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Chapters (61)
  1. Prologue
  2. Chapter One
  3. Chapter Two
  4. Chapter Three
  5. Chapter Four
  6. Chapter Five
  7. Chapter Six
  8. Chapter Seven
  9. Chapter Eight
  10. Chapter Nine
  11. Chapter Ten
  12. Chapter Eleven
  13. Chapter Twelve
  14. Chapter Thirteen
  15. Chapter Fourteen
  16. Chapter Fifteen
  17. Chapter Sixteen
  18. Chapter Seventeen
  19. Chapter Eighteen
  20. Chapter Nineteen
  21. Chapter Twenty
  22. Chapter Twenty-One
  23. Chapter Twenty-Two
  24. Chapter Twenty-Three
  25. Chapter Twenty-Four
  26. Chapter Twenty-Five
  27. Chapter Twenty-Six
  28. Chapter Twenty-Seven
  29. Chapter Twenty-Eight
  30. Chapter Twenty-Nine
  31. Chapter Thirty
  32. Chapter Thirty-One
  33. Chapter Thirty-Two
  34. Chapter Thirty-Three
  35. Chapter Thirty-Four
  36. Chapter Thirty-Five
  37. Chapter Thirty-Six
  38. Chapter Thirty-Seven
  39. Chapter Thirty-Eight
  40. Chapter Thirty-Nine
  41. Chapter Forty
  42. Chapter Forty-One
  43. Chapter Forty-Two
  44. Chapter Forty-Three
  45. Chapter Forty-Four
  46. Chapter Forty-Five
  47. Chapter Forty-Six
  48. Chapter Forty-Seven
  49. Chapter Forty-Eight
  50. Chapter Forty-Nine
  51. Chapter Fifty
  52. Chapter Fifty-One
  53. Chapter Fifty-Two
  54. Chapter Fifty-Three
  55. Chapter Fifty-Four
  56. Chapter Fifty-Five
  57. Chapter Fifty-Six
  58. Epilogue
  59. Author’s Note
  60. Acknowledgements
  61. About the Author

“Did you tell him you were coming to LA?”

“No, but it seems like the shit’s hit the fan.”

Vargas hit the contact for Torres, who picked up instantly. He didn’t get time to speak before the detective screamed down the line at his boss.

“Jesus Christ, chief. Where the hell have you been? I’ve been trying you for over fifteen hours. Are you okay?”

Vargas glanced at Hembury and switched the phone on to the speaker setting. “Juan, calm down. What the hell’s happened?”

“Chief, earlier today your apartment was literally blown to pieces by a rocket attack. Two missiles were fired from a van parked in your street. I emailed you a link to the CCTV footage. Six people were killed by the blast in the flats directly above and below yours. I thought you were dead. They’ve found some human remains in the wreckage that they think came from inside your apartment.”

Vargas doubled up as a sharp pain hit deep in the pit of his stomach and his brain felt as if it were about to explode. He tried to talk but for a few seconds he couldn’t actually articulate any words. His mouth was parched and his throat felt as though it were being attacked by a pack of razor blades. Finally, he managed to speak and ask the question that he dreaded the answer to.

“Juan, is Alex safe?”

Torres was clearly baffled. “Chief, what’s Alex got to do with this? I haven’t seen him all day but I assume he’s been out and about, working the case.”

Vargas knew at that moment the young detective was dead. “Juan, I asked him to go to my apartment this morning to collect a laptop. I left a message on his mobile early this morning, but he didn’t get back to me.”

Torres was clearly disorientated by Vargas’s story. “Chief, I don’t get any of this. There’s been a full-scale military attack on your flat in broad daylight, bang in the middle of the city. What the hell are we dealing with here and where the fuck are you?”

Vargas turned to Hembury as he replied to Torres. “I am in Los Angeles, and we are dealing with pure evil.”

Chapter Forty-Nine

29 January 2012

Los Angeles