The Resident Agent by David A. Charters - Became Personal Favorite in 2023

 

Semaskis Island, afternoon 

As planned, Carol was upstairs when Slim and his handler arrived. She didn’t see them but could hear them loud and clear through her earbuds, tuned to the Febreze recording device. Bud had placed it on a shelf in the living room when no one was looking. Slim’s voice was a slightly high-pitched wheeze. His handler, clearly the man who referred to himself as Karl, spoke tersely, with a heavy Eastern European accent. She could also hear Bud distinctly, chatting casually as he brought in the sandwiches, fruit, and drinks. Jon was near Karl but said little. Voices were muffled as they ate and made small talk. 

Carol glanced into her makeup bag; the two flashing lights indicated the recorder was catching everything: audio and video. Good. She dropped an extra pair of panties over it to make sure it remained hidden in case one of the goons came by to check on her. With that in mind, she had also transferred her pistol from the makeup bag to her purse, unzipped beside her on the couch. And if the goons decided to check, she could switch her earbuds instantly to a playlist:

 Michael Bublé, Jimmy Buffett, and Shania Twain. “So. Mr. Hayes, please lock the door when you leave,” Karl instructed. “Dr. Endell and I have business to discuss. Harrison, you stay here and run my video camera.” Endell. So that’s his name. Carol heard the door close and the lock click into place. Bud’s footsteps then faded into the kitchen. Osbert opened the discussion. “I promised something earthshaking. Shall I proceed?” “By all means,” Karl replied in a neutral tone. “As you may know, up to now the US has used its satellites only as collectors—for photos, missile detection, ELINT, SIGINT, et cetera. But that is about to change in a big way. ...

“But surely this is impossible!” Karl exclaimed. “One satellite alone would do all of this? For the whole world?” “Oh, no. There would be a constellation of them in geosynchronous orbit, covering the entire globe. And they can be slaved to each other. If the original primary is knocked out, any one of them can take over as primary. We—the US—would need only this one class of satellites, not the dozen or so different types we employ now. The cost savings—from construction to launch vehicles—will be immense. The US could probably cut its overhead reconnaissance budget in half, while gaining capacity it could only dream of a few years ago. Project High Diamond is the future of spying from space, and my company created it!” Holy crap! thought Carol. This is even bigger than we thought. 

Karl responded with as much enthusiasm as his voice allowed. “Thank you. This is obviously of interest to my people, since it has grave implications for our security. So we are grateful that you have brought it to our attention. It serves the interests of peace.” “For a price, of course,” Endell interjected hastily. “Remember?” “Of course, of course. We always honor such arrangements. The funds you requested are being transferred to a bank overseas as we speak. The deposit is inaccessible except by you.” “Good, good. And the girl?” 

“She is waiting for you upstairs. You will be thoroughly entertained, I am sure.” Not if I can help it, Carol thought. Karl spoke again. “But before pleasure comes business. I am impressed by your survey. But of course I am not an expert. Can you provide some additional technical detail on the record that would allow our scientists to test and verify the potential you describe?” “Certainly.” Osbert then launched into an extended monologue that Carol found too complex to follow. It started with AI and autonomous systems, then moved on to multispectral collection, quantum computing and nano-circuitry, self-correcting algorithmics, geomatics, and signal security. Along the way, he described equations and diagrams that he wrote on a flip chart. Carol took a quick look at the video recording as he spoke and got her first glimpse of Slim and Karl. 

