{"product_id":"tom-clancys-net-forceisbn-9780425161722","title":"Tom Clancy's Net Force","description":"From the #1 \u003cb\u003eNew York Times\u003c\/b\u003e bestselling creators of \u003cb\u003eOp-Center\u003c\/b\u003e comes a different kind of law enforcement. In the year 2010, computers are the new superpowers. Those who control them, control the world. To enforce the Net Laws, Congress forms the ultimate computer security agency within the FBI: the \u003cb\u003eNet Force\u003c\/b\u003e.A little more than thirty years ago \u003cb\u003eTom Clancy\u003c\/b\u003e was a Maryland insurance broker with a passion for naval history. Years before, he had been an English major at Baltimore’s Loyola College and had always dreamed of writing a novel. His first effort, \u003ci\u003eThe Hunt for Red October\u003c\/i\u003e, sold briskly as a result of rave reviews, then catapulted onto the \u003ci\u003eNew York Times\u003c\/i\u003e bestseller list after President Reagan pronounced it “the perfect yarn.” From that day forward, Clancy established himself as an undisputed master at blending exceptional realism and authenticity, intricate plotting, and razor-sharp suspense. He passed away in October 2013.\u003cp\u003eTable of Contents\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eTitle Page\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eCopyright Page\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eAcknowledgements\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eChapter 1\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eChapter 2\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eChapter 3\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eChapter 4\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eChapter 5\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eChapter 6\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eChapter 7\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eChapter 8\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eChapter 9\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eChapter 10\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eChapter 11\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eChapter 12\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eChapter 13\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eChapter 14\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eChapter 15\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eChapter 16\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eChapter 17\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eChapter 18\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eChapter 19\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eChapter 20\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eChapter 21\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eChapter 22\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eChapter 23\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eChapter 24\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eChapter 25\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eChapter 26\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eChapter 27\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eChapter 28\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eChapter 29\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eChapter 30\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eChapter 31\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eChapter 32\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eChapter 33\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eChapter 34\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eChapter 35\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eChapter 36\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eChapter 37\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eChapter 38\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eChapter 39\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eChapter 40\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eEPILOGUE\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eTHE BESTSELLING NOVELS OF TOM CLANCY\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eRED RABBIT\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003ci\u003eTom Clancy returns to Jack Ryan’s early days—in an extraordinary novel of global political drama . . .\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“A wild, satisfying ride.”\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e—\u003ci\u003eNew\u003c\/i\u003e \u003ci\u003eYork Daily News\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eTHE BEAR AND THE DRAGON\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003ci\u003eA clash of world powers. President Jack Ryan’s trial by fire . . .\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“Heart-stopping action . . . Clancy still reigns.”\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e—\u003ci\u003eThe\u003c\/i\u003e \u003ci\u003eWashington Post\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eRAINBOW SIX\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003ci\u003eJohn Clark is used to doing the CIA’s dirty work. Now he’s taking on the world . . .\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“Action-packed.”