Theatre of War (Matt Drake 28) Tenth Anniversary Novel Read online

  Theatre of War

  (Matt Drake #28)

  (Tenth Anniversary Novel)

  By

  David Leadbeater

  Other Books by David Leadbeater:

  The Matt Drake Series

  A constantly evolving, action-packed romp based in the escapist action-adventure genre:

  The Bones of Odin (Matt Drake #1)

  The Blood King Conspiracy (Matt Drake #2)

  The Gates of Hell (Matt Drake 3)

  The Tomb of the Gods (Matt Drake #4)

  Brothers in Arms (Matt Drake #5)

  The Swords of Babylon (Matt Drake #6)

  Blood Vengeance (Matt Drake #7)

  Last Man Standing (Matt Drake #8)

  The Plagues of Pandora (Matt Drake #9)

  The Lost Kingdom (Matt Drake #10)

  The Ghost Ships of Arizona (Matt Drake #11)

  The Last Bazaar (Matt Drake #12)

  The Edge of Armageddon (Matt Drake #13)

  The Treasures of Saint Germain (Matt Drake #14)

  Inca Kings (Matt Drake #15)

  The Four Corners of the Earth (Matt Drake #16)

  The Seven Seals of Egypt (Matt Drake #17)

  Weapons of the Gods (Matt Drake #18)

  The Blood King Legacy (Matt Drake #19)

  Devil’s Island (Matt Drake #20)

  The Fabergé Heist (Matt Drake #21)

  Four Sacred Treasures (Matt Drake #22)

  The Sea Rats (Matt Drake #23)

  Blood King Takedown (Matt Drake #24)

  Devil’s Junction (Matt Drake #25)

  Voodoo soldiers (Matt Drake #26)

  The Carnival of Curiosities (Matt Drake #27)

  The Alicia Myles Series

  Aztec Gold (Alicia Myles #1)

  Crusader’s Gold (Alicia Myles #2)

  Caribbean Gold (Alicia Myles #3)

  Chasing Gold (Alicia Myles #4)

  Galleon’s Gold (Alicia Myles #5)

  The Torsten Dahl Thriller Series

  Stand Your Ground (Dahl Thriller #1)

  The Relic Hunters Series

  The Relic Hunters (Relic Hunters #1)

  The Atlantis Cipher (Relic Hunters #2)

  The Amber Secret (Relic Hunters #3)

  The Hostage Diamond (Relic Hunters #4)

  The Rocks of Albion (Relic Hunters #5)

  The Illuminati Sanctum (Relic Hunters #6)

  The Rogue Series

  Rogue (Book One)

  The Disavowed Series:

  The Razor’s Edge (Disavowed #1)

  In Harm’s Way (Disavowed #2)

  Threat Level: Red (Disavowed #3)

  The Chosen Few Series

  Chosen (The Chosen Trilogy #1)

  Guardians (The Chosen Trilogy #2)

  Heroes (The Chosen Trilogy #3)

  Short Stories

  Walking with Ghosts (A short story)

  A Whispering of Ghosts (A short story)

  All genuine comments are very welcome at:

  [email protected]

  Twitter: @dleadbeater2011

  Visit David’s website for the latest news and information:

  davidleadbeater.com

  Contents

  Other Books by David Leadbeater:

