The sword of doom, p.1
The Sword of Doom, page 1
THE SWORD OF DOOM
A JAMES ACTON THRILLER
J. ROBERT KENNEDY
About the James Acton Thrillers
"James Acton: A little bit of Jack Bauer and Indiana Jones!"
Though this book is part of the James Acton Thrillers series, it is written as a standalone novel and can be enjoyed without reading the other installments.
What readers are saying about the James Acton Thrillers Series:
“A great blend of history and current headlines.”
“You stop breathing from the first page.”
“If you like Indiana Jones then you will love these stories.”
“The Acton series is one of the most entertaining and enjoyable series I have read.”
“Non-stop action that is impossible to put down.”
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BOOKS BY J. ROBERT KENNEDY
Please click here for the intended reading order.
* Also available in audio
The Templar Detective Thrillers
The Templar Detective
The Templar Detective and the Parisian Adulteress
The Templar Detective and the Sergeant's Secret
The Templar Detective and the Unholy Exorcist
The Templar Detective and the Code Breaker
The Templar Detective and the Black Scourge
The Templar Detective and the Lost Children
The Templar Detective and the Satanic Whisper
The Just Jack Thrillers
You Don't Know Jack
The James Acton Thrillers
The Protocol *
Brass Monkey *
Broken Dove
The Templar’s Relic
Flags of Sin
The Arab Fall
The Circle of Eight
The Venice Code
Pompeii’s Ghosts
Amazon Burning
The Riddle
Blood Relics
Sins of the Titanic
Saint Peter’s Soldiers
The Thirteenth Legion
Raging Sun
Wages of Sin
Wrath of the Gods
The Templar’s Revenge
The Nazi’s Engineer
Atlantis Lost
The Cylon Curse
The Viking Deception
Keepers of the Lost Ark
The Tomb of Genghis Khan
The Manila Deception
The Fourth Bible
Embassy of the Empire
Armageddon
No Good Deed
The Last Soviet
Lake of Bones
Fatal Reunion
The Resurrection Tablet
The Antarctica Incident
The Ghosts of Paris
No More Secrets
The Curse of Imhotep
The Sword of Doom
The Dylan Kane Thrillers
Rogue Operator *
Containment Failure *
Cold Warriors *
Death to America
Black Widow
The Agenda
Retribution
State Sanctioned
Extraordinary Rendition
Red Eagle
The Messenger
The Defector
The Mole
The Arsenal
The Delta Force Unleashed Thrillers
Payback
Infidels
The Lazarus Moment
Kill Chain
Forgotten
The Cuban Incident
Rampage
Inside the Wire
Charlie Foxtrot
A Price Too High
The Detective Shakespeare Mysteries
Depraved Difference
Tick Tock
The Redeemer
The Kriminalinspektor Wolfgang Vogel Mysteries
The Colonel’s Wife
Sins of the Child
Zander Varga, Vampire Detective Series
The Turned
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Table of Contents
The Novel
Preface
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
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
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
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
Acknowledgments
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About the Author
Also by the Author
For Bob Barker.
Priceless.
“Ten years of reforms; the state is rich, the warriors well-rewarded. The soldiers charge in the face of arrows like thirsty men heading for drink.”
Records of the Grand Historian a.k.a Shiji Circa 91 BC
“We have to admit a hard truth. We must admit a hard truth that should guide us in the years and decades to come, that if we want to have a free 21st century, and not the Chinese century of which Xi Jinping dreams, the old paradigm of blind engagement with China simply won’t get it done. We must not continue it and we must not return to it.”
US Secretary of State Michael Pompeo July 23, 2020
PREFACE
The black market for stolen art is massive. It is estimated to be approximately $10 billion per year and growing. This includes stolen paintings and sculptures, looted artifacts from war zones, and items that the academic world has no idea even exist.
Artifacts that have never made it out of private collections.
Over the years, some of these collections have been opened to academics and the public, revealing stunning finds, others have been liberated by law enforcement.
More recently, many countries, once sources of incredible finds now enjoyed by museumgoers the world over, have been demanding the return of what they consider to have been looted.
