Badger Games

NY: Atlantic Monthly, 2002. Uncorr. Proof wraps. Softcover. Very Good/None. Paperback. Uncorrected proof. Like new.The book opens with the disappearance of a man named Franko Bradovich in Kosovo. Franko, a native Montanan posing as a local, was a spy of sorts, an operative who was helping the Lucani (a loose affiliation of DEA, FBI, CIA, etc. agents operating outside the law) bust a drug trafficking scheme from Bulgaria through Kosovo and Serbia to Europe. Franko was living with the family of a farmer named Daliljaj (and was in love with the farmer’s daughter Fedima) and an apparently helpful American-raised Slav (Bozi Bazok), who’s become part of the Serb army’s shock troops, has warned Franko that the army was headed toward them with bloodshed in mind. Later, though, Franko, who’s been posing as a drug trafficker, is brought in by local police for questioning and is beaten—making Bazok’s helpfulness questionable at best. Either way, Franko can’t really afford to stick around. Bazok agrees to help him and, reluctantly, Daliljaj, Fedima, and their relatives, escape the sweep, in exchange for the massive quantities of drugs he believes Franko is hiding. But Bazok betrays him and slaughters Daliljaj and all of Fedima’s other family while they wait for Franko to return with transport. When Franko returns, Bazok has disappeared, taking Fedima with him. Record # 66825