  CHAPTER ONE

  CHAPTER TWO

  CHAPTER THREE

  CHAPTER FOUR

  CHAPTER FIVE

  CHAPTER SIX

  CHAPTER SEVEN

  CHAPTER EIGHT

  CHAPTER NINE

  CHAPTER TEN

  CHAPTER ELEVEN

  CHAPTER TWELVE

  CHAPTER THIRTEEN

  CHAPTER FOURTEEN

  CHAPTER FIFTEEN

  CHAPTER SIXTEEN

  CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

  CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

  CHAPTER NINETEEN

  CHAPTER TWENTY

  CHAPTER TWENTY ONE

  CHAPTER TWENTY TWO

  CHAPTER TWENTY THREE

  CHAPTER TWENTY FOUR

  CHAPTER TWENTY FIVE

  CHAPTER TWENTY SIX

  CHAPTER TWENTY SEVEN

  CHAPTER TWENTY EIGHT

  CHAPTER TWENTY NINE

  CHAPTER THIRTY

  CHAPTER THIRTY ONE

  CHAPTER THIRTY TWO

  CHAPTER THIRTY THREE

  CHAPTER THIRTY FOUR

  CHAPTER THIRTY FIVE

  CHAPTER THIRTY SIX

  CHAPTER THIRTY SEVEN

  CHAPTER THIRTY EIGHT

  CHAPTER THIRTY NINE

  CHAPTER FORTY

  CHAPTER FORTY ONE

  CHAPTER FORTY TWO

  CHAPTER FORTY THREE

  CHAPTER FORTY FOUR

  CHAPTER FORTY FIVE

  Other Books by David Leadbeater:

  CHAPTER ONE

  The video came in as they flew over the dark and choppy waters of the Atlantic Ocean, the cargo plane’s drone soft as if it knew they travelled in secret; the lighting of the hold so dim that everyone except Dahl dozed and dreamed. Dahl had decided the safety harnesses were for wimps and kept falling off his hard metal perch.

  Mai’s phone rang, snapping her awake. The loud, shrill tune echoed around the cabin, waking everyone else. Mai sent a vicious stare toward Alicia. “If you change my ring tone to Barbie Girl again, I’m gonna remove your testicles.”

  Alicia feigned horror.

  Dahl sighed in relief, glaring at Drake. “I’m just happy the Yorkshire pudding woke up. Any more of that snoring and I was heading out of the plane, thirty-thousand feet up or not.”

  Drake grunted and yawned. “Snoring is a sign of happiness,” he said. “Shows I feel secure with the person I’m sleeping with.”

  Dahl eyed Alicia, but bit back a comment. Probably for the best.

  Drake focused on Mai. “Who the hell’s calling you, love? We’re supposed to be clandestine. Ninjas. Out of—”

  “It’s Bryant,” Mai said. The head of the Glacier private security firm who had fought with them against the voodoo soldiers and at Devil’s Junction had been trawling his many contacts for information concerning President Lacey, for potential allies, and for any sign of a secret enemy calling themselves the Scourge.

  “Good,” Hayden said. “We’re just two hours from DC. I was worried we’d be landing with nothing to go on.”

  Bryant spoke for several seconds before Mai asked him to wait and switched to speakerphone. A moment later, Bryant began again. “It’s far worse than we thought,” he said, swallowing heavily. “The Romanian authorities tracked Marko Lupei’s trafficking gang to a Romanian minister called Dumitrescu. Remember him?”

  Cam spoke up. “I knew my father worked for a top government figure,” he said. “They used the Carnival of Curiosities as a cover to travel the country, collecting and delivering people, weapons and drugs. I guess it was this Dumitrescu.”

  “You got it. The Romanians caught Dumitrescu red-handed and... questioned him quite thoroughly. I won’t embellish it because it’s bad enough, but I’ll read a transcript of what he eventually said. It goes: ‘There was this guy called the Devil. He planned it all for the Scourge. Planned it before he was killed. Zuki ended up in jail but the Devil planned her escape. She’s part of the Scourge’s new world order. There was this feud between the Devil and the Blood King, and the Devil was both evil and clever enough to come up with a long-term plan, even with the Blood King shooting President Coburn, an act that became the catalyst for the Devil’s greatest plan ever—the reshaping of the world’s ruling bodies. Spartak’s involved, and some world-class thieves, and Madame Davic, and more. They’re attacking America from the inside out, makin
g the Scourge the world’s dominant power. Once done with America, they’ll turn to China and Europe. It’s the most terrible array of attacks you can imagine, it’s soon, and it will change the world.’”

  Bryant took a breath. Drake found himself trying to quell a rising horror. They had known President Lacey had been installed for a reason. They’d known he ghosted the Strike Force and other special ops teams for a reason. They’d known something was coming.

  “We came up against Zuki when we hunted for the Four Sacred Treasures,” Alicia said. “I remember her well. Spoiled royal brat with fighting skills. Ended up in some secret prison after bringing the samurai, the ninjas and us together in that crazy battle. It’s where Dino lost a hand.”

