Brad Thor - Path of the Assassin. A thriller

Glenn Beck calls Brad Thors The Last Patriot a thriller to die for. Nelson DeMille dubs Scot Harvath the perfect all-American hero for the postSeptember 11th world. Now, Brad Thor delivers more high voltage entertainment reminiscent of Robert Ludlum ( Library Journal )....

PATH OF THE ASSASSIN

Clancy fans will love this. Brad Thor has packed this riveting and timely thriller with enough military technology, CIA intrigue, and exotic settings to kidnap even the most demanding readers, deprive them of sleep, and convert them into instant devotees.

Dan Brown

If Thors second international thriller had any more testosterone, it would grow hair.... The well-choreographed action and thrills will keep readers engrossed.

Publishers Weekly

A blood-soaked sequel to the presidential-kidnapping debut that so arrested critics.... Thor leaves little to the imagination when it comes to the cut and thrust of terrorist-busting; the action is relentless and gory, the pacing sublime, as is the authenticity of everything from weaponry to locales.

Ottawa Citizen

THE APOSTLE

Blasts off like a guided missile and never slows down, weaving current events into a frightening scenario that just could happen. Brad Thor rocks!

Tess Gerritsen, New York Times bestselling author of Ice Cold

Brad Thor has done it again... an out-of-the-ballpark home run. You wont want to put it down.

Blackwater Tactical Weekly

A must-read.... An action-packed story with more than a few parallels to the current political climate.... Powerfully and convincingly draws you in.... A breathtaking, edge-of-your-seat experience.

NationalTerrorAlert.com

Read the #1 New York Times bestseller that is as close to a perfect thriller as youll ever find*Brad Thors

THE LAST PATRIOT

Brilliantly plotted and ingeniously conceived.

Providence Journal-Bulletin (RI)*

Stunning.

Publishers Weekly

The Last Patriot... [will] make an action addict drool.

San Antonio Express-News

Wow, this guy can write.

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

[A] nonstop action machine.... A thoroughly researched, high-fueled thrill ride.

Tampa Tribune

THE FIRST COMMANDMENT

An intelligent, sizzling adventure full of international intrigue.

Wilmington Morning Star (NC)

Readers who like Tom Clancy and Stephen Coonts will love Brad Thor.

Chicago Tribune

An adrenaline-charged thriller.... Brad Thor knows how to excite the senses.

Steve Berry, New York Times bestselling author of The Paris Vendetta

TAKEDOWN

[Like] the TV show and other high-octane thrillers, Takedown is crisp and cinematic, with... gun-blazing, gut-busting action.

The Tennessean

Enthralling.... A smart, explosive work that details events about to happen outside your front door.

Bookreporter.com

Exciting... frightening.... [A] masterpiece.

Midwest Book Review

BLOWBACK

Haunting, high-voltage.... One of the best thriller writers in the business.

Ottawa Citizen

An incredible international thriller.... Riveting and superior.

Brunei Press Syndicate

Path of the Assassin is also available from Simon & Schuster Audio

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For my father, Brad Thor, Sr., my mother, Judy Thor, and my uncle, Joseph P. Fawcett, who have shared with me great wisdom, which I draw upon every day.

Si vis pacem, para bellum.

If you wish peace, prepare for war.

CHAPTER 1

D ressed in the traditional robes of a Muslim pilgrim, a lone figure tore back the carpeting from beneath a window of the sumptuously appointed room and fastened the feet of a tripod firmly into the concrete floor with a commercial-grade bolt gun.

The equipment had been smuggled into Saudi Arabias Dar Al Taqwa Inter-Continental Hotel via several large suitcases and a hard-shell golf club case. Arabs, even in Medina, loved their golf, after all, and no one had given any of the cases a second look.

Finally assembled and secured to its launching platform, the second-generation TOW 2 Short missile was something to behold. Though it retained the same three-foot ten-inch profile of the ones Israel had used during the 1973 Yom Kippur War, the effective range of the weapon had increased by almost a thousand yards, and was now the length of forty-one football fieldsmore than enough to deliver todays deadly payload.

The missiles optical sighting unit was securely positioned in the adjoining hotel room, and its crosshairs were fixed upon its target. An infrared sensor would track the weapons trajectory and progress, relaying any last-minute adjustments. At such close range though, thered be no need for adjustments. It would be like shooting fish in a barrel.

The digital fuse was set for ten minutes into the night prayer session of the Prophets Mosque, the second-holiest shrine in Islam. Friday was the most important day of worship in the Muslim faith, and the evening prayer sessions were always the most heavily attended. The timing of the attack ensured maximum carnage. With a Do Not Disturb sign hung on the doors of both rooms, the terrorist would be resting comfortably on a first-class flight to Cairo by the time the missile launched. From Cairo, a clandestine transport network would round out the journey home just as todays events were being broadcast on the evening news.

As the digital fuse began its devastating countdown, the terrorist spray-painted a large hand cradling the Star of David on the wall.

For a moment, scenes of a happier time flashed through the terrorists mind. A time before the hatred was so deeply entrenched. Two young lovers from different walks of life, two different sides of the struggle, walked together along a river in fall. Bells rang in the distance and they cherished the good fortune that had brought them together. Though each had been raised to hate the other, love had blossomed between them. But, there were influences at work greater than their love. It was those influences that would change their lives, and the world, forever.

The terrorists eyes, normally silver in color, now flashed coal black with hate as the final letters were painted beneath the hand. It was a simple, yet chilling three-word message, Terror For Terror.

Two hours later, a stream of worshippers hurried themselves along, late for the sunset prayer. As they entered the Prophets Mosque, right leg first as custom dictated, each supplicated, saying, I seek refuge with the Mighty Allah. I seek protection in His Generous Countenance and His Everlasting Authority.... O Allah! Forgive my sins, and open the gates of Your mercy to me.

They fanned out deeper into the mosque, searching for empty spaces to kneel among the other thousands of worshippers. As was the custom, the women were directed into a separate area closed off by large panels of fabric, so as not to distract the men from their prayers. The younger children stayed with their mothers, while older sons, well behaved enough not to disrupt the service, were allowed to sit among the rows of adult men. Most of the families in the Prophets Mosque were divided this way when a great rumbling erupted overhead and a massive double-detonating warhead crashed through the roof, exploding in a fiery hail of instant death.