Ghostwalker 04 - Conspiracy Game

Conspiracy Game

    GhostWalker 04

    By
    Christine Feehan

    This 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. The publisher does not have any control over and does not assume any responsibility for author or third-party websites or their content.
    Copyright © 2006 by Christine Feehan.

    For Cindy Hwang and Steve Axelrod,
    who believed in me enough to take a chance
    on the Game books—thank you.

    For My Readers

    Be sure to write to Christine at:
    [email protected]
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    Acknowledgments

    I want to thank Domini Stottsberry for her help in the tremendous amount of research necessary to make this book possible. Brian Feehan and Morey Sparks deserve much gratitude for sitting up nights discussing military tactics, and I’d be remiss in not mentioning my husband, Richard, who must sit with endless patience as I describe action scenes and insist on his input! As always, Cheryl, you are incredible!

    The GhostWalker Symbol Details

    SIGNIFIES
    shadow

    SIGNIFIES

    protection against evil forces

    SIGNIFIES
    the Greek letter psi, which is used by parapsychology researchers to signify ESP or other psychic abilities

    SIGNIFIES
    qualities of a knight—loyalty, generosity, courage, and honor SIGNIFIES
    shadow knights who protect against evil forces using psychic powers, courage, and honor

    The GhostWalker Creed

    We are the GhostWalkers, we live in the shadows
    The sea, the earth, and the air are our domain
    No fallen comrade will be left behind
    We are loyalty and honor bound
    We are invisible to our enemies
    and we destroy them where we find them
    We believe in justice and we protect our country
    and those unable to protect themselves
    What goes unseen, unheard, and unknown
    are GhostWalkers
    There is honor in the shadows and it is us
    We move in complete silence whether
    in jungle or desert
    We walk among our enemy unseen and unheard
    Striking without sound and scatter to the winds
    before they have knowledge of our existence

    We gather information and wait with endless patience for that perfect moment to deliver swift justice
    We are both merciful and merciless
    We are relentless and implacable in our resolve
    We are the GhostWalkers and the night is ours

    CHAPTER 1

    Night fell fast in the jungle. Sitting in the middle of the enemy camp, surrounded by rebels, Jack Norton kept his head down, eyes closed, listening to the sounds coming out of the rain forest as he took stock of his situation. With his enhanced senses he could smell the enemy close to him, and even farther away, hidden in the dense, lush vegetation. He was fairly certain this was a satellite camp, one of many deep in the jungles of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, somewhere west of Kinshasa.
    He opened his eyes to narrow slits to look around him, to plan out each step of his escape, but even that tiny movement sent pain shooting through his skull. The agony from the last beating was nearly shattering, but he didn’t dare lose consciousness. They would kill him next time, and next time was coming much quicker than he had anticipated. If he didn’t find a way out soon, all the physical and psychic enhancements in the world wouldn’t save him.
    The rebels had every right to be angry with him. Jack’s twin brother, Ken, and his paramilitary GhostWalker team had successfully extracted the rebels’ first truly valuable American political prisoners. A United States senator had been captured while traveling with a scientist and his aides. The GhostWalkers had come in with deadly precision, rescued the senator, the scientist, and his two aides along with the pilot, and left the camp in shambles. Ken had been captured and the rebels had had a field day torturing him. Jack had no choice but to go in after his brother.
    The rebels weren’t any happier with Jack for depriving them of their prisoner then they had been with Ken. Jack had laid down the covering fire as the GhostWalkers were extracting Ken and had taken a hit. The wound wasn’t critical—he’d been testing his leg and it wasn’t broken—but the bullet had driven his leg out from under him on impact. He’d waved his team off