  “Madame Davic is in Los Angeles,” Hayden said. “Mano and I have had the recent displeasure of meeting her. Trent and the other two Disavowed guys are keeping tabs on her.”

  “But who are the Scourge?” Shaw asked. The Native American woman was seated cross-legged on the floor, appearing as comfortable on the plane’s steel grid surface as if it were made of feathers. “We need more information.”

  “The name rings a bell.” Kenzie had traded stolen relics on the wrong side of the law for many years before she met the SPEAR team and had some knowledge of most criminal organizations, even the ones which tried to remain secret. “I’ll try to dig something up.”

  “We need information,” Hayden said. “Mano and I are putting all our contacts in the loop. The seven ghosted Strike Force teams are being apprised of the situation. The Disavowed too. Alicia... have you—”

  “Contacted Michael Crouch? Yeah, if anyone can help, it’s Michael.”

  “We need everyone for this,” Hayden pressed. “Everyone we’ve met over the last few years. Everyone from every adventure. Every skirmish. The President of the United States is the worst enemy we’ve ever come up against.”

  “Remember,” Bryant said through the speakerphone. “The Assistant Director of the FBI, Patrick Sutherland, owes me several favors. And he’s on our side. He supplied me with that transcript.”

  “That’s huge,” Hayden said as Drake mulled Bryant’s words: “He’s on our side.” Bryant had proven useful over a couple of missions and had offered them all jobs with Glacier but when had he become part of the team? Maybe Mai knew the answer to that, but now wasn’t the time to question Bryant. They needed every smidgeon of help they could muster.

  “The Romanians backchannelled it to the FBI,” Bryant was saying. “Who passed it on to me with the strict assurance it would go only to you. Those that know President Lacey is a plant and a puppet are counting on you guys.”

  Drake felt the weight of responsibility. “If the Devil concocted this plan back on Devil’s Island when the Blood King first betrayed him, then it’s been in the works a long time. It’s well rooted. I remember Zuki too. She had an enormous reach, endless money and more power than a god. Davic too, if she’s related to the crime boss we dealt with during the bones of Odin op.”

  “She’s Davor Davic’s wife and Blanka Davic’s mother,” Hayden said with a wince. “A female Russian oligarch described as evil incarnate by her own men. We—and the Disavowed guys—have killed both her closest male relatives down the years.”

  “That’s unfortunate,” Drake admitted.

  “You reap what you sow,” Dahl said without emotion. “We’ve never killed anyone who didn’t deserve it.”

  “And I remember the Devil,” Kinimaka said. “The world’s most terrifying and foremost assassin. He’d bring down a bridge full of rush-hour traffic to kill just one person for anyone that had the money to pay. If he’s engineered this entire thing—we’re in trouble.”

  “The issue I see,” Bryant said, “is that we don’t know what this thing is. I mean, to put it bluntly, what’s actually gonna happen here? What is the plan?”

  “Can’t they drag more out of Dumitrescu?” Cam asked with a look of hope on his young face.

  “He’s told them all he can and in no position to tell them more,” Bryant said. “The Romanians are confident of that.”

  “Put the word out,” Hayden said. “That’s all we can do for now.”

  “They’re attacking America from the inside out,” Shaw repeated what she’d heard. “It’s the most terrible array of attacks you can imagine.” She looked around the cabin. “Any ideas?”

  “We do have suspects,” Kinimaka said. “Zuki. The Scourge. Madame Davic. President Lacey. The trouble is—they’re all unapproachable.”

  Drake considered the Hawaiian’s words, thinking how right he was. Zuki languished in some secret jail. The Scourge were an unknown element. Madame Davic was no doubt guarded by a military entourage. And Lacey... he was an entirely different kettle of fish.

  “I should be able to reach Zuki in jail,” Mai said. “My Japanese contacts are widespread and influential.”

  “Widespread?” Alicia repeated. “Was that how you made those contacts?”

  Mai gave her a dagger-filled look. “Dai Hibiki, my sister’s husband, will help,” she said. “He’s always helped us before, in and out of the police force.”

  “But Zuki won’t cooperate,” Cam said. “She’s part of the plan, part of the Scourge.”

  “To get out of jail she might,” Mai said.

