Rage Of The Assassin
Read Rage Of The Assassin Online
Authors: Russell Blake
Tags: #Literature & Fiction, #Action & Adventure, #Mystery; Thriller & Suspense, #Mystery, #Thriller & Suspense, #Thrillers & Suspense, #Crime, #Kidnapping, #Murder, #Spies & Politics, #Assassinations, #Terrorism, #Thriller, #Thrillers
Rage of the Assassin
Russell Blake
Book VI in the Assassin series
Copyright 2015 by Russell Blake. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used, reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage or retrieval system, without the written permission of the publisher, except where permitted by law, or in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews. For information, contact:
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Contents
Books by Russell Blake
Co-authored with Clive Cussler
THE EYE OF HEAVEN
THE SOLOMON CURSE
Thrillers
FATAL EXCHANGE
THE GERONIMO BREACH
ZERO SUM
THE DELPHI CHRONICLE TRILOGY
THE VOYNICH CYPHER
SILVER JUSTICE
UPON A PALE HORSE
DEADLY CALM
RAMSEY’S GOLD
EMERALD BUDDHA
The Assassin Series
KING OF SWORDS
NIGHT OF THE ASSASSIN
RETURN OF THE ASSASSIN
REVENGE OF THE ASSASSIN
BLOOD OF THE ASSASSIN
REQUIEM OF THE ASSASSIN
RAGE OF THE ASSASSIN
The JET Series
JET
JET II – BETRAYAL
JET III – VENGEANCE
JET IV – RECKONING
JET V – LEGACY
JET VI – JUSTICE
JET VII – SANCTUARY
JET VIII – SURVIVAL
JET IX – ESCAPE
JET – OPS FILES (prequel)
JET – OPS FILES; TERROR ALERT
The BLACK Series
BLACK
BLACK IS BACK
BLACK IS THE NEW BLACK
BLACK TO REALITY
BLACK IN THE BOX
Non Fiction
AN ANGEL WITH FUR
HOW TO SELL A GAZILLION EBOOKS
(while drunk, high or incarcerated)
About the Author
Featured in
The Wall Street Journal
,
The Times
, and
The Chicago Tribune
, Russell Blake is
The NY Times
and
USA Today
bestselling author of over forty novels, including
Fatal Exchange
,
The Geronimo Breach
,
Zero Sum
,
King of Swords
,
Night of the Assassin
,
Revenge of the Assassin
,
Return of the Assassin
,
Blood of the Assassin
,
Requiem for the Assassin
,
Rage of the Assassin
,
The Delphi Chronicle
trilogy,
The Voynich Cypher
,
Silver Justice
,
JET
,
JET – Ops Files
,
JET – Ops Files: Terror Alert
,
JET II – Betrayal
,
JET III – Vengeance
,
JET IV – Reckoning
,
JET V – Legacy
,
JET VI – Justice
,
JET VII – Sanctuary
,
JET VIII – Survival
,
JET IX – Escape
,
Upon a Pale Horse
,
BLACK
,
BLACK is Back
,
BLACK is The New Black
,
BLACK to Reality
,
BLACK in the Box
,
Deadly Calm
,
Ramsey’s Gold
, and
Emerald Buddha
.
Non-fiction includes the international bestseller
An Angel With Fur
(animal biography) and
How To Sell A Gazillion eBooks In No Time
(even if drunk, high or incarcerated), a parody of all things writing-related.
Blake is co-author of
The Eye of Heaven
and
The Solomon Curse
, with legendary author Clive Cussler. Blake’s novel
King of Swords
has been translated into German,
The Voynich Cypher
into Bulgarian, and his JET novels into Spanish, German, and Czech.
Blake writes under the moniker R.E. Blake in the NA/YA/Contemporary Romance genres. Novels include
Less Than Nothing
,
More Than Anything
, and
Best Of Everything
.
Having resided in Mexico for a dozen years, Blake enjoys his dogs, fishing, boating, tequila and writing, while battling world domination by clowns. His thoughts, such as they are, can be found at his blog:
RussellBlake.com
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Chapter 1
Twenty years ago, Culiacán, Sinaloa, Mexico
Peals of laughter rose into the afternoon sky from the school yard. The bell had rung a few minutes earlier, excusing the day shift’s students in preparation for the evening class’s arrival two hours later. Tall palm trees swayed in a humid breeze heavy with the distinctive aroma of the brown river just over the rise mingled with the pungent dankness of the freshly turned dirt of the surrounding fields. Stray puffs of clouds drifted west toward the Sea of Cortez, the final remnants of a morning storm that had flooded the town’s streets.
A group of youths in white jerseys and blue trousers stood in a rough circle near the entrance of the fenced yard, where a befuddled boy in the middle of the gathering looked around with a panicked expression as the others taunted him. A few disinterested teachers ambled near one of the crumbling building façades, ignoring the fracas, their job done once they left their classrooms after a long day of mindless repetition.
“What’s wrong with you, moron? Can’t talk?” Paolo, one of the tallest of the boys, none of whom were older than eight, baited the unfortunate. Paolo spit on the ground by his victim’s feet and glanced at the others in disgust. “I swear he’s a total retard.”
Several nodded at the insight, and one sneered as Paolo took another step toward his prey. “I said I want your backpack. It’s mine now.”
The encircled child shook his head, eyes wild, clutching the bag to his chest. “N-no,” he managed, his voice cracking with obvious desperation.
“Why? What do you have in there? Come on, give it up.”
“I won’t.”
The throng closed in and fists flew. The boy with the backpack fell to the asphalt and his assailants kicked him. He curled into a ball, protecting his treasure with his body as blows fell, and then everything went black when a particularly vicious kick struck the side of his head, snapping it back against the hard pavement.
~ ~ ~
“Ynez? What’s the big emergency?”
Don
Aranas asked as he marched into the kitchen of his hilltop home, his shoulders square, his bearing erect. Three of his men followed at a prudent distance, the pistols in their belts as common on the grounds as the trees that ringed the hacienda’s lush periphery.
Ynez, the head of the housekeeping staff, knelt in front of Aranas’s nephew, blotting at his face with a crimson-stained towel. Martin was covered with bruises and had two nasty gashes on the side of his head. One of the boy’s eyes was partially swollen shut, and he was pressing a plastic bag filled with ice against a lump on his head.
Aranas took in the damage with a grunt and glowered at Martin.
“What happened, Martin? Damn it, boy, speak up!”
Martin looked away, shame obvious in his averted face, and Aranas scowled as he neared the youngster. The man’s deeply tanned face was already lined from a life spent outdoors, as well as the constant stress that came with being the most powerful drug lord in Mexico – the head of the Sinaloa Cartel, the entity that had given birth to all the other criminal enterprises engaged in narcotics trafficking to the United States.
Aranas’s voice softened when he spoke to Ynez. “Enough. Leave us for a moment. There will be time to attend to his scrapes later.”
Ynez nodded and stood, and Aranas’s entourage followed her out of the kitchen. When the last of their cowboy boots had clumped down the hall, Aranas turned his attention to Martin, who had a thin stream of blood working its way from his brutalized nose to the corner of his mouth.
“Who did this to you?” Aranas whispered, reaching out with his handkerchief and stemming the flow of red.
“Boys. A…at school,” Martin said, his voice so tentative it was almost inaudible.
