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    Endgame (1998)


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      Table of Contents

      Title Page

      Copyright Page

      Acknowledgements

      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

      EPILOGUE

      THE BESTSELLING NOVELS OF

      TOM CLANCY

      THE TEETH OF THE TIGER

      A new generation--Jack Ryan, Jr.--takes over in Tom Clancy's

      extraordinary, and extraordinarily prescient, novel.

      "INCREDIBLY ADDICTIVE." --Daily Mail (London)

      RED RABBIT

      Tom Clancy returns to Jack Ryan's early days--

      in an engrossing novel of global political drama . . .

      "A WILD, SATISFYING RIDE." --New York Daily News

      THE BEAR AND THE DRAGON

      A clash of world powers. President Jack Ryan's trial by fire.

      "HEART-STOPPING ACTION . . . CLANCY STILL REIGNS." --The Washington Post

      RAINBOW SIX

      John Clark is used to doing the CIA's dirty work.

      Now he's taking on the world . . .

      "ACTION-PACKED." --The New York Times Book Review

      EXECUTIVE ORDERS

      A devastating terrorist act leaves Jack Ryan

      as President of the United States . . .

      "UNDOUBTEDLY CLANCY'S BEST YET."

      --The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

      DEBT OF HONOR

      It begins with the murder of an American woman

      in the backstreets of Tokyo. It ends in war . . .

      "A SHOCKER." --Entertainment Weekly

      THE HUNT FOR RED OCTOBER

      The smash bestseller that launched Clancy's career--

      the incredible search for a Soviet defector

      and the nuclear submarine he commands . . .

      "BREATHLESSLY EXCITING." --The Washington Post

      RED STORM RISING

      The ultimate scenario for World War III--

      the final battle for global control . . .

      "THE ULTIMATE WAR GAME . . . BRILLIANT."

      --Newsweek

      PATRIOT GAMES

      CIA analyst Jack Ryan stops an assassination--

      and incurs the wrath of Irish terrorists . . .

      "A HIGH PITCH OF EXCITEMENT."

      --The Wall Street Journal

      THE CARDINAL OF THE KREMLIN

      The superpowers race for the ultimate Star Wars

      missile defense system . . .

      "CARDINAL EXCITES, ILLUMINATES . . . A REAL PAGE-TURNER." --Los Angeles Daily News

      CLEAR AND PRESENT DANGER

      The killing of three U.S. officials in Colombia ignites the

      American government's explosive, and top secret, response . . .

      "A CRACKLING GOOD YARN." --The Washington Post

      THE SUM OF ALL FEARS

      The disappearance of an Israeli nuclear weapon threatens the

      balance of power in the Middle East--and around the world . . .

      "CLANCY AT HIS BEST . . . NOT TO BE MISSED."

      --The Dallas Morning News

      WITHOUT REMORSE

      His code name is Mr. Clark. And his work for the CIA

      is brilliant, cold-blooded, and efficient . . . but who is he really?

      "HIGHLY ENTERTAINING." --The Wall Street Journal

      Novels by Tom Clancy

      THE HUNT FOR RED OCTOBER

      RED STORM RISING

      PATRIOT GAMES

      THE CARDINAL OF THE KREMLIN

      CLEAR AND PRESENT DANGER

      THE SUM OF ALL FEARS

      WITHOUT REMORSE

      DEBT OF HONOR

      EXECUTIVE ORDERS

      RAINBOW SIX

      THE BEAR AND THE DRAGON

      RED RABBIT

      THE TEETH OF THE TIGER

      SSN: STRATEGIES OF SUBMARINE WARFARE

      Nonfiction

      SUBMARINE: A GUIDED TOUR INSIDE A NUCLEAR WARSHIP

      ARMORED CAV: A GUIDED TOUR OF AN ARMORED CAVALRY REGIMENT

      FIGHTER WING: A GUIDED TOUR OF AN AIR FORCE COMBAT WING

      MARINE: A GUIDED TOUR OF A MARINE EXPEDITIONARY UNIT

      AIRBORNE: A GUIDED TOUR OF AN AIRBORNE TASK FORCE

      CARRIER: A GUIDED TOUR OF AN AIRCRAFT CARRIER

      SPECIAL FORCES: A GUIDED TOUR OF U.S. ARMY SPECIAL FORCES

      INTO THE STORM: A STUDY IN COMMAND

      (written with General Fred Franks, Jr., Ret., and Tony Koltz)

