“Thank you for helping out with this, Alexei. As always, watch your back,” said Berg. “And I owe you again. For the record, all-inclusive is the way to go when you’re drinking from nine in the morning into the late hours of the night on a Caribbean vacation. And it’s not like you’re drinking the high-end stuff anyway.”
“Ha! I just don’t want you to think my services come cheap!”
“I’m well aware they don’t,” said Berg.
“I’ll call as soon as I know something,” said Kaparov. “Or be on the next flight out of Moscow, headed to the Caribbean, if I somehow kick the same hornet’s nest here.”
He ended the call convinced that Karl Berg would be the end of him and determined to soak every ruble possible out of him when they finally met up. If he survived the latest mess Karl had stepped in.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
To start, a big thank-you to my family for supporting this book during the pandemic. Deep Sleep is the second manuscript I produced in “lockdown,” and I’m not going to lie: it took every bit of focus I could muster. Everyone here at home played a significant role in keeping me on my deadline.
To Kosia, my better half, for locking me in the office when necessary and banning me from social media when my attention strayed. More importantly, for taking the conspiracy I created for this story to the next level. The wider geopolitical scope and deeper penetration of the conspiracy were a direct result of a series of brainstorming sessions conducted months before I put words on the pages.
As always, to the editorial team at Thomas & Mercer for enthusiastically giving Deep Sleep the green light and throwing their full support behind it. And to Megha for believing in this project!
To Kevin, who put the final developmental touches on the story. Four books together, and I don’t bother to argue with him anymore. I know he’s right. I can’t wait to get the next book into your hands.
To the Mountainside crew for listening to the earliest iteration of the Deep Sleep concept and passing along invaluable feedback. I had no idea at the time that the vague idea I presented over drinks would be my next series, but the notes I took stuck with me long after our visit.
To my advance reader team. I’ve enjoyed sharing sneak peeks, cover reveals, and advance copies with you. Thank you for getting the word out!
Finally, to the readers. I know I say this every time, but without you, none of this would be possible.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Steven Konkoly is a Wall Street Journal and USA Today bestselling author, a graduate of the US Naval Academy, and a veteran of several regular and elite US Navy and Marine Corps units. He has brought his in-depth military experience to bear in his fiction, which includes The Rescue, The Raid, The Mountain, and Skystorm in the Ryan Decker series; the speculative postapocalyptic thrillers The Jakarta Pandemic and The Perseid Collapse; the Fractured State series; the Black Flagged series; and the Zulu Virus Chronicles. Konkoly lives in central Indiana with his family. For more information, visit www.stevenkonkoly.com.