The Emperor's Tomb (with bonus short story The Balkan Escape): A Novel by Steve

Description: The Emperor's Tomb (with bonus short story The Balkan Escape) by Steve Berry Former government operative Cotton Malone begins his most harrowing adventure to date--one that takes him from Denmark to Pakistan and then to China, in search of his kidnapped friend, Cassiopeia Vitt. This tall Premium Edition contains exclusive bonus material. FORMAT Paperback LANGUAGE English CONDITION Brand New Publisher Description NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLERIncludes exclusive bonus materialFormer Justice Department operative Cotton Malone has received an anonymous note carrying an unfamiliar Web address. Logging on, hes shocked to see Cassiopeia Vitt, a woman whos saved his life more than once, being tortured at the hands of a mysterious man who has a single demand: Bring me the artifact shes asked you to keep safe. The only problem is, Malone doesnt have a clue what the man is talking about, since Cassiopeia has left nothing with him. So begins Malones most harrowing adventure to date—one that offers up astounding historical revelations, pits him against a ruthless ancient brotherhood, and sends him from Denmark to Belgium to Vietnam then on to one of the greatest archaeological sites in the world: the tomb of Chinas First Emperor, guarded by an underground army of terra-cotta warriors, which has inexplicably remained sealed for more than two thousand years—its mysteries about to be revealed.DONT MISS A SNEAK PEEK OF STEVE BERRYS NEW NOVEL, THE JEFFERSON KEY, IN THE BACK OF THE BOOK. Author Biography Steve Berry is the New York Times and #1 internationally bestselling author of The Lincoln Myth, The Kings Deception, The Columbus Affair, The Jefferson Key, The Emperors Tomb, The Paris Vendetta, The Charlemagne Pursuit, The Venetian Betrayal, The Alexandria Link, The Templar Legacy, The Third Secret, The Romanov Prophecy, and The Amber Room. His books have been translated into 40 languages with more than 18,000,000 copies in 51 countries. History lies at the heart of every Steve Berry novel. Its this passion, one he shares with his wife, Elizabeth, that led them to create History Matters, a foundation dedicated to historic preservation. Since 2009 Steve and Elizabeth have traveled across the country to save endangered historic treasures, raising money via lectures, receptions, galas, luncheons, dinners, and their popular writers workshops. To date, nearly 2,500 students have attended those workshops. In 2012 their work was recognized by the American Library Association, which named Steve the first spokesman for National Preservation Week. He was also appointed by the Smithsonian Board of Regents to serve on the Smithsonian Libraries Advisory Board to help promote and support the libraries in their mission to provide information in all forms to scientists, curators, scholars, students, and the public at large. He has received the Royden B. Davis Distinguished Author Award and the 2013 Writers for Writers Award from Poets & Writers. His novel The Columbus Affair earned him the Anne Frank Human Writes Award, and his historic preservation work merited the 2013 Silver Bullet from International Thriller Writers. Steve Berry was born and raised in Georgia, graduating from the Walter F. George School of Law at Mercer University. He was a trial lawyer for 30 years and held elective office for 14 of those years. He is a founding member of International Thriller Writers—a group of more than 2,600 thriller writers from around the world—and served three years as its co-president. For more information, Review "This book combines [Steve] Berrys action-packed thrills with an adventure through China . . . [a] seamless marriage of intense drama and cultural history."—The Virginian-Pilot"To read a tale by Steve Berry is to become an armchair world traveler and instant historian. . . . His stories are fast-moving, solid with research and provocative."—Sacramento Bee "Hard to put down."—Lincoln Journal Star Review Quote "This book combines [Steve] Berrys action-packed thrills with an adventure through China . . . [a] seamless marriage of intense drama and cultural history."-- The Virginian-Pilot "To read a tale by Steve Berry is to become an armchair world traveler and instant historian. . . . His stories are fast-moving, solid with research and provocative."