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      NAKED AMBITION

      by

      Dan Roberts

      This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, organizations, places, events and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used in a fictional context. Any resemblance to actual persons (living or dead), events or locales is entirely coincidental.

      Copyright 2013 by Dan Roberts

      All right reserved. Published in the United States by DanzPress.

      Published in eBook format by eBookIt.com

       http://www.eBookIt.com

      ISBN-13: 978-1-4566-1730-1

      No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means including information storage and retrieval systems, without permission in writing from the author. The only exception is by a reviewer, who may quote short excerpts in a review.

      For additional information about the Nick Blick mystery series go to: www.nickblick.com

      DEDICATION AND APPRECIATION

      This book is dedicated to Hunter, a young man who inspired the character of Nick Blick and the story of Naked Ambition. To him I say thank you for your friendship throughout the years, especially for the support you showed to me during that very difficult, dark period of my life: those months of my wife’s illness and after her death. To know you and your heart is a privilege.

      I also wish to acknowledge and thank a group of young volleyball players—a truly unique tribe—who were the inspiration for Team Toka-Tonga. These young people have exhibited not only a love for the game of volleyball but have also shown, through genuine acts of kindness, a deep and abiding affection for each other. In addition, they have vicariously shown me just how much fun life can be. Thank you for allowing me, an older, non-volleyball player, to connect with you.

      This book would not have been a success without the help of several friends who put both time and effort into supporting me through their reading of the book and then giving me helpful feedback. A heartfelt thank you goes to: Donna, Hanna, Jackye, Merritt and Tom.

      A very special thank you goes out to my editor, Fay, who worked willingly and tirelessly to make Naked Ambition the best it could be. Fay, you have helped me more than you will ever know.

      Lastly, I want to thank my 101-year-old mother, Norma, who, week after week, listened to me read parts of each chapter as I completed them. She has proven to be my number one fan. To her, this is the best book I’ve ever written. (I have to keep reminding her that this is the only book I have written.)

      FOREWORD

      THE FOLLOWING IS A STORY. SIMPLY A STORY. While some of the content is rooted in truth—real people, real places and real events—I have changed names, venues and dates for the purpose of protecting individual identities. As with any fictionalized writing that has some basis in truth there may be questions regarding the level of authenticity or accuracy of content. As the writer, I purposely leave the demarcation between what is factual and what is not up to the reader. My sole intent is to tell an interesting, hopefully exciting, story. My wish is that you will find the following an enjoyable—even fun— read.

      Dan

      MAIN CHARACTERS

      NICK BLICK – The 20-year-old volleyball player and soon-to-be freshman at Eastern State University becomes innocently entangled in a web of murder and intrigue.

      TOM DAVIS – FBI agent Davis is on vacation, spending a few weeks at his family home in rural Berks County, Pennsylvania, when he is called upon to help solve a local murder case.

      CHEN XONG WU – A well-educated, wealthy, globe-hopping native of Hong Kong, Chen is on track in retrieving classified information concerning the U.S. Navy’s newest missile guidance system: ArrowStar.

      SUPPORTING CAST OF CHARACTERS

      (IN ALPHABETICAL ORDER)

      GEORGE BAKER – An engineer at M/X Technologies and father of Zach. Being one of the key people in developing the ArrowStar missile guidance system, George Baker is involved with the final approval phase by the U.S. Navy. A widower, George is close to his son, Zach, therefore, he listens intently to his son’s suspicion of a volleyball coach's inappropriate interactions with a teenage boy. Worried for several reasons, one being that the coach is George's boss, Baker follows Zach's advice and hires Zach's friend, Nick, to investigate the activities of the coach.

      ZACH BAKER – A volleyball player and best friend of Nick. Zach is a volunteer coach at the M/X Tech-sponsored volleyball summer camp. Through his observations of Coach Herb Clarkson, he becomes suspicious of the coach’s behaviors toward one of the boys at the camp and suggests to his father that his friend, Nick, be brought onto the camp’s staff to “snoop around."

      HERB CLARKSON – One of two vice-presidents at M/X Technologies and the organizer of the M/X-sponsored volleyball camp. A man with a brilliant mind, Clarkson is well respected among his colleagues and is in line to become the next president of M/X Technologies. He is also the person behind the M/X sponsored volleyball camp. It is there that he is suspected of inappropriate interaction with one of the boys attending the camp. He is also the target of rumors that have been started by one of the M/X employees.

      KAREN FISHER (SITZOWSKI) – Head of the Records Department at M/X Technologies and mother to Max. Karen loves men, especially their bank accounts. Known to some of the M/X employees for her affairs with married men, she has been labeled “The Wrecker From Records.” Karen is now married to her third husband, Phil Sitzowski, vice president of M/X Technologies. A strong-willed and highly opinionated woman, she uses her influence—and her bravado—to get what she wants in life.

      MAX FISHER – Son of Karen and a volunteer coach of the M/X-sponsored volleyball camp for teenage boys. Max, a senior at Penn State University, is on the school's varsity volleyball team. Volunteering as an assistant coach at the volleyball camp, he becomes friendly with Nick and his friend, Zach Baker. Although he looks every bit the young man that could take on the world, Max becomes submissive when with his mother and, thus, easily becomes compliant to her wishes.

      JOE LARSON – Special agent with the Naval Criminal Investigative Service. Joe, a friend of FBI Special Agent Tom Davis, is a skilled investigator with a photographic memory, one that allows him to mentally retrieve details on the spur of the moment. As able as he is in his work, Joe is much less so in his personal life. A womanizing, fouled-mouthed, heavy drinker, Joe is, according to Davis, “his own worst enemy."

      STEVE MASON – Retired founder of M/X Technologies and uncle of Tom Davis. Although retired, and therefore not involved in the day-to-day affairs of the company he founded, Steve is aware that M/X is not doing well and is worried about its future. With that in mind, he takes steps to correct the company’s downward slide, including asking his vacationing nephew to help investigate the murder of an M/X Tech employee.

      MIKE WILCOX – A marketing specialist at M/X Technologies and son of the present president of M/X. Mike is a good friend of Tom Davis, a relationship that goes back to when both of them were teenage boys working summers at M/X. In his role of marketing specialist, Mike is a key person at M/X since he is the one who makes contacts with present and future customers and is the one that, hopefully, closes on sales of M/X projects and programs. Mike is doing all he can to improve the income of M/X and, at the same time, accomplish a personal goal—to eventually be sitting in the president’s seat one day.

      Ambition is the passion of a great character. Those endowed with it may perform very good or very bad acts. All depends

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