\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e—\u003ci\u003eThe\u003c\/i\u003e \u003ci\u003eNew York Times Book Review\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eEXECUTIVE ORDERS\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003ci\u003eA devastating terrorist act leaves Jack Ryan as president of the United States ...\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“Undoubtedly Clancy’s best yet.”\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e—\u003ci\u003eThe Atlanta\u003c\/i\u003e \u003ci\u003eJournal-Constitution\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eDEBT OF HONOR\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003ci\u003eIt begins with the murder of an American woman in the back streets of Tokyo. It ends in war . . .\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“A shocker.”\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e—\u003ci\u003eEntertainment\u003c\/i\u003e \u003ci\u003eWeekly\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eTHE HUNT FOR RED OCTOBER\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003ci\u003eThe smash bestseller that launched Clancy’s career—the incredible search for a Soviet defector and the nuclear submarine he commands . . .\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“Breathlessly exciting.”\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e—\u003ci\u003eThe\u003c\/i\u003e \u003ci\u003eWashington Post\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eRED STORM RISING\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003ci\u003eThe ultimate scenario for World War III—the final battle for global control . . .\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“The ultimate war game . . . brilliant.”\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e—\u003ci\u003eNewsweek\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003ePATRIOT GAMES\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003ci\u003eCIA analyst Jack Ryan stops an assassination—and incurs the wrath of Irish terrorists . . .\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“A high pitch of excitement.”\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e—\u003ci\u003eThe Wall\u003c\/i\u003e \u003ci\u003eStreet Journal\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eTHE CARDINAL OF THE KREMLIN\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003ci\u003eThe superpowers race for the ultimate Star Wars missile defense system . . .\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003ci\u003e“Cardinal\u003c\/i\u003e excites, illuminates . . . a real page-turner.”\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e—\u003ci\u003eLos\u003c\/i\u003e \u003ci\u003eAngeles Daily News\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eCLEAR AND PRESENT DANGER\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003ci\u003eThe killing of three U.S. officials in Colombia ignites the American government’s explosive, and top secret, response . . .\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“A crackling good yarn.”\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e—\u003ci\u003eThe\u003c\/i\u003e \u003ci\u003eWashington Post\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eTHE SUM OF ALL FEARS\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003ci\u003eThe disappearance of an Israeli nuclear weapon threatens the balance of power in the Middle East—and around the world . . .\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“Clancy at his best . . . not to be missed.”\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e—\u003ci\u003eThe Dallas\u003c\/i\u003e \u003ci\u003eMorning News\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eWITHOUT REMORSE\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003ci\u003eThe Clancy epic fans have been waiting for. His code name is Mr. Clark. And his work for the CIA is brilliant, cold-blooded, and efficient . . . but who is he really?\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“Highly entertaining.”\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e—\u003ci\u003eThe Wall\u003c\/i\u003e \u003ci\u003eStreet Journal\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eNovels by Tom \u003ci\u003eClancy\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eTHE HUNT FOR RED OCTOBER \u003cbr\u003eRED STORM RISING \u003cbr\u003ePATRIOT GAMES \u003cbr\u003eTHE CARDINAL OF THE KREMLIN \u003cbr\u003eCLEAR AND PRESENT DANGER \u003cbr\u003eTHE SUM OF ALL FEARS \u003cbr\u003eWITHOUT REMORSE \u003cbr\u003eDEBT OF HONOR \u003cbr\u003eEXECUTIVE ORDERS \u003cbr\u003eRAINBOW SIX \u003cbr\u003eTHE BEAR AND THE DRAGON \u003cbr\u003eRED RABBIT \u003cbr\u003eTHE TEETH OF THE TIGER\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eSSN: STRATEGIES OF SUBMARINE WARFARE\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eNonfiction \u003cbr\u003eSUBMARINE: A GUIDED TOUR INSIDE A NUCLEAR WARSHIP \u003cbr\u003eARMORED CAV: A GUIDED TOUR OF AN ARMORED CAVALRY REGIMENT \u003cbr\u003eFIGHTER WING: A GUIDED TOUR OF AN AIR FORCE COMBAT WING \u003cbr\u003eMARINE: A GUIDED TOUR OF A MARINE EXPEDITIONARY UNIT \u003cbr\u003eAIRBORNE: A GUIDED TOUR OF AN AIRBORNE TASK FORCE \u003cbr\u003eCARRIER: A GUIDED TOUR OF AN