K9 Blue: Ground Zero by Matt McCredie (VBB, excerpt and GIVEAWAY) GFT

K9 Blue: Ground Zero

by Matt McCredie

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BLURB:

Police dog handler Mike Winters and his furry partner Falcon love a good chase. They'll do anything to protect the streets of Sydney, whether it's tracking a murderer through the woods or breaking up a bar brawl. To them, it's all fun and games until the bad guy gets hurt. And then it's just fun.

Lately though, it seems that violent incidents are on the rise. When Mike and Falcon's beloved commander is killed in action, Mike is determined to bring the perpetrators to justice, but he has no idea just how deep this malevolent plot runs.

A terrorist organisation has devised a plan to attack the city from all sides, and they have taken over a refuelling ship in Sydney Harbour. Mike and Falcon must use all of their wit and courage to battle the killers, expose police corruption, and, if they're lucky, save a city from obliteration.

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EXCERPT

Mike looked down at Falcon, who was totally focused on the menacing figure in front of him. He knew then that there was only going to be one way to take this lunatic in: violently. He drew his .40-calibre Glock pistol, the curved rough grip of the handle fitting his hand comfortably, giving him confidence. Fifteen police rounds and a police dog versus a psycho and his knife. Mike liked his chances, but did not underestimate the ability of the man in front of him. He switched off the torch as he switched on the light source attached to the base of his pistol. Still enough to light up his target, but not quite enough to keep blinding him. There was no way he could wait for backup, as he had lost radio communications and didn’t know how many other coppers, if any, were following him in. He and Falcon were going to have to handle the situation alone. He couldn’t risk letting this criminal escape.

Falcon started to go berserk again, straining as they moved forward to take his target on. The dog didn’t know what this guy had done and he didn’t know how dangerous he really was. He just knew that he was going to take him down with his dad like they had done so many times before.

Mike and Falcon edged in closer. ‘DROP THE WEAPON. GET ON THE GROUND!’

At three metres, the phantom moved. He passed the glinting knife back and forth between his hands in an attempt to keep the pig and his dog guessing. Bending forward, he moved in a wide circle, daring the two of them to come in closer to where he could drive.

his blade through their flesh. Gutting them would be a pleasure. Unfortunately for him, though, his eyes were still trying to adjust from the torch’s intense light to the relative darkness supplied by the smaller light source. The loose branches and rocks strewn over the uneven surface of the clearing gave way beneath his boots, sending him down on one knee with the knife still firmly in his hand.

This was Mike’s chance. He didn’t hesitate for even half a second. Screaming his command for Falcon to attack, he released his aching grip from the straining harness. ‘GET HIM!’

Falcon shot forward with total focus and purpose. Flying through the air, he hit his target on the full and clamped his jaws down around the sinewy biceps of the murderer, who yelped when he saw a full white set of canines scream out of the darkness and straight into his arm. Mike’s command to attack wasn’t really necessary — Falcon knew what had to be done and he was doing it. The murderer was knocked completely off-balance, crashing to the ground. Mike quickly slammed his pistol back into its holster and grabbed hold of his large aluminium torch, all the while moving in to help out his mate. There was no hesitation; his partner had done the hard part, now it was Mike’s turn to earn his money. This psycho was still armed.

‘Good boy — give it to him, mate!’ The big cop came over the top of Falcon, who was still clamped down on the murderer’s arm and violently shaking his head back and forth, driving his canines further and further into the tearing flesh. The big dog growled as he pig-rooted his prey back towards the dark line of trees. Mike momentarily lost sight of the blade.

‘Shit, shit, shit. Where’s the knife?’ Mike swung the torch down as hard as he could on the murderer’s arm, just as he viciously hacked the blade out of the dark at Falcon’s snout. The torch smashed into the man’s forearm, shattering the bone with a brutal strike. It stopped the blade attack in its tracks and propelled the deadly steel onto the ground, clattering out of sight. Mike dropped the torch and drew his right fist high above his head.

‘Giddy up!’ he yelled.

His fist slammed straight down into the centre of the balaclava with a sickening thud that shattered bone and cartilage, spreading the man’s nose flat across his face. His head bounced off the unforgiving ground with a crack. Mike swore, rubbing his swelling knuckles in his left hand. The man went limp, his balaclava stained with the blood which poured from his broken nose. Falcon was still biting down hard and fighting, the punch spurring him on. He wouldn’t quit until he was told to. Triumphantly he dragged the unresisting carcass across the rocky ground. Mike located the blade and bagged it, and then yelled his command to Falcon, who reluctantly let go. He trotted back to Mike’s side, but never once took his eyes off the prized catch. Mike gave his dog a well-deserved pat on his head.

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NOTE: The book is only $0.99.

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AUTHOR Bio and Links:

Matt McCredie joined the New South Wales Police Force in 1992 working in Uniform and plain clothes before being accepted into the elite NSW Police Dog Squad where he spent 13 years as a dog handler. During his police service Matt was awarded two Commissioners Commendations for bravery.  He has published two non fiction titles, Blue Paws (2009) and The Real Inspector Rex (2013). Matt is an accomplished public and corporate speaker and lives in Sydney with his wife and two children.

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