Don Pendleton - Death Minus Zero

STONY MAN

When innocence is under attack, the Stony Man teams are primed to hit the battlefield. Operating under the President’s orders, the world’s best black ops warriors and cyber techs are willing to pay the ultimate price to uphold freedom.

LAST DEFENSE

Washington goes on full alert when Chinese operatives kidnap the creator of a vital US defense system, a top secret orbiting platform. Tracking the missing scientist to the Swiss Alps, Phoenix Force has to rescue the captive before torture forces him to give up the platform’s secrets—putting millions of lives at risk. While Phoenix Force is overseas, Able Team uncovers a plot to take over the system’s mission control facility. Both teams are outnumbered and outgunned, but they’ll do whatever it takes to stop America’s enemies from holding the entire country hostage.

“HAVE YOU MANAGED TO TRACK THE CAR?”

“Yes,” Tokaido said.

He showed a montage of the suspect vehicle picked up by various traffic cams. After a few miles it turned onto a wide parking lot adjacent to a truck stop. The monitor showed the vehicle swing around and vanish from sight behind lined-up rigs and road trailers.

“Great,” Brognola snapped.

“Not over yet,” Tokaido said.

The view of the truck stop continued for a long few minutes before the suspect car came back into sight. Passing traffic forced it to wait before it swung right and drove away.

Brognola sighed. “So they stopped for a few minutes to use the toilet. Maybe pick up some coffee.”

Kurtzman chuckled. “He doesn’t see it.”

“See what?”

Tokaido zoomed in on the image of the car waiting to merge into traffic.

There had been five men in the car when it arrived, but there were only four when it departed. Only two passengers in the rear instead of three.

“They lost one,” Brognola said. “Son of a bitch.”

Contents

Cover

Back Cover Text STONY MAN When innocence is under attack, the Stony Man teams are primed to hit the battlefield. Operating under the President’s orders, the world’s best black ops warriors and cyber techs are willing to pay the ultimate price to uphold freedom. LAST DEFENSE Washington goes on full alert when Chinese operatives kidnap the creator of a vital US defense system, a top secret orbiting platform. Tracking the missing scientist to the Swiss Alps, Phoenix Force has to rescue the captive before torture forces him to give up the platform’s secrets—putting millions of lives at risk. While Phoenix Force is overseas, Able Team uncovers a plot to take over the system’s mission control facility. Both teams are outnumbered and outgunned, but they’ll do whatever it takes to stop America’s enemies from holding the entire country hostage.

Introduction “HAVE YOU MANAGED TO TRACK THE CAR?” “Yes,” Tokaido said. He showed a montage of the suspect vehicle picked up by various traffic cams. After a few miles it turned onto a wide parking lot adjacent to a truck stop. The monitor showed the vehicle swing around and vanish from sight behind lined-up rigs and road trailers. “Great,” Brognola snapped. “Not over yet,” Tokaido said. The view of the truck stop continued for a long few minutes before the suspect car came back into sight. Passing traffic forced it to wait before it swung right and drove away. Brognola sighed. “So they stopped for a few minutes to use the toilet. Maybe pick up some coffee.” Kurtzman chuckled. “He doesn’t see it.” “See what?” Tokaido zoomed in on the image of the car waiting to merge into traffic. There had been five men in the car when it arrived, but there were only four when it departed. Only two passengers in the rear instead of three. “They lost one,” Brognola said. “Son of a bitch.”

Title Page Death Minus Zero

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

EPILOGUE

Copyright

CHAPTER ONE

Virginia

As he did every morning, Saul Kaplan stepped out of his town house and approached the waiting car. As he also did every day, he dropped his briefcase on the seat, climbed inside and took his place in the vehicle. The driver, a uniformed US Air Force sergeant, waited until Kaplan was settled. He glanced in the rearview mirror.

“Morning, Doc,” Sergeant Steven Kessler greeted Kaplan.

“Good day, Steven. I think it is going to be a pleasant day.”

“You sit back and enjoy the ride, Doc.”

Kaplan smiled at the title he had been awarded by those he worked with. In truth Saul Kaplan was neither a professor nor a doctor, though he had been granted honorary degrees as he’d risen through the levels. But he barely recognized them and refused to use the titles; he recognized his skills in his chosen profession and was happy simply to develop his craft, seeing no advantage to having paper titles. Kaplan saw no need for aggrandizement. He was simply Saul Kaplan. That was enough for him. He was at the top of his game.

Kaplan was the man who had created and designed the Zero Platform and the human technology that went with it. It was through his determination and drive that the orbiting satellite had been approved and built. His sheer persistence had pushed Zero through the seemingly insurmountable barriers initially placed in his way. The US Air Force, the branch of the American defense services that had taken on Zero, held Kaplan in great esteem. His creation had already proved itself, and Kaplan’s dream had stepped away from being a flight of fancy to become a solid reality that was continuing to prove itself in more ways than even Kaplan might have envisaged. “Doc” was simply something people called him out of respect for his skill and dedication to the work he did and Kaplan accepted it in the spirit it was given.

The Zero Platform was an orbiting defensive-offensive machine providing observation and analysis, though it also carried an array of weaponry capable of offering destructive potential. Currently that ordnance comprised powerful long-and short-range explosive-warhead missiles that could be used in an aggressive manner if the United States so decided. Weapons planned for future use—laser and particle beam—were still under development, though the complexities of putting them into action was proving frustrating, especially for Saul Kaplan. He was still working out the mechanics of the weapons. His expertise was being tested to the limit as he and the Air Force techs at Zero Command spent their days wrestling with the math and the applications of the weapons. Kaplan was confident they would succeed. The Air Force, always wanting everything by tomorrow, had been forced to step back and allow Kaplan his space.