AIRCRAFT CARRIER \u003cbr\u003eSPECIAL FORCES: A GUIDED TOUR OF U.S. ARMY SPECIAL FORCES\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eINTO THE STORM: A STUDY IN COMMAND \u003cbr\u003e(written with General Fred Franks, \u003ci\u003eJr\u003c\/i\u003e., Ret.) \u003cbr\u003eEVERY MAN A TIGER \u003cbr\u003e(written with General Charles \u003ci\u003eHorner\u003c\/i\u003e, Ret.) \u003cbr\u003eSHADOW WARRIORS: INSIDE THE SPECIAL FORCES \u003cbr\u003e(written with General \u003ci\u003eCarl Stiner\u003c\/i\u003e, Ret., \u003ci\u003eand\u003c\/i\u003e Tony \u003ci\u003eKoltz)\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003ci\u003eCreated\u003c\/i\u003e by Tom \u003ci\u003eClancy and Steve\u003c\/i\u003e Pieczenik\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eTOM CLANCY’S OP-CENTER \u003cbr\u003eTOM CLANCY’S OP-CENTER: MIRROR IMAGE \u003cbr\u003eTOM CLANCY’S OP-CENTER: GAMES OF STATE \u003cbr\u003eTOM CLANCY’S OP-CENTER: ACTS OF WAR \u003cbr\u003eTOM CLANCY’S OP-CENTER: BALANCE OF POWER \u003cbr\u003eTOM CLANCY’S OP-CENTER: STATE OF SIEGE \u003cbr\u003eTOM CLANCY’S OP-CENTER: DIVIDE AND CONQUER \u003cbr\u003eTOM CLANCY’S OP-CENTER: LINE OF CONTROL \u003cbr\u003eTOM CLANCY’S OP-CENTER: MISSION OF HONOR \u003cbr\u003eTOM CLANCY’S OP-CENTER: SEA OF FIRE \u003cbr\u003eTOM CLANCY’S OP-CENTER: CALL TO TREASON\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eTOM CLANCY’S NET FORCE \u003cbr\u003eTOM CLANCY’S NET FORCE: HIDDEN AGENDAS \u003cbr\u003eTOM CLANCY’S NET FORCE: NIGHT MOVES \u003cbr\u003eTOM CLANCY’S NET FORCE: BREAKING POINT \u003cbr\u003eTOM CLANCY’S NET FORCE: POINT OF IMPACT \u003cbr\u003eTOM CLANCY’S NET FORCE: CYBERNATION \u003cbr\u003eTOM CLANCY’S NET FORCE: STATE OF WAR \u003cbr\u003eTOM CLANCY’S NET FORCE: CHANGING OF THE GUARD\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eCreated by Tom Clancy \u003ci\u003eand\u003c\/i\u003e Martin Greenberg\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eTOM CLANCY’S POWER PLAYS: POLITIKA \u003cbr\u003eTOM CLANCY’S POWER PLAYS: RUTHLESS.COM \u003cbr\u003eTOM CLANCY’S POWER PLAYS: SHADOW WATCH \u003cbr\u003eTOM CLANCY’S POWER PLAYS: BIO-STRIKE \u003cbr\u003eTOM CLANCY’S POWER PLAYS: COLD WAR \u003cbr\u003eTOM CLANCY’S POWER PLAYS: CUTTING EDGE \u003cbr\u003eTOM CLANCY’S POWER PLAYS: ZERO HOUR\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThis is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eTOM CLANCY’S NET FORCE®\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eA Berkley Book \/ published by arrangement with Netco Partners\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003ePRINTING HISTORY \u003cbr\u003eBerkley edition \/ February 1999\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eCopyright © 1998 by Netco Partners.\u003cp\u003eNET FORCE is a trademark of Netco Partners.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eAll rights reserved.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThis book, or parts thereof, may not be reproduced in any form without permission. The scanning, uploading, and distribution of this book via the Internet or via any other means without the permission of the publisher is illegal and punishable by law. Please purchase only authorized electronic editions, and do not participate in or encourage electronic piracy of copyrighted materials. Your support of the author’s rights is appreciated.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eFor information address: The Berkley Publishing Group, a division of Penguin Group (USA) Inc.,\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e375 Hudson Street, New York, New York 10014.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eISBN: 9781101002438\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eBERKLEY®\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eBerkley Books are published by The Berkley Publishing Group, a division of Penguin Group (USA) Inc.,\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e375 Hudson Street, New York, New York 10014.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eBERKLEY and the “B” design are trademarks belonging to Penguin Group (USA) Inc.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eAcknowledgments\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eWe’d like to thank Steve Perry for his creative ideas and his invaluable contributions to the preparations of the manuscript. We would also like to acknowledge the assistance of Martin H. Greenberg, Larry Segriff, Denise Little, John Helfers, Robert Youdelman, Esq., Richard Heller, Esq., and Tom Mallon, Esq.; Mitchell Rubenstein and Laurie Silvers at BIG Entertainment; the wonderful people at The Putnam Berkley Group, including Phyllis Grann, David Shanks, and Tom Colgan; our producers on the ABC mini-series, Gil Cates and Dennis Doty; the brilliant screenwriter and director Rob Lieberman; and all the good people at ABC. As always, we would like to thank Robert Gottlieb of the William Morris Agency, our agent and friend, without whom this book would never have been conceived, as well as Jerry Katzman, Vice Chairman of the William Morris Agency, and his television colleagues. But most important, it is for you, our readers, to determine how successful our collective endeavor has been.