HE SAVES FOUR LIVES—AND LOSES HIS BOAT, HIS FREEDOM AND HIS NAME.
Coast Guard Chief Petty Officer Johnny Trescott has spent two months hunting Georges Coquelin, a ruthless drug smuggler moving contraband into the United States through the Gulf of Mexico. At last, Johnny is closing in.
Then an SOS cuts through the storm.
A New Orleans-bound transport plane is sinking in heavy seas. Johnny has a duty to answer—and turns Coast Guard Patrol Boat CG-1004 away from the chase. Fighting hurricane-force wind and waves, he reaches the wreck in time to pull four survivors from the water, including wealthy businessman James Ferguson and airline hostess Alicia Reynolds.
But Coquelin has heard the distress call too.
The pirate sees something more valuable than a rescue: Ferguson can be held for ransom. With Johnny's engines damaged by the desperate run through the storm, Coquelin attacks, captures the patrol boat and takes everyone aboard prisoner.
Then he steals more than the boat.
Using CG-1004, Coast Guard uniforms and Johnny's identity, Coquelin begins raiding and looting ships across the Gulf. Three months later, the real Johnny Trescott is believed to be a pirate and murderer. Even if he escapes the island where he and his crew are being held, the Coast Guard itself may arrest him.
To clear his name, Johnny has to escape, reclaim his patrol boat and bring down the pirate who has turned his own badge against him. With Alicia and his crew beside him, he faces gunfights, hand-to-hand combat, high-seas piracy and a final reckoning with the drug runner he was supposed to capture in the first place.
The Phantom Patrol is a fast-moving Coast Guard adventure in which rescue duty becomes a fight for identity, reputation and survival. Set in the 1930s Gulf of Mexico, it combines military fiction with sea adventure, pirates, drug smugglers and maritime action.
“The story moves briskly and maximizes the scenes of gunplay and hand-to-hand combat. Hubbard knew how to fulfill reader expectations for this sort of tale.” —Publishers Weekly
Drawing on his own military service and firsthand familiarity with military life, L. Ron Hubbard crafted stories of duty, courage, leadership and sacrifice when men are tested under fire.
Part of the L. Ron Hubbard Military & War Collection—14 books featuring 25 classic stories—available in paperback, eBook and full-cast dramatized audiobook. If you enjoy the classic adventures of Alistair MacLean and W. E. B. Griffin, discover another master storyteller of military adventures.
Enjoy both the book and the audiobook. Also available as a professionally produced, full-cast dramatized audiobook.