      EVERY MAN A TIGER

      (written with General Charles Horner, Ret., and Tony Koltz)

      SHADOW WARRIORS: INSIDE THE SPECIAL FORCES

      (written with General Carl Stiner, Ret., and Tony Koltz)

      BATTLE READY

      (written with General Tony Zinni, Ret., and Tony Koltz)

      TOM CLANCY'S GHOST RECON

      TOM CLANCY'S ENDWAR

      TOM CLANCY'S SPLINTER CELL

      SPLINTER CELL

      OPERATION BARRACUDA

      CHECK M ATE

      FALLOUT

      CONVICTION

      ENDGAME

      Created by Tom Clancy and Steve Pieczenik

      TOM CLANCY'S OP-CENTER

      OP-CENTER

      MIRROR IMAGE

      GAMES OF STATE

      ACTS OF WAR

      BALANCE OF POWER

      STATE OF SIEGE

      DIVIDE AND CONQUER

      LINE OF CONTROL

      MISSION OF HONOR

      SEA OF FIRE

      CALL TO TREASON

      WAR OF EAGLES

      TOM CLANCY'S NET FORCE

      NET FORCE

      HIDDEN AGENDAS

      NIGHT MOVES

      BREAKING POINT

      POINT OF IMPACT

      CYBER NATION

      STATE OF WAR

      CHANGING OF THE GUARD

      SPRINGBOARD

      THE ARCHIMEDES EFFECT

      Created by Tom Clancy and Martin Greenberg

      TOM CLANCY'S POWER PLAYS

      POLITIKA

      RUTHLESS.COM

      SHADOW WATCH

      BIO-STRIKE

      COLD WAR

      CUTTING EDGE

      ZERO HOUR

      WILD CARD

      THE BERKLEY PUBLISHING GROUP

      Published by the Penguin Group

      Penguin Group (USA) Inc.

      375 Hudson Street, New York, New York 10014, USA

      Penguin Group (Canada), 90 Eglinton Avenue East, Suite 700, Toronto, Ontario M4P 2Y3, Canada

      (a division of Pearson Penguin Canada Inc.)

      Penguin Books Ltd., 80 Strand, London WC2R 0RL, England

      Penguin Group Ireland, 25 St. Stephen's Green, Dublin 2, Ireland (a division of Penguin Books Ltd.)

      Penguin Group (Australia), 250 Camberwell Road, Camberwell, Victoria 3124, Australia

      (a division of Pearson Australia Group P
    ty. Ltd.)

      Penguin Books India Pvt. Ltd., 11 Community Centre, Panchsheel Park, New Delhi--110 017, India

      Penguin Group (NZ), 67 Apollo Drive, Rosedale, North Shore 0632, New Zealand

      (a division of Pearson New Zealand Ltd.)

      Penguin Books (South Africa) (Pty.) Ltd., 24 Sturdee Avenue, Rosebank, Johannesburg 2196,

      South Africa

      Penguin Books Ltd., Registered Offices: 80 Strand, London WC2R 0RL, England

      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.

      TOM CLANCY'S SPLINTER CELL(r): ENDGAME

      A Berkley Book / published by arrangement with Ubisoft, Ltd.

      PRINTING HISTORY

      Berkley premium edition / December 2009

      Copyright (c) 2009 by Ubisoft, Ltd.

      All rights reserved.

