Bolan slammed the M-16 across his adversary’s gun hand
The crack of breaking bone was audible above the driving rain. Ryan roared in agony. He lifted his hand and stared at the split flesh.
“Bastard!” he screamed.
He saw Bolan staring at him, his own battered, bloody face glistening with rain. The look in the man’s eyes unnerved him. They were cold, devoid of compassion.
“Lessons are over, Ryan. This is for keeps.”
For the first time in his life Ryan really knew how it felt to look death in the eyes and understand what it meant.
He turned to run, but there was nowhere to go.
Other titles available in this series:
Firepower
Storm Burst
Intercept
Lethal Impact
Deadfall
Onslaught
Battle Force
Rampage
Takedown
Death’s Head
Hellground
Inferno
Ambush
Blood Strike
Killpoint
Vendetta
Stalk Line
Omega Game
Shock Tactic
Showdown
Precision Kill
Jungle Law
Dead Center
Tooth and Claw
Thermal Strike
Day of the Vulture
Flames of Wrath
High Aggression
Code of Bushido
Terror Spin
Judgment in Stone
Rage for Justice
Rebels and Hostiles
Ultimate Game
Blood Feud
Renegade Force
Retribution
Initiation
Cloud of Death
Termination Point
Hellfire Strike
Code of Conflict
Vengeance
Executive Action
Killsport
Conflagration
Storm Front
War Season
Evil Alliance
Scorched Earth
Deception
Destiny’s Hour
Power of the Lance
A Dying Evil
Deep Treachery
War Load
Sworn Enemies
Dark Truth
Breakaway
Blood and Sand
Caged
Sleepers
Strike and Retrieve
Age of War
Line of Control
Breached
Retaliation
Pressure Point
Silent Running
Stolen Arrows
Zero Option
Mack Bolan®
Don Pendleton
Justice is the constant and perpetual wish to render to every one his due.
—Emperor Justinian, c.482–565
When individuals believe they are above the law or beyond justice, they deserve a harsh lesson in reality.
—Mack Bolan
CONTENTS
PROLOGUE
Zero Platform One, Earth orbit
Zero Platform One moved on its slow orbit against a background of star-dappled darkness, silent and seemingly dead. The exterior was composed of aluminum and titanium steel, the burnished surface dotted with antennae, signal and scanning dishes, targeting probes. Rings of sensors crisscrossed the platform.
The upper section had a row of observational windows that ran the circumference of the dome. The lower, much larger dome could rotate on an internal rail system and held long-range missiles in multiple banks that jutted from the surface like so many metal blisters. Directly above the missile clusters were laser and particle-beam weapons. On the central ring of the platform sat a series of smaller missile pods. These were for the protection of the platform itself. The pods were linked to some of the sensor arrays, which in turn incorporated long distance radar scanners. Picking up the approach of any object, the platform’s own defense system would analyze and determine any possible threat. Once