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e1\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003ci\u003e\u003cb\u003eTuesday, September 7th, 2010, 11:24 p.m.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e \u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003e\u003cb\u003eWashington, D.C.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“Okay, Commander,” Boyle said. “We’re clear.”\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eSteve Day stepped out into the muggy autumn night from the cooler air-conditioned restaurant, surrounded still by the wonderful odors of exquisite Italian cooking. Already on the sidewalk, Boyle, Day’s chief bodyguard, spoke into his link. The limo was there, but Boyle was a very careful young man, one of the FBI’s finest. Only after he spoke did the limo’s electrically locked rear door click open. The whole time, Boyle looked everywhere but at Day.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eDay nodded at the driver, the new guy. Larry? Lou? Something like that. As he slid across the cloned-leather seat, he was feeling pretty good. Nothing like a seven-course meal and three kinds of excellent wine to put a man in a good mood. Umberto’s was new, but it was at least a four-star eatery—or would be as soon as somebody got around to ranking it, though Day hoped that wouldn’t be anytime soon. It never failed. As soon as he found a new out-of-the-way place with decent food, it was quickly “discovered”  and reservations were impossible to get.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eTrue, he was the Commander of the recently established Net Force, still the flavor of the month in Washington power circles, but that didn’t cut much ice when rich Senators or even richer foreign diplomats were in line ahead of you. Even restaurant owners in this town knew which backsides to kiss first, and top of the list sure wasn’t a political appointee as far down the food chain as Day was. For now, anyway.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eStill, the meal had been great: al dente pasta and artery-clogging sauce and shrimp, and salad and palate-cleansing ices. Day was both pleasantly full and slightly tipsy. Good thing he didn’t have to drive.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eHis virgil cheeped at him.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eBoyle slid in next to Day, closed the door, then tapped on the bullet-proof Lexan partition with one knuckle.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe driver started the car as Day unclipped the virgil from his belt and looked at it.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eHis Virtual Global Interface Link—virgil for short—had a flashing telephone icon in the upper right corner of the small LCD screen. He touched the icon and a number blinked onto the screen. Marilyn, calling from home. He looked at the timesig. Just after eleven. She must have gotten back from her DAR meeting early. Those gab sessions usually ran past midnight. He grinned, tapped the phone number twice and waited for the connection.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eNot much bigger than a pack of cigarettes—he’d given \u003ci\u003ethose\u003c\/i\u003e up twenty years ago, but he hadn’t forgotten how big a pack was—the virgil was a terrific toy. It was a computer, a GPS unit, phone, clock, radio, TV, modem, credit card, camera, scanner and even a little weavewire fax, all in one. The GPS could tell you where you were anywhere on the planet—and because he was a ranking FBI officer, it didn’t have the fudge-factor that commercial civilian units came with, so it was accurate to within five meters. You could  link to anybody with a phone or computer, via a scrambled hyperdigital channel so dense they called it a pipe and that would take an expert codebreaker a month of Sundays to tap into. This particular unit would, with the proper code, allow Day to access the FBI and Net Force mainframe DNAs, with their vast information stores. Had he been so inclined, Day could have grabbed a pinch of the powdered sugar that came on the cheesecake he’d had for dessert, dusted a fingerprint left on a plate by his waiter and had it checked, ID’d, and a full history on the man back to him before he’d finished eating.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIt was great living here in the future, a mere decade after the turn of the century. If 2010 had such wonders, what might it look like in another twenty or thirty years? He was looking forward to finding out, and with advances in medicine, he could pretty much expect to do so.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe virgil’s speaker said, “Hi, Steve.”\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“Hi, Marilyn. What’s up?”\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“Nothing much. We got done early. I was just wondering if you might want a late supper.”\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eHe grinned at the virgil. He didn’t have his camera on, so she couldn’t see the smile. “I just left Umberto’s,” he said. “I think I’ll pass on eating for the next couple of weeks.”\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eShe laughed. “I understand. You coming home?”