The Twelfth Protocol

Hurricane Sandy's storm surge destroyed Long Beach City's boardwalk, washing up mutilated corpses of three men, a pregnant woman, two boys and a skeleton.

Only three months in command of the Nassau County, New York, Homicide Squad South, Detective Lieutenant Patricia (Patti) McAvoy was challenged with investigating a mass murder. "Drug cartels kill like this," she told a detective.

Homicide detectives, spearheaded by Patti, dismissed drug dealers when they discovered US agents had been given Carte Blanche to practice eleven protocols, a smorgasbord of enhanced interrogation techniques (EITs). The protocols, authorized by the US Department of Justice, ran the gamut from sleep deprivation, prolonged diapering, cramped confinement, cold cells, and water boarding. Patti noted a resemblance between the protocols and her victims' wounds. Her team drilled down into the weeds and identified a rogue unit, born in the labyrinth of US government agencies, operating on Long Island, torturing suspected terrorists for intelligence to be sold to the highest bidder, either in Washington, Iran, or in Russia.

Patti learned the meaning of spy phrases like "Black Site", "Salt Mine," and "Safe House."

Homicide detectives uncovered evidence confirming the villains bypassed the eleven protocols restrictions by raising the torture bar. The Twelfth Protocol introduced severing fingers, attaching 'hot' battery jumper cables to genitals, bug infestation and other grotesque tortures, including murder, as a technique to extract intelligence, earning financial rewards from their American and foreign "customers."

Capitalizing on a mistake made by the killers, Patti uncovered a "Salt Mine", interrupted a torture resulting in arrest of the Long Beach murderers. Bombshell photos electrified an apathetic public. An outcry led to a Congressional Investigation.