She was stunned by Endell’s girth, but even more by the fact that he was speaking without any notes or documents—not even a laptop or tablet. Everything was coming out of his brain. Karl, by contrast, looked like a central casting Rambo wannabe. And from his facial expression and the few questions he posed, it was clear that Karl was well out of his comfort zone... 

~~~

Dare I hint at the climax when I am just beginning to talk about this book, which, in the end, became one of my favorite books... You see, it wasn't the climax, although it definitely was an exciting event, that, in the end, was what swayed my attention... Indeed, it was the rest of the book after that fantastic scene from which I found the real story... One that Carol had been asking about since they had first come together... again...

Weaving in and out of the past and present, readers will hear of the first meeting of the two main characters, Carol, who is now a FBI Special Agent, and a friend she had met very early in her life. He was a friend of her one-time male relationship that ended when she was raped... Bud had cared for Carol, even then, but after what happened, he couldn't bring himself to even contact her. 

Carol had come to care about him, mainly because her boyfriend would be doing something else and Carol would spend time...waiting for him... But it was decades before the time when a case--a murder case--brought the two together again. Bud had been put in as acting detective in the small town law office when a body had been found in nearby New Castle, Maine... When it was determined that the body had apparently been dropped from an airplane, it became an FBI matter... And the two worked the case separately and together.

I wanted to highlight the location because I noticed that the author had worked to enhance the locale through the language of the area's residents. Even though I'd never been there, I'm fairly certain that the writer had achieved the colloquial life in the state. It was fun and interesting to watch the changes, especially as the main character moved into the area.

Also, this book had a scene very similar to one of mine, and, which, I will be writing about next...

Carol Evans was on her way to what she considered was the next step forward in her career. Working in Boston. However, coincidentally, the resident agent for Portland Maine had died, and Carol, having once lived in the state, was being side-tracked (her word, not mine). She was not happy...

Until she realized that she still had feelings for Bud, with whom she would be working the case...

The individual who had been found murdered was a news blogger and he had been investigating how the land was being sold in the area. In fact, he even recorded what happened when he attempted to determine who bought a lone island off the coast of the state. One where he was met by arm guards... Of course, all of this was discovered during the investigation. An investigation whose scope was getting bigger and bigger as more people were identified... 

So…” The band had reassembled, lead guitarist Steve Somers picked out the melody, and their frontman, Vern Zwicker, started to croon Neil Diamond’s Play Me. Bud and Carol listened through the first verse before he said, “So, Special Agent Evans, would you care to dance?” She stood and took his hand. “Thought you’d never ask.” 

* * *

Great mystery, great dialogue, cool romance...and an emotional, memorable ending with a look at an American soldier, captured and tortured while in Afghanistan... Thank you David Charters for not stopping at the usual climatic ending... It was and is important for all of us to realize exactly what each soldier may be forced to endure as a result of working to save our Freedom--Our Democracy, like no other!

GABixlerReviews

Jack Smith Announces First Time Ever, President of United States Indicted 38 Counts, for Records Violations/Espionage - Robert Sells Provides Background - Glenda Bixler Illustrates Impact

 

The question every voter has to ask themselves is whether or not a person like Donald should be in the White House. To answer that question, just study the man.

Here is a recent post from his Truth Social soapbox: The Special “Prosecutor,” Jack Smith, who is harassing, threatening, and terrorizing people who work for me, probably illegally, and totally at odds with the way Crooked Joe Biden is being treated, will no longer be known as the Special “Prosecutor,” but rather, the Special “Persecutor.” He is a Trump Hating SLIMEBALL who is going far beyond the original instructions of the Department of Injustice. The Witch Hunt continues, as it always will, with the Radical Left, Country Destroying, Lunatics!

Okay, the most obvious defect Donald exhibits is his penchant for calling people and investigations derogatory names… pretty much like a nine-year old bully: “Crooked Joe Biden”, Jack Smith as a Special “Persecutor” and a “SLIMEBALL”, “Department of Injustice”, “Radical left, Country Destroying, Lunatics”. That is a plethora of names for just one paragraph! Now, name-calling was common fare for all of us… WHEN WE WERE NINE YEARS OLD! So, is this the sort of person you want in the White House?

Then there are the deliberate obfuscations. Donald claims that Jack Smith is “harassing, threatening, and terrorizing people”. Harassing? No. He is asking for testimony in an investigation. Threatening? Well, he may warn them that lies in such an investigation could land them in jail. Donald might be understandably upset that his subordinates can’t lie like he can. Threatening? Maybe Smith or his subordinates said… tell us everything because if we find out you’ve been holding back FROM TELLING THE TRUTH (!) we will investigate your actions. Threatening? No. Warning? Probably.

More inherent lies in his statement. “Crooked Joe Bident”? Not one bit of evidence to suggest that President Biden has committed any crime. Presently, Donald is wriggling in six criminal investigations. “Department of Injustice”. A lie. He coined that moniker only after investigations were launched into his wrong-doings. “Country Destroying Lunatics”? No. Despite what Donald claims the Democrats are not destroying America. Certainly, they are not Lunatics. So, is a pathological, totally unrepentant liar who you want in the White House?

Just study the man and ask yourself… do I want this sort of person in any position of power?

