Don Pendleton: Thunder Down Under

OUTBACK SABOTAGE

Investigating a brutal attack on an Australian mineral plant is a mission outside of The Executioner’s usual jurisdiction. But Mack Bolan is sure something’s dead wrong when arrogant corporate mogul Angus Martin accuses a peaceful Aboriginal-rights group of lethal industrial sabotage. And from the moment he lands down under, Bolan is under attack by trained, ruthless mercenaries who are somehow two steps ahead of him. It will take all The Executioner’s skill and determination to unravel the deadly conspiracy—and rain down his own brand of merciless justice!

#375 Salvador Strike

#376 Frontier Fury

#377 Desperate Cargo

#378 Death Run

#379 Deep Recon

#380 Silent Threat

#381 Killing Ground

#382 Threat Factor

#383 Raw Fury

#384 Cartel Clash

#385 Recovery Force

#386 Crucial Intercept

#387 Powder Burn

#388 Final Coup

#389 Deadly Command

#390 Toxic Terrain

#391 Enemy Agents

#392 Shadow Hunt

#393 Stand Down

#394 Trial by Fire

#395 Hazard Zone

#396 Fatal Combat

#397 Damage Radius

#398 Battle Cry

#399 Nuclear Storm

#400 Blind Justice

#401 Jungle Hunt

#402 Rebel Trade

#403 Line of Honor

#404 Final Judgment

#405 Lethal Diversion

#406 Survival Mission

#407 Throw Down

#408 Border Offensive

#409 Blood Vendetta

#410 Hostile Force

#411 Cold Fusion

#412 Night’s Reckoning

#413 Double Cross

#414 Prison Code

#415 Ivory Wave

#416 Extraction

#417 Rogue Assault

#418 Viral Siege

#419 Sleeping Dragons

#420 Rebel Blast

#421 Hard Targets

#422 Nigeria Meltdown

#423 Breakout

#424 Amazon Impunity

#425 Patriot Strike

#426 Pirate Offensive

#427 Pacific Creed

#428 Desert Impact

#429 Arctic Kill

#430 Deadly Salvage

#431 Maximum Chaos

#432 Slayground

#433 Point Blank

#434 Savage Deadlock

#435 Dragon Key

#436 Perilous Cargo

#437 Assassin’s Tripwire

#438 The Cartel Hit

#439 Blood Rites

#440 Killpath

#441 Murder Island

#442 Syrian Rescue

#443 Uncut Terror

#444 Dark Savior

#445 Final Assault

#446 Kill Squad

#447 Missile Intercept

#448 Terrorist Dispatch

#449 Combat Machines

#450 Omega Cult

#451 Fatal Prescription

#452 Death List

#453 Rogue Elements

#454 Enemies Within

#455 Chicago Vendetta

#456 Thunder Down Under

Thunder Down Under

Don Pendelton

ISBN-13: 978-1-474-08613-4

Special thanks to Jonathan Morgan for his assistance in shaping this manuscript.

Special thanks and acknowledgement are given to John Helfers for his contribution to this work.

THUNDER DOWN UNDER

© 2018 by Harlequin Enterprises Limited

Scriptures taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.™ Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide. www.zondervan.com The “NIV” and “New International Version” are trademarks registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office by Biblica, Inc.™

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The biker was right on their tail, hitting the ramp only a few meters behind.

Bolan fought to keep the shaking car in the lane. If they stalled out here, they were as good as dead.

The biker moved a little closer, drawing a bead on the vehicle with his pistol. Bolan let his speed drop slightly, and the motorcycle sped even closer. Then the Executioner made his move.

Bolan’s Mercedes rocked to a stop in a shriek of protesting tires and scorched rubber. Bolan had already turned and was firing out the back window at the rider.

Even with the car’s sudden stop and bullets whizzing through the air around him, the biker managed to snap off two shots before wrenching the handlebars to the left to avoid a collision. He shot past the rear corner of the Mercedes, missing it by inches. The rider put three bullets into the right front fender before speeding ahead to merge with the cars on the highway.

Bolan heard police sirens and narrowed his gaze as he watched the shooter disappear among the traffic ahead of them. “Just in time.”

“Now listen, you rich people, weep and wail because of the misery that is coming on you.”

—James 5:1

“I have nothing against someone making their fortune, but when they use that power to oppress others for personal gain, that’s a crossed line I will not tolerate. The rich may be different, but they are not above the law—and they are never above justice.”

—Mack Bolan

Nothing less than a war could have fashioned the destiny of the man called Mack Bolan. Bolan earned the Executioner title in the jungle hell of Vietnam.

But this soldier also wore another name—Sergeant Mercy. He was so tagged because of the compassion he showed to wounded comrades-in-arms and Vietnamese civilians.

Mack Bolan’s second tour of duty ended prematurely when he was given emergency leave to return home and bury his family, victims of the Mob. Then he declared a one-man war against the Mafia.

He confronted the Families head-on from coast to coast, and soon a hope of victory began to appear. But Bolan had broken society’s every rule. That same society started gunning for this elusive warrior—to no avail.

So Bolan was offered amnesty to work within the system against terrorism. This time, as an employee of Uncle Sam, Bolan became Colonel John Phoenix. With a command center at Stony Man Farm in Virginia, he and his new allies—Able Team and Phoenix Force—waged relentless war on a new adversary: the KGB.

But when his one true love, April Rose, died at the hands of the Soviet terror machine, Bolan severed all ties with Establishment authority.

Now, after a lengthy lone-wolf struggle and much soul-searching, the Executioner has agreed to enter an “arm’s-length” alliance with his government once more, reserving the right to pursue personal missions in his Everlasting War.