State of Siege - Tom Clancy [0]
By
TOM CLANCY AND STEVE PIECZENIK
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BERKLEY BOOKS, NEW YORK
If you purchased this book without a cover, you should be aware that this book is stolen property. It was reported as "unsold and destroyed" to the publisher, and neither the author nor the publisher has received any payment for this "stripped book."
TOM CLANCY'S OP-CENTER: STATE OF SIEGE
A Berkley Book still published by arrangement with Jack Ryan Limited Partnership and SandR Literary, Inc. PRINTING HISTORY Berkley edition still July 1999 All rights reserved. Copyright [*thorngg'1999 by Jack Ryan Limited Partnership and SandR Literary, Inc. This book may not be reproduced in whole or in part, by mimeograph or any other means, without permission. For information address: The Berkley 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 httpccwww.penguinputnam.com ISBN: 0-425-16822-0 BERKLEYO Berkley Books are published by The Berkley Publishing Group, a division of Penguin Putnam Inc., 375 Hudson Street, New York, New York 10014. BERKLEY and the B logo are trademarks belonging to Penguin Putnam Inc.
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Acknowledgments
We would like to thank Jeff Rovin for his creative ideas and his invaluable contribution to the preparation of the manuscript. We would also like to acknowledge the as-sistance of Martin H. Greenberg, Larry Segriff, Robert Youdelman, Esq., and the wonderful people at Penguin Putnam Inc., including Phyllis Grann, David Shanks, and Tom Colgan. As always, we would like to thank Robert Gottlieb of The William Morris Agency, our agent and friend, without whom this book would never have been conceived. But most important, it is for you, our readers, to determine how successful our collective endeavor has been. Tom Clancy and Steve Pieczenik United Nations-The Security Council put the final touches yesterday on a written demand that Iraq co-operate with international arms inspectors-but threatens no force if Baghdad fails to comply. Associated Press, November 5, 1998
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PROLOGUE Kampong Thorn, Cambodia
1993 She died while he held her under a brilliant dawn. Her eyelids closed softly, a faint breath rose from her delicate throat, and then she was gone. Hang Sary looked down at the pale face of the young woman. He looked at the grass and dirt in her wet hair and the cuts in her forehead and across her nose. He felt revulsion when he saw the red lipstick on her mouth, the rouge that had smeared across her cheek, and the charcoal-gray mascara that had run from her eyes to her ears. This wasn't how it was supposed to be. Not even here, in a land where the concept of innocence was as foreign as the dream of peace. Phum Sary should not have died so young, and she should not have died like this. No one should die like this, lying in a windy rice field, the cool water muddy-red with their blood. But at least Phum had died knowing who it was that held her in his arms. At least she didn't die as she'd probably lived most of her life, alone and uncherished. And though the search that Hang had never quite abandoned was over, he knew that another was about to begin. Hang's knees were raised and his sister's head was in his lap. He lightly touched the cold tip of her nose, the fine line of her jaw, her round mouth. A mouth that always used to smile, regardless of what she was doing. The girl felt so small and fragile. He pulled her arms from the water and laid them on the waist of her tight blue lame dress. He cuddled her closer. He wondered if anyone had held her like this in ten years. Had she lived this horrible life the entire time? Had she finally had enough and decided that death was preferable? Hang's long face tightened as he thought about her life. Then it exploded in tears. How could he have been so near and not have known it? He and Ty had been in the village, undercover, for nearly a week. Could he ever forgive himself for not having