“You’re saying we kill the president?”
“Yes.”
Chandler frowned. She brought her glass to her lips, sipped, then stared over the rim, as if waiting for the Bordeaux to provide wisdom.
“I understand why I’d be interested in that, but how does it help you?”
“Back in Mexico, you asked me about my father.”
She nodded, silently waiting for him to continue.
“The first time I remember meeting him face-to-face, I was fifteen. I took a bus to Phoenix and broke into his home with the mind to kill him. I failed then, but I’ve spent these many years since both discovering new reasons I must do it and making sure I don’t fail again.”
Chandler was good at controlling her expressions. Maybe the best, next to him. But her eyebrows arched and her lips tightened, and Heath could see his declaration and the truth behind the words surprised her.
She took another taste of wine before she spoke.
“And what does this have to do with the president?”
“Why are you asking, bonita? I can see you have already figured it out.”
“Ratzenberger is your father.”
Just at that simple statement, Heath could feel the determination harden inside all over again.
“Si. And I cannot take him down alone.”
The White House
Ratzenberger stared at the pen on his desk, but didn’t dare move it.
He’d play along, for now.
But this wasn’t over.
Not by a long shot.
If it was his last act as commander-in-chief, he would make those Hydra bitches pay.
Them, and his goddamn illegitimate son, Armando. He rued the day that little bastard came to his house and he sent him to The Instructor rather than killing him.
But his time would come. All their times would come.
Like all great leaders, Ratzenberger had a backup plan.
One that made Manifest Destiny Two look like a kindergarten Christmas pageant.
Toronto
Lyle Gerard had only started working in greens maintenance at the Oakdale Golf and Country Club last week, but he was already convinced it was the greatest job on earth. He was outside all day, trimming the greens, fertilizing the turf, raking sand traps until they were smooth as a baby’s bottom. And if he was lucky, someday he might play on one of the course’s twenty-seven holes.
He’d parked his cart at the eighth green and circled to the trailer to unload the mower when he saw her on the shore of the water hazard. A girl, spindly creature, with short black hair draped over one eye and black marks all up and down her arms. She was cradling something pink and red to her belly. It wasn’t until he got closer that Lyle could see it was her own insides.
What the hell?
She tossed her head, flipping her hair out of her eyes.
“Don’t just stare, you stupid hick. Get me a fucking doctor.”
EPILOGUE
Hammett
The rented tugboat ate diesel fuel like a freighter, and the sonar equipment was outdated and subpar, but on the second day of searching Hammett found the submerged tank of Ebola thirty-five meters down, roughly two hundred meters offshore.
She anchored, lowered the winch, and got into her dry suit. It was bitterly cold, terrible weather for boating, let alone diving, so she had this part of Lake Ontario to herself, away from prying eyes. In the harbor, she had a truck waiting, and a crew of laborers on standby.
As she’d hoped, no one had seen the tank fall off the blimp, and when the blimp was recovered it had floated a good distance away from the drop site. She’d spent the last six weeks waiting for her broken arm to heal and anxiously surfing the Internet for news about the tank being discovered. But it hadn’t been, and there hadn’t been any Ebola outbreaks anywhere in the world.
Yet.
Kirk came over, licked her face. She gave the dog a pat on the head.
“What do you think, Kirk? Sell it to the highest bidder? Or unleash it upon the world? You’d like a world without human beings, wouldn’t you, boy?”
He wagged his tail, agreeing.
Hammett smiled.
Armageddon, here I come.
The End
CAST OF CHARACTERS
CHANDLER is an elite spy, working for an agency so secret only three people know it exists. Trained by the best of the best, she has honed her body, her instincts, and her intellect to become the perfect weapon. Return to character’s first appearance.
FLEMING used to be a field operative like Chandler, until she was paralyzed on a mission. A genius, Fleming turned her attention to miraculous inventions and being Chandler’s handler, but she’s always longed to return to the field. Return to character’s first appearance.
HAMMETT is a dangerous psychopath with all the training of Chandler and none of the moral fiber. She’s a super-assassin, and she loves it. Unsympathetic to her fellow human beings, she has a soft spot only for animals. Return to character’s first appearance.
TEQUILA ABERNATHY was once an Olympic gymnast before he became an enforcer for the Chicago mob. Now semiretired, he does favors for friends and those who can pay his rates. He is featured in the thriller Shot of Tequila. Return to character’s first appearance.
DAVID LUND works as a firefighter in central Wisconsin. The picture of an everyday hero, he is incapable of turning down a person in need of help. He is featured in the thriller Pushed Too Far. Return to character’s first appearance.
PRESIDENT J. PHILLIP RATZENBERGER took over the Oval Office when his predecessor was assassinated in Spree. Return to character’s first appearance.
JULIE has been hiding on a remote island off the coast of Maine since Chandler first rescued her. Read how that happened in the Chandler novella Exposed. Return to character’s first appearance.
HEATHCLIFF is a member of Hydra Deux. Heath first runs into Chandler in the novella Hit. His Hydra Deux partner is former Olympic wrestler Earnshaw. Return to character’s first appearance.
SCARLETT is also from Hydra Deux. Her Hydra Deux partner is charmer and cowboy Rhett. Return to character’s first appearance.
ISOLDE is another assassin for Hydra Deux. Izzy’s partner is the gargantuan Tristan. Return to character’s first appearance.
BRADLEY MILTON is a robotics expert who lives and works outside of Baltimore. Return to character’s first appearance.
