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Chapters (54)
  1. Title Page
  2. Table of Contents
  3. Prologue
  4. PART ONE
  5. Chapter One
  6. Chapter Two
  7. Chapter Three
  8. Chapter Four
  9. Chapter Five
  10. Chapter Six
  11. Chapter Seven
  12. Chapter Eight
  13. PART TWO
  14. Chapter Nine
  15. Chapter Ten
  16. Chapter Eleven
  17. Chapter Twelve
  18. Chapter Thirteen
  19. Chapter Fourteen
  20. Chapter Fifteen
  21. Chapter Sixteen
  22. Chapter Seventeen
  23. PART THREE
  24. Chapter Eighteen
  25. Chapter Nineteen
  26. Chapter Twenty
  27. Chapter Twenty-one
  28. Chapter Twenty-two
  29. Chapter Twenty-three
  30. Chapter Twenty-four
  31. Chapter Twenty-five
  32. Chapter Twenty-six
  33. Chapter Twenty-seven
  34. Chapter Twenty-eight
  35. Chapter Twenty-nine
  36. Chapter Thirty
  37. Chapter Thirty-one
  38. PART FOUR
  39. Chapter Thirty-two
  40. Chapter Thirty-three
  41. Chapter Thirty-four
  42. Chapter Thirty-five
  43. Chapter Thirty-six
  44. Chapter Thirty-seven
  45. Chapter Thirty-eight
  46. Chapter Thirty-nine
  47. Chapter Forty
  48. Chapter Forty-one
  49. Chapter Forty-two
  50. Chapter Forty-three
  51. Epilogue
  52. ALSO BY ROBERT LUDLUM
  53. Critical Praise for Robert Ludlum
  54. Copyright Page

“There’s always time for ‘and yets,’” Ainsley said. “Just not now.”

“This guy is a variable we can’t control,” said Albright. “In an already complex and confusing probability matrix. Outcome optimization means we’ve got to erase that variable.”

“A ‘variable’ who happens to have given three decades of his life to his country,” Collins shot back. “A funny thing about our business—the loftier the language, the lower the deed.”

“Come off it, Derek. Nobody’s hands are dirtier than yours. Except your boy Janson. One of your goddamn killing machines.” The DIA man glared at the undersecretary. “Needs a taste of his own medicine. My English plain enough?”

The undersecretary adjusted his black plastic glasses and returned the analyst’s unfriendly look. Still, it was clear enough which way the wind was blowing.

“He’ll be hard to take out,” the CIA operations man stressed, still smarting from the Athens debacle. “Nobody’s better at hand-to-hand. Janson could inflict serious casualties.”

“Everybody in the intelligence community has received rumors and reports about Anura, albeit unsubstantiated,” said Collins. “That means your frontline agents as well as mine.” He glanced at the CIA operations man and then at Albright. “Why don’t you let your cowboys have another go?”

“Derek, you know the rules,” Ainsley said. “Everybody cleans up his own litter box. I don’t want another Athens. Nobody knows his methods like the cadre that trained him. Come on, your senior operations managers must already have filed a contingency plan.”

“Well, sure,” said Collins. “But they’ve got no clue what’s really going on.”

“You think we do?”

“I take your point.” A decision had been made; deliberation was over. “Plans call for the dispatch of a special team of highly trained snipers. They can get the job done, and discreetly. Ratings are off the charts. Nobody would stand a chance against them.” His gray eyes blinked behind his glasses as he remembered the team’s unbroken series of successes. Quietly, he added, “No one ever has.”

“Terminate orders in effect?”

“Current orders are locate, watch, and wait.”

“Activate,” she said. “This is a collective decision. Mr. Janson is beyond salvage. Green-light the sanction. Now.”

“I’m not arguing, I just want to make sure people are aware of the risks,” the undersecretary persisted.

“Don’t tell us about risks,” said the DIA analyst. “You created those goddamn risks.”

“We’re all under a great deal of stress,” Hildreth interjected smoothly.

The analyst folded his arms on his chest and directed another baleful glare at Undersecretary Derek Collins. “You made him,” Albright said. “For everyone’s sake, you’d better break him.”

Chapter Fourteen

Chapter Fourteen