\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“On the way.”\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eHe had a condo in the city, but most nights he tried to get across the river and to the house. The kids were grown, but Marilyn and the dog still liked to see him now and again.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eHe tapped the virgil and re-clipped it to his belt, which needed a little attention. He loosened the buckle a couple of holes and slid the Galco paddle holster with his SIG .40 around toward the front a little so it wouldn’t dig into his right hip. He could have carried one of the new-model wireless  KTs—kick-tasers—that were supposed to be better than a gun, but he didn’t really trust them. Yes, he was a political appointee for the current job, but he’d been in the field a long time to earn the spot. He trusted his old-fashioned pistol.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eMoving the gun helped. While he was at it, he undid the Velcro on his Kevlar vest’s side panels and re-tabbed them a little looser, too.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eNext to him, Boyle fought to keep his grin under control.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eDay shook his head. “Easy for you to laugh. You’re what—thirty? Still bulking up at the gym three or four times a week, right? Us fat old desk jockeys don’t have time to stay in shape.”\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eNot that he was \u003ci\u003ethat\u003c\/i\u003e much out of shape. Five-eight, maybe 190? He could drop a few pounds, but hey, he was fifty-two last June and he was entitled to carry a little extra baggage. He’d earned it.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThey were on the narrow street behind the new projects, the shortcut toward the expressway. It was a dark and dreary part of town, with streetlights broken out and dead, stripped cars lining the road. Another of the instant slums, going down fast even before the original paint had dried. In his opinion, the current welfare philosophy needed major work; of course, it always had. Though things were getting better, the future still had a way to go to pick up all of its passengers. There were streets in D.C. he wouldn’t walk alone after dark; gun, vest, and virgil notwithstanding. An armored limo made him feel a little more secure—\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThere came a terrific bang, a flash that strobed the limo’s interior a sudden bright orange. The car rocked up on the driver’s side, hung for what seemed like forever on two wheels, then fell back and hit the street hard.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“What the hell?”\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eBoyle already had his pistol out as the limo fishtailed, slewed and slammed into a streetlight post. The post was  fiberglass. It snapped off at bumper level and fell on the limo, spraying shattered glass in a tinkly rain upon the car’s trunk.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eDay saw a bulky man in black run toward the car from out of the sticky night. The man wore a watch cap pulled low but not covering his face. He had blond hair, a scar running through his right eyebrow. He was smiling.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eDay thought he caught a flash of movement at the rear of the limo, but when he looked, he didn’t see anything.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“Go!” Boyle yelled. “Go, go!”\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe driver tried. The engine roared, the wheels screeched, but the car didn’t move. The stench of burning rubber filled the car.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eDay thumbed the emergency scramble button on the virgil, and was already reaching for his own pistol when the man in black reached the limo and slapped something on the door. Whatever it was thunked metallically. The man turned and sprinted away, back into the darkness—\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“Ou!” Boyle screamed. “He’s stuck a limpet on the door! Out!”\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eDay grabbed the door handle on the driver’s side, jerked it up, dove out and hit the ground in a sloppy shoulder roll.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThere came the repetitive bark of a submachine gun, followed by the \u003ci\u003espang! spang! spang!\u003c\/i\u003e of jacketed teeth chewing at the wounded limo.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eDay rolled again, looking for cover. Nothing. Nowhere to hide!\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eHe glanced back at the car. Saw and felt time become mired in heaviness. Boyle exited the car, gun working, tongues of orange fire stabbing into the dark, but it was like a slow-motion scene in a movie.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eBoyle jerked as the small-arms fire beat at him, slammed into his torso.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIn a small corner of his mind, Day knew that most sub-machine guns used pistol ammunition and that the vests he  and Boyle both wore would stop any handgun round. As long as they didn’t—\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003ci\u003e—blood and brain matter sprayed from the side of Boyle’s temple as a bullet exited there—\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e—as long as they didn’t think to shoot for the head!