Finally settling into a peaceful life after more than a decade on the deadly front lines of the war on terror, Ryan Kealey believes he's put danger behind him - and some of his demons to rest. But his calm is shattered when he's swept into a highly organized and merciless terror attack during a charity gala in downtown Baltimore. Dozens are dead and critically injured, including the wife of CIA Deputy Director John Harper, whose investigation of the ambush is hampered by suspicion that one or more intelligence agencies has been compromised. With normal channels obstructed, Harper turns to Kealey, the one man with the resources, expertise - and freedom from government interference - to pursue the awful truth. Following a string of secrets and violence, Kealey blazes a trail from the confines of the innermost chambers of government and big business to the dimmest reaches of the human psyche, forced to match wits with a new nemesis aided by new allies, each with his or her own agenda. Slowly, Kealey unspools an unimaginable conspiracy that suggests America may in fact be its own worst enemy. With page after page of unrelenting action and explosive revelations, The Operative blends political deception and global intrigue at their highest levels with covert psychological manipulations at their deepest and most devastating.
For the President of the United States, the daily horror of life in West Darfur, Sudan's anarchic killing fields, just hit heartbreakingly close to home. His beloved niece Lily, a nurse caring for refugees in the war-torn region, has been targeted and savagely murdered by a corps of Janjaweed, fearsome government-backed militiamen. The rash and vicious killing is a clear provocation, but any response will seriously destabilize the already teetering region and threaten the security of the entire world. With the situation too explosive for diplomatic or military solutions, yet with the President and the public thirsting for revenge, America is out of options. Except one: Ryan Kealey. Kealey, ex-Special Forces, former CIA, unrivaled counterterrorism expert, has been central to the war on terror for over a decade. But he's finished trying to save the world. After the Agency hung him out to dry - and let his lover die - it was easy for him to turn his back. They had nothing he wanted. Until now. For the government has revealed its trump card, the one thing Kealey will risk everything for. Once back in the fold, Kealey's pursuit of Lily's killers unearths secrets and betrayals that shock even his war-tempered sensibilities and leave him with no one to trust. On the lawless streets of Sudan, and at the highest levels of the American government, shadowy forces ignite a conflagration with unknowable global consequences. Brimming with intrigue and danger, THE EXILE pulses with high-stakes gamble after gamble, as one man navigates a tenuous web of international relations that could collapse at any moment...
For more than a decade, Ryan Kealey has been a key player in the war on terror. First, as a captain in the U.S. Army's third Special Forces Group, then as a contract operative with the CIA. His actions have saved thousands of lives, including that of the U.S. President. Now once again, Kealey receives the call of duty - only this time, the odds for success are slim to none... Tensions between Pakistan and India are at an all-time high. To complicate matters, twelve American climbers have disappeared in the snow-capped peaks of Pakistan's Hindu Kush range. The President is demanding answers, but neither government is supplying them. As the conflict escalates, Brynn Fitzgerald departs Washington D.C. on her first official trip as acting secretary of state. Her goal is to serve as an intermediary between the leaders of both nations as well as to ensure all efforts are being made in the search for the missing American climbers. But when Fitzgerald's motorcade is ambushed on the outskirts of Islamabad, her back-up team arrives to discover a disastrous scene: dozens are dead, including seven diplomatic security agents, and the secretary of state has vanished without a trace. In the wake of the unprecedented attack, Kealey's operation goes into high gear. Once again, he is joined by Naomi Kharmai, the British-born analyst who has taken on a daring new role with the Agency. But Kharmai is becoming as unpredictable as the man they're going after, and as they work their way toward the target, it becomes clear to Kealey that anyone is fair game - and no one can be trusted.
More than a year has passed since Ryan Kealey prevented the assassination of multiple world leaders in the nation's capital. While his work is brilliant, he's considered damaged goods. Now he's about to become a key player in a plot of unimaginable scale. For something big is about to go down in New York City. When a top Iranian source reveals that Iran is planning to bomb the United Nations, U.S. Intelligence begins counter-measures. Only Kealey sees it as a smokescreen for another, far more involved plot. But getting anyone to believe him isn't going to be easy. With only his ally, London's newest assistant chief, Naomi Kharmai, by his side, Ryan will have to operate outside the lines in order to prevent a terrible attack in a city on lockdown. A weapon of catastrophic power has been stolen from war-torn Iraq and has made its way to the U.S. The man who has it is Kealey's nemesis, William Vanderveen, an international criminal mastermind who has no objective other than pure terror and who will stop at nothing to achieve it. Making matters worse, Vanderveen's being helped by someone on the inside with high ranking security clearance. Even the halls of the CIA are no longer safe from possible espionage and treason. Now, as Kealey and Kharmai race to put the pieces together, they will confront a ghost from the past and be forced to question the people they trust most in a desperate investigation where only this is for certain - time is running out.
At thirty-three, Ryan Kealey has achieved more in his military and CIA career than most men can dream of in a lifetime. He's also seen the worst life has to offer and is lucky to have survived it. But being left alone with his demons is no longer an option. The CIA needs him badly, because the enemy they're facing is former U.S. soldier Jason March. Ryan knows all about March - he trained him. He knows they're dealing with one of the most ruthless assassins in the world, a master of many languages, an explosives expert, a superb sharpshooter who can disappear like a shadow and who is capable of crimes they cannot begin to imagine. And now, March has resurfaced on the global stage, aligning himself with a powerful Middle East terror network whose goal is nothing less than the total destruction of the United States. Teaming up with beautiful and tenacious British-born agent Naomi Kharmai, Ryan intends to break every rule in order to hunt down his former pupil, whatever the cost to himself. As Ryan puts together the pieces of a terrifying puzzle, and as the elusive March taunts him, always staying one step ahead, he discovers the madman's crusade is personal as well as political - and Ryan himself is an unwitting pawn. With the clock ticking down and the fate of the country resting uneasily on his shoulders, Ryan is caught in a desperate game of cat-and-mouse with the most cunning opponent he's ever faced, one who will never stop until he's committed the ultimate act of evil - a man who is all the more deadly for being one of our own.
