Devlin Sub Rosa: Book Three of the Devlin Quatrology Read online

  ALERT!

  (Word to the Wise)

  Devlin Sub Rosa is both a prequel and a sequel to (and a spoiler for) The Devlin Deception and Devlin's Defiance. The author would STRONGLY suggest that if you have not read those novels before starting this book, please do so first, and in that order.

  (If it were possible and appropriate, he would insist that you do that, make it a prerequisite. But he'll leave it at “word to the wise,” okay? Word to the wise.)

  The author has, on far too many occasions, picked up and begun reading a book that turned out to be the third or fourth in a series, so he had to go back to the first in the series to pick up on what he needed and wanted to know, so he wishes to spare all of his readers the same inconvenience; ergo, the above Word to the Wise. Okay?

  Note to the CIA ...

  … and the ODNI, FBI, NSA, DHS, NIC, DIA, DEA, NRO, NCTC and any and all other federal, state and local agencies, especially any “nonexistent” black ops groups:

  Any similarities between ANY of your actual operations and/or techniques and/or strategies and/or weapons, past, present or future, and those in this book or The Devlin Deception or Devlin's Defiance or in any other books this author may write in the future are purely coincidental. That includes both operational details and any and all operation names and/or titles, like “Dragon Scramble” in The Devlin Deception. The author has no intention of revealing any (repeat, ANY) classified information, even coincidentally.

  Put simply, folks, these books are ALL FICTION, okay? (Well, some parts do deal with reality, but they're mostly fiction.)

  Praise for “The Devlin Deception”

  “I loved the book! The two stories in one was done well, not confusing as some books are. It was entertaining as well as fascinating.......bring on Donne for real!!” - MC, on Amazon

  “... colorful characters, along with dialog and scenes that are often humorous, often adventure-filled, and always engaging. Even though this is a work of fiction, its focus upon the political, economic and legislative issues of contemporary America, set in one of its small towns, Bonita Springs, FL, is razor-sharp and intelligent. I highly recommend this read! - MLH, on Amazon

  “I think it is one of the most intelligent books of fiction I read in the last decade. Cleverly written, witty, funny - written for the smart side of all of us readers ...” - Marina, on Goodreads

  “You need to read between the lines to catch some of the intentions, but I was on my seat, nodding my head, agreeing with what was said, and I also found myself in bouts of laughter. A great read, and highly recommended.“ - AB, on Amazon

  “What a joy to read. I laughed out loud and thought what a unique way of fixing these United States. Also tried to figure out the ending and didn't guess it. “ - TSR, on Amazon

  “... plenty of action, adventure and romance along the way. “ - JMG, on Amazon

  “This book is a great read on so many levels. First, it is a political thriller, fictional of course, but including some policy suggestions, particularly fiscal ones, that deserve to be taken quite seriously. There are multiple subplots, including assassination plots and espionage, and involving colorful characters involved in personal relationships that are hilarious at times, titillating at others, and at all times interesting. From its first page to its epilogue (alternate ones included), this book will amuse, bemuse, entertain, and stimulate the intellect of its readers.” Marti Hanson, on Amazon

  “Political satire and hilarious musings on the human condition are rampant in The Devlin Deception. There is also a touch of erotica as well, so this novel is definitely for adults. Littered through the satire … some practical solutions for fixing the ailing country. Cleverness is about throughout the novel.” on TheBookBrothers.com

  Praise for “Devlin's Defiance”

  "Devlin's Defiance" is best read after reading this author's first book, "The Devlin Deception." I read both books and totally enjoyed them both, though I likely would have been confused, had I not read the first book ahead of this one. Perhaps that is the source of other reviews that may cite confusion. Now, with that out of the way, I will highly recommend both books. As for my critique of "Devlin's Defiance" specifically, it is a fascinating work of fiction that is grounded in some very real aspects of our government and society. It is at times humorous enough to instigate laughing-out-loud moments, yet it also serves as a commentary on so much that is relevant to our contemporary geopolitical environment, our economics, and our culture. This book plays with layers of fiction, and can be read for pure entertainment, if that is the reader's desire. But, if you are looking for depth in terms of content, character, and plot, you can't go wrong with this engaging selection. The book features short chapters, which I liked, given only short bursts of time I am able to devote to reading for pleasure. I was able to achieve closure before retiring the book each night. Although there is shifting of time periods and characters, I found it easy enough to follow the chronology and the plot actions. There were a few tricky parts that demanded a lot of thinking and even flipping back to a previously read chapter or two, in order to reach a conclusion. So, if mindless reading is your goal, skip this one; but, if you like to be intellectually challenged and superbly entertained, by all means, order it today. MLH, on Amazon

