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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

“I look forward to it, Zachary,” Griffin replied, his eyes blazing with menace.

Zack spun on his heels, sheathed the knife, and walked away, acutely aware of the hateful gaze of Griffin Huntsmen stabbing him in the back.

Part IX Spy Games

Part IX
Spy Games

Chapter Forty-Four

Chapter
FORTY-FOUR

present time

“You know,” Griffin started, lifting his head, smiling like a wolf who’d lured a sheep into a fatal trap. “I had hoped to draw you into an ambush after we left this godforsaken place, but here you are, still on home soil. It’s rather ironic, isn’t it, Zachary, that after all of the killing, it comes down to just the two of us, like twin moons circling the same planet but never colliding.”

“It’s not just the two of us, you psychopath. Who are your friends that just blew you off the road?” Zack asked.

Griffin laughed, shifted his weight, and placed a hand on each side of him as if preparing to stand up. “You’ll find out soon enough. After their theatrics, I get the impression that they do not tolerate failure lightly.”

“Well, I guess I’ll have to deal with them after I deal with you,” Zack said with no emotion. “Now get up, carefully and slowly. If I see anything in your left hand, I’m sending you to oblivion. Do you understand me?”

Griffin nodded, used his left arm to support himself, and rolled forward into a kneeling position. His right arm hung at his side, but a moment later, he was on his feet, staring up at Zack. “Now what?”

“Move up on the street because I’m not going to gun you down like a wounded animal in a ditch, although you probably deserve it. I am going to kill you. Mark my words. But I want answers to a few questions before I send you off into what I presume will be a very unpleasant afterlife.”

Griffin took a few steps toward Zack, who backed up as he kept the Glock trained on his former team chief.

“There’s that killer spirit I had hoped for in Malta. Why couldn’t you have just followed orders? You make a different choice back then, and maybe none of this happens. Who knows?” he shrugged indifferently.

“I don’t believe that for a second. And it’s irrelevant. You condemned yourself by orchestrating this entire affair. You’re responsible for the death of that old man, and you’re responsible for the death of Brandon Harper. Those are unforgivable, and you know it. Just the way we used to take down HVTs who were a threat to our national security, I’m putting you down because you’re a goddamned threat to the entire free world.”

“All very noble, Zachary, but we’ll see how this plays out.”