BooksBarbecue
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

Belyakov nodded and looked back at Zack. “Please. We need to speak, and we don’t have much time. You can hold on to your Glock. I assure you my men will not harm you. You have my word, as a father—something I know you value.” Belyakov started walking to the other side of the street, and Zack followed, his desire for answers a physical compulsion he could not deny.

Once the two men stood out of earshot, Zack started in with the questions. “What the hell are you doing, Belyakov? Are you trying to start a war? Are you some kind of terrorist leader, now? And what the hell is so goddamned important that you had to lay siege to a neighborhood—my neighborhood—on US soil? Have you completely lost your mind?” Zack shook with the building rage, controlling it before it slipped off its leash.

“Those are all fair questions, but first, let me tell you what happened to me after that day in Malta, since it’s the most important piece of the puzzle that you don’t have. And then, I’ll get to the rest, although the clock is ticking.” He paused, taking a breath for what was to come. “After you and your team left that ship, I stayed on, all the way back to the US. I have no idea where we docked, but once we did, I was blindfolded, escorted off the ship, and driven for three hours to some kind of facility in the middle of the country. I also had no idea what happened to Moretti. I thought that while you had spared me, it was only to suffer torture and execution at the hands of your masters. I was wrong. Instead, your government made me a deal, and I took it.”

Zack’s mind reeled at the revelation. All that work, all that effort, the dead security personnel—all for nothing? “But why? We thought they wanted you dead for what you’d done in Africa. I’m sure you saw that the US tried and convicted Moretti and sent him to prison for twenty-five years.”

Belyakov shrugged indifferently. “I did see that. He played this game and lost. As for me, honestly, I thought they did want me dead, at least initially, but someone very high up overruled them, maybe the highest.” The implication was clear: the White House. “And the deal was simple: I would be freed to return to Russia and my private security business if I gave your government compromising information on all of the countries I had dealings with.”

“Unbelievable,” Zack said in disgust, although he was unsurprised that the bureaucrats running the country would shift allegiances so easily with no moral compunction.