\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eDamn, damn! What was going on? Who were these people?\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIn the limo, the driver kept trying to pull away, the roar of the engine continuing. Day could smell the exhaust, the burned tires—he could smell his own fear, too, sharp, sour, overwhelming.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe mine attached to the rear door of the limo went off—\u003ci\u003eblam!\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eAll the glass in the limo blew out. It sleeted in all directions—some of it hit Day, but he was only dimly aware of it touching him.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe car’s roof peeled up a little in the back, leaving a fist-sized gap. Smoke, bitter and acrid, washed over him in a hot wave.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe driver hung partway out of his window, boneless.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eDead. The driver and Boyle were both dead. Help would be coming, but he couldn’t wait for it—if he did, he would be dead, too.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eDay came up, took two or three quick steps, jinked right for two more steps, then cut left. Broken-field, came back to him from football in high school thirty-five years ago.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eGunfire tried to catch him, but failed to connect solidly. A bullet tugged at his jacket, punched through under his left arm. He felt a sense of outrage. The goddamned jacket was Hong Kong silk, it had cost him six hundred dollars!\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eAnother round smashed into his chest, right over the heart. He’d never worn the titanium trauma plate, had just used a trifold of Kevlar stuffed down in the trauma pocket over the heart like a lot of agents did, and the impact hurt  like a bastard! Like he’d been hit with a hammer, right on the sternum! Damn!\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eBut it didn’t matter. He was up, he was moving—\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eA black figure appeared in front of him, waving a flashing Uzi. Even in the night and murk of his fear, Day saw the man wore bulky combat armor under his black jacket. Day had been taught to shoot to the center of mass first, but that wouldn’t do now, no, no, the SIG .40 wouldn’t hurt the attacker that way any more than the Uzi’s 9mm’s were hurting \u003ci\u003ehim\u003c\/i\u003e!\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eStill running, Day lifted the SIG, lined the glowing tritium dot of the front sight on the man’s nose. Day’s vision tunneled—all he could see was the face. The green night-sight dot bounced around, but he squeezed off three shots as fast as he could pull the trigger.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe armored attacker dropped as if his legs had vanished.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eAll right! All right! He had taken one of them out, he had created a hole, it was just like in football when he’d been the quarterback so long ago.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003ci\u003eNow,\u003c\/i\u003e go through the hole, \u003ci\u003efast,\u003c\/i\u003e head for the goal line!\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eHe caught motion peripherally, glanced to his left, and saw another man, also in black. The man held a pistol in two hands. He was as still as a painting. He looked as if he were at the range, ready to practice.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eDay felt his bowels clench. He wanted to run, shoot, defecate, all at the same instant. Whoever these guys were, they were professionals. This wasn’t any street gang looking for somebody’s wallet. This was a hit, an assassination, and they were good—\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIt was his final thought.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe bullet hit him between the eyes and took away everything else he might ever think.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIn the backseat of the Volvo station wagon, Mikhayl Ruzhyó looked into the cargo compartment behind him at  the body of Nicholas Papirósa. The body lay on its side, covered with a blanket, and the smell of death seeped into the air despite the covering. Ruzhyó sighed, shook his head. Poor Nicholas. It had been hoped there would be no casualties—it was always hoped to be so—but the fat American had not been as old and slow as expected. They had underestimated him—an error. Of course, it had been Nicholas who had been responsible for the intelligence about the FBI Commander, so perhaps it was fitting that he was the only casualty. Still, Ruzhyó would miss him. They went back a long way, to the days in the Foreign Intelligence Service, the SRV. Fifteen years. A lifetime in this business.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eTomorrow would have been Nicholas’s birthday; he would have been forty-two.