Viral — Richard C. Hale

Jacksonville is under attack.A maniac has bombed the airport and warns he'll visit even more destruction on this Southern metropolis of nearly two million souls.But the butcher bizarrely makes no demands, threatens no ransom, and meticulously conceals his identity behind a series of online personas and remote hideouts.The police have no idea who he is, what he wants, or how to stop him.And as the bombings continue, the city panics.But the killer will talk to the police through an intermediary. One person in particular who's caught his eye: Melinda Frazier, a twenty-two-year-old clerk who works for the sheriff one county over. Melinda, who hopes to wear the badge herself one day, has no idea why this mass murderer has targeted her, but along with the rest of the city she hopes and prays both his endless harassment and bloody rampage will stop.Detective Jaxon Jennings is hell bent and determined to stop the bloodshed himself if he has to.As the killer grows more brazen, openly taunting the authorities, Jaxon and his partner, Ray Maningham, race alongside the FBI, the ATF, and anyone else with a badge and a gun to protect Melinda, crack the madman's identity, and prevent any more carnage.The psychopath warns that time is running out, however, and Jaxon and his colleagues worry his spree of violence will crescendo in a slaughter that could make 9/11 look like a dress rehearsal.