An Interview with James M. Jackson by E. B. Davis

 

Two years undercover. One phone call. Zero margin for error.

FBI Agent Ashley Prescott has spent two years undercover as Niki Foster, earning the trust of Patriots for Freedom—an extremist militia. As the Bureau’s only window into the group—and their Chinese linguist and arms go-between—she’s the only one who can stop an imminent weapons sale and their plot to tear America apart with targeted assassinations.

Then her estranged billionaire father vanishes after leaking classified intel—details that threaten to expose her and could only have come from inside the FBI.

HQ plans to shut down her op, claiming she blew her cover. Ashley knows what that means: the Bureau will nab a few small fry and proclaim victory, while the militia leaders disappear, the arms shipment remains a threat, and the traitor wrecks other lives.

Racing between Minnesota to track down her father and D.C. to maintain her cover, she has ten days to stop the plot and expose the FBI leaker. With ex-SEALs closing in and her own agency against her, going rogue is her only shot at saving the country—and her own survival.

When the system turns against you, justice becomes a one-woman war.

Amazon.com

 

If you’ve read James M. Jackson’s Seamus McCree mystery series, you know that he doesn’t write simplistic, sentimental books. Niki Undercover, the first book in his new Niki thriller series, exemplifies his complex plots, fast pace, and deep characterization. Set over the course of two weeks, I didn’t always know where the plot would lead. But I always knew each character because they were distinctly drawn.

 

Most people have complex family situations, but I doubt anyone has the family issues that FBI Special Agent Ashley Prescott has—and those issues interfere with her job. Being undercover, that interference could mean her death. But then, someone doesn’t care all that much about her life. She calls her father Robert because she never considered him a dad. One phone call and Ashley’s life is turned upside down, which means she might not be undercover anymore.

 

Niki Undercover is available on Kindle Unlimited.

 

Please welcome WWK’er James M. Jackson!   E. B. Davis 

 

Niki was a supporting character in the Seamus McCree series. How long have you known that you wanted Niki to become the primary character in another series?

 

Niki appeared in Cabin Fever (Seamus McCree #3) when she worked her first undercover assignment. That was 2010. She had a cameo appearance in the novella “Low Tide at Tybee,” and then appeared with Seamus in the short story “Power of Attorney,” which takes place in 2019. (All my stories occur in “real time.”)

 

That’s when Niki began advocating for her own stories. I started writing Niki Undercover, but in between drafts, I completed Granite Oath (Seamus McCree #7) and Hijacked Legacy (Seamus McCree #8). She appears in both stories, which take place after the events in Niki Undercover.

 

“I don’t pretend to be Niki. I become Niki.” (Loc. 127) Although Niki is donning a new persona, she still is an FBI agent—just not herself. Has Ashley taken method acting classes?

 

Not formally, but she’s had acting coaches. FBI training for undercover operators includes lots of role-playing. Niki learned that the best undercover agents don’t role-play; they become the part. It’s one difference that makes her so successful (and keeps her alive).

 

What is a burr haircut? Is it like a buzz cut? Why does Ashley style her hair like that?

 

A burr haircut is a type of military-inspired haircut in which the hair is trimmed evenly all around to less
than an eighth of an inch. Ashley likes it for three reasons (1) it’s super easy to maintain, (2) it gives her a tough-guy vibe that helps her undercover assignment infiltrating militias, and (3) she can wear any wig over it to fit whatever role she is playing.

 

I assume an Accuracy International Arctic Warfare Magnum is some super sniper rifle. Are wind speed and direction really factors in marksmanship?

 

With a sniper rifle that has confirmed kills from over a mile distant, gravity and wind speed have a major effect on where the bullet strikes. Over a quarter mile (easy pickings for a sniper) the bullet drops about four feet. A 15mph perpendicular wind could push the bullet almost a foot. While not as big as gravity, not getting your adjustments correct means a miss, not a hit.

 

What contention does Ashley have with her colleague Special Agent Rick (spelled-with-a-silent-P)? He has family connections, doesn’t he? How did Rick know about Seamus? It seems that even though Ashley doesn’t like Rick, she does trust him. Why?

 

Ashley thinks Rick represents much of what she does not like about the FBI. His father was an FBI big-wig; and she thinks he is a misogynist, always making crude jokes. Rick used his connections to snoop in Niki’s personnel file, where he read the information about her first undercover assignment, when she ran into Seamus. Despite that, Rick is there when she needs him. Willing to admit she might have been wrong, she learns to trust him.

 

In an ambush, Malachi recognizes exSEALS, like himself, trying to kill Ashley. What is a “bone-frog” tattoo?