      No part of this book may be reproduced, scanned, or distributed in any printed or electronic form without permission. Please do not participate in or encourage piracy of copyrighted materials in violation of the author's rights. Purchase only authorized editions.

      For information, address: The Berkley Publishing Group,

      375 Hudson Street, New York, New York 10014.

      eISBN : 978-1-101-15176-1

      BERKLEY(r)

      Berkley Books are published by The Berkley Publishing Group,

      a division of Penguin Group (USA) Inc.,

      375 Hudson Street, New York, New York 10014.

      BERKLEY(r) is a registered trademark of Penguin Group (USA) Inc.

      The "B" design is a trademark of Penguin Group (USA) Inc.

      http://us.penguingroup.com

      ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

      The author gratefully acknowledges the support and cooperation of the following individuals:

      Grant Blackwood, for his collaboration, creativity, and great sense of humor.

      Vietnam veteran and retired chief warrant officer James Ide, for his considerable technical experience, research assistance, and unceasing passion.

      Jackie Fiest, for her proofreading, enthusiasm, and technical knowledge of the Splinter Cell universe.

      Tom Colgan, for his continued support and encouragement as editor of these books.

      Sam Strachman, for his trust and belief in the Splinter Cell book franchise and caretaking of its ideas.

      Tom Clancy, for creating a body of work that continues to inspire readers and writers everywhere.

      PROLOGUE

      KORFOVKA, RUSSIAN FEDERATION NEAR THE CHINESE BORDER EIGHTEEN MONTHS AGO

      THE first blow loosened one of Ben Hansen's molars and sent his head wrenching to one side.

      Captured . . . killed . . .

      He never saw the second blow, only felt Rugar's pointed knuckles drive into his left eye.

      Captured . . . killed . . .

      Hansen's head whipped back, then lolled forward as warm blood spilled down his chin.

      Now Rugar's screams grew incomprehensible, like panes of glass shattering across the hangar's concrete floor.

      Make no mistake. If you're captured, you will be killed.

      Hansen tugged at the plastic flex-cuffs cutting into his wrists and binding him to the chair. He finally mustered the energy to face Rugar, who loomed there, a neckless, four-hundred-pound, vodka-soaked beast crowned by an old Soviet Army ushanka two sizes too small for his broad head. He was about fifty, twice Hansen's age, and hardly agile, but at the moment that hardly mattered.

      Rugar opened his mouth, exposing a jagged fence of yellowed teeth. He shouted and more glass shattered, accompanied by the rattling of two enormous steel doors that had been rolled shut against the wind.

      Hansen shivered. It was below freezing now, and their breaths hung heavy in the air. At least the dizziness from the anesthetic was beginning to wear off. He tried to blink, but his left eye did not respond; it was swelling shut.

      And then--a flash from Rugar's hand.

      Captured . . . killed . . .

      The fat man had confiscated Hansen's knife.

      But that wasn't just any knife--it was a Fairbairn Sykes World War II-era commando dagger that had once belonged to the elusive Sam Fisher, a Splinter Cell few people knew but whose exploits were legendary among them.

      Rugar leaned over and held the blade before Hansen's face. He spoke more slowly, and the words, though still Russian, finally made sense: "We know why you've come. Now, if you tell me what I need to know, you will live."

      Hansen took a deep breath. "You won't break me."

      For a moment Rugar just stood there, his cheeks swelling like melons as he labored for his next breath. Suddenly he smiled, his rank breath coming hard in Hansen's face. "It's going to be a long night for both of us."

      Rugar's left ear was pierced, and the gold hoop hanging there caught the overhead lights at such an angle that for a moment all Hansen noticed were those flashes of gold. He realized only after the blood spattered onto his face that Rugar had been shot in the head, the round coming from a suppressed weapon somewhere behind them.

