Termination Orders (35 page)

Authors: Leo J. Maloney

He looked around. A few feet away from him was the crate, and next to him was the body of one of Novokoff ’s men, the first to fall. His gun, however, was several feet out of reach, in the path of enemy bullets.

What wasn’t out of reach were the man’s grenades.

He took them. There were only two; he would have to make them count. He couldn’t rely on killing both his enemies with grenades—they were too mobile, the space too open. But there was one possibility.

He took one grenade in each hand and held them to his chest. One chance, and he would probably die. But if he did, he would go out fighting. With his mouth, he pulled the pin on one grenade and sent it sailing in the direction of Novokoff. He removed the pin from the other and, in the cover of the first explosion, tossed it into the crate with the canisters. And then he ran.

The burst came along with a heat wave from the thermite, which was what he had hoped for. Almost immediately he heard Lubarsky gag and cough, and he turned to see him start convulsing. He had released the gas.

And then the tingling hit him. At his extremities, at first. He had to run, had to get out of there. He stumbled out the door the truck had come in.

He panted, his nose running. He stumbled and fell into the soft snow. Consciousness was fading; he knew he didn’t have long. He reached into his pocket and brought out the syringe Dr. Barrett had given him. He fumbled to open it. His hands were already losing their grip. With all his effort, he ripped the package and removed the needle’s cover with his mouth. He looked at it: it was one big mother of a needle. This had a slightly sobering effect. He tried to concentrate on the target on his chest. His hands were about to give out. He had one chance to do this, or he was dead.

He plunged the needle into his chest. His heart raced, and he began to black out just as he heard the sound of approaching vehicles.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Photo by Kippy Goldfarb/Carolle Photography

Leo J. Maloney was born in Massachusetts, where he spent his childhood and graduated high school. He received an Associate degree in Criminal Justice from Northeastern University, Boston, MA, in 1976. In 1966 he was inducted into the Army. During basic training, he was recruited to become a Black Ops contractor for a clandestine government agency, and his life changed forever. He traveled the world to strategically important hot spots. As an independent contractor, he was never required to accept a particular assignment but rather selected ones that met his criteria that they be in the best interest of the country. Once a mission was under way, there was no turning back.

While serving his country in the secretive world of Black Ops for more than thirty years, he operated several “cover” businesses, including a classic-car brokerage and promotions and limousine companies. He also coached girls’ basketball teams and still runs some of the largest basketball tournaments in the Northeast.

After leaving his career in Black Ops, Leo continued several of his cover businesses and also had the opportunity to try his hand at acting in independent films and TV commercials. Leo has several movies to his credit both as an actor and behind the camera as a producer, technical advisor, and assistant director. He performed dual roles as a featured performer (a Boston Police captain) and technical advisor in the movie
27 Down
. He is the associate producer for the disaster film
CO2
, and he both performed the role of Judge and was the producer for the Christian-themed
Luke Eleven
. Leo appeared in
Revenge
as Special Agent Andrew Garnell of the FBI.

He recently acquired
www.acahoops.com
, the premier site for team, tournament, and all other basketball-related information.

His Web site is
www.leojmaloney.com
.

PINNACLE BOOKS are published by

Kensington Publishing Corp.
119 West 40th Street
New York, NY 10018

If you purchased this book without a cover, you should be aware that this book is stolen property. It was reported as “unsold and destroyed” to the publisher, and neither the author nor the publisher has received any payment for this “stripped book.”

This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, organizations, places, events, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

PINNACLE BOOKS and the Pinnacle logo are Reg. U.S. Pat. & TM Off.

ISBN: 978-0-7860-2990-7

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