Don Pendleton - Lethal Risk

SHADOW CHASE

A high-ranking Chinese official has arranged to defect to the United States and reveal war crimes his country has perpetrated throughout Asia. But while en route to discreetly bring the official to American soil, Mack Bolan learns the man has been arrested, and the mission becomes much more urgent. And dangerous.

Bolan’s first stop, the notorious prison where the official is being held, is a trap he barely escapes. On the run through the streets of Beijing, with intelligence agents hot on his trail, time is running out to recover the defector. And when his search-and-rescue leads him to a government-sanctioned organ-harvesting facility, the Executioner adds search-and-destroy to his list of things to do before his trip to China is complete.

Diving into the back, Bolan yelled, “Go, go, go!”

Liao hit the gas, and the truck leaped forward. “They’ll never catch us now!” he shouted.

Bolan slumped against the tailgate. His leg twitched, and he felt his phone vibrating. He dug it out and answered. “We’re—”

Tokaido’s voice screamed in his ear. “Missile! They’ve locked-on an antitank missile!”

“Stop! Right now!” Bolan yelled as he shoved the phone into his pocket and grabbed the machine gun with his other hand.

The truck skidded to a halt and, as Liao turned to him, Bolan yelled, “Incoming missile—get out now!”

Liao scrabbled at the door handle and got it open as Bolan hit the ground. He made sure Liao was racing from the truck before running himself.

Bolan saw the bright flash of a missile launch and shouted, “Hit the dirt!” as he threw himself forward.

Two seconds later, the world exploded.

A leader is best when people barely know he exists. When his work is done, his aim fulfilled, they will say: we did it ourselves.

—Lao Tzu

A single person can change the course of history, and when one of these people needs help, I’ll move heaven and earth to make it happen—and go through anyone who stands in my way.

—Mack Bolan

Cover

Back Cover Text SHADOW CHASE A high-ranking Chinese official has arranged to defect to the United States and reveal war crimes his country has perpetrated throughout Asia. But while en route to discreetly bring the official to American soil, Mack Bolan learns the man has been arrested, and the mission becomes much more urgent. And dangerous. Bolan’s first stop, the notorious prison where the official is being held, is a trap he barely escapes. On the run through the streets of Beijing, with intelligence agents hot on his trail, time is running out to recover the defector. And when his search-and-rescue leads him to a government-sanctioned organ-harvesting facility, the Executioner adds search-and-destroy to his list of things to do before his trip to China is complete.

Introduction Diving into the back, Bolan yelled, “Go, go, go!” Liao hit the gas, and the truck leaped forward. “They’ll never catch us now!” he shouted. Bolan slumped against the tailgate. His leg twitched, and he felt his phone vibrating. He dug it out and answered. “We’re—” Tokaido’s voice screamed in his ear. “Missile! They’ve locked-on an antitank missile!” “Stop! Right now!” Bolan yelled as he shoved the phone into his pocket and grabbed the machine gun with his other hand. The truck skidded to a halt and, as Liao turned to him, Bolan yelled, “Incoming missile—get out now!” Liao scrabbled at the door handle and got it open as Bolan hit the ground. He made sure Liao was racing from the truck before running himself. Bolan saw the bright flash of a missile launch and shouted, “Hit the dirt!” as he threw himself forward. Two seconds later, the world exploded.

Title Page Mack Bolan: Lethal Risk Don Pendleton

Quote A leader is best when people barely know he exists. When his work is done, his aim fulfilled, they will say: we did it ourselves. —Lao Tzu A single person can change the course of history, and when one of these people needs help, I’ll move heaven and earth to make it happen—and go through anyone who stands in my way. —Mack Bolan

PROLOGUE

CHAPTER ONE

CHAPTER TWO

CHAPTER THREE

CHAPTER FOUR

CHAPTER FIVE

CHAPTER SIX

CHAPTER SEVEN

CHAPTER EIGHT

CHAPTER NINE

CHAPTER TEN

CHAPTER ELEVEN

CHAPTER TWELVE

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

CHAPTER NINETEEN

CHAPTER TWENTY

CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE

CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR

CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE

CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX

CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN

CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT

CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE

CHAPTER THIRTY

CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE

CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO

CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE

CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR

CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE

CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX

CHAPTER THIRTY-SEVEN

CHAPTER THIRTY-EIGHT

CHAPTER THIRTY-NINE

CHAPTER FORTY

CHAPTER FORTY-ONE

CHAPTER FORTY-TWO

CHAPTER FORTY-THREE

CHAPTER FORTY-FOUR

CHAPTER FORTY-FIVE

CHAPTER FORTY-SIX

CHAPTER FORTY-SEVEN

EPILOGUE

Copyright

Edward Carstairs couldn’t stop drumming his fingers on the worsted wool of his navy blue dress slacks. Barely containing his impatient sigh, he peered through the thick, gray smog at the bumper-to-bumper traffic inching along the eight-lane superhighway. Although there was still an hour before sunset, the cloud of pollution lent a hazy, unreal appearance to the world outside.

We’ll never get there at this rate , he worried. “How long now?” he asked his driver in flawless Mandarin.

“Ten, fifteen minutes,” the man replied.

Rolling his eyes, Carstairs ran a hand through his thinning brown hair. It was the exact same answer he’d gotten the last three times he’d asked—inflection and all—over the past forty-five minutes.

He took a deep breath, tasting the pervasive, acrid odor of Beijing’s polluted air, and stared out the window, pondering what the successful completion of this assignment could mean to his career.

Carstairs had only been in China for eight weeks, and was still figuring things out at the US Embassy. So far the capital city had been a constant swirl of contradictions, delightful one day, maddening the next. But when a coded message had arrived from Washington, DC, instructing his superior to send a car and an escort with a stated “low profile” to pick up a family from an exclusive address in a gated community and bring them back to the embassy, Ambassador Balcius had picked Edward to carry out the task.

“It should be a simple pickup,” he’d said. “No one knows you’re coming, and the neighborhood is fairly close to your home. Your background and recent arrival make you perfect for the job, as no one has gotten a bead on you yet—at least, as far as we know. I’m sorry I can’t give you more information other than the minimum need-to-know, just know that this assignment has repercussions far beyond its seeming mundanity. Above all, be careful—the government here has its hand in everything. Take nothing for granted, and above all, trust no one.”

His superior’s words ran through Carstairs’s mind again and he patted his right pocket, feeling the small tube of metal there. If he was caught carrying it, or even worse, using it, it would be a diplomatic incident at the least, and get him expelled from the country and possibly even end his career at the worst.