Читать книгу Fleeing the Past - Christopher LaGrone - Страница 3

The DELTA TANGO TRILOGY by Christopher LaGrone follows Layne Sheppard from the day he applies to join the U.S. Border Patrol through the rigors of the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center (known as the Border Patrol Academy) and his alternating exhilaration, anxiety, and drudgery as a field trainee, to the often harrowing moments of shift work on the U.S.-Mexico border. Along the way he deals with his own insecurities, a serious drinking problem, the internal politics of Douglas Station in extreme southeast Arizona (where he’s assigned) and, for him, the unimaginable: Falling in love with a beautiful girl who was brought over the border as an infant—one of those illegals known as a Dreamer. Through Layne’s experiences, life in the U.S. Border Patrol comes alive in ways few Americans can even imagine.

In Book One—Fleeing the Past—Layne strives to prove, to himself and others, that his failures of the past are in the past. As he seeks self-respect and self-confidence, he endures the boot camp-like ordeal of the Border Patrol Academy in sweltering New Mexico—punishing long-distance runs and debilitating hand-to-hand combat. During precious free time he meets Felina Camarena Rivera. Both keep personal secrets and pursue plans for escaping them—plans they also keep to themselves, even as their attraction for each other deepens.

In Book Two—Felina’s Spell—Layne struggles to overcome the politics of the BP’s Douglas Station and advance from trainee to regular agent status—to succeed. As he rides with seasoned veterans, Layne gets a first-hand look at the challenges border agents face on a daily and nightly basis and learns realities that agents either accept begrudgingly or surrender to. Felina’s clever plan to become Layne’s wife seems headed for success, despite Layne’s serious drinking problem, when Felina’s brother is charged with DUI and deported.

In Book Three—Moments of Truth—Layne realizes the inevitable loneliness and fear of patrolling the border without a partner, and pressure from management mounts. While experiencing many “agent adventures,” he faces several moments of truth, both personal and professional, among them dealing with secrets Felina has held. She, too, must come to grips with tough choices; can she rely on Layne? They undertake an audacious gamble, and their futures, individually and together, hang in the balance.