Chapter 1

It was Saturday, mid-March, in Denver, Colorado, a clear day with warming sun and a temperature in the mid-sixties. Tomorrow, winter and snow were again in the forecast, but today was a day to enjoy. Alex Donner was relaxing on a bench at the playground, face in the sun and an eye on his grandson Michael (which, of course, nobody called him). The youngster was full of energy, like all the kids, running around the many slides and climbing contraptions, around and around, up and down, never slowing or stopping.

Mike was dressed in a pair of bright red sweatpants, easy to spot among the kids. Alex had come down from Breckenridge to spend the weekend with his daughter Mary and his grandson, who was five years old, tall for his age, and already in preschool. Mary’s husband, Frank, had just left on a two-week business trip to Europe.

Alex’s weekend visits had become a little tradition, partly to spend time with his family, partly to escape the ski area with its unbearable weekend crowds. His two daughters, their husbands, and their children were the family he had after he lost his wife in a car accident eight years ago. He had come to enjoy his independence and after retirement had relocated to his favorite mountain town.

Time in retirement exceeded Alex’s expectations by a long shot. He finally had time for his interests, which had been suppressed over many years in an interesting but time-consuming career as an international security specialist, initially in cybersecurity for government and financial institutions and later spilling over into personal and property security for high-net-worth individuals.

And now, all his concerns were how to dress in the morning to pursue his interests—golf, biking, and hiking in the summer, downhill and cross-country skiing in the winter, and then the occasional sailing escapades with old buddies in different parts of the world. And on top of it all, he finally had time for his family with a growing number of grandchildren.

The sharp sound of gunshots popped his daydream and had people screaming and running in all directions, trying to find their kids and shelter. Alex jumped up, looking for Mike. After a few seconds, he got the shock of his life. Two bright red, kicking legs were sticking out from under the arms of a man walking very quickly away from the playground. Before his brain had time to react, Alex was running like a maniac, oblivious to anything and anybody in his way. He was closing in, but still some distance away, when he saw a car parked on the grass. The rear door was swung open by somebody inside.

The man was ready to dive in. There, it looked like something went wrong. The man’s attempt to quickly get inside was slowed down, maybe by Mike’s kicking. Instead of getting in after the kid, he stood up, ready to close the door from the outside.

That’s when Alex took the last step before reaching his target. He was thirty years past his prime but stayed in good shape. It was a six-foot, two-hundred-pound body slamming into the unprepared man. Right knee in the soft middle, left elbow hitting the head. The man’s head got wedged between the door and the B-pillar, his body slumped. Alex had Mike out in a couple of seconds.

A woman in the driver’s seat was screaming something about abandoned children. She was in a police uniform. Her attempt to open the door was not successful. She would have to break the man’s neck to get out or crawl over