~~~

It was July 18, 1963, when I first was hired at West Virginia University, in the Personnel Office. I was to be secretary to the Assistant Director, as well as Records Clerk. It is to the latter responsibility I wish to discuss.

Can you imagine, as we formally learn of how the former president has purposely retained and stored without security, just what I could have done in the position of Records Clerk?

As Records Clerk, I worked with each new employee to sign up for benefits, and created the forms to get them on the payroll. But I was also responsible for creating and maintaining the individual's personnel file. This included the application for the new employee, references, test scores, if required, and the specific position and salary they would be paid. I also received a complete listing of all employees and routinely updated it based upon appointments and terminations.

When budgets were being developed for the University's classified employees, I also worked with budget proposals which would be used to submit requests for funding, based upon various percentages that could be used, if funded at that level.

I remember that once, in leaving work, I mentioned to my Mother, who also worked on campus, what I was working on... She asked a little about the process, but we both knew that I would not share specifics! No, not even with my Mother!

So, here's a few scenarios that I could have played if I chose to disregard the need for secrecy of employee records:

• I could have shared test results of clerical staff. For instance, I knew what my test scores were and I was also in Staff Council. It would have been very easy for me to look up test scores in a given category, say secretary or clerk and point out the difference in testing scores as it related to jobs held...
• Or I could have read the references for individual employees and talked about them with my friends...
• I could have shared and/or compared individual employee salaries, including those who had been on campus a lengthy time, and shared that information...
• I could have pointed out during Staff Council meetings that I had such information available and I could provide...for a small cost...
• I could have shared, in advance to the official announcement, exactly what percentage increase (or none) would be given each year. This could be helpful to employees in planning for their future.
• I could have shared personal data for any employee, to be used by those who "used" that information to cause problems, such as stealing an Identity...

I've written this scenario of just one person's set of available information, to help each of you understand exactly what was possible with the retention of secret, classified, and top secret types of information. 

It has already been announced that some documents related to the United States plans of action for handling possible attacks from outside the nation. This is illustrative of the level of danger that could occur. For example, imagine if this information was given or sold to the North Koreans who, you will remember, was constantly talking about how close they were to being able to hit the North American continent. Imagine if just one document, showing how we would prepare for attack, would automatically make it possible for another country to choose exactly where they would attack for the most impact!

Read the Indictment!

You can download the complete legal announcement from various sites. I found the NY Times was the easiest for downloading a pdf file. (If you don't know about pdf, you can download the program free... Normally, all government documents use the PDF format.

C is for Caveat Emptor. Caveat emptor is Latin for “Let the buyer beware.” So, to the people who bought Donald Trump the presidency—yes, I’m talking to you, Vladimir and Fox & Friends—don’t be surprised that it’s defective. It’s your fault. Caveat emptor. You should have seen it coming. --Joy Behar from The Great Gasbag

It was in the Early 1960s that Records and Book Security Became Part of My Life... Looking at Today's Disregard of National Security by Former US President

 

For whatever reason, I was hired into positions, from the very first, of dealing with secure and confidential issues for a major land-grant university. My first job was to handle the employee records, which included, the introduction of all benefits and financial matters that needed to be addressed upon employment. 

All of those important employment documents were immediately delivered by me to the Payroll Office, to ensure that each employee would begin to be paid...

Of course, I appreciated the element of trust that was placed upon my first position, and, later, as I gained more and more access to what are considered confidential, highly secured records. For instance, I was involved in creating options for annual pay raises to be explored by central administrators. As you probably can guess, that was a bit of information that would be important to all employees if they could gain awareness of the amount, or that there would be no increases...which did happen from time to time. By that time, my mother was also employed on campus and she and I specifically talked about my involvement and inability to discuss such matters...

Later, I received budgetary responsibility for repairs and renovations for general-purpose classrooms across the campus, and ensuring funds were requested and used... and later, managing the creation and maintenance of the complete facilities inventory, including land, buildings and individuals rooms information to provide for basic information for budgetary planning for federal reporting, senior administration fiscal planning, as well as day-to-day use of each and every space available and allocated to deans and directors of university activities...

