Stand Down

Stand Down
Don Pendleton

When a prominent family is murdered and their teenage daughter is nowhere to be found, Mack Bolan knows something is shady in Quincyville, Kansas. His plan had been to pass through while seeking a little downtime. But now he's not leaving until he finds out what evil has the town in its grip.After a soft probe, Bolan discovers that an industrial meth lab is functioning under the guise of a pharmaceutical company. A Mexican drug lord has taken control of the Midwest town and the local police are on the organization's payroll. The residents are too terrified to speak up. With the life of a young woman at stake, the time for defense is over. The Executioner decides to shut down the lab…and clean up the town for good.

Bolan’s calculated risk had gone terribly wrong

He ran for the nearest cover, which happened to be the underside of the armored Escalade. Its chain gun was still pouring a firestorm of destruction into the rooftops. While it raked the left side of the street, the townspeople on the opposite side tried to take the SUV out by concentrating their fire, but the lighter rifle shells ricocheted off the body.

Then Bolan heard an even louder racket above the earsplitting thunder of rifle fire as a shadow passed overhead. The helicopter came in low and out of the south, a pair of gunmen wielding M-16s shooting at the remaining riflemen on the roof. But then the M-249 on top of the Humvee swiveled and opened up as the helicopter approached, the 5.56 mm rounds spitting out to star the helicopter’s windshield.

The pitch of the aircraft’s engine changed suddenly, turning choppy. The helicopter’s shadow began whirling around on the street as the pilot fought for control. Bolan watched the M-249 gunner pour more fire into the aircraft, and then heard a small explosion. The chopper reared up and accelerated right into a storefront, where its blades shattered into shards of deadly shrapnel flying in every direction. What was left of the fuselage crashed to the ground about fifteen yards from where Bolan was.

The engine of the Escalade started, and Bolan flattened himself against the ground as the vehicle lurched backward and he was left lying in the middle of the road, while the SUV barreled down Main Street.

Bolan was on his feet in a flash, running for the Humvee. The driver rolled down his window. “What’s your plan?”

Bolan leaped into the rear of the vehicle and pulled back the cocking lever of the M-249. “We’ve got to stop them before they get back to the factory! They’re going to blow it up!”

Stand Down

The Executioner

Don Pendleton’s

www.mirabooks.co.uk (http://www.mirabooks.co.uk)

There is a certain enthusiasm in liberty, that makes human nature rise above itself, in acts of bravery and heroism.

—Alexander Hamilton

1755–1804

One takedown at a time, I will rid this world of the evil that threatens our liberty and way of life—that’s not a threat, but a promise.

—Mack Bolan

THE MACK BOLAN LEGEND

Nothing less than a war could have fashioned the destiny of the man called Mack Bolan. Bolan earned the Executioner title in the jungle hell of Vietnam.

But this soldier also wore another name—Sergeant Mercy. He was so tagged because of the compassion he showed to wounded comrades-in-arms and Vietnamese civilians.

Mack Bolan’s second tour of duty ended prematurely when he was given emergency leave to return home and bury his family, victims of the Mob. Then he declared a one-man war against the Mafia.

He confronted the Families head-on from coast to coast, and soon a hope of victory began to appear. But Bolan had broken society’s every rule. That same society started gunning for this elusive warrior—to no avail.

So Bolan was offered amnesty to work within the system against terrorism. This time, as an employee of Uncle Sam, Bolan became Colonel John Phoenix. With a command center at Stony Man Farm in Virginia, he and his new allies—Able Team and Phoenix Force—waged relentless war on a new adversary: the KGB.

But when his one true love, April Rose, died at the hands of the Soviet terror machine, Bolan severed all ties with Establishment authority.

Now, after a lengthy lone-wolf struggle and much soul-searching, the Executioner has agreed to enter an “arm’s-length” alliance with his government once more, reserving the right to pursue personal missions in his Everlasting War.

Contents

Prologue

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Chapter 11

Chapter 12

Chapter 13

Chapter 14

Chapter 15

Chapter 16

Chapter 17

Epilogue

Prologue

Sandra Bitterman’s carefully constructed world in Quincyville, Kansas, came crashing down around her on Thursday evening at 6:14 p.m.

Her husband Jack had called from the office, just like he did every night before coming home. Usually they talked of inconsequential things, but this night he seemed tense, distracted. He was speaking quietly, as if someone was nearby and he didn’t want to be overheard.

Before she could ask him if anything was wrong, he said, “Oh, and about dinner, I’ve changed my mind. Don’t put the roast in—we’re going out.”