Read Cross Fire Page 22


  The One just vaporized my sister… and that monster, without any hint of conscience, doesn’t even seem to have broken a sweat. He throws his arms in the air like he’s just scored a goal, like he’s mocking the pointlessness of human existence. I go weak in the knees. I feel as if I might throw up as I hear a deafening roar of approval sweep down the concrete canyon of this city — a place that now seems despicable and evil and beyond repair.

  The One has just achieved his biggest public relations triumph ever. He basks in the adoration — but his usual impatience and anger soon erupt.

  “Silence!”

  His command sweeps across the city, obliterating every other noise.

  But I’m unmoved. Still shell-shocked. Numb everywhere, including in places that I didn’t know existed.

  “My good citizens,” he thunders, without aid of a microphone, “this is a truly magnificent occasion. What you have just witnessed is the obliteration of the last significant threat to our stewardship of the Overworld! Wisteria Allgood, a leader of the Resistance, has just been removed from this dimension. Forever.”

  He raises his arms again, and a new gust of wind brings a thin layer of ash and the horrible smell of burnt hair across the crowd. These “good citizens” begin cheering again.

  I’d collapse to my knees, but I’m surrounded on all sides. Then, suddenly, there is space for me to move. The cheering turns to screaming and the crowd is surging — moving backward — and I see a fiery explosion erupting not fifty yards from where I stand.

  I know that fire.

  “Oh yeah!” I shout as the mere sight of it makes my heart almost burst with joy. “Oh yeah, oh YEAH!”

  That’s my sister! Wisty’s alive! She’s just set herself on fire, and that, believe it or not, is a good thing.

  Wisty

  AS SURE AS I am Wisteria Rose Allgood, I have only one thought: I’m gonna burn everything and everyone around me. Burn it all down.

  I’ll start with the death-drenched stage, move on to this ridiculously pompous plaza, then hit the whole cold city of stone — this disastrous nightmare of a world. Even if I fry myself to ash in the process, I am going to obliterate all of this, all of them.

  The One Who Is The One just killed my friend Margo up on that stage from hell. I recognized her even with a hood over her head. Her purple sneakers and black-and-purple cargo pants were the giveaway. The silver streaks and stars on the sneakers were the final clue. Margo, the last punk rocker on Earth. Margo, the most fearless and dedicated person I’ve ever known. Margo, my dear friend.

  Don’t ask me why that monster in the black silk suit was pretending she was me. All I know is that I’m going to burn that evil madman to cinders.

  So I turn myself into a human torch, just as I have in the past. Only this time I abandon all caution. Suddenly ten-, twenty-, thirty-foot tongues of flame are coursing around me, ripping upward in the formerly cool afternoon air.

  The crowd backs away, screaming, and I can’t help myself: I smile. I nearly laugh out loud.

  And I’m about to turn the heat up another notch — to send jets of fire everywhere around me, to burn brighter and hotter than ever before — when my breath catches in my throat.

  I feel him. I feel his wretched, diseased mind. I feel his eyes somehow locking on to me.

  A thousand soldiers turn my way in unison, and now it’s The One who’s smiling. He’s starting to laugh. And he’s laughing at me.

  I wince as the air rushes out of me. How can he have so much power?

  I have no choice but to run, at least to try to escape his wrath.

  I throw myself into the panicked human tide, my small frame deftly ducking elbows and shoulders. But The One is too close. I can feel his icy gusts chasing me, reaching out with cold, bony finger–like wisps, grazing my face, my neck, sending a chill so cold it hurts everywhere at once.

  I’m starting to think how ironic it is that a firegirl might die in a deep freeze when suddenly I’m smothered by warmth. Somebody grabs me, lifts me up, and nearly squeezes all the breath out of me.

  Table of Contents

  Front Cover Image

  Welcome

  Dedication

  A Preview of WITCH & WIZARD: THE GIFT

  Prologue: FINDERS, KEEPERS

  One

  Two

  Book One: SHOOTER READY

  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

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Chapter 25

  Chapter 26

  Chapter 27

  Chapter 28

  Book Two: FOXES IN THE HENHOUSE

  Chapter 29

  Chapter 30

  Chapter 31

  Chapter 32

  Chapter 33

  Chapter 34

  Chapter 35

  Chapter 36

  Chapter 37

  Chapter 38

  Chapter 39

  Chapter 40

  Chapter 41

  Chapter 42

  Chapter 43

  Chapter 44

  Chapter 45

  Chapter 46

  Chapter 47

  Chapter 48

  Chapter 49

  Chapter 50

  Chapter 51

  Chapter 52

  Chapter 53

  Chapter 54

  Chapter 55

  Book Three: MULTIPLICITY

  Chapter 56

  Chapter 57

  Chapter 58

  Chapter 59

  Chapter 60

  Chapter 61

  Chapter 62

  Chapter 63

  Chapter 64

  Chapter 65

  Chapter 66

  Chapter 67

  Chapter 68

  Chapter 69

  Chapter 70

  Chapter 71

  Book Four: FINAL TARGET, FINAL STRATEGIES

  Chapter 72

  Chapter 73

  Chapter 74

  Chapter 75

  Chapter 76

  Chapter 77

  Chapter 78

  Chapter 79

  Chapter 80

  Chapter 81

  Chapter 82

  Chapter 83

  Chapter 84

  Chapter 85

  Chapter 86

  Chapter 87

  Chapter 88

  Chapter 89

  Chapter 90

  Chapter 91

  Chapter 92

  Chapter 93

  Chapter 94

  Chapter 95

  Chapter 96

  Chapter 97

  Chapter 98

  Chapter 99

  Chapter 100

  Chapter 101

  Chapter 102

  Chapter 103

  Chapter 104

  Chapter 105

  Chapter 106

  Chapter 107

  Chapter 108

  Chapter 109

  Chapter 110

  Chapter 111

  Chapter 112

  Chapter 113

  Chapter 114

  Chapter 115

  Epilogue: SUMMER

  Chapter 116

  Chapter 117

  About the Author

  Books by James Patterson

  Copyright

  About the Author

  JAMES PATTERSON has had more New York Times bestsellers than any other writer, ever, according to Guinness World Records. Since his first novel won the Edgar Award in 1977, James Patterson’s books have sold more than 2
05 million copies. He is the author of the Alex Cross novels, the most popular detective series of the past twenty-five years, including Kiss the Girls and Along Came a Spider. Mr. Patterson also writes the bestselling Women’s Murder Club novels, set in San Francisco, and the top-selling New York detective series of all time, featuring Detective Michael Bennett.