  “It’s desperately important we find out what these attacks are gonna be. Where? When? How? Everything,” Hayden said. “And time’s running out. Dumitrescu said ‘it’s soon.’ We should cover every angle.”

  Mai nodded. “It’s decided then. I’ll go to Japan and confront Zuki. At least then we’ll have some idea of what we’re up against.”

  “It won’t be that easy,” Alicia said. “You’re gonna need some proper muscle for backup.”

  Drake recalled Zuki and her twisted plans. “She’s right. I’ll—”

  Bryant’s voice interrupted him. “I’ll travel with you to Japan,” he said. “If that’s okay?”

  Mai looked surprised and then smiled. “You promise not to be a sleaze?”

  “Ah, come on, you know that’s just a front.”

  “Meet me when we land,” Mai said to Drake’s surprise, but then she and Bryant had been spending quite a bit of time together. He trusted the Japanese woman’s judgement as if it were his own.

  “And call every contact you can. Give them my name,” Hayden added. “Everyone that might be able to help. We’re really going to need them. From procuring the right weapons and gear to dangerous, inside Intel.”

  “I can do that,” Bryant said.

  “Wait, wait,” Alicia said. “I said muscle, not Bryant the Sordid. And Drake—you’re not going with her. I’ll go.”

  Mai blinked rapidly at the idea of Alicia and her joining forces for a mission. “Is that really your best idea?”

  “Better than you and the Yorkshire Humper joining forces again.”

  “Bryant the Sordid. The Yorkshire Humper. What is this?” Drake grunted. “Game of bloody Thrones?”

  “It’s fine.” Mai waved a hand. “We’ll work it out. The most important thing now is that we go to Tokyo and get there fast.”

  Hayden looked relieved. “If you can just get an idea of what attacks are coming, that’d be everything,” she said. “Get that, and we’re ahead of their evil little game.”

  Mai nodded, aware of the stakes. “Good luck,” she said, looking around the vast cabin and studying every face. “I hope we meet again soon.”

  It was a solemn statement and heartfully expressed. It was telling that both Mai and Alicia met Drake’s eyes, Dahl caught Kenzie’s stare, and Hayden moved closer to Mano. Both Cam and Shaw looked anxious.

  The cargo plane plowed onward below starry skies toward American shores, toward an oncoming storm the like of which the country had never known, toward uncertain confrontations that, unaccountably, seemed to be both wrapped up in and productions of several of their earlier missions.

  You never left the worst of your past behind. You just fought
the bastard hard when it raised its claws.

  CHAPTER TWO

  Mai and Alicia arrived in Japan to greet the tail-end of a hurricane with Bryant waiting for them.

  Major airports had only just reopened, but their plane had lost no time in its journey, landing on the tarmac at Tokyo International just before 1:00 a.m., around fourteen hours after they’d left the darkness of a secret airfield in Washington DC.

  “I don’t like the look of that.” Alicia had her nose pressed up against a window, staring out at a line of cabs being assaulted by heavy rain just beyond the streaming glass. “Think we can get Zuki sent here?”

  “It’s rain,” Mai said. “Don’t be so precious about it.”

  “Precious?” Alicia repeated. “Precious? I’ll show you—”

  “Do you two ever stop arguing?” Bryant complained. “I thought a trip to Japan with two carnal, full-blooded warriors would be more... fun.”

  “Fun?” Alicia regarded Mai. “She has a way of sapping all the fun from the room. Must be a ninja trick.”

  “Are you talking to me? I can’t tell because your eyes are looking at me, but your nose is pointed east.”

  Alicia gritted her teeth and clenched her fists. “Look,” she said as Mai walked away, “I haven’t had time to get the bloody thing fixed yet.”

  “Or you’re scared to get it done,” Mai said over her shoulder. “That re-breaking is going to hurt like hell. Oh, look, there’s Dai.”

  They dashed out into the storm, wearing nothing but jeans and jackets, trying to ignore the rain lashing their faces and backs as they leapt through Hibiki’s open doors and into the car’s warm interior. The Japanese ex-police officer turned to face them with a wan smile.

  “How come you only ever visit when there’s trouble?”

  “Trouble wears us like a straitjacket,” Alicia said, “that we can’t escape.”