When the Tower Went Dark

The sky above Hargrove Regional belongs to Jake Mercer. He controls it, sequences it, owns every aircraft in his picture. Eleven years behind the scope have taught him that the airspace is predictable - manageable - his.

Then a drone appears above the northwest tree line at 7:48 on a Tuesday morning and nothing is predictable anymore.

Over twelve relentless hours, one controller and one tower will draw in Metro police, the FAA chain of command, the FBI, DHS, and military assets - and still the drones will hold their positions, patient and precise, running a playbook no one in the room can fully read. Until Jake does.

Then the runway lights go dark. And a synthetic voice speaks directly into his frequency.

You have seen what is possible. Consider what comes next.

Part aviation procedural, part national security thriller, When the Tower Went Dark is a relentlessly grounded story about the people who watch the sky - and what happens when something in that sky watches back.

Written by a 28-year Federal Aviation Administration veteran.

Book One of the Black Sky Protocol Series.