In Such a World

T.J. Hux

Description

Three new seminary students: one seeking redemption, one hunting a terrorist, one planning his next kill. Bullets fly and blood flows when they cross paths.
The upside of being a fugitive is the chance to reinvent oneself and start a new life. The downside is that, in such a world as ours, the road to that reparation is strewn with obstacles.
Matt Pierson, dishonorably discharged Navy SEAL, seeks redemption for his life of violence. His plan to clear his name is shattered when the admiral who betrayed him is brutally gunned down, and Pierson becomes the prime suspect for his murder. Realizing that the admiral was part of a much larger conspiracy, and desperate to protect his family, Pierson enrolls in a Lutheran seminary to disappear off the grid.
But there is no place to hide. He soon runs afoul of an FBI task force created to stop the international assassin known as Go-el Hadam, the Avenger of Blood. It will be a fight to the death when their paths cross. Thrust back into a world of violence and intrigue, Pierson risks all to save his family and the woman he loves.

Sujets

• Espionage
• Crime
• Fiction

Informations

• Publié par: LifeRich Publishing
• Date de parution: 01 février 2023
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9781489745910
• Langue: English
• Poids de l'ouvrage: 1 Mo

Extrait

In Such a World
Book Two
Cross Paths
Second Edition
T.J. Hux


Copyright © 2023 T.J. Hux.
 
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping or by any information storage retrieval system without the written permission of the author except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.
 
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Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Getty Images are models, and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.
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Scripture quotations marked NIV are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®. NIV®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved. [Biblica]
 
Unless otherwise indicated, all scripture quotations are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version® (ESV®). Copyright ©2001 by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved
 
ISBN: 978-1-4897-4593-4 (sc)
ISBN: 978-1-4897-4592-7 (hc)
ISBN: 978-1-4897-4591-0 (e)
 
Library of Congress Control Number: 2022924102
 
 
 
LifeRich Publishing rev. date: 01/18/2023
Contents
Prologue
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Epilogue

