugar when I started.”
“I must admit I’m impressed. There’s never a dull moment with you, it seems. One moment you’re with the CIA and the next you’re a sugar buyer for a Mexican group.”
“That’s life, always changing.” Pepe gave him a crooked grin, more of a grimace, really. “You know who that major was?”
“No,” Raymond answered. “But he sure asked a lot of questions.”
“You really don’t know who he was? You didn’t guess?”
“No. Who is he?”
“He’s the head of national security, reporting directly to Raul Castro.”
“What?” Raymond stopped abruptly, and a woman following behind slammed into him. She was blonde, shapely and was wearing tight white shorts. Out of the corner of his eye, Raymond saw her dive into the mass of humanity and vanish. She reminded him of Sonia. “He’s what?”
“Keep walking.” Pepe yanked his arm. “I don’t know what Major Teceira was doing here. Maybe he was checking airport operations. Or maybe he was checking you out.”
“Me?” Raymond’s stomach contracted into tight, cold knots. “Why me?”
Pepe didn’t answer. He charged ahead in silence, his head rotating like a lighthouse as his eyes scanned the crowd. Raymond’s heart beat like a high school band drum.
When they stepped onto the sun-drenched sidewalk outside, Pepe stopped and said, “He’s Sonia’s husband.”
Credits
Havana ~Top Secret~ © 2009 by David Pereda
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic of mechanical including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher.
This book is a work of fiction. Characters, names, places and incidents either are the product of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to any actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.
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Cover Art © 2009 by Dawné Dominique
Edited by Pam Slade
Copyedited by Erin Cramer
Layout and Book Production by Ally Robertson
ebook: 978-1-926647-82-1
print: 978-1-926647-90-6
First Editions * May 2009
Production by Eternal Press