"Ernesto A. Miranda was a moron, you know that?" Deerfield said. "A couple of smokes short of a pack. He was a subnormal guy. He needed the protection. You subnormal? You a moron, Reacher?"
"Probably, to be putting up with this shit."
THE SCIENCE OF...BURNING DOWN A BUILDING Place books of matches under furniture in the center of the room.
Pile as much paper as you can find on top; lean a burning cigarette against the matches.
Retire, leaving the door open for a draft.
Brick buildings always burn well. The contents go up first, then the floors, ceiling, and roof, with the outer walls holding up and forming a tall chimney to enhance the air flow. When the walls finally collapse, the blast of sparks and embers will spread the fire farther.
Sometimes a whole city block can be taken out with one cigarette and one book of matches.
"I'm sleeping well...but I think that's mostly because of the tranquilizers."
Sleep when you can, because you never know when you're going to sleep again.
Accept that you'll never find a bed that will accommodate your feet as well as your head.
Careful, sleep can be a symptom of caffeine deprivation.
Sleep as much as you can, because tiredness causes more foul-ups than carelessness and stupidity put together.
If you go to sleep fully dressed, you'll be ready for action when you wake.
You'll feel safer sleeping with a handgun under your pillow.
"A medical man would say I passed out. I prefer to think I just went to sleep."
"He set the clock in his head for two hours, and he breathed in once, and he breathed out once, and then he fell asleep, almost instantly."
Tune in to your circadian rhythms to set your personal internal alarm clock.
Four o'clock in the morning is the best time to attack. In the Army they call it KGB time.
"Clocks in prisons are bizarre. Why measure hours and minutes when people think in years and decades?"
THINGS YOU'LL NEVER HEAR REACHER SAY Any idea what the time is?
"He knew what time it was to within about twenty seconds. It was an old skill, born of many long wakeful nights on active service.
When you're waiting for something to happen, you close your body down like a beach house in winter and you let your mind lock on to the steady pace of the passing seconds. It's like suspended animation. It saves energy and it lifts the responsibility for your heartbeat away from your unconscious brain and passes it on to some kind of a hidden clock. Makes a huge black space for thinking in.
But it keeps you just awake enough to be ready for whatever you need to be ready for.
And it means you always know what time it is."
"I've got no use for possessions. Travel light, travel far."
Never carry a spare shirt.
Be on as few pieces of paper as it is possible for a human being to be.
"To fill a small bag means selecting, and choosing, and evaluating. Pretty soon I'd have a big bag, and then two or three. A month later I'd be like the rest of you."
Never have a credit card, real estate, a driver's license, a car, a wife, children, or an address.
Take one day at a time.
"I'm not a vagrant...I'm a hobo. Big difference."
Always travel by road-you don't need ID and can pay with cash.
"Carry a spare shirt and pretty soon you're carrying spare pants. Then you need a suitcase. Next thing you know, you've got a house and a car and a savings plan and you're filling out all kinds of forms."
THINGS YOU'LL NEVER SEE REACHER DO Buy a business-class airline ticket
WHAT TO DO IN THE FACE OF: STUPIDITY MISUNDERSTANDING IMPERTINENT PERSONAL QUESTIONS EMPTY THREATS BAD GUYS WHO WON'T TAKE THE HINT AND BACK OFF
Shrug.
"Reacher said nothing."
If in doubt, say nothing.
Keeping your mouth shut is a devastating weapon.
Your silence will make your opponent want to babble.
Say nothing, do nothing.
You need a reason for speech, but you need more for silence.
"Reacher made no reply. It was a technique he had perfected half a lifetime ago. Just stand absolutely still, don't blink, say nothing. Wait for them to run through the possibilities. Wait for them to start worrying."
BLIND BLAKE This is the only known photograph of Blind Blake, whose life-and death-remain something of a mystery.
Born Arthur Blake in 1896 in (probably) Jacksonville, Florida, Blind Blake's distinctive guitar playing sounded like a ragtime piano. Blind from birth, he is still regarded as the unrivaled master of ragtime blues finger-picking, who could play a complete band arrangement by himself. Between 1926 and 1932 he recorded more than eighty tracks for Paramount, which were big sellers in their day. After Paramount's bankruptcy Blake became a heavy drinker and died, by accident or disease, at the age of thirty-eight. But there is also a story that he was murdered in Margrave, Georgia.
"You know that old expression 'He could play the guitar just like ringing a bell'? That's what I used to say about Blake. He would pick up that old instrument of his and the notes would just come tumbling out, faster than you could sing them. But each note was just a perfect little silver bell, floating off into the air."
"For the infantry it all came down to simple arithmetic. If you could inflict two casualties for every one you took, you were ahead."
"To fail to take the battle to the enemy when your back is to the wall is to perish."
Sun Tzu, The Art of War The Art of War Think like the enemy; be be the enemy. the enemy.
When contemplating the offensive, the first thing you must plan is your inevitable retreat.
If your attack is going too well, you have walked into an ambush.
Combat will occur on the ground between two adjoining maps.
Never leave enemy ordnance usable.
"All plans fall apart as soon as the first shot is fired."
Friendly fire isn't that friendly.
If you can't attack at one end, you have to defend at the other.
Incoming fire has the right of way.
Double back to positions the enemy thinks are abandoned.
If you're surrounded, that simplifies your problems.
"A good battle plan that you act on today can be better than a perfect one tomorrow."
Gen. George S. Patton
"Sooner or later, you've got to engage the enemy's main force. You don't win the war unless you do that. You take it on and you destroy it."
In order to win, you must be prepared to lose.
Don't worry about why it went wrong. Just damn well put it right.
Know how to deceive the enemy, and that sooner or later they have to be fought head-on.
If you attack you have to keep on and on attacking until the enemy is run off its feet and the war is won.
Everything in war is improvisation.
Try to look unimportant. They may be low on ammo.
Never retreat, just advance in the opposite direction.
"While coolness in disaster is the supreme proof of a commander's courage, energy in pursuit is the surest test of his strength of will."
Field Marshal Viscount Wavell "They mess with me, they answer to me."
"War isn't about dying for your country. It's about making the enemy die for his."
Gen. George S. Patton
"Cocked and locked."
1 Beretta M9 Over two decades of distinguished service in the U.S. Army Over two decades of distinguished service in the U.S. Army 2 Glock 17 Extremely simple and extremely reliable Extremely simple and extremely reliable 3 Heckler & Koch MP5K A submachine gun for law enforcement A submachine gun for law enforcement 4 M16 assault rifle For a long time the U.S. Army's weapon of choice For a long time the U.S. Army's weapon of choice 5 SIG-Sauer P226 Swiss excellence Swiss excellence 6 Smith & Wesson Military and Police revolver Old-fashioned excellence Old-fashioned excellence