Trader of Secrets: A Paul Madriani Novel
Read Trader of Secrets: A Paul Madriani Novel Online
Authors: Steve Martini
Tags: #Fiction, #Thrillers, #Legal, #Assassins, #Nuclear Weapons, #Madriani; Paul (Fictitious Character)
| Trader of Secrets: A Paul Madriani Novel | |
| Martini, Steve | |
| HarperCollins (2011) | |
| Tags: | Fiction, Thrillers, Legal, Assassins, Nuclear Weapons, Madriani; Paul (Fictitious Character) Fictionttt Thrillersttt Legalttt Assassinsttt Nuclear Weaponsttt Madriani; Paul (Fictitious Character)ttt |
Defense attorney Paul Madriani is embroiled in a case as perilous as any he has ever faced: one that involves an angry killer who will stop at nothing short of vengeance, and two missing NASA scientists who are holding secrets that a hostile government desperately wants to purchase—in blood if they must.
Madriani's daughter, Sarah, has evaded the man known as Liquida, who has stalked her all the way across the country. For her own safety, she is being kept under armed guard on a farm in Ohio.
But one morning, itching for a predawn run to shake off the tension that has grown in the hours she's spent waiting for word from her father, Sarah slips from her ring of protection. What she doesn't know is that at the same moment her assailant is outside, waiting patiently in the dark.
Meanwhile in California, two men in a parked car argue over millions in cash that could be slipping through their fingers and a scheme involving government technology for sale that could rock the world.
Paul Madriani, his companion Joselyn Cole, and his longtime law partner, Harry Hinds, track Liquida, not knowing that their quest will carry them deep into the vortex of international terror.It is a journey that will lead them toward a bizarre and cruel twist of nature—and the ultimate weapon of mass destruction. From the nation's capital to California, from Bangkok to Paris and the jungles of Mexico, Madriani and his party race against time to find Liquida and the scientist who is the "trader of secrets" before he can unleash the weapon that could set the world ablaze.
Steve Martini is the author of numerous
New York Times
bestsellers, including
The Rule of Nine
,
Guardian of Lies
,
Shadow of Power
, and others featuring defense attorney Paul Madriani. Martini has practiced law in California in both state and federal courts, and has served as an administrative law judge and supervising hearing officer. He lives in the Pacific Northwest.
| Trader of Secrets: A Paul Madriani Novel | |
| Martini, Steve | |
| HarperCollins (2011) | |
| Tags: | Fiction, Thrillers, Legal, Assassins, Nuclear Weapons, Madriani; Paul (Fictitious Character) Fictionttt Thrillersttt Legalttt Assassinsttt Nuclear Weaponsttt Madriani; Paul (Fictitious Character)ttt |
Product Description
Defense attorney Paul Madriani is embroiled in a case as perilous as any he has ever faced: one that involves an angry killer who will stop at nothing short of vengeance, and two missing NASA scientists who are holding secrets that a hostile government desperately wants to purchase—in blood if they must.
Madriani's daughter, Sarah, has evaded the man known as Liquida, who has stalked her all the way across the country. For her own safety, she is being kept under armed guard on a farm in Ohio.
But one morning, itching for a predawn run to shake off the tension that has grown in the hours she's spent waiting for word from her father, Sarah slips from her ring of protection. What she doesn't know is that at the same moment her assailant is outside, waiting patiently in the dark.
Meanwhile in California, two men in a parked car argue over millions in cash that could be slipping through their fingers and a scheme involving government technology for sale that could rock the world.
Paul Madriani, his companion Joselyn Cole, and his longtime law partner, Harry Hinds, track Liquida, not knowing that their quest will carry them deep into the vortex of international terror.It is a journey that will lead them toward a bizarre and cruel twist of nature—and the ultimate weapon of mass destruction. From the nation's capital to California, from Bangkok to Paris and the jungles of Mexico, Madriani and his party race against time to find Liquida and the scientist who is the "trader of secrets" before he can unleash the weapon that could set the world ablaze.
About the Author
Steve Martini is the author of numerous
New York Times
bestsellers, including
The Rule of Nine
,
Guardian of Lies
,
Shadow of Power
, and others featuring defense attorney Paul Madriani. Martini has practiced law in California in both state and federal courts, and has served as an administrative law judge and supervising hearing officer. He lives in the Pacific Northwest.
Trader of Secrets
A Paul Madriani Novel
STEVE MARTINI
Dedication
To my daughter, Meg
Contents
M
ost of the blood left on the concrete floor of the garage in Washington belonged to the big black investigator working for Madriani, the man named Herman Diggs, but not all of it.
Liquida could feel the tight constraint of the large gauze bandage covering the searing wound under his right arm. Every bump in the highway brought pain as the motion tugged on the metal staples holding the wound closed. It made his eyes water. Still, the pain kept him awake and on course.
What kept Liquida going was his hatred for Madriani and an unquenchable thirst for retribution. The firm of Madriani and Hinds had caused him to lose a small fortune, enough money for Liquida to retire. That was before the lawyers’ investigator carved up Liquida’s back with a knife, but not before Liquida had dealt the man a deathblow. As the bastard lay dying on the concrete floor, Liquida twisted the knife by telling him that he knew where the girl was and that she was next. Now he intended to make good on the promise.
His right arm hung limp in a sling as he steered with his left hand. Liquida struggled to keep his eyes on the road, periodically holding the wheel with his knees as he sipped fluids, alternating between coffee and orange juice. He refused to consume the pain pills given to him by the physician for fear they might dull his senses; not until the girl was dead.
The doctor had told him to change the bandages daily and to remain quiet for at least a week to allow the stapled sutures to heal. The all-night clinic was a seedy place in a dingy area just outside D.C., one of those surgi-centers where, for enough cash, usually they would remove a bullet or stitch up an open wound, no questions asked. Liquida was in and out in less than an hour.
He had no intention of remaining quiet for ten days. Madriani’s daughter would not wait that long on the farm in Ohio. Once she was told what had happened in Washington, she would bolt for another location to hide out, or join her father. Either way it would be much more difficult to find her again. Liquida knew he had to act and act quickly. Before he murdered Madriani, he wanted the lawyer to know that his daughter had died under Liquida’s knife.
He made the four hundred miles from D.C. to Groveport, Ohio, in a little under eight hours. Liquida napped just briefly in a small motel a short distance from the farm where the girl was staying. He knew that with every minute that passed he ran the risk that Sarah Madriani and her father’s law partner, the one they called Harry Hinds, might pack their bags and make a run for it. But Liquida had no choice. He was in no condition to plan and carry out a killing against a well-guarded location without at least a few hours’ rest.
He changed the bandage on his wound. It was a painful exercise, twisting around and using his one good arm, trying not to pull the sutures or tear the skin around the wound as he wrestled with the tape. He set an alarm for two hours and collapsed onto the bed to sleep.
J
oselyn Cole and I spent most of the night locked up with the FBI and the Metropolitan Police, each of us in separate rooms being interrogated about the events leading up to the bombing near the Capitol.
Joselyn and I have been an item now for the greater part of six months. She is, you might say, my better half, especially if intellect, moral values, and judgment count for much. During a time when I have found myself increasingly tossed about by waves of chaos, Joselyn has become my outrigger, that extension of life, the flotation of love that keeps me upright.