  Great sequel to “The Devlin Deception” with revisiting Gordy’s beach friends including: Jill & Carie, Rosemary, Sharon, Mavis and Malcolm, Sargent Dooley, and of course we all know someone like Ron & Jenny and certainly can’t forget Jake’s friends Pam & JJ. Then there’s a new character named Dallas to keep reading real interesting. Abundance of subplots throughout the book that will keep you guessing and scratching your head wondering how can that happen and how it will all turn out. There are assassinations all around the world and some good old fashioned science fiction that who knows may come true someday or have I QH’d? Need to read the book to know what QH stands for. The alternate epilogues again are a humorous side of the author that you’ll wonder what’s up with that. The ending has an interesting technique to write an alternate chapter by putting it on-line but for very, very good reason why. Now that with “The Devlin Deception” and “Devlin's Defiance” written, looking forward to the next adventure. TSR, on Amazon

  Devlin

  Sub Rosa

  Prequel to and Sequel to

  “The Devlin Deception”

  and “Devlin's Defiance”

  (which should be read first, as this not only contains spoilers for those novels, but needs information

  in them to be even remotely comprehensible)

  (Yes, a second word to the wise)

  By

  Jake Devlin

  This is a work of fiction.

  Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead,

  business establishments, events or locales, including

  public figures, is entirely coincidental or intentional.

  This material has not been reviewed by the CIA, FBI,

  Secret Service or any other US government agency to

  prevent the disclosure of classified information.

  Any similarity of fictional classified information in this

  novel to actual classified information is purely coincidental.

  Nothing herein should be construed as asserting or

  implying US government endorsement of the contents.

  (Put simply, IT'S ALL FICTION, readers!!)

  All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used

  or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without

  written permission, except in the case of brief

  quotations embodied in critical a
rticles and/or reviews.

  Excerpts from The Julianna Rae Chronicles

  by Aral Bereux used with permission

  Copyright © 2014 by R.J. Hezzelwood

  www.JakeDevlin.com

  [email protected]

  First Edition: November 2014

  This is yet another work of fiction,

  third in a series of four.

  Also dedicated to those who are

  desperately seeking complacency.

  - NOTE -

  “The Devlin Deception” and “Devlin's Defiance”

  should be read before this novel, as this one

  not only contains spoilers for those two,

  but needs information IN them to be even remotely comprehensible

  (Yes, a third – and final - word to the wise)

  **************************************

  - PROLOGUE -

  May 6, 1974

  4:23 a.m. local time

  Nichinan, Japan

  The Scarlet Ninja lay motionless in his nest, his camouflage netting rendering him invisible to anyone more than two feet away.

  After three hours in that position, he felt no aches, no pain, no discomfort at all, not even a twinge of boredom. Compared to his personal record of ninety-two hours, this would be a walk in the park.

  But no thoughts about that crossed his mind. He was totally focused on a doorway 450 yards away, from which his target would emerge later in the day, sometime between noon and two p.m.

  His fact sheet told him only who the target was, including a photo, and where and when he could be found. He did not know the motive, nor did he care. His many years of training had scrubbed all curiosity, as well as all other emotions, out of him, replaced with unthinking, unwavering devotion to duty and to the contracts he was given.

  Pfft. He never felt the silenced bullet which scrambled his brain, nor did he sense his corpse being zipped into a black body bag, loaded into a van and then into a helicopter, to be chopped up and fed to the denizens of the deep far out in the Pacific Ocean.

  And thus it was that the man with many names added one more to his ever-growing collection.

  - 1 -

  June 17, 2013

  9:27 a.m. local time

  St. Tropez, France

  “I didn't become a 20-miilion-euro-per-hit assassin overnight. It took me almost thirty years before I could charge that much, and it took determination, risk-taking, paranoia and, frankly, a lot of luck and serendipity to get here.

  “Now, there's no way we can let any of this stuff go public, not only because most of the US stuff is still classified, but because there are lots of people who hold grudges and would be thrilled to discover that I'm still alive and where they can find me … and you, as well, now that we've been together as long as we have.”

  “I know what you mean. Remember when I first met you and thought you were just a benign beach bum writing a novel, I told you to be careful about waving red flags in front of angry bulls?”

  “Yup. You were just talking to a beach bum, but I've been way further on the inside, and I know who really runs that country over there, and they're much, much more than angry bulls. Those guys are very paranoid and they play for real keeps, and their solution to almost any problem is often very simple: assassination. And over the decades and nine puppet presidents, we've done a lot of jobs for them, anonymously of course, and I don't intend to let that anonymity disappear. So no recordings, no notes, no nada.”

  “No problem. You've already swept the villa, right?”

  “Of course. Every morning.”

  “So we should be okay?”

  “Yup, for now.”

  “Okay. So how do you want to get started?”

  “Let's see. How about beginning at the beginning?”

