Book excerpt: This extraordinary new adventure novel introduces a new hero, Alex Foxx. The thriller, the first in a series, will blow the lid off of long-rumored government coverups and promises to be the most surprising book of the year. Watch for the planned blockbuster movie to follow. Young Alex finds a small black box sealed with a combination lock in his mother's hope chest. The box belonged to his father, who mysteriously disappeared years earlier, and his mother tells him he must never go near it again, because the consequences could be deadly.Years later, Alex becomes a special undercover agent for the Department of Defense, traveling the world on secret assignments. During several of these operations, Alex comes face to face with almost-certain death, but through a combination of intelligence, fearlessness and recklessness, he manages to escape and successful complete the missions.When the mystery of the black box resurfaces, Alex undertakes his own secret mission to locate the box and discover its contents, which will prove shocking to the world.