The Last Thing I Remember

The Homelanders: The Last Thing I Remember is a 2009 novel by Andrew Klavan.

Plot summary

The book begins with the protagonist, Charlie West, strapped onto a chair inside a room that he names the "torture room." Charlie overhears two men receiving an order to kill , along with other comments AbOUT getting "Yarrow" and "Orton" knowing the bridge well. Before the two men enter the room, Charlie discovers a sharp edge around a strap on the bottom of the chair. While the two men enter and prepare to inject poison into him via syringe, he rubs the strap against the sharp edge. After getting his leg free, Charlie kicks the man holding the poison filled syringe and catches him by the throat as he falls. After the man held by the throat frees Charlie, the other man alerts others about Charlies escape attempt. As Charlie leaves the building, guards with AK-47's pursue him. After breaking through a window, he finds himself on a compound with a fence and guard towers. He hijacks a truck and gets through the gate. Eventually, after flipping over the truck, he makes it to a nearby forest.

In the forest, the guards pursue Charlie with a bloodhound. The only apparent way to escape is through a sinkhole. After making his way through the underground caverns, Charlie resurfaces in a different area where he meets Mrs. Simmons and her daughter. She takes him to her house and allows Charlie to use her phone to call his parents. Because the phone number comes up as an error, Mrs. Simmons calls the SHERIFF to ask if Charlie can attempt to contact his parents from there. She reveals her husband is the assistant district attorney, and gives Charlie permission to use the shower.

By this time, the closest thing he can remember is what he suspects from the day before. He remembers waking up the morning before to his mother, father, and sister. He also remembers a successful karate demonstration at his school and asking out Beth, a pretty girl at his school, who agrees to date him. He remembers that after school that day, he went to karate and revealed his ambitions to his instructor (Sensei Mike) to become an American Air Force pilot. When he left karate, his former best friend, Alex Hauser, got into his car and they argued about the validity of faith and America. Charlie, a Christian and pro-American, is surprised to see how much his friend has changed. After the argument Alex storms off.

Back to the present setting of the story; Charlie sees a newspaper that shows the date is actually over a year after the day he had last remembered, and that he is now 18-years-old. After the shower and getting dressed, Charlie finds himself surrounded by deputy sheriffs. Hauled out of the house, he is informed by the sheriff that he is being taken back into custody after escaping prison. He had been convicted of murdering Alex Hauser.

After being taken to jail, Charlie is handed off to Detective Rose and they head for a different prison. While being taken into the car, someone cuts the handcuffs and tells him to find Waterman. None of the police officers or detective Rose realize this. In the transport car, Charlie hears a report on Richard Yarrow's visit to the President's vacation home. Yarrow is the Secretary of Homeland Security, and is unveiling a comprehensive new plan to destroy the homegrown [...]. Realizing this is who his former captors meant by "Yarrow" and that the captors mean to kill this man, he tries to warn Rose. Rose does not believe him and when they stop at a transfer site, Charlie escapes and manages to dodge all of the officers searching for him. After saving an eccentric lady (Jane) who was being attacked by a drunken man, he is brought to her home where he sees a newspaper with a picture of the Secret Service officer whom Charlie strangely recognizes as Orton. Charlie realizes that Orton must be the assassin. Before going to the bridge to stop Yarrow's motorcade, Charlie calls Beth. She says she knows he is innocent and loves him. However; he does not remember their ambitions for marriage and life together. He tells her that whatever she hears about what happens to him, to still believe in his good intent.

At the bridge, Charlie sees Orton shoot the police officers around him and head to the trunk of one of the police cruisers to pull out a bomb. As Orton attempts to arm the bomb, Charlie engages and disarms him of the gun. Orton tells Charlie they are actually friends and part of the organization of Islamic terrorists, called the Homelanders. As the two fight for the remote detonator, the motorcade comes into view, and Charlie detonates the bomb before any of the vehicles can get onto the bridge. The body guards then open fire on both of them, [...] Orton. Charlie escapes to find Waterman.

Sequel

There will be a sequel entitled The Long Way Home to be released in February 2010.