The Red Cell by André Gallo (the top 100 crime novels of all time TXT) 📕

Church is modeled on my wife Cathy, who traveled with me all over the world raising our family under often dicey circumstances and playing an integral role in my career. Thérèse LaFont, who was first a division chief and then the chief of the National Clandestine Service in the previous two books, is modeled on our daughter Thérèse, who has hands-on experience in counterterrorism and has won several awards from the National Counter Terrorist Center. Elise Von Widmer is modeled after our second daughter Elise who, like her fictional counterpart, is in the art world. Monty Rogers was one of my best friends and a CIA colleague who became one of the leaders of the Directorate of Operations. John Callahan is my brother-in-law, one of the most generous people I know. Robert Holm, is a patriot with Marine Corps Vietnam credentials. Al Costantini, a World War II Army veteran and a charismatic “fast tracker” in all of his endeavors, was a first generation American; this country would have been a better place had he chosen to go into politics.

Iran’s Quds Force is the very real combination of the KGB’s SMERSH, the Soviet assassination unit made famous in the James Bond novels, of the West’s special operations forces, and of the CIA’s covert action capabilities. Its tentacles extend not only to the Middle East but to South America as well, where its operatives have become significant players in the illegal drug trade.

The security measures guarding the Golden Gate Bridge described in the book are totally fictional. I made a point to remain uninformed about the real capabilities and procedures in order to not do homework for potential terrorists. The last scene in Chapter 47 is modeled on the United Flight 93 passengers’ revolt on September 11, 2001. Citizens’ concerns and actions will always be the most effective protection against terrorism.

The Skylark 1 and Skylark 2 are mini UAVs in use by our military. The Skylark 3 is my invention. The Iraq War triggered a ratcheting up of IED and counter-IED technology reflected in the story’s climax.

Marshall’s illness, ALS (Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis), is little-known but terminal, and is also called Lou Gehrig’s disease. Although it was identified in the 19th century in France, its cause and its cure remain unknown. Unlike AIDS, which was killing millions and included celebrities among its victims, ALS at present lacks the political interest or momentum to support the necessary research to find a cure.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

I owe thanks to the many people who made this book possible; first to the medical community. My quality of life would have decreased much faster without the monitoring by the ALS clinics at San Francisco’s Forbes Norris, headed by Dr. Katz, at UCSF, headed by Dr. Lomen-Hearth, and at UC Davis, headed by Dr. Oskarsson.

The Veterans Administration is funded by the Congress to support ALS veterans, and I have been on the receiving end of equipment without which I would have been bedbound and without the dictating program that helped me bring this book to life. The medical staffs at Fort Mather and at the Palo Alto Veterans’ Hospital have also been instrumental in this process, particularly Dr. Flavin. Michaela Bennett, my primary caregiver for more than a year, has been a mainstay of my existence almost from the time I was unable to walk. Another VA benefit has been Mark Lynch, my computermeister.

Yolo Hospice has been monitoring my decline impatiently, and Kim Bell has been my other caregiver for several months. The book could not have been written without the generous, and volunteer, assistance from Judy Ortiz.

Phil Berardelli, publisher of Mountain Lake Press and D Street Books, generously gave of his time and writing expertise, while Jordan Rosenfeld gave the manuscript her usual thorough critique.

My family, especially our two daughters Thérèse and Elise, and our two grandchildren Brittany and Preston, have been continuously supportive.

Another source of support has come from a remarkably accomplished group, my CIA classmates. Tom Twetten wrote the Foreword, giving me more credit than I can claim. I was too young to “play tricks” on the Nazis during the war. However, the German occupation of France taught me skills and motivation that helped me in my CIA career. Dick Holm, who also began his career running guerrillas in Laos and who wrote his own book, The Craft We Chose, made useful suggestions to my story.

I owe my biggest thanks to my parents. We immigrated to the United States in 1949 literally without a penny. Yet, somehow, my father worked as a chef in various French restaurants in the New York area, and my mother was a factory worker. They were able to send me to a not-inexpensive university, Lehigh, in 1955.

I was in Brittany during the Normandy invasion of 1944 and exchanged eggs and fresh fruits for cigarettes and Spam with the GIs of Patton’s Third Army, as they pursued German troops toward the coast. But those American soldiers gave me much more: the opportunity for a life in the United States. Millions of us owe our thanks to them.

Finally, the fact that I was able to stay at home for these past several years, as opposed to being in a hospital, is because my wife Cathy has been my primary caregiver. She has been the life support that allowed me to write this book.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

During his length career with the Central Intelligence Agency, André Le Gallo—who passed away in 2017—weathered several coups, a war, and a revolution, working across three continents. He served in operations that ranged from the sensitive to the extremely dangerous, holding senior positions and engaging frequently in some of the most challenging actions to protect his country from its enemies. Le Gallo’s novels—The Caliphate, Satan’s Spy, and The Red Cell—reflect the extensive knowledge he gained from those experiences, enabling him to produce a suspense trilogy of unparalleled detail.