Equipment by Hesse Caplinger

In 2005, an itinerant hit man finds himself out of his depth when a CIA operative's casual error draws an array of significant forces to a sedate Midwestern city: all are formidable, some are irresistible. Charles Foster, PhD, is a CIA agent pulled from slick East Asia duties to 'cool' in the lecture halls of a prestigious Midwestern university. When he's tasked by a high-level figure to craft an unusual and difficult bit of computer code, he finds himself battling disruptive habits and personal failings in a bid to stick to the script. Marek Hussar is dark, compact, and well financed. He's an operator with a hint of accent, a shiny car, a cache of weapons, and the philosophical detachment of a man with nothing left to win; and for Charles Foster and the other pertinent players, his appearance is a potentially bad omen.