STOP AT NOTHING: 'Mark Cole is Bond's US cousin mixed with the balls out action and killing edge of Jason Bourne' Parmenion Books by JT Brannan
Authors: JT Brannan
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I was Donald Trump or something.’
Although he made a mockery of it, the truth of the matter was that Vice Admiral Hansard was one of the richest men in the United States, although he used his connections to ensure that his name never appeared on any of the nation’s ‘rich lists.’ Most of his peers did the same; in fact, America’s ‘official’ richest man, the genius billionaire behind the Lantex Leisure conglomerate, was actually only the nation’s eighth richest. Hansard’s vast wealth came primarily from his landholdings, passed down through generations of his family, but also from some rather shrewd business investments, some of which were also far from public knowledge.
Hansard took a sip of his brandy Cole had given him. ‘But there is serious business to attend to, I’m afraid. And I mean
deadly
serious. That’s why I’m here personally. No middleman, you see, not this time. We just can’t risk it. I couldn’t even risk sending you a cipher. We can’t have anything written down or printed. I need to give you the details verbally.’
‘Who’s the target?’
Hansard nodded to Cole’s bottle. ‘Have another sip of that,’ he suggested. Cole did so, raising a questioning eyebrow once finished.
Hansard seemed satisfied. ‘Your target,’ he began, ‘is William James Crozier.’ Cole’s brow furrowed upon hearing the name and he started to speak, but Hansard lifted a hand to stop him. ‘Yes, my friend. I will make it quite clear for you, so that there is no misunderstanding.
‘I want you to kill Bill Crozier, the Director of the CIA’s National Clandestine Service.’
15
Sarah was waiting for Cole when he returned to the house shortly after nine. He smiled as he came in, and she smiled back weakly. ‘How long?’ she asked simply.
Cole approached her, holding her arms, and kissed her on the cheek. ‘Only a short one this time, babe. Should be back the day after tomorrow by the latest.’ Sarah didn’t look convinced, so Cole added ‘Really, honey. I mean it.’
She nodded her head in resignation. ‘What time do you leave?’
‘An hour,’ he answered immediately. ‘I just need to go down to the office and then I have to get straight off.’
She nodded once more, knowing there was nothing she could say to stop him. ‘It’s important?’ she asked finally.
Cole kissed her gently on the lips and looked directly into her deep blue eyes. His own eyes, also blue, seemed to take on a strangely opaque quality as he replied ‘Yes. Yes it is.’ He hugged her tightly to him, and his warmth and strength immediately reassured her.
I shouldn’t worry
, she decided.
He’ll come back safe. He always does
.
Forty five minutes later, Cole closed down his computer system. The internal database stored detailed information on literally thousands of military, intelligence, police and political personnel from around the globe. Anyone of any importance was on it, and it was continually updated by secure link direct from the Office of the DNI, on Hansard’s orders.
Cole additionally had direct access, through a series of ingenious cyber-hacking programmes, to the internal computer mainframes of all major intelligence services from around the world.
In essence, Cole was able to obtain detailed information, official and unofficial, about anyone he needed. In this particular case, just half an hour after entering his secret room, Cole had turned up literally hundreds of pages of information on William James Crozier, including his military service record, his current CIA/NCS personal file, medical records, and even a diary of his movements.
Cole hadn’t balked at the idea of assassinating Crozier. It was an unusual request, certainly, but not without precedent. In the internecine world of espionage and intelligence, it wasn’t as simple as black and white. Very often, the most dangerous people were those who worked for the same country.
Indeed, for all Cole knew, the order to kill Crozier
Although he made a mockery of it, the truth of the matter was that Vice Admiral Hansard was one of the richest men in the United States, although he used his connections to ensure that his name never appeared on any of the nation’s ‘rich lists.’ Most of his peers did the same; in fact, America’s ‘official’ richest man, the genius billionaire behind the Lantex Leisure conglomerate, was actually only the nation’s eighth richest. Hansard’s vast wealth came primarily from his landholdings, passed down through generations of his family, but also from some rather shrewd business investments, some of which were also far from public knowledge.
Hansard took a sip of his brandy Cole had given him. ‘But there is serious business to attend to, I’m afraid. And I mean
deadly
serious. That’s why I’m here personally. No middleman, you see, not this time. We just can’t risk it. I couldn’t even risk sending you a cipher. We can’t have anything written down or printed. I need to give you the details verbally.’
‘Who’s the target?’
Hansard nodded to Cole’s bottle. ‘Have another sip of that,’ he suggested. Cole did so, raising a questioning eyebrow once finished.
Hansard seemed satisfied. ‘Your target,’ he began, ‘is William James Crozier.’ Cole’s brow furrowed upon hearing the name and he started to speak, but Hansard lifted a hand to stop him. ‘Yes, my friend. I will make it quite clear for you, so that there is no misunderstanding.
‘I want you to kill Bill Crozier, the Director of the CIA’s National Clandestine Service.’
15
Sarah was waiting for Cole when he returned to the house shortly after nine. He smiled as he came in, and she smiled back weakly. ‘How long?’ she asked simply.
Cole approached her, holding her arms, and kissed her on the cheek. ‘Only a short one this time, babe. Should be back the day after tomorrow by the latest.’ Sarah didn’t look convinced, so Cole added ‘Really, honey. I mean it.’
She nodded her head in resignation. ‘What time do you leave?’
‘An hour,’ he answered immediately. ‘I just need to go down to the office and then I have to get straight off.’
She nodded once more, knowing there was nothing she could say to stop him. ‘It’s important?’ she asked finally.
Cole kissed her gently on the lips and looked directly into her deep blue eyes. His own eyes, also blue, seemed to take on a strangely opaque quality as he replied ‘Yes. Yes it is.’ He hugged her tightly to him, and his warmth and strength immediately reassured her.
I shouldn’t worry
, she decided.
He’ll come back safe. He always does
.
Forty five minutes later, Cole closed down his computer system. The internal database stored detailed information on literally thousands of military, intelligence, police and political personnel from around the globe. Anyone of any importance was on it, and it was continually updated by secure link direct from the Office of the DNI, on Hansard’s orders.
Cole additionally had direct access, through a series of ingenious cyber-hacking programmes, to the internal computer mainframes of all major intelligence services from around the world.
In essence, Cole was able to obtain detailed information, official and unofficial, about anyone he needed. In this particular case, just half an hour after entering his secret room, Cole had turned up literally hundreds of pages of information on William James Crozier, including his military service record, his current CIA/NCS personal file, medical records, and even a diary of his movements.
Cole hadn’t balked at the idea of assassinating Crozier. It was an unusual request, certainly, but not without precedent. In the internecine world of espionage and intelligence, it wasn’t as simple as black and white. Very often, the most dangerous people were those who worked for the same country.
Indeed, for all Cole knew, the order to kill Crozier
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