  “Sounds good.”

  “Okay. I started with them about the same as you did, only fifteen or so years earlier. They recruited me in my sophomore year in college. That woulda been – um – '65-'66.”

  “Sounds about right; they got us in our junior year, and we did the Farm in '80.”

  “Right. '66 for me.”

  “Who recruited you?”

  “Head of the theater department. But I found out later that my high school drama teacher had made the initial rec and they'd watched me for a couple years before he approached me. After the Farm, they sent me back to finish my degrees.”

  “Degrees, plural?”

  “Yeah, double major, theater and business; math minor. The biz major was their idea.”

  “They paid for it all?”

  “Yup, even down to my fraternity dues, room and board. They wanted me to get myself into the antiwar groups on campus.”

  “You mean infiltrate?”

  “Right.”

  “But wouldn't that be the FBI?”

  “Yeah, but they just wanted me to pass the intel on and they'd get it over to them. Who knew about jurisdiction back then? I was just a naïve acting student from the boondocks.”

  “Minnesota.”

  “Right, just outside the Twin Cities, but far enough out to be the boondocks. Lived on a lake, farms across the road.”

  “But naïve, you?”

  “Hey, I was nineteen, so yeah. And that made me an easy target for the brainwashing at – I mean the indoctrination at the Farm. Mom, flag, apple pie and all that. Six months and I was totally committed, and I'd already done my first – ah, my first job.”

  “We did our first hit during our training, too.”

  “Anybody important?”

  “Nah, just some low-level KGB case officer in Tyson's Corner that they hadn't been able to turn and was gonna burn two of our agents.”

  “Mine was a mid-level bureaucrat in Guatemala, a false-flag op.”

  “So you passed that test.”

  “Yup; just followed orders, got the travel documents, flew in, met my contact, did the job, left the fake evidence, flew out, cover never blown. No emotions, no thought; just did the job.”

  “What'd you use?”

  “Knife; just reached in the driver's window, slit his throat. How about you?”

  “Cyanide in his vodka.”

  “Honey-trapped him?”

  “Yup, but just to get close enough to have a drink with him. JJ dropped it in while I was toying with his ear. Then we toasted the evening ahead of us. A minute later, he hit the floor, mouth foaming, and we got out of the hotel and drove back to the Farm.”

  “Geez, what primitive weapons we had back then, huh?”

  “Got that right, Jake.”

  - 2 -

  June 17, 2013

  9:27 a.m. local time

  Washington, DC

  “This is gonna be a tough one, CB.”

  “Got that right, JB.”

  “But nothing is impossible.”

  “Not for us.”

  “I think we can make another pass; been almost an hour.”

  “Lemme change wigs first.”

  “The long black one?”

  “No, this one.”

  “Ah, short red. Yeah, looks good. And I'll get rid of the beard, just stick with the mustache and 'burns. Ow.”

  “Told you you used to much spirit gum, Jillybean.”

  “Ow, ow, ow. Got it. Damn.”

  “You missed some, right in the middle of your chin.”

  “Here?”

  “Yup.”

  “Ow. Okay now?”

  “Lemme – there; got it.”

  “Thanks. Okay now?”

  “All good. But your hair is spilling out, right side, just a little.”

  “Damn wig. Next time, you play the guy.”

  “No problem. There, you got it.”

  “Thanks. Guess I'll switch caps, too. How's this one?”

  “Good. Still a good redneck look.”

  “Ayup. Too bayd we ain't in a good ol' pickup.”

  “With a rifle rack in the back window.”

  “And mebbe a dead deer 'cro
ss the hood.”

  “And some hay bales and a good ol' hound in the back.”

  “And maybe a” --

  “Okay, okay, Jillybean; that's enough.”

  “Okay. And we're” –

  “Oops; rotate the plates first.”

  “Oh, right. Done. And we're off.”

  “Okay. Ready on the cameras.”

  “Two more blocks now.”

  “All set.”

  “Y'know, Carie Berry, it'd be nice if we could push a button and change the color of the whole car, rather than just putting that dent in the front fender.”

  “Got that right, JB. Maybe” –

  “Let's pass that on to Amber, maybe get that up to the boss man as an R&D suggestion.”

  “Or the boss woman, JB.”

  “Right; could be. Maybe we'll meet him or her sometime.”

  “I thought after the hit on that senator in Barcelona, we might get an invite.”

  “That disgusting pedo asshole; what an arrogant bastard. And I didn't get the chance to cut his balls off.”

  “Ah, well, JB. Sometimes the best-laid plans” –

  “I know, I know. Okay; get ready. Here's the turn.”

  “Just a sec. Okay; cameras all rolling.”

  “Okay. Here we go. Geez, what's that … three, four, five guards out front? There were only two on our last pass.”