The Final Pontiff
Page 37
When his uncle, a retired CIA agent, turns up dead on a train in Eastern Europe, international war photographer, Mason Bradley is caught in the middle.
The Russian Mafiya and shady factions of the CIA believe the former agent was carrying something of vital importance. But where is it now? They suspect that Bradley knows the answer, only he doesn’t, and his only way to stay alive is to find it and use it as a bargaining chip for his life.
Bradley begins a journey into a shady world where money, greed, and deception, are the deadly currency in the battle for ultimate power, a world of dark secrets, where life can be snuffed out with the snap of unseen fingers. The action moves from the United States, through Europe to St. Petersburg, and the heart of the Russian Mafiya, then to the far north, to the frozen wasteland of Siberia, and a secret still kept long after the demise of the Soviet Union. Bradley struggles to stay one step ahead of his pursuers, as one by one, his every avenue of escape is closed.
But perhaps Mason Bradley has some dark secrets of his own.
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The Foo Sheng Key
The Middle East teetering on the brink of war and one man willing to push it over the edge.
A man with great wealth and power, prepared to plunge the whole world into chaos in the simple, selfish act of revenge.
And a twelve year old boy who stands in his way.
The key to a dangerous secret
Jai has a happy life as a novice monk in a Tibetan monastery, protected from afar by his mother, an important Chinese scientist. Until one day his happy life is shattered. Soldiers attack the monastery, killing all inside except for Jai, who escapes into the snow.
Jai, unknowingly, has become the vital key in a deadly secret, and his pursuers want him - Dead or Alive.
A deadly chase across the roof of the world
Jai finds himself alone in the vast mountainous wastes of Tibet, with the Chinese Security Service and dark factions of the CIA not far behind. But so also is his father, an American, a war battered veteran, who years before in an attempt to protect his family, walked away from his wife and son. Now he has to step out from his past, face his demons, and make one last effort to put things right.
Can Jai escape his pursuers and stay alive? Can he survive in the savage mountains of Tibet, and will he ever find his way home again?
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Acknowledgements
Another long journey and as always, one not made completely alone. I’d like to thank the people who have helped me along the way.
Firstly, to a group of people who have ensured that I’m here today to finish this book. Agustin, Antonio, and all the medical and nursing staff at Quiron Hospital in Malaga. I may be a writer, but I still don’t have the words for what you all did for me, so I’ll just simply say, thank you.
My incredible editor, Sam Llewellyn. This is our third book together, and as always, he helped me transform something I saw as an almost final draft, into something way beyond that. Thanks for your skill and insight, Sam.
Thanks to Dawn Wheelhouse for the detailed, line by line review, which as always revealed many flaws and inconsistencies.
As always, to many people who have helped me along the way with suggestions and ideas, some intended some not.
Finally as always, thanks to my wife, Gigi Esmilla Howarth, who not only was a valuable member of the first group, who remained strong when I needed it the most, but as always was my first reviewer, and regardless of what we had gone through, gave it to me straight. As an artist, she understands the importance of constructive criticism.
Live every day, love every day.
Neil Howarth – Andalucía, Spain – January 2019
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Copyright
The Final Pontiff
Copyright © 2019 by Neil Howarth
All rights reserved.
The right of Neil Howarth to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted by him in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
All the characters in this book are fictitious, and any resemblance to actual persons living or dead is purely coincidental.
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, without the prior permission in writing of the publisher, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review. Nor to be otherwise circulated in any form of binding or cover other than that in which it is published without a similar condition, including this condition, being imposed on the subsequent purchaser.