Al Billings

Sheepdogs Al Billings

Publisher Marketing: SHEEPDOGS What if your 17 year old Granddaughter had just graduated from high school and she was kidnapped. You begged for help form the authorities and they gave nothing but excuses. What would you do? Noted for tourism and a booming economy, the once-prosperous and carefree border town welcomed visitors for cheap beer, loud music and good food. Yet Nuevo Laredo exists today as a security nightmare, home to heartbreaking drug violence and lost lives. "Silver or Lead" is the new code in Mexico: Pay up or die. The killings began at a rate of about two a week, but the pace over the last decade has increased to something closer to two per day. Dozens, if not hundreds, of people have been kidnapped, many tortured or killed outright. Bodies disappear into vats of acid or improvised incinerators. Frustrated at every turn by political posturing of bureaucrats, both in Washington, D. C. and in Mexico, Jerrod and his friend trace the hostages' location. The hardened veteran drafts his wartime brothers to execute his plan; they must not only rescue the teens, but also minimize their own profiles. The mission is unauthorized by any government, and one mistake could result in prison, or death. Beaten and almost killed as he tries to find the girls, Jerrod has to decide if the mission is worth the lives of his friends. They were once soldiers, young men with high ideals that were stripped raw by the horrors of war. Will they be willing to risk everything again? As the rescue unfolds, Jerrod discovers that government agents have been playing both sides, reaping substantial profit from the drug trade they supposedly battle. Jerrod is unwillingly pulled further into the nightmare. Will he be able to expose the corrupt agents before it is too late?