Every team has a founder.
Every mission has someone willing to take the first step.
For Orlando Prime, that person is Francis “Frank” Travers.
Before he became commander of one of Florida’s elite investigative teams, Frank spent twenty years in the United States Navy. Joining as a young man, he built a career defined by service, leadership, and a willingness to go wherever duty called. By the time he retired, he had earned the rank of Commander and the respect of those who served alongside him.
Including one future governor.
Years earlier, the two men had crossed paths during their military careers. Frank was the officer. The future governor was a gunnery sergeant. Neither could have imagined how their paths would intersect again years later.
After retiring from the Navy, Frank expected a quieter life.
For decades, he and his wife Linda had built their marriage around military service. Deployments, assignments, and long separations became a normal part of life. They had once hoped for children, but life had a way of changing plans. While Frank focused on missions and leadership responsibilities, Linda poured her energy into helping others through her work as a therapist and psychologist.
Together, they built a life centered on service.
Then came an unexpected opportunity.
Recognizing the success of other elite investigative units across Florida, the governor approached Frank with a challenge: build Orlando Prime from the ground up.
Frank accepted.
Drawing on years of leadership experience, he carefully selected the people he believed could turn the vision into reality. Damon Cruz, Claire Santos, Quinn Sterling, and Jack Stamps became the foundation of the new organization, helping transform an idea into one of Florida’s premier investigative teams.
Readers who have picked up Orlando Prime: Origins have already seen some of those early days.
But by the time Fatal Invitation begins, Frank’s life has changed in ways readers only glimpse briefly.
Linda is gone.
The loss weighs heavily on him, even as he continues leading Orlando Prime through increasingly dangerous cases.
As the series continues, readers will learn more about the man behind the badge, the team he built, and the events that shaped the leader he has become.
Because sometimes the hardest battles aren’t the ones fought in the field.
Sometimes they’re the ones carried in silence.