Do not envy a man of violence and do not choose any of his ways.
—Solomon, Proverbs 3:31, English Standard Version
Build me a son, O Lord, who will be strong enough to know when he is weak, and brave enough to face himself when he is afraid, one who will be proud and unbending in honest defeat, and humble and gentle in victory.
—Douglas MacArthur
“Put your sword back in its place,” Jesus said to him, “for all who draw the sword will die by the sword.”
—Jesus, Matthew 26:52, New International Version
PROLOGUE
May 10 Chevy Chase Pavilion, Washington, DC
F ORMER SECRETARY OF STATE EDITH Deen was seated comfortably in the burgundy leather chair in front of the desk of Representative Nathan Mitchel from Virginia, chair of the House Intelligence Committee. The two were alone in Mitchel’s private office. For the purpose of the meeting, the shades were drawn, and the room was dark. A desk lamp and a floor lamp in the corner provided the only light, creating a shadowy eeriness, perfectly appropriate for the conversation they were having.
The office was a luxury, a retreat from his official congressional office at the capitol. It was positioned in the northwest corner of the top floor of the Chevy Chase Pavilion, a popular upper-end shopping mall. The location allowed guests to visit anonymously, the plethora of stores providing a multitude of alibis for being at that location. Lobbyists and campaign donors who wanted to protect their anonymity, congressional interns or occasional high-class hookers were able to come and go discreetly.
Such were the rumors that the former secretary of state was privy to. Thus, Mitchel’s private office was uniquely suited for her current meeting with the congressman. At Deen’s insistence, Mitchel arranged for a countersurveillance unit to sweep the office only an hour before the current meeting.
“What have you learned?” Mitchel asked.
“The FBI put together a five-person team from their own ranks and allowed a section chief from the CIA a place on the team in an advisory role. My source informed me that the CIA man brought in a couple of his own people working on the side, crossing lines the FBI wouldn’t allow. It is a small, closed team,” Deen answered.
“That’s it? Small group,” the congressman said, nodding thoughtfully. “What have they learned?”
“They spent their first efforts trying to identify suspects from a profile the CIA section chief put together. Not much has come of that. Recently, they’ve been focusing on finding the common link between the victims,” she said, delivering the truth in small doses to lead her accomplice to the proper conclusions.
Mitchel leaned forward. “That could lead them to us. How close are they?”
“They’ve learned enough to find Maier. No one knows what he told them; he’s still pretty much out of it. But they’re getting too close,” Deen said, not wishing to explain further.
“Who else knows what they’ve learned?”
“Frank Rucker from the Bureau, Russ Seabrook and Henry Morganson from the Farm. As far as we could learn, the group is that closed. Apparently, they feel that Go-el has some very high-level connections, and no doubt they’re right.”
“We’ve got to find out Go-el’s source,” Mitchel blurted, visibly shaken by her disclosures.
Deen sat thoughtfully, weighing options, assessing consequences, reviewing again the plan she had formulated. “Go-el is not our primary concern at this moment.
“No?” Mitchel asked incredulously. “Four of our colleagues are dead! I think that makes Go-el a very grave concern!”
Ignoring him, Deen continued toward her point. “It is clear Go-el has a very clear agenda for his attacks, as well as the information necessary to pursue them. The fact is, it is very likely Go-el already knows who we are. Until Go-el is stopped, we are all in danger.”
“For cryin’ out loud, Edith, you’re saying it yourself! We have to stop Go-el. That has to be our first priority. We can’t let anything distract us from that, or none of us will be left!”
She held up both hands in protest. “Nathan, we don’t disagree. But I’m not sure you’re appreciating the other threat to us. No one has been able to get close to finding out who or what Go-el is, but this task force … Now that they have linked Go-el’s victims to Colombia, it won’t be long before they put the pieces together that will lead them to us.”
She stood and began a slow, methodical stroll around the congressman’s office, pausing to examine the various plaques and certificates that proclaimed the accomplishments of Mitchel’s life. After completing her survey, she continued her thoughts. “You realize if this task force discovers us, all of this,” she slowly swept her hand around the room, “will be lost.”
Nathan Mitchel sat motionless, watching as the former secretary of state walked around his desk and sat in his chair, placing her elbows on the desktop and knitting her fingers together. “Your career, your reputation … not to mention your freedom. Go-el is hunting us in secret, outside the public eye. That is our greatest weapon against whoever is behind Go-el. But if the task force discovers us, it will be public, and every resource of this government will be turned against us.”
Shaken, Mitchel shifted nervously in his seat. “We’re facing two threats, but only one can kill us at any time. I still say Go-el is our biggest threat!”
Deen let a long exhale escape, a sign of her frustration. “Imagine the scene, Nathan. You’ve been exposed, indicted, disgraced in the public eye, and then, coming out of the courthouse after your arraignment, a sniper’s bullet tears through your chest.” She emphasized her point by making fingers into the shape of a gun and mimed shooting him. “You’re dead either way. Yes, you are right, we face two dangers. But we fight them as we have the opportunity. We are no closer to Go-el than this task force, but that task force is closing in on us. We know everything about the task force. We strike there first.”
“You have a plan?”
Again, she paused, collecting her thoughts, reaching her conclusions. “Mr. Seabrook has become an important ally to us. As for the rest, eliminate them. All of them,” she declared with authority that made it clear her order would not be debated.
Mitchel’s jaw dropped. “Are you saying …”
“You are the chair of the House Intelligence Committee. You’ve got contacts, I assume.”
He sat silently. Leaning forward, he buried his face in his hands. Slowly, he nodded. “Yeah.”
“Set it up well, and take them out—all of them. They’re too close. I want it completed within three weeks. Do not contact me again until it is finished. And even then, only to confirm that it has been completed. Do we understand each other?”
1
May 12 Burnsville, North Carolina
A CLUSTER OF ROCK STOOD ON the left side of the trail about a hundred meters up ahead. I can make it to those rocks , Matthew Pierson told himself as he willed his burning legs to continue pumping. It was a skill he had developed in his basic underwater demolition/SEAL (BUD/S) training. Don’t focus on the end, set smaller goals along the way, and keep moving through them. Never quit. He was running a trail that most would find challenging to simply hike.
Four days ago, he overcame one of the greatest challenges he had ever faced. Having to look into the eyes of a widow whose husband he had killed was hard. Confessing to her his role in her husband’s murder had taken every ounce of courage and integrity he had, and then some. She had been angry, tearful, yet surprisingly graceful to him. And facing the chal