Read Separation of Power Online

Authors: Vince Flynn

Separation of Power

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,
EXTREME MEASURES

MEET THE AUTHORS, WATCH VIDEOS AND MORE AT
SimonandSchuster.com
THE SOURCE FOR READING GROUPS

“THRILLERS DO NOT GET ANY BETTER.”
—Copley News Service

“YOU’LL BE HOOKED. . . . MOVE OVER
,
JACK RYAN!”
—Portland Oregonian

“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

Atria Books
A Division of Simon & Schuster, Inc.
1230 Avenue of the Americas
New York, NY 10020
www.SimonandSchuster.com

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

ATRIA and colophon are registered trademarks of Simon & Schuster, Inc.

The Simon & Schuster Speakers Bureau can bring authors to your live event. For more information or to book an event, contact the Simon & Schuster Speakers Bureau at 1-866-248-3049 or visit our website at
www.simonspeakers.com

Cover design by Jae Song.

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

ISBN 978-1-4391-3573-0
ISBN 978-0-7434-4922-9 (ebook)

To
Emily Bestler

Thank you for purchasing this Atria Books eBook.

Sign up for our newsletter and receive special offers, access to bonus content, and info on the latest new releases and other great eBooks from Atria Books and Simon & Schuster.

or visit us online to sign up at
eBookNews.SimonandSchuster.com

Contents

Prelude

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Chapter 11

Chapter 12

Chapter 13

Chapter 14

Chapter 15

Chapter 16

Chapter 17

Chapter 18

Chapter 19

Chapter 20

Chapter 21

Chapter 22

Chapter 23

Chapter 24

Chapter 25

Chapter 26

Chapter 27

Chapter 28

Chapter 29

Chapter 30

Chapter 31

Chapter 32

Chapter 33

Chapter 34

Chapter 35

Chapter 36

Chapter 37

Chapter 38

Chapter 39

Chapter 40

Chapter 41

Chapter 42

Chapter 43

Chapter 44

Chapter 45

Chapter 46

Chapter 47

Chapter 48

Chapter 49

Epilogue

S
EPARATION OF
P
OWER

PRELUDE

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.

Other books

A Well Pleasured Lady by Christina Dodd
Life by Keith Richards; James Fox
Charmed by Michelle Krys
Death at the Door by Carolyn Hart
Fracture (The Machinists) by Andrews, Craig
Burning Ceres by Viola Grace
The Glass Factory by Kenneth Wishnia
Azure (Drowning In You) by Thoma, Chrystalla