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIn the front seat, Winters, the American, drove, and Grigory Zmeyá rode in the passenger seat, mumbling to himself in Russian.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eTheir last names—even Winters—were not those bestowed upon them by their fathers. They were jokes. Ruzhyó meant “rifle.” Nicholas had named himself “cigarette.” Grigory called himself after the Russian word for “snake.”\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eRuzhyó sighed again. Done was done. Nicholas was dead, but so was the target. The loss was therefore acceptable.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“You doin’ okay back there, hoss?” the American said.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“I am fine.”\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“Just checkin’.”\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe American had said he was from Texas, and either he was or his accent was a passable fake.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eRuzhyó looked down at the pistol on the seat next to him, the one with which he had killed the man who had killed Nicholas. It was a Beretta 9mm, an Italian weapon. It was a fine piece of machinery, well made, but it was also big, heavy, with too much recoil, too much noise, too much  bullet for Ruzhyó’s taste. When he had been \u003ci\u003espetsnaz\u003c\/i\u003e and involved in \u003ci\u003emokrie dela\u003c\/i\u003e—wet affairs—he had carried a little PSM, a 5.45mm pistol. The round it fired had been perhaps half as large as those in the Italian gun, and the weapon itself was much smaller than this piece. True, he’d had the armorer tune it for him; but still, it had always been sufficient to do the job. It had never let him down. He would have preferred that weapon to this one, but of course, that would not do. This had to look as if the killing was by someone inside this country, and a Russian assassin’s weapon would ring enough alarms to raise the dead man. The Americans were not altogether stupid in these matters.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eHe frowned at the Beretta. The Americans had this obsession with size; to them, bigger was always better. Their policemen would sometimes empty handguns containing eighteen or twenty high-powered and large-caliber rounds at their criminals, missing each time, what they called “spray-and-pray.” They did not seem to understand that a single shot from a small-caliber weapon in the hands of an expert was much more effective than a magazine full of elephant-killing bullets in the hands of an untrained idiot—as many of the American policemen seemed to be. The Jews knew this. The Israeli Mossad still routinely carried .22’s, weapons that fired the smallest commercially available rounds. And everybody knew Mossad was not to be taken lightly.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eBut at least the FBI man had died well. He had taken one of them with him and that had been unexpected. He had hit Nicholas three times in the head. Once might have been an accident; thrice, certainly by intent. He had seen the body armor, known what it was, shot for the head. Had he been a bit faster, he might have gotten clear of the initial attack.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIn the front seat, the Snake muttered something, loud enough for Ruzhyó to hear. He gritted his teeth. Ruzhyó  did not like Grigory the Snake. The man had been in the army in 1995, one of the units that had stomped into Ruzhyó’s homeland of Chechnya to kill and rape. Yes, yes, Grigory had been a soldier, just following his orders, and yes, this mission was more important in the long run than any grudges Ruzhyó might have against the Snake, so he would endure the man. But perhaps one of these days, the Snake would speak of his beautiful Medal for Action in Chechnya once too often, and if that day came near enough to the end of the mission so he would not be vital, Grigory Zmeyá would go to join his ancestors. And Ruzhyó would smile while he throttled the stupid oaf.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eNot today, however. There was still much to be done, bridges to be crossed, objectives to be achieved, and the Snake was still necessary.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eWhich was lucky for him.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eAlexander Michaels was only half asleep when the small monitor on the nightstand next to his bed lit. He felt the pressure of the light against his closed lids, and rolled toward the source and opened his eyes.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe screen’s blue Net Force background came up and the computer’s vox said, “Alex? We have a priority-one com.”\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eMichaels blinked, and frowned at the timesig on the monitor’s upper right corner. Just past midnight. He wasn’t awake. What—?\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“Alex? We have a priority-one com.”