Last Man Standing is a crime thriller written by David Baldacci along with some assistance by former FBI HRT operative Christopher Whitcomb. The protagonist of this story is FBI Agent Web London who is part of their elite Hostage Rescue Team.
Web is the Sole Survivor of a textbook HRT raid, which turned into a massacre. Wracked with PTSD and Survivor Guilt, Web tries to piece his life back together, investigate the massacre and protect Billy and Gwen Caulfield, two horse ranchers who are the target of a right-wing militia. While seeing a shrink named Claire for his PTSD, Web explores events from his childhood that he'd long thought suppressed, while Claire herself uncovers a sinister conspiracy involving a drug kingpin and a fellow psychologist. As they uncover the details of the massacre, its originator could be one of the Caulfields themselves.
Tropes encountered here are:
- Abusive Parents: Web's stepfather was a failed artist who drank away some of his frustrations and took the rest of them out on a young Web and his mother. When he got old, big and strong enough to do so, Web finally defended his mom and killed his stepfather.
- Absence Makes the Heart Go Yonder: Gwen is sleeping around with one of her ranch hands because Billy has been emotionally cold to her ever since their son died. We later find out he has a very good reason to outright blame her for their son's death.
- Appeal to Worse Problems: Francis Westbrook has this kind of attitude towards right-wing militias. He thinks their "problems" are nothing compared to what poor black folk like him went through in the ghetto.
- Badass Normal: Web is not an ex-spec ops guy like most of his HRT squadmates. He was previously just a regular FBI Agent with a law degree - who happened to pass HRT selection.
- Bash Brothers: Web and Romano, eventually.
- Da Chief: Percy Bates the SAC of the Washington Field Office.
- Did Not Get The Guy: Claire clearly wants to get with Web. She dresses up for him, has a romantic dinner, but then reveals that she gave Web a post-hypnotic suggestion to suppress the memory of him killing his drunk abusive stepfather as a child. He is understandably pissed off and walks out on her.
- Elites Are More Glamorous: A lot of HRT members are ex-Special Forces, ex-SEALs, with Teddie Riner and Paul Romano even being ex-Delta. But that said, HRT itself is considered an elite SWAT team.
- Equal-Opportunity Evil: Francis Westbrook's chiefly African American drug gang has a white security chief, Clyde Macy.
- Friendly Sniper: Web is an affable guy who is deadly accurate with a rifle.
- Hypno Fool: Web is revealed to be a somnambulant (sleepwalker) and therefore extremely susceptible to hypnotic suggestion. This was used to make him freeze up during the ambush of his team.
- Large and in Charge: Drug kingpin Francis Westbrook is yyyuuuuuuuggggee!
- Misplaced Retribution: Gwen blames HRT for causing her son's death. In actuality, they weren't at fault at all. Their otherwise textbook assault on the school got compromised because Gwen called her son's cellphone right when HRT was inserting. The sound of the cellphone ringing alerted the hostage takers, who found the HRT assaulters and fired at them and the children, so Gwen actually is solely responsible for her son's death.
- Papa Wolf: Francis towards Kevin.
- Reasonable Authority Figure: Percy Bates.
- Redemption Equals Death: Gwen takes a bullet intended for Web.
- Revenge: Gwen had Web's team massacred and Web deliberately left alive because she blames them and particularly him for a botched hostage rescue that left her son dead.
- Right-Wing Militia Fanatic: The Free Society, who first targeted a school where the Caulfields had sent their son. These guys want to finish the job and kill the Caulfields too. These guys even officially change their last names to "Free".
- Scope Snipe: How Web takes down Macy.
- Sentry Gun: A jury-rigged auto-turret took out Web's team.
- Shell-Shocked Veteran: Web, very much so. He seeks therapy thinking he'd frozen in the alley due to PTS, the sight of Claire's feet causes him to flash back to the sight of blood and viscera of his former team's corpses, and there is his somnambulant tendencies caused by childhood trauma.
- Teeth-Clenched Teamwork: Web and Paul Romano initially.
- Turn in Your Badge: Web is forced to do this after he participates in an HRT raid on the Free Society militia even though he hasn't been cleared to return to active duty as an assaulter yet. A director gives Percy Bates a choice — either Web has to go, or the ASAC of the entire HRT has to go. Web volunteers to be the one dismissed. That said, Web gets reinstated in the end when the psychologist bugging scandal is revealed.
- The Worf Effect: Web, a tough as nails HRT operative gets his ass kicked by the ginormous Francis Westbrook.
- "Well Done, Son" Guy: Romano's father very much wanted to be a cop with NYPD, but a weak heart prevented him from being accepted. He therefore wanted very much for Paul to become a cop instead. When Paul got accepted into Columbia, graduated and was then accepted into the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard, and even started thinking about a career as an academic, Romano Sr. had a heart attack, and his last words were that Paul had shamed him. This led to Paul joining the Army, Delta, then the FBI and HRT. He ended up becoming one of the most elite of all lawmen in America.
