INTRUSION CODE

by Rick Tippins, LA Bayles, Boyd Craven Jr.

A missing child. A haunted Navy SEAL. A secret powerful enough to rewrite the rules of reality.

When eight-year-old Lizzy vanished without a trace, the only witness—her best friend Max—was found alone in the woods, disoriented and unable to explain what happened.

Two decades later, Max Dregar is a former Navy SEAL and covert CIA operator broken by war and buried in guilt. Combat numbs the pain. Whiskey dulls the edges.

But when a reclusive tech savant appears with classified data and a theory too disturbing to ignore, Max is dragged into a world that reopens every wound he thought he’d buried.

Now, he must confront the shadows that have stalked him since childhood—grief, guilt, and the terrifying possibility that what happened to Lizzy was only the beginning. As the past claws its way into the present, Max is forced to go where no sane man would, face what no warrior ever should, and cross lines that cannot be uncrossed.

What he finds will shatter everything he thought he knew—about Lizzy, about himself, and about the world.

Perfect for X-Files and Alien Mysteries fans!

394 pages, Kindle Edition

Published November 10, 2025

About the author

EARLY LIFE

Rick was born in Ventura, California in 1966 and moved to Northern California shortly thereafter. The first 12 years of his life were spent in a fairly rural area of the upper Napa Valley. He rode horses, had chickens and goats, and pretty much lived in the woods that surrounded his home. When Rick was 12, his family moved to Napa proper where he attended a private school through 10th grade. He attended Napa High School his junior and senior year where he played football before joining the Marine Corps in 1986.

CAREER

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Once Rick graduated boot camp, he was assigned to the third battalion first Marines where he almost immediately deployed on a Westpac. His job at the time was an anti-tank gunner or 0351 for you Jarheads out there. When he returned to the States, he transferred to STA (Surveillance Target Acquisition) Platoon. Rick deployed one more time before his separation from active duty.

After the Marine Corps, Rick returned to Napa where he put myself through a basic police academy while washing cars after school and on the weekends in order to survive. Law enforcement jobs were scarce back in the early 1990s so he went to work for a small, yet extremely violent, town called East Palo Alto (EPA). Rick worked in EPA for a little under three years before making a lateral move to the San Mateo County Sheriff’s Office.

While at the Sheriff’s Office, he worked in a Street Crimes Suppression Team, SWAT, Narcotics, and Homicide. Rick promoted to Sergeant and worked several other positions in that rank until being promoted to Lieutenant. As a Sheriff’s Lieutenant, he worked his final two years in law enforcement as a team Lieutenant in the jails.

WRITING

Rick's interest in writing reared its head in 1994 while he was working the graveyard shift in the Maguire Correctional Facility shortly after being hired by the San Mateo County Sheriff’s Office. He taught myself to write screen plays during that time and wrote several feature lengths scripts. He never pursued the sale of any my screenplays and ultimately decided to write a novel after realizing how many constraints are placed on screenplays. As he neared the end of his career in law enforcement, Rick began writing his first book that ended up having several names before finally turning into “A World Slowed.”

FAMILY

While working in Homicide, Rick met his wonderful wife who was working for the San Mateo County District Attorney’s Office at the time. RIck and his Wife have three children---each of them so special, captivating, funny, and hard working. His family is his legacy. In his spare time, he enjoys watching movies (or at least the preview to movies, which drives his wife crazy) and playing hockey. There's nothing like a hockey-loving-Napa-boy to confuse traditional hockey players.

Reviews

[Matt Egan · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great alien invasion book!

INTRUSION CODE is a great, highly unpredictable alien invasion novel unlike any I've ever read. The quality of the writing is great, the characters highly flawed and likeable. Max and Steven also make a great team, with Max providing muscle and instinct, while Steven brings intellect and tech savvy, forming a formidable duo. The rest of the writing is simply excellent, there is nothing to critique. The plot is good and matches perfectly with the plot which builds suspense to an almost unbearable level before a very surprising denouement. Overall, 5/5 stars, highly recommended to fans of The X-Files, alien invasion novels and sci-fi thrillers. This is one of my all time favorite alien novels!