 

It’s a tattoo of a frog’s X-ray showing only the bones. I tried to find an image I could paste here without violating copyright and couldn’t find one. An internet search will get you lots of pictures.

Some of Malachi’s traits are laughable. After killing a man, Malachi refuses to let Ashley drive the rental car because she isn’t on the rental contract. And Robert made him the corporate conscience. Is he a contradiction or what?

 

Malachi was raised in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and has a strong moral core. Robert made him the corporate conscience because he refuses to lie. Ashley soon learns that’s not the same as always telling the truth. Malachi would consider the killing regrettable, but necessary. Cheating on a contract is lying. He does not find those to be contradictions.

 

Ashley is thrust into first professional testing, then a life-threatening ambush—the source of which she is unsure of—and then a complex family situation, which in turn becomes a corporate problem when Robert goes missing. How does Ashley react to becoming CEO of her father’s company, all the while being an FBI undercover agent?

 

Ever since she was a kid and watched the Twin Towers fall, she’s thought her mission in life was to protect her country. That’s why she fought off all Robert’s attempts to bring her into the family business and chose instead to join the FBI. To her, all this other stuff distracts from her life’s work. She’s angry to find herself in such a position and overwhelmed by the responsibilities, and wants to wring Robert’s neck for putting her in a position where she doesn’t feel in control.

 

I loved the little old busybody lady next door to Robert’s house. Does every neighborhood have one?

 

I hope so. They’re the heart and soul of neighborhood-watch committees—especially when they are a committee of only one.

Why did Robert call Ashley Socrates?

 

Robert (like George W. Bush) had nicknames for everyone. He called Ashley “Little Spitfire” because as a kid she was a bundle of unfocused energy. “Socrates” is what he called Tabitha because she is always asking intelligent questions.

 

Ashley becomes aware that there are big problems at Pendergast Holdings, such as bribing federal officials, environmentally unsafe products, and embezzlement. Is this why Ashley brings Seamus into Pendergast Holdings?

 

For years, Seamus led the financial crimes division of Criminal Investigations Group and is an expert forensic accountant. Plus, she has trust issues, and he’s one of the few people in the world she does fully trust.

 

What is a “dark terminal?” What is a TOR?

 

A dark terminal is a device that connects to the dark web—a portion of the internet that standard browser searches can’t find because they require passwords. Often those devices use software like TOR, “The Onion Router,” which is a network designed to provide users with anonymity and privacy while browsing the internet. The U.S. Navy developed it to encrypt messages and split them into pieces that each travel a different route before coming together at the end point. Bad actors often use it to access the dark net.

 

Did Seamus really use the word “sprong?”

 

Yup. The sentence, which refers to Niki is, “What I hear is a coiled spring wound so tight it’ll soon sprong.”

 

How does Ashley function without sleep, especially when she also has a few drinks, such as a Manhattan? In light of all of that, why does she have a no-caffeine resolution? Seems like she needs a lot of caffeine to me.

 

Ashley is younger than you and me, so she can get away with stuff we no longer can. Her aversion to caffeine has nothing to do with health or diet. Caffeine is a stimulant, and when in sniper mode, she cannot have any stimulants in her system. Alcohol in moderation doesn’t affect her shooting nerves.

 

Ashley doesn’t follow rules, which gets her into trouble with the FBI and Pendergast Holdings. Is this also her greatest asset?

 

Ashley’s blood boils whenever she hears “because that’s the way we’ve always done it” or “because those are the rules.” Ignoring what she considers stupid rules frequently gets her into organizational trouble. Yet her success at ignoring rules is a key factor in what has made her so successful as an undercover agent.

 

CFO Gabriella says that Ashley is a “change agent.” What’s that, and why is it important?

 

In business, change agents drive organizational change, which Pendergast Holdings needs in order to transition from being a family-run corporation. Ashley’s bulldozer approach to those who want to “do what we’ve always done” accelerates the pace of necessary change.

 

So, is Ashley a lone wolf or a team player?

 

At heart, she wants to be a team player. And she’s been a successful one, having helped win college softball championships. But outside that sports setting, she has not learned to trust others. She knows that’s a personal failing, but until she learns to overcome it under stress, she goes it alone.

 

What’s next for Ashley or will she also continue to be Niki? Will Seamus be a continuing character? Will Niki be a loose end for the Patriots for Freedom?

 

In Niki Unleashed (Niki Undercover Thriller #2), Ashley remains enmeshed in the family corporation while, as Niki, she must infiltrate an ecoterrorist organization that targets corporate executives—one of which could be Ashley.