-- Sacramento Bee Excerpt from Book ONE copenhagen, denmark tuesday, may 15 12:40 pm Cotton Malone typed the Web address with trembling fingers. Like a phone that rings in the middle of the night, nothing about an anonymous message was ever good. The note had arrived two hours ago, while hed been out of his bookshop on an errand, but the employee whod accepted the unmarked envelope forgot to give it to him until a few minutes ago. "The woman didnt say it was urgent," she said in her defense. "What woman?" "Chinese lady, dressed in a gorgeous Burberry skirt. She said to give it only to you." "She used my name?" "Twice." Inside had been a folded sheet of gray vellum upon which was printed a Web address with a dot-org suffix. Hed immediately climbed the four flights of stairs to his apartment above the bookshop and found his laptop. He finished typing and waited while the screen blackened, then a new image appeared. A video display console indicated that a live feed was about to engage. The communications link established. A body appeared, lying on its back, arms above the head, ankles and wrists bound tight to what looked like a sheet of plywood. The person was angled so that the head was slightly beneath the feet. A towel wrapped the face, but it was clear the bound form was a woman. "Mr. Malone." The voice was electronically altered, disguising every attribute of pitch and tone. "Weve been waiting. Not in much of a hurry, are you? I have something for you to see." A hooded figure appeared on the screen, holding a plastic bucket. He watched as water was poured onto the towel that wrapped the bound womans face. Her body writhed as she struggled with her restraints. He knew what was happening. The liquid penetrated the towel and flowed unrestricted into her mouth and nose. At first a few gulps of air could be stolen-the throat constricted, inhaling little of the water-but that could be maintained only for a few seconds. Then the bodys natural gag reflex would kick in and all control would be lost. The head was angled downward so gravity could prolong the agony. It was like drowning without ever being submerged. The man stopped pouring. The woman continued to struggle with her restraints. The technique dated back to the Inquisition. Highly favored since it left no marks, its main drawback was harshness-so intense that the victim would immediately admit to anything. Malone had actually experienced it once, years ago, while training to become a Magellan Billet agent. All recruits had to take their turn as part of survival school. His agony had been amplified by his dislike of confinement. The bondage, combined with the soaked towel, had created an unbearable claustrophobia. He recalled the public debate a few years ago as to whether waterboarding was torture. Damn right it was. "Heres the purpose of my contact," the voice said. The camera zoomed tight on the towel wrapping the womans face. A hand entered the frame and wrenched the soaked cloth away, revealing Cassiopeia Vitt. "Oh, no," Malone muttered. Darts of fear pierced his skin. A light-headedness overtook him. This cant be happening. No. She blinked water from her eyes, spit more from her mouth, and gained her breath. "Dont give them a damn thing, Cotton. Nothing." The soaked towel was slapped back across her face. "That would not be smart," the computerized voice said. "Certainly not for her." "Can you hear me?" he said into the laptops microphone. "Of course." "Is this necessary?" "For you? I believe so. Youre a man to be respected. Former Justice Department agent. Highly trained." "Im a bookseller." The voice chuckled. "Dont insult my intelligence, or risk her life any further. I want you to clearly understand whats at stake." "And you need to understand that I can kill you." "By then, Ms. Vitt will be dead. So lets stop with the bravado. I want what she gave you." He saw Cassiopeia renew her struggle against the restraints, her head whipping from side to side beneath the towel. "Give him nothing, Cotton. I mean it. I gave that to you for safekeeping. Dont give it up." More water was poured. Her protests stopped as she fought to breathe. "Bring the item to Tivoli Gardens, at two pm, just outside the Chinese pagoda. Youll be contacted. If you dont show-" The voice paused. "-I think you can imagine the consequences." The connection was severed. He sat back in the chair. He hadnt seen Cassiopeia in more than a month. Hadnt spoken to her for two weeks. Shed said that she was headed out on a trip but, characteristically, offered no details. Their relationship was hardly one at all. Just an attraction that they both tacitly acknowledged. Strangely, Henrik Thorvaldsens death had drawn them closer, and theyd spent a lot of time together in the weeks after their friends funeral. She was tough, smart, and gutsy. But waterboarding? He doubted if shed ever experienced anything like that. Seeing her on the screen tore at his gut. He suddenly realized that if anything happened to this woman his life would never