Taking on the, first, audit of the university's capital budget, which showed a deficit of over $1M was due to the university by the Board of Regents, and then creating a project budget management process to ensure budgeting and management of a multi-million dollar capital budget and that no further financial errors could occur, was what moved me into the position of Associate Director for facilities planning and management, as well as overall continuation of all previous duties...

It is the last major project that I want to spotlight. I directed the creation, data gathering from physical plant employees, and the data base upon which a multi-million deferred maintenance budgetary assessment need was created. It including a comprehensive submission report which was used by the director of physical plant to make a major budget request for an ongoing deferred maintenance budget allocation. Unfortunately, it was not accepted by that administration. Seeing the political climate that had evolved there, I decided to retire, since I had sufficient years of employment to do so. It is sad to note, that the reason that major repairs would again be postponed was in order to build a new building, which would be much more "showy..." for the officials at that time. Yes, power seekers can be found at every level in every institution.

At that time, there was nobody in higher management involved in anything I did... Yet I did it.  The report, I presented to the appropriate director-level individual. I gave all of the computer-access information on the individual data elements, estimates, et. al., to the assistant director who would be most interested, since it included a complete new, generated, land asset inventory, together with cost estimates, to the assistant director. Finally, I pulled together all of the basic data gathering, including individual cost estimates, per building, or specific land location... and provided it to the supervisor of the unit which would be able to use it for daily activities, even though the overall budget project had been denied.

And, of course, it goes without saying that I have dedicated my time for over a decade helping writers improve their efforts in one way or another--doing what I can to make their work the best it can be and/or telling as many people as possible why I would, or would not, recommend that they read their books.

As far as I am concerned...and, I hope, all Americans who are concerned about the security of our Nation, there is NO justification for ANY records to have ever left government facilities!

Please allow the Department of Justice to complete their investigation. We need accountability and action on those laws that have been violated, of course, as a direct result of his continuation of The Big Lie that the election was not "real."

All I hope is, that this guy who was elected into a position he never should have had, "for real" in any aspect of his interaction with Americans be indicted for all of the damage he has caused.

The matter of integrity, honesty, truth, and perseverance to basic moral character traits is failing greatly in these days when those who claim to be christian nationalists think nothing about stealing, lying, cheating and more in order to gain sought-after power, no matter who is hurt... All of us must act diligently to ensure that, in all ways, the needs of America are placed above the needs of those who seek office purely for power... We must do better!

God Bless,

Gabbie

Adventure at Sea in The Voyage of the Stingray by Richard Steinitz

‘LT. COMMANDER WOODBRIDGE IS HEREBY ORDERED TO REPORT TO THE OFFICE OF THE COMMANDER, NAVAL SUBMARINE FORCES (COMSUBFOR), AT THE PENTAGON. HE IS TO CALL THE OFFICE OF COMSUBFOR TO COORDINATE THE MEETING WHICH IS TO TAKE PLACE ONE MONTH FROM TODAY.’

***

In the early morning New England fog, a pair of paramedics pushed a gurney up a ramp from inside a dry dock. The dock was closed off from the rest of the world, due to a huge screen or wall that was built around it, keeping anyone and everyone from looking at what was being built there. On the gurney was a black ‘body-bag’, zipped shut but obviously full. At the top of the ramp stood a man in a dark trench coat. Though the coat was civilian, the man was obviously military. He stood by while the paramedics loaded the gurney onto an ambulance, all the while clenching his teeth, and his fists, at the same time. He showed obvious signs of anxiety, and anger, but little or no signs of sadness or mourning. 
Once the ambulance had left, he walked down into the bowels of the dry dock, and looked at what was going on there. He was not pleased by what he saw, and after a short conversation with the shipyard supervisor, he left. It would not have been a good time to approach him, or ask him what was wrong. When he got to his government-issue car, the driver opened the back door for him, and drove off without asking where to go. Though fully entitled to have a plane at his disposal, he preferred to take the car, which gave him time to relax and also to get work done. This trip, he spent the entire ride back to Washington, D.C. on an encrypted mobile phone. Five hours later, back in uniform and back in his office in the E-Ring of the Pentagon, he was in a slightly better mood, and actually thanked the driver for a quiet and uneventful drive.

