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Back The Neighborhood Save as PDF
Chapters (59)
  1. Part I Reconnaissance
  2. Chapter One
  3. Chapter Two
  4. Chapter Three
  5. Part II Incursion
  6. Chapter Four
  7. Chapter Five
  8. Chapter Six
  9. Chapter Seven
  10. Chapter Eight
  11. Chapter Nine
  12. Chapter Ten
  13. Part III Under Siege
  14. Chapter Eleven
  15. Chapter Twelve
  16. Chapter Thirteen
  17. Part IV Course Correction
  18. Chapter Fourteen
  19. Part V Balance of Power
  20. Chapter Fifteen
  21. Chapter Sixteen
  22. Chapter Seventeen
  23. Chapter Eighteen
  24. Chapter Nineteen
  25. Chapter Twenty
  26. Chapter Twenty-One
  27. Chapter Twenty-Two
  28. Chapter Twenty-Three
  29. Chapter Twenty-Four
  30. Chapter Twenty-Five
  31. Chapter Twenty-Six
  32. Chapter Twenty-Seven
  33. Chapter Twenty-Eight
  34. Chapter Twenty-Nine
  35. Part VI Spy versus Spy
  36. Chapter Thirty
  37. Chapter Thirty-One
  38. Chapter Thirty-Two
  39. Chapter Thirty-Three
  40. Part VII Winds of War and Flame
  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. Part VIII Strong to the Finish
  50. Chapter Forty-Two
  51. Chapter Forty-Three
  52. Part IX Spy Games
  53. Chapter Forty-Four
  54. Chapter Forty-Five
  55. Chapter Forty-Six
  56. Part X What Goes Around
  57. Chapter Forty-Seven
  58. Chapter Forty-Eight
  59. About the Author

Moretti had reached the next section, which lay submerged just below the surface of the small bay, the water lapping over it and pooling across the surface in puddles. He paused as his right foot landed in a puddle, his brown loafers turning dark brown as they absorbed the saltwater. “I knew that was a stupid thing of him to do. Goddammit. You don’t kill reporters,” Moretti said in earnest anger. “But he told me that was how messages were sent in Africa.”

“Well, in this case, it was the wrong message and a very wrong victim.” Zack wasn’t sure whether Moretti was upset that someone had been killed or just that it had been the wrong person. “No more questions. Just keep walking.”

The two men splashed across the submerged section and stepped up onto the last slab of concrete, which gradually sloped upward. Seconds later, Zack and Moretti stood at the very end of the breakwater, closer to the other side of the Bay and Popeye Village than to their abandoned SUVs. Zack glanced back and saw that Noah had stopped twenty feet behind them, waiting for Zack to make the next and final move.

“Well, that was fun. What’s next on this tour? I mean, this place is really cool, even if the movie wasn’t that great,” Moretti said.

“Watch your tongue, and don’t ever insult Robin Williams again,” Zack said, aware that Moretti had no idea that Zack had seen every Robin Williams film and considered him to be one of the most energetic comic geniuses that ever lived, with a capacity to ad-lib in a manic stream of consciousness that was disturbingly hilarious.

“Touchy subject, I guess. Fine. But again, what now?” Moretti asked, his back to the edge of the concrete.

“Now,” Zack said, glancing one more time to the left, raising his left arm while the Glock was trained on Moretti. “Now, you jump.”

Moretti turned around, spotted what Zack had waved at, and muttered. “Sonofabitch. You thought of everything, including this.” With a sigh of defeat, he took off his shoes, grabbed them with his left hand, and leapt from the breakwater into the warm blue of Anchor Bay.

You got that right, motherfucker. We did, Zack thought and followed his prisoner into the waves, fifteen feet from where the small boat with the cabin had stopped, waiting for their new passengers to climb aboard.

Chapter Forty-Three

Chapter
FORTY-THREE

port valetta

uss carney, officer’s wardroom

1500 local time