JACQUELINE “JACK” DANIELS is a Chicago cop who appears in Shot of Tequila, Whiskey Sour, Bloody Mary, Rusty Nail, Dirty Martini, Fuzzy Navel, Cherry Bomb, Shaken, and Stirred. Flee, Spree, and Three take place in the time span between Dirty Martini and Fuzzy Navel. Return to character’s first appearance.
HARRY MCGLADE runs a private investigations firm in Chicago. McGlade is possibly the most offensive human being of all time. Return to character’s first appearance.
THE INSTRUCTOR is the man behind the top-secret Hydra super-assassin program as well as Hydra Deux. He trained superspies Chandler, Fleming, and Hammett as well as their now-deceased sisters Ludlum, Clancy, Forsyth, and Follett. He also trained Scarlett, Rhett, Isolde, Tristan, Earnshaw, Heathcliff, and the deceased Rochester. Return to character’s first appearance.
AUTHORS’ NOTE
We truly hoped you enjoyed Three. While it can be read as a standalone thriller, this is the third part of a series featuring Chandler, Hammett, and Fleming. If you like to read things in order, it is: Flee, Spree, Three. Chandler also appears in the short novels HIT and EXPOSED, and Hammett appears in the short novel NAUGHTY, all of which take place prior to Flee.
The characters of Jack Daniels and Harry McGlade appear in Whiskey Sour, Bloody Mary, Rusty Nail, Dirty Martini, Fuzzy Navel, Cherry Bomb, and Shaken, written by J.A. Konrath. They also appear in Stirred and Serial Killers Uncut written by J.A. Konrath and Blake Crouch. Harry McGlade also appears in Babe on Board, written by J.A. Konrath and Ann Voss Peterson.
THE CODENAME: CHANDLER SERIES
By J.A. Konrath and Ann Vo
ss Peterson
In chronological order
HIT
EXPOSED
NAUGHTY
Flee
Spree
Three
The events in Three occur after Pushed Too Far by Ann Voss Peterson and Shot of Tequila by J.A. Konrath, and in between Dirty Martini and Fuzzy Navel by J.A. Konrath.
J.A. Konrath’s/Jack Kilborn’s Works Available Now
JACK DANIELS THRILLERS
Whiskey Sour
Bloody Mary
Rusty Nail Dirty Martini
Fuzzy Navel
Cherry Bomb
Shaken
Stirred
Killers Uncut with Blake Crouch
Serial Killers Uncut with Blake Crouch
Birds of Prey with Blake Crouch
Shot of Tequila
Banana Hammock
Jack Daniels Stories (collected stories)
Serial Uncut with Blake Crouch
Killers with Blake Crouch
Suckers with Jeff Strand
Planter’s Punch with Tom Schreck
Floaters with Henry Perez
Truck Stop Symbios (writing as Joe Kimball)
Babe on Board (with Ann Voss Peterson)
OTHER WORKS
Afraid (writing as Jack Kilborn)
Endurance (writing as Jack Kilborn)
Trapped (writing as Jack Kilborn)
Draculas with J.A. Konrath, Jeff Strand, and F. Paul Wilson
Origin
The List
Disturb
65 Proof (short story omnibus)
Crime Stories (collected stories)
Horror Stories (collected stories)
Dumb Jokes & Vulgar Poems
A Newbie’s Guide to Publishing
Wild Night Is Calling (with Ann Voss Peterson)
Shapeshifters Anonymous
The Screaming
Visit the author at www.jakonrath.com.
Ann Voss Peterson’s Works Available Now
THRILLERS
Pushed Too Far
SHORT STORIES
Babe on Board (with J.A. Konrath)
Wild Night Is Calling (with J.A. Konrath)
ROMANTIC SUSPENSE NOVELS
Gypsy Magic (with Rebecca York and Patricia Rosemoor)
Claiming His Family
Incriminating Passion
Boys in Blue (with Rebecca York and Patricia Rosemoor)
Legally Binding
Desert Sons (with Rebecca York and Patricia Rosemoor)
Marital Privilege
Serial Bride (Wedding Mission series)
Evidence of Marriage (Wedding Mission series)
Vow to Protect (Wedding Mission series)
Critical Exposure
Special Assignment
Wyoming Manhunt
Christmas Awakening
Priceless Newborn Prince
Covert Cootchie-Cootchie-Coo
Rocky Mountain Fugitive
A Rancher’s Brand of Justice
A Cop in Her Stocking
Seized by the Sheik
Secret Protector
Visit the author at annvosspeterson.com.
ABOUT THE AUTHORS
Photo by John Peterson, 2011
Award-winning author Ann Voss Peterson wrote her first story at seven years old and hasn’t stopped since. To pursue her love of creative writing, she’s worked as a bartender, horse groomer, and window washer. Now known for her adrenaline-fueled thrillers and Harlequin Intrigue romances, Ann draws on her wide variety of life experiences to fill her fictional worlds with compelling energy and undeniable emotion. She lives near Madison, Wisconsin, with her family and their border collie.
Photo by Maria Konrath, 2010
J.A. Konrath broke into the writing scene with his cocktail-themed mystery series, including Whiskey Sour, Bloody Mary, and Rusty Nail—stories that combine uproarious humor with spine-tingling suspense. Since then, Konrath has gone on to become an award-winning and best-selling author known for thriller and horror novels. He is also a pioneer of self-publishing models and posts industry insights on his world-famous blog, A Newbie’s Guide to Publishing. He lives in Chicago with his family and three dogs.
Flee, Spree, Three (Codename: Chandler Trilogy - Three Complete Novels) Page 107