***

Two days later, Lt. Commander James Jefferson (Jeff) Woodbridge, USN, reported as ordered to the Commander, Naval Submarine Forces (COMSUBFOR) in the E-Ring of the Pentagon. He thought he knew why he had been summoned, and he hoped he was correct. After more than 15 years in submarines, he was about to get his first command...

~~~

The Voyage of the Stingray

By Richard Steinitz

Lt. Commander Jeff Woodridge had been hoping, wishing, looking forward to the time when he would be given his own command of a Naval Submarine...

When the time came, though, he found that it had come to him as a result of the murder of the former Captain, although they had not declared it murder when Jeff had accepted the position.

He also didn't know that he was to captain a new type of submarine--one that had not yet been built! 

The new submarine had not yet been named, but it was very apparent that the design copied that of nature's stingray...

The Captain’s main task, as long as construction was still under way, was to keep track of progress and try to keep things moving. The other officers tried their best to assist him in any way they could, so it was with great surprise that, early one morning, Woodbridge’s voice came over the loudspeaker system and said: “Now hear this! All crew members are ordered off the boat immediately. Report to the Chief of the Boat at the circle in front of Electric Boat headquarters in 15 minutes. I repeat, everyone off the boat NOW, and report to the Master Chief on shore. Go Go Go!” As they were leaving the boat, several sailors were heard to remark on the absence of all the civilian workers that day. Basically, Stingray was being left totally deserted, except for the Captain – and Ethan Roth. On shore, the Chief collected all the crew, checked his list to see that they were all there and then shepherded them on to two Navy buses that were waiting for them. “This is a reward by the Captain for all the hard work you have been doing. We are on a field trip to a park not far from here, where we will have a day of R & R, on the Captain’s expense. We will be back on board by 3pm and work will resume then.”

The abandonment of Stingray had been organized by Woodbridge so that various pieces of top-secret equipment, mainly from UCI, could be installed without too many questions being asked. Almost immediately after the buses departed, two 18-wheelers appeared and began unloading large crates, using extra-long hydraulic booms to get them over the fence and down onto the dock. The whole exercise had been meticulously timed to coincide with a gap between intelligence collecting satellite passes. A crew of DoD workers arrived at the same time and proceeded to unpack the crates and remove the equipment. With the help of a dock-side crane, the machinery was swung over the edge of the dock onto Stingray’s foredeck, and from there down the forward cargo hatch into the bowels of the boat. Most of it went into the com room where Ethan instructed the DoD workers on where and how to place the new machinery, but one piece that was swathed in layers of bubble-wrap went into a very small compartment labeled FRR, between the wardroom and the crew’s living quarters. The Captain personally came to oversee the arrival of this piece, checked that it was put into the right place and then made sure the door was securely closed and locked. By the time all the unloading had taken place and the trucks were gone, it was already almost 3pm. The crew arrived back on time - rested, well-fed and re-energized after a day of baseball, hot-dogs and soft-drinks, and immediately went back to work. The civilian workers came back the next morning at 6am as usual, and all hands started installing the new equipment except for the machine in the FRR compartment.

~~~

Even though work was coordinated to ensure top-secret security, it wasn't long until the intrigue began to be known and those interested in what America was doing new in sub boats brought about destruction and danger. Still, Jess was doing a good job in keeping the crews working as well as coordinating the interactions with those off-site.

The details of boat building was strangely compelling as readers see how and what was happening to create and develop new capabilities that could occur based upon the new design. However the adventure of the book begins once the sub is ready for testing and then full operation. As a real stingray can hide stealthily before a full attack, so, too, did the new Stingray's capabilities allow for missions to be totally handled differently. One main difference was its ability to move closer to shore than any other boat, and still be hidden...

While not going into specific scenes, I felt that the type of "new" abilities from such a design were well done and showed both the complexity of dealing with events that would call for such actions and how they could be better achieved with advanced and newer technology, which interested me the most. This included a company representative that was acting as liaison to the crew and wound up as an important "stowaway." I loved the results coming from just this one character. But each of the characters carried well in their specific roles. A thoroughly enjoyable dive into creativity...with adventure! Highly recommended...