      All four hundred pounds of the fat man collapsed onto Hansen, snapping off the chair's back legs as the knife went skittering across the floor. Hansen now bore the Russian's full weight across his chest, and he wasn't sure which would kill him first: suffocation or the sickly sweet stench emanating from Rugar's armpits.

      With a groan, he shoved himself against the fat man's body and began worming his way out, gasping, grimacing, and a heartbeat away from retching.

      He rolled onto his side and squinted across the hangar, toward the pair of helicopters and the shadows along the perimeter wall and mechanics' stations.

      And then he appeared, Sergei Luchenko, Hansen's runner. The gaunt-faced man was still wearing his long coat and gripping his pistol with its large suppressor. An unlit cigarette dangled from his thin lips.

      Hansen sighed deeply. "What happened? Why didn't you answer my calls?" He groaned over the question. "Strike that. I'm just glad you're here."

      Sergei walked up to Hansen, withdrew a lighter from his breast pocket, and lit his cigarette.

      "How about some help?" Hansen struggled against the flex-cuffs.

      "I'm sorry, my friend. They sent me to kill you."

      "Bad joke."

      "It's no joke."

      Hansen stiffened. "Not you, Sergei."

      "I don't have a choice."

      Hansen closed his good eye, then spoke through his teeth. "Then why did you save me?"

      "I didn't. The kill must be mine. And . . . I didn't want you to suffer."

      "This is not who you are."

      "I'm sorry." Sergei drew a compact digital video camera from his pocket and hit the RECORD button. He held it close to Hansen. "You see, he is alive. And now . . ." Sergei raised his pistol.

      Hansen cursed at the man.

      There would be no life story flashing before Hansen's eyes; no images of his youth growing up in Fort Stockton, Texas; no scenes from his days at MIT, which he had attended on a full scholarship; no moments from that bar with the director, Anna "Grim" Grimsdottir, who had recruited him out of the CIA to join Third Echelon and become one of the world's most effective field operatives--a Splinter Cell. No, there would be nothing as dramatic or cinematic as that--just a hot piece of lead piercing his forehead, fracturing his skull, and burying itself deep in his brain before he had a chance to think about it.

      The gun thumped. Hansen flinched.

      And then . . . Sergei collapsed sideways onto the concrete, a gaping hole in the back of his head.

      Hansen swore again, this time in relief. He squinted into the shadows at the far end of the hangar. "Uh, thank you?"

      No reply.

      He raised his voice. "Who are you?"


      Again, just the wind . . .

      He lay there a few seconds more, just breathing, waiting for his savior to show himself.

      One last time. "Who are you?"

      Hansen's voice trailed off into the howling wind and creaking hangar doors. He lay there for another two minutes.

      No one came.

      Tensing, he wriggled on his side, drawing closer to his knife, which was lying just a meter away. He reached the blade, turned it over in his hand, and began to slowly, painfully, saw into the flex-cuffs.

      When he was free, he stood and collected himself, his face still swelling, the hangar dipping as though floating on rough seas. And then, blinking his good eye to clarity, he lifted his gaze to the rafters, the crossbeams, the pipes, and still . . . nothing. He turned back to the bodies and shook his head in pity at Sergei. Then he glowered at the fat man, who even in death would get the last laugh, since disposing of his body would be like manhandling a dead Russian circus bear.

      There was still a lot of work to do, but all the while Hansen couldn't help but feel the heat of someone's gaze on his shoulders.

      He shouted again, "Who are you?"

      Only his echo answered.

      1

      HOLMES OFFICE COMPLEX HOUSTON, TEXAS PRESENT DAY

      MAYA Valentina saw it in the man's gaze, which flicked down from her low-cut blouse to her well-tanned legs to her feet jammed into a pair of stilettos. She tossed back her hair, which fell in golden waves across her shoulders, then put an index finger to her lips, as though to nervously bite her nail. Oh, yes, he liked the shy schoolgirl routine, and Valentina could pass for a freshman, too, though she was nearly twenty-eight.

     


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