  James Patterson also writes books for young readers, including the award-winning Maximum Ride, Daniel X, and Witch & Wizard series. In total, these books have spent more than 200 weeks on national bestseller lists, and all three series are in Hollywood development.

  His lifelong passion for books and reading led James Patterson to launch the website ReadKiddoRead.com to give adults an easy way to locate the very best books for kids. He writes full-time and lives in Florida with his family.

  Books by James Patterson

  FEATURING ALEX CROSS

  Cross Fire

  I, Alex Cross

  Alex Cross’s Trial (with Richard DiLallo)

  Cross Country

  Double Cross

  Cross

  Mary, Mary

  London Bridges

  The Big Bad Wolf

  Four Blind Mice

  Violets Are Blue

  Roses Are Red

  Pop Goes the Weasel

  Cat & Mouse

  Jack & Jill

  Kiss the Girls

  Along Came a Spider

  THE WOMEN’S MURDER CLUB

  The 9th Judgment (with Maxine Paetro)

  The 8th Confession (with Maxine Paetro)

  7th Heaven (with Maxine Paetro)

  The 6th Target (with Maxine Paetro)

  The 5th Horseman (with Maxine Paetro)

  4th of July (with Maxine Paetro)

  3rd Degree (with Andrew Gross)

  2nd Chance (with Andrew Gross)

  1st to Die

  FEATURING MICHAEL BENNETT

  Worst Case (with Michael Ledwidge)

  Run for Your Life (with Michael Ledwidge)

  Step on a Crack (with Michael Ledwidge)

  FOR READERS OF ALL AGES

  Daniel X: The Manga, Vol. 1 (with SeungHui Kye)

  Maximum Ride: The Manga, Vol. 3 (with NaRae Lee)

  Daniel X: Demons and Druids (with Adam Sadler)

  FANG: A Maximum Ride Novel

  Maximum Ride: The Manga, Vol. 2 (with NaRae Lee)

  Witch & Wizard (with Gabrielle Charbonnet)

  Daniel X: Watch the Skies (with Ned Rust)

  MAX: A Maximum Ride Novel

  Maximum Ride: The Manga, Vol. 1 (with NaRae Lee)

  Daniel X: Alien Hunter (graphic novel; with Leopoldo Gout)

  The Dangerous Days of Daniel X (with Michael Ledwidge)

  The Final Warning: A Maximum Ride Novel

  Maximum Ride: Saving the World and Other Extreme Sports

  Maximum Ride: School’s Out — Forever

  Maximum Ride: The Angel Experiment

  OTHER BOOKS

  Don’t Blink (with Howard Roughan)

  The Postcard Killers (with Liza Marklund)

  Private (with Maxine Paetro)

  The Murder of King Tut (with Martin Dugard)

  Swimsuit (with Maxine Paetro)

  Against Medical Advice (with Hal Friedman)

  Sail (with Howard Roughan)

  Sundays at Tiffany’s (with Gabrielle Charbonnet)

  You’ve Been Warned (with Howard Roughan)

  The Quickie (with Michael Ledwidge)

  Judge & Jury (with Andrew Gross)

  Beach Road (with Peter de Jonge)

  Lifeguard (with Andrew Gross)

  Honeymoon (with Howard Roughan)

  santaKid

  Sam’s Letters to Jennifer

  The Lake House

  The Jester (with Andrew Gross)

  The Beach House (with Peter de Jonge)

  Suzanne’s Diary for Nicholas

  Cradle and All

  When the Wind Blows

  Miracle on the 17th Green (with Peter de Jonge)

  Hide & Seek

  The Midnight Club

  Black Friday (originally published as Black Market)

  See How They Run (originally published as The Jericho Commandment)

  Season of the Machete

  The Thomas Berryman Number

  For previews of upcoming books by James Patterson

  and more information about the author,

  visit www.JamesPatterson.com.

  Copyright

  Copyright © 2010 by James Patterson

  Excerpt from Witch & Wizard: The Gift copyright © 2010 by James Patterson

  All rights reserved. Except as permitted under the U.S. Copyright Act of 1976, no part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, or stored in a database or retrieval system, without the prior written permission of the publisher.

  Little, Brown and Company

  Hachette Book Group

  237 Park Avenue New York, NY 10017

  Visit our website at www.HachetteBookGroup.com.

  www.twitter.com/littlebrown.

  First eBook Edition: November 2010

  Little, Brown and Company is a division of Hachette Book Group, Inc. The Little, Brown name and logo are trademarks of Hachette Book Group, Inc.

  The publisher is not responsible for websites (or their content) that are not owned by the publisher.

  The characters and events in this book are fictitious. Any similarity to real persons, living or dead, is coincidental and not intended by the author.

  ISBN: 978-0-316-12225-2

 


 

  James Patterson, Cross Fire

  (Series: Alex Cross # 17)

 

 


 

 
Thank you for reading books on BookFrom.Net

Share this book with friends