GABixlerReviews

Richard Steinitz (b.1947) was born in New York to German Jewish immigrant parents, After four years at S.U.N.Y. at Buffalo, he moved to Israel where he has lived since then with his wife, Naomi. They have two children and two grandchildren.
As a 40+ year resident of Israel and veteran of more than 20 years service as a Medic in the Israeli Army Reserves, he was disappointed by the scarcity of books that paint a true picture of the Israel-Arab conflict. Many works of fiction presume to give an accurate description of the area and events, yet contain glaring errors of fact and even simple translation.
His first novel, Murder Over the Border, builds upon his intimate knowledge of the country, the people that live in and around it, and on the hopes and dreams of all the peoples of the region. It is a classic detective story, set in the turmoil of the Middle East Peace Process, and is available both in print [ISBN: 978-0692261828], and as a Kindle E-book.
Kaplan's Quest, his second novel, is a journey of discovery – both personal and historical. It is an exciting tale with unexpected twists and revelations, "that will keep you enthralled 'til the very last page." It is available in print [ISBN: 978-0692250372] and as a Kindle E-book, and has been given a Five-Star review at the Readers' Favorite website: https://readersfavorite.com/book-review/35436
His third novel - The Voyage of the Stingray - has just been published. His website, with free sample chapters and more information, can be found at: http://richard0999.wix.com/richard-steinitz

CIA Veteran Andre LeGallo Talks the Talk in New Novel - Review Coming Soon!

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"A tale of intrigue too frightening to believe - and too believable to ignore. But you had better believe it, because Le Gallo is the real thing."

Porter Goss, former Director of the CIA, from his introduction.

CIA Veteran Who Has Walked the Walk Now Talks the Talk in Novel that Springs from Today’s News Headlines

 San Rafael – March 5, 2010 - Le Gallo takes us from Ian Fleming’s Cold War tales to realistic 21st century espionage in a whirlwind adventure that will change the politics of the Middle East for ever.





The Caliphate by André Le Gallo was released by Dorchester Publications on January 26, 2010. A business trip takes Steve Church into a world threatened by a radical Muslim group that will stop at nothing, including assassination, to restore the Caliphate, the global Muslim empire of the faith’s early years. Barely escaping separate attempts on their lives, Steve and Kella Hastings, the North African-born adopted daughter of an American diplomat spurn the overly bureaucratic CIA and its French equivalent to stop the terrorists from imposing their medieval values.

Terrorist leader Tariq al Khalil plans to reconquer the lands of the Caliphate from the states bordering the Sahara, as the Prophet initially conquered his empire starting from the sands of Arabia. However, to revive popular support and funding from wealthy patrons, he turns toward the Zionist entity, a more lucrative target. The Mossad, which has a spy in the heart of the extremist organization, the CIA and the French all lose track of Al Khalil’s plans, giving the terrorists running room. Fortunately, Steve has his own penetration of al Khalil’s group and he follows al Khalil’s tracks. Using Unmanned Air Vehicles, al Khalil captures a secret military installation in Israel, giving him control of Israel’s last gasp weapon with which he threatens to destroy the capitals of Middle East regimes it deems apostate.

The lives of millions now depend on Steve and Kella who are al Khalil’s hostages in an underground Israeli bunker.

Available in bookstores, at www.amazon.com or at Dorchesterpub.com

CIA Veteran Andre LeGallo

About the Book:

The Caliphate by André Le Gallo
ISBN 10: 0843963050 / ISBN 13: 9780843963052
Publisher: Dorchester Publications
Date of publish: January 26, 2010
Pages: 362
SRP: $7.99



About the Author:

André Le Gallo is a veteran of several coups, a war and a revolution. Under cover and accompanied by his (real) bride and family, he operated in all the countries of The Caliphate during a distinguished thirty-year career with CIA’s elite Directorate of Operations, today’s National Clandestine Service. He was Chief of Station in four countries managing counterintelligence, covert action, and special operations. He was also the National Intelligence Officer for Counterterrorism, the one-stop-shop of US intelligence on terrorism.

Following his CIA career, Le Gallo served as a Vice President for an energy company with a presence in over thirty countries, was a Visiting Scholar at the Hoover Institution at Stanford University, was President of the Association for Intelligence Officers’ San Francisco chapter, and is active in supporting wounded veterans. He resides in Northern California with his wife Cathy.

The book’s main character, Steve Church, is modeled on Le Gallo’s son, Christopher, who was killed in a plane crash at the age of 33.



Contact:

André Le Gallo, 
alegallo@comcast.net, www.andrelegallo.com