Browning M2 .50 caliber gunner Eddie Hawkins enjoys his work, and he is good at it. His other passion is first-person shooters. Stationed in Afghanistan, Eddie has a reputation for his deadly skills with the heavy machine gun, after an initial shaky start. Life is good for Pfc Hawkins, until the night the Taliban arrive at Bagram.

Eddie recognized a hostile when he sees one, and he does not hesitate to open fire on a vehicle inside the Bagram perimeter fence. Yet the vehicle escapes, and the Afghan’s stationed at Bagram insist he shot at one of theirs. His punishment is seven nights sentry duty, and he begins on a bitter night, with snow lying thick on the ground. His biggest enemy is the cold, until he sees an Afghan military convoy approaching the gates. Could this be another enemy? If he shoots, Bagram will become engulfed in gunfire and flames, and if he is wrong, innocent men will die.

He has a decision to make, and the result is...explosive. The start of a long, hard fight against an enemy wearing the uniforms of American allies and carrying bitter hatred inside their black hearts.

Hawkins’ Heroes: The Enemy Within is the fifth short novel in the Hawkins’ Heroes series. A collaboration between Todd McCleod and Eric Meyer, the best-selling author of more than 50 war novels.