Separation of Power
Read Separation of Power Online
Authors: Vince Flynn
FROM THE DEADLY ALLEYS OF BAGHDAD TO THE CORRUPTION-RIDDLED STREETS OF WASHINGTON, D.C., THE CIA HAS A SECRET WEAPON: MITCH RAPP.
SEPARATION OF POWER
Newly appointed CIA director Dr. Irene Kennedy is the target of an inside plot to destroy her and prematurely end the American president’s term. To make matters worse, Saddam Hussein is close to entering the nuclear arms race—something Israel has vowed to stop. With the haunting specter of World War III looming, the president calls on Mitch Rapp. But with only two weeks to take out the nukes, Rapp is up against a ticking clock—and impossible odds.
“FLYNN DIDN’T INVENT THE POST-9/11 THRILLER, BUT HE MIGHT AS WELL HAVE. . . . THE BEST PURE ADRENALINE-CHARGED ACTION WRITER OUT THERE TODAY.”
—
The Providence Journal
(RI)
Includes an excerpt from Vince Flynn’s pulse-pounding #1
New York Times
bestselling Mitch Rapp adventure,
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“THRILLERS DO NOT GET ANY BETTER.”
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“Flynn knows his politicians and pits his characters against impossible odds with nonstop action and suspense”
(
Publishers Weekly
) in
SEPARATION OF POWER
“With action that sizzles and true-to-life insider detail,
Separation of Power
showcases Flynn at his shell-shocking best.”
—Amazon.com
“A sharply plotted thriller.”
—
Publishers Weekly
“Flynn has joined Tom Clancy and Jack Higgins as a master of the political/espionage thriller.”
—
The Deseret News
(Salt Lake City)
“Throw in some skullduggery inside the CIA, a lovely female assassin, and Mitch’s angry girlfriend, NBC’s White House reporter, and you’ve got a recipe for a fine thriller.”
—
The Providence Journal
(RI)
Separation of Power
is also available from Simon & Schuster Audio and as an eBook
Mitch Rapp wages a one-man war on terror—in Vince Flynn’s
#1
NEW YORK TIMES
BESTSELLER
PROTECT AND DEFEND
“Action-packed, violent, and politically intense. . . . There is hardly any downtime from the action. . . . Truly an entertaining read—even for those not particularly politically inclined.”
—
The Gazette
(Cedar Rapids, IA)
“Mitch Rapp is back with a vengeance. . . . There’s nothing better than watching Rapp in fiction knock off the bad guys nobody seems able to get in fact.”
—
The Providence Journal
(RI)
“It cannot be said often enough: Flynn gets it. He understands how the world operates and infuses his characters with a consistent and coherent realism.”
—bookreporter.com
National acclaim for Vince Flynn and his previous blockbuster bestselling adventures
“CIA operative Mitch Rapp is back. And he’s as fearless as ever.”
—
St. Paul Pioneer Press
(MN)
“A Rambo perfectly suited for the war on terror.”
—
The Washington Times
“Suspenseful . . . terrific . . . exciting, satisfying, and totally unexpected.”
—
The Roanoke Times
(VA)
“Nonstop action [with a] surprising twist.”
—
The Stuart News/Port St. Lucie News
(FL)
“An exciting, Ludlum-like series.”
—
Booklist
“[A] thriller with deadly aim . . . Moves at the speed of a Stinger missile.”
—
People
“Flynn has done his homework on military and security matters.”
—
The Washington Post
“Every American should read this book.”
—Bill O’Reilly
“Flynn [is] a master of the political/espionage thriller.”
—
The Deseret News
(Salt Lake City)
“Complex, chilling, and satisfying.”
—
The Plain Dealer
(Cleveland)
“A page-turning read.”
—Larry King,
USA Today
“A roller-coaster, edge-of-your-seat thriller. . . .”
—
Star Tribune
(Minneapolis)
“Ingenious.”
—
The Florida Times-Union
“I’ve recommended every [Vince Flynn] book . . . They’re just fabulous.”
—Rush Limbaugh
Books by Vince Flynn
Extreme Measures
Protect and Defend
Act of Treason
Consent to Kill
Memorial Day
Executive Power
The Third Option
Transfer of Power
Term Limits
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This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events or locales or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
Copyright © 2001 by Vince Flynn
All rights reserved, including the right to reproduce this book or portions thereof in any form whatsoever. For information address Atria Books Subsidiary Rights Department, 1230 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 10020
This Atria Books paperback edition July 2009
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ISBN 978-1-4391-3573-0
ISBN 978-0-7434-4922-9 (ebook)
To
Emily Bestler
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S
EPARATION OF
P
OWER
D
r. Irene Kennedy stood over the fresh mound of dirt and wept. It had been a small funeral; relatives and a few close friends. The others had already left the windswept cemetery, and were on their way back into town for a light lunch at an aunt’s house. The forty-year-old director of the CIA’s Counterterrorism Center wanted to spend a few moments alone at the grave of her mentor. Kennedy lifted her head and wiped the tears from her eyes as she took in the landscape. She ignored the biting chill of western South Dakota and let it all out. This would be her last chance to grieve so openly for the loss of the man who had taught her so much. After this it was back to Washington, and perhaps the greatest test of her life. During Stansfield’s final days the director of the CIA had told her not to worry. He had made all the proper arrangements. She would take his place as the next director of the Central Intelligence Agency. Kennedy did not relish the confirmation process that awaited her, but what really had her worried was measuring up to her old boss. He was the greatest man she had ever known.
Thomas Stansfield died on a cool fall morning surrounded by his children, grandchildren and Irene Kennedy. It was exactly as he’d wanted it to be. Just two weeks before his eightieth year, he wanted to go no further. Those last few days he had sat in his
leather chair, a calm haze of morphine dulling both his mind and the stabbing pain of the cancer that was ravaging his insides. He stared out the window as the last of fall’s leaves fell. This was the final autumn of his life.