\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe computer’s voice was throaty, sexy, feminine. No matter what it said, it always sounded as if it were asking you to go to bed with it. The personality module, including the vox program, had been programmed by Jay Gridley, and the voice he’d chosen for it was, Michaels knew, a joke. Jay was a great tech, but a better cook than he was a  comedian, and while Michaels found the vox irritating, damned if he would give the kid the satisfaction of asking him to change it.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe Deputy Commander of Net Force rubbed at his face, combed his short hair back with his fingers, and sat up. The small motion-sensitive cam mounted on the top of the monitor tracked him. The unit was programmed to send visuals unless he told it otherwise. “All right, I’m up. Connect com.”\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe voxax—voice-activated—system obeyed his command. The screen flowered, and the somewhat-harried face of Assistant Deputy Commander Antonella Fiorella appeared. She looked more alert than he felt, but then she had the graveyard watch this week, so she was supposed to be alert.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“Sorry to wake you, Alex.”\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“No problem, Toni. What’s up?” She wouldn’t be calling him if it wasn’t vital.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“Somebody just assassinated Commander Day.”\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“What!?”\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“His virgil sent out an alert. D.C. PD rolled on it. Time anybody got there, Day, his bodyguard Boyle and the limo driver, Louis Harvey, were all dead. Bombs and submachine guns, looks like. Maybe twenty minutes ago.”\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eMichaels said a word he seldom used in mixed company.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“Yeah,” Toni said. “And the horse it rode in on, too.”\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“I’m on my way.”\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“Virgil’s got the address.” A short pause. “Alex? Don’t forget the assassination protocols.”\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eShe didn’t need to remind him of that, but he nodded. In the event of an attack on a senior federal official, all members of that unit had to assume it might not be the only attack planned. “I copy that. Discom.”\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eHis assistant’s image vanished, leaving the Net Force  blue screen. He slid off the bed and started pulling on his clothes.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eSteve Day was dead? Damn.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eDamn.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e2\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003ci\u003e\u003cb\u003eWednesday, September 8th, 12:47 a.m.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e \u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003e\u003cb\u003eWashington, D.C.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eRed and blue lights from the D.C. police patrol cars strobed the street with primary carnival colors, an effect appropriate to the circus of activity now going on. It was pushing one in the morning, but there were dozens of people lining the road, held back by police officers and bright plastic crimescene tape. More curious onlookers peered down from nearby buildings. There was something to see, too, what with the blasted limo, the litter of shell casings, the three bodies.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIt was a bad neighborhood to die in, Toni Fiorella thought. But then, when you got right down to it, any neighborhood was a bad one to die in when death came from a hard and sudden sleet of submachine-gun fire.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“Agent Fiorella?”\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eToni blinked away her thoughts on mortality and looked at the police captain, who had, judging by the size and shape of his sleep-wrinkles, been roused from his bed. He was an easy fifty, nearly bald, and certainly, at this moment,  a most unhappy man. Dead federal agents in your yard, on your watch, were bad things to wake up to. Real bad.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“Yes?”\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“My men have come back from their initial canvass.”\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eToni nodded. “Let me guess. Nobody saw anything.”\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“You should go into law enforcement,” the captain said. His voice was sour. “You have an eye for detail.”\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“Somebody in this crowd must have outstanding warrants for something,” Toni said. She waved one arm in accusatory benediction.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Berkley","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":46299818688741,"sku":"NP9780425161722","price":8.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1842\/7735\/files\/9780425161722_9cd17563-7b03-4b57-a2f5-7b7d935d4c76.jpg?v=1730742721","url":"https:\/\/k12savings.com\/products\/tom-clancys-net-forceisbn-9780425161722","provider":"K12savings","version":"1.0","type":"link"}