The Recall

Once deferred by the intelligence community, Anthony O'Malley built a successful civilian life-until a call from a number that doesn't exist pulls him back into a world he thought had passed him by.

Recalled as a human contingency in an intelligence system increasingly driven by algorithms, O'Malley is sent to evaluate a seemingly routine municipal irregularity in St. Louis. Minor pressure drops. Subtle chemical adjustments. A public explanation ready before anyone asks the right questions.

What begins as an evaluation becomes something far more controlled: a live test of judgment under uncertainty. Every decision observed. Every pause measured. Every instinct weighed.

As O'Malley navigates a landscape where infrastructure is leverage, silence is currency, and visibility is a weapon, he discovers the real threat isn't destruction-it's influence.

The Recall is the first novel in The X Protocol series, a grounded, intelligent spy thriller about second chances, unseen power, and why the most dangerous assets are often the ones no one is watching.