Without Mercy

303 Pages·2005·1 MB·English

by  Jack Higgins

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WITHOUT
MERCY
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ALSO BY JACK HIGGINS
Dark Justice Cold Harbor
Bad Company Memories of a Dance-Hall Romeo
Midnight Runner A Season in Hell
Keys of Hell Night of the Fox
Edge of Danger Confessional
Day of Reckoning Exocet
Pay the Devil Touch the Devil
The White House Connection Luciano’s Luck
Flight of Eagles Solo
The President’s Daughter Day of Judgment
Year of the Tiger Storm Warning
Drink with the Devil The Last Place God Made
Angel of Death A Prayer for the Dying
Sheba The Eagle Has Landed
On Dangerous Ground The Run to Morning
Thunder Point Dillinger
Eye of the Storm To Catch a King
The Eagle Has Flown The Valhalla Exchange
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W I T H O U T
M E R C Y
JACK HIGGINS
G. P. Putnam’s Sons
New York
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are either 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.
Without Mercy
G. P. Putnam's Son Book / published by arrangement with the author
All rights reserved.
Copyright ©2006 by G. P. Putnam's Sons
This book may not be reproduced in whole or part, by
mimeograph or any other means, without permission.
Making or distributing electronic copies of this book constitutes copyright infringement and could
subject the infringer to criminal and civil liability.
For information address:
The G.P. Putnam's Sons Publishing Group, a division of Penguin Putnam Inc.,
375 Hudson Street, New York, New York 10014.
The Penguin Putnam Inc. World Wide Web site address is
http://www.penguinputnam.com
ISBN: 0-7865-7020-2
G. P. PUTNAM'S SONS BOOK®
G. P. Putnam's Sons Books first published by Penguin Publishing Group,
a member of Penguin Putnam Inc.,
375 Hudson Street, New York, New York 10014.
G. P. PUTNAM'S SONS and the "G. P. PUTNAM'S SONS" design are trademarks belonging to Penguin Putnam Inc.
Electronic edition: April 2006
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TO ED VICTOR,
THE MENTOR IN MY LIFE,
WITH GRATEFUL THANKS
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THE GATE
OF FEAR
IBIZA
BALEARIC
ISLANDS
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T
he Playa de Toros in Ibiza is a typical small-town bullring, a
concrete circle, benches ringed around, average bulls, toreros
desperate to make their bones. It was unbearably hot even on
the shady side at four o’clock in the afternoon as Dillon waited at the
barrera. As the President led the procession on, the band started to
play “The Virgin of Macarena,” that most poignant of paso dobles,
that promised only death down there in the ring; death in the after-
noon, Hemingway had called it. The toreros tossed off their capes,
works of art in themselves, to friends in the crowd, who draped them
over the barrera, then the toreros were handed the plain fighting
capes and made a few practice swings, the horses of the picadors stir-
ring uneasily. There was a long moment, a signal from the President,
and as a bugle sounded, the red door on the far side, the Gate of Fear,
burst open. The bull came through from the darkness, a runaway
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4 JACK HIGGINS
train that skidded to a halt as the crowd roared. Peons moved out to
2 try him, capes ready, the scene looking like the most dangerous thing
3 on earth, but Dillon knew no fear. He vaulted over the barrera
4 down into the arena. The crowd roared as he ran forward and flung
5 himself on his knees in front of the bull and bared his chest. “Hey,
6 toro.Just for me, the Pass of Death,” because he knew that was all it
7 would take and he deserved it. She was dead and it was his fault and
8 the bull charged, the crowd screamed and he cried out and came
9 awake, sitting up in bed, soaked in sweat and more afraid than he
0 had ever been.
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WASHINGTON