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Dedication

This is for Thomas C. Raymond, Anne Pryor-Raymond,

Ben Raymond, Babette Raymond, and Kelly Powers

Superfans, friends, family

And, as always, for Sara Jo

PART 1

WHEN DARKNESS CALLS

Cross charred bridges all you want,

If you’re lucky, you won’t find me on the other side,

Waiting to exact the toll.

“Exactly what?” you may ask …

Well—don’t ask.

Just remember (don’t you dare forget)

When you see me

Placidly waiting by your roadside’s soft shoulder,

We were never friends.

Under my smile lurks a thousand convictions,

And two thousand preemptive persecutions,

And my eyes see sharp enough to pierce

Your very strongest veneer.

I will assume everything until you validate otherwise.

I will suspect and distrust your every intention until

You prove them pure … not an easy task.

And when you can’t, you will be vilified.

I will rip you to shreds—don’t FUCK with me.

I only look like a paper tiger.

—A SNAKE IS NEVER A KITTEN BY JEZZY WOLFE

CHAPTER 1

They say that no plan ever survives contact with the enemy.

My enemies thought that if they hurt me badly enough, if they took away the people I love, that it would break me. That it would cripple me so thoroughly I would give up the fight, that my hands would be too numb to pick up my weapons ever again. That I’d be too ruined to come after them.

That was their plan.

They were wrong.

CHAPTER 2

TRSTENIK ISLAND

SOUTH DALMATIAN COAST OF THE ADRIATIC SEA

CROATIA

We came out of the darkest corner of the sky.

Silent and hungry. Gliding on the thermals, propelled by muffled motors that let us approach the island low enough to spook our way under the radar. Our avenue of approach was narrow, but we didn’t need much space. Havoc Team rode the night wind on TradeWinds MotorKites. Something my boss, Mr. Church, had commissioned long ago from a company that made ultralight aircraft. The frame was made from an aluminum-magnesium alloy that was lighter than a lawn chair but far stronger. Big silk bat wings filled the frame and extended beyond it, ribbed with flexible polymers. The motors were tiny two-strokes built for stealth rather than speed. Virtually silent. And they had a surprisingly hefty weight capacity, which is good because I’m a bit over two hundred pounds, and my combat dog, Ghost, is only fifty pounds lighter.