be the same. He had to find her. But there was a problem. Shed obviously been forced to do whatever was necessary in order to survive. This time, however, she may have bitten off more than she could ever chew. Shed left nothing with him for safekeeping. He had no clue what she, or her captor, was talking about. TWO chongqing, china 8:00 pm Karl Tang assumed an expression that conveyed not the slightest hint of what he was thinking. After nearly three decades of practice, hed mastered the art. "And why have you come this time?" the doctor asked him. She was an iron-faced, stiff-bodied woman with straight black hair, cut short in a proletarian style. "Your anger toward me has not waned?" "I have no hostility, Minister. You made it quite clear during your last visit that you are in charge, regardless of the fact that this is my facility." He ignored her insulting tone. "And how is our patient?" The First Infectious Disease Hospital, located just outside Chongqing, cared for nearly two thousand people afflicted with either tuberculosis or hepatitis. It was one of eight facilities scattered throughout the country, each a forbidding complex of gray brick surrounded by green fences, places where the contagious could be safely quarantined. But the security these hospitals enjoyed also made them ideal for the housing of any sick prisoners from the Chinese penal system. Like Jin Zhao, whod suffered a brain hemorrhage ten months ago. "Hes lying in his bed, as hes done since the first day he was brought here," the doctor said. "He clings to life. The damage is enormous. But-again, per your order-no treatment has been administered." He knew she hated his usurpation of her authority. Gone were Maos obedient "barefoot doctors," who, according to the official myth, had willingly lived among the masses and dutifully cared for the sick. And though she was the hospitals chief administrator, Tang was the national minister of science and technology, a member of the Central Committee, first vice premier of the Chinese Communist Party, and first vice president of the Peoples Republic of China-second in power only to the president and premier himself. "As I made clear last time, Doctor," he said, "that was not my order, but the directive of the Central Committee, to which I, and you, owe absolute allegiance." He voiced the words for the benefit of not only the foolish woman but also the three members of his staff and two captains from the Peoples Liberation Army who stood behind him. Each military man wore a crisp green uniform with the red star of the motherland emblazoned on his cap. One of them was surely an informant-reporting most likely to more than one benefactor-so he wanted any account to speak glowingly of him. "Take us to the patient," he calmly commanded. They walked down halls lined with lettuce-green plaster, cracked and lumpy, lighted by weak fluorescent fixtures. The floor was clean but yellowed from endless moppings. Nurses, their faces hidden by surgical masks, tended to patients clad in striped blue-and-white pajamas, some wearing brown robes, looking much like prisoners. They entered another ward through a set of swinging metal doors. The room beyond was spacious, enough for a dozen or more patients, yet only one lay in a single bed beneath dingy white sheets. The air stank. "I see you left the linen alone," he said. "You did order me to do so." Another mark in his favor for the informant to report. Jin Zhao had been arrested ten months ago, but had suffered a hemorrhage during questioning. He was subsequently charged with treason and espionage, tried in a Beijing court, and convicted, all in absentia since hed remained here, in a coma. "He is just as you left him," the doctor said. Beijing lay nearly a thousand kilometers to the east and he supposed that distance bolstered this womans nerve. You may rob the Three Arm Details ISBN0345505506 Author Steve Berry Short Title EMPERORS TOMB Language English ISBN-10 0345505506 ISBN-13 9780345505507 Media Book Pages 528 DEWEY FIC Residence Camden County, GA, US Birth 1955 Series Cotton Malone Year 2011 Publication Date 2011-08-30 Series Number 6 Subtitle A Novel Place of Publication New York Country of Publication United States AU Release Date 2011-08-30 NZ Release Date 2011-08-30 US Release Date 2011-08-30 UK Release Date 2011-08-30 Publisher Random House USA Inc Format Paperback Imprint Random House Inc Audience General We've got this At The Nile, if you're looking for it, we've got it. With fast shipping, low prices, friendly service and well over a million items - you're bound to find what you want, at a price you'll love! TheNile_Item_ID:141690052;

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