So, what would happen if one of these private collections was finally opened to the world, and a long-lost artifact few knew existed was returned to a belligerent country with a history of flaunting international law, and that artifact turned out to be a fake?
Mayhem for an innocent archaeology couple.
1 |
Operations Center 2, CIA Headquarters Langley, Virginia
CIA Analyst Supervisor Chris Leroux stood at his station in the heart of the state-of-the-art operations center he was in charge of, his hands clasped behind his head as he stared at the live satellite footage from Cairo. Three of the vehicles they were monitoring broke off their pursuit, suddenly heading west instead of north where their target SUV continued. “What the hell are they doing?”
His second-in-command, Sonya Tong, peered at her screen. “The road they’re now on is four lanes. It’s gonna move a hell of a lot quicker than that two-lane road the professor’s just turned onto.”
“It looks like the Chinese have a better guide than the professors,” said the team’s tech wunderkind Randy Child, spinning in his chair.
Leroux disagreed. “I wouldn’t be so sure of that. It’s always easier to pick a
“Yeah, I’m here.”
“Your pursuers have broken off and have taken an alternate route. They’re overtaking you to your south. If they get too far ahead, they’ll be able to cut north and block you off.”
Acton cursed. “We’re going as fast as we can, but this damn street festival has people everywhere. I don’t think we’re gonna be able to get out of this.”
“If they do catch you, just surrender to them. We’ll work from the diplomatic side to get you free.”
“That’s assuming the Chinese haven’t already killed us or taken us back to Beijing.”
Tong waved her hand and pointed at the map that showed the Egyptians and Chinese had turned north.
“Professor, they’re going to have you cut off in less than two minutes. You need to clear the next intersection before they arrive.”
Acton relayed the information to the others when someone cursed and gunfire broke out.
Leroux spun toward Tong. “What the hell’s going on? Are they under attack?”
2 |
Kingdom of Min 466 BC
“Prepare yourselves!”
Zhang Fei’s heart, already pounding fiercely, kicked into an even higher gear at the shout from their commander. This was war. This was a fight for their very survival. If they failed here today, the women, the children, the elderly left behind in the farms and villages they all called home would be slaughtered and worse. The women would be raped, children taken as slaves, the elderly massacred. And once the pillaging was over and their king had surrendered, those that survived would live under the banner of a new leader, a man so feared, every man gathered to oppose him would rather die than fall under his rule.
King Goujian, ruler of the Kingdom of Yue, his position guaranteed by divine right as he possessed the Sword of Leadership, was vicious, brutal. He led with an iron fist and showed no mercy to his enemies, and for reasons unknown, he had set his sights on their tiny kingdom. The man’s thirst for conquest was legendary, and Fei assumed they were a target simply because they were easy prey. Messengers had been sent to surrounding kingdoms calling for help, beseeching the others yet to feel the wrath of Yue to join the fight in the hopes that a united force might oppose the belligerent kingdom.
Yet they wouldn’t arrive in time.
This battle was happening now, and the massive force cresting the ridge had him close to passing out from fear.
Someone grabbed his shoulder and shook him. “Breathe!” It was his best friend, Shu Bao. “Breathe, or you’re going to be of no use to us!”
Fei sucked in a deep breath, followed by several more, the focus he had lost quickly regained, once again revealing the horror that lay before him. It wasn’t a dream, it was a nightmare. In reality, this would be his last day on Earth. This would be the last day on Earth for all of them. There was no possible way their small ragtag army of peasants and farmers could oppose the professional, well-trained, and experienced troops marching toward them.
“Are you all right?”
Fei nodded. “I am now, thanks. You?”
“I think I shit my pants a few minutes ago.”
Fei took an exaggerated look at his friend’s behind. “Well, it doesn’t show. Nothing’s leaking yet.”
Bao laughed, slapping his friend on his back. “I think what I’m going to miss most is your sense of humor.”
“I’m going to miss your sister most.”
Bao grabbed him by the throat and squeezed, shaking him before letting go and giving him a hug, his eyes filling with tears. “Nothing would have thrilled me more than for you to be my brother-in-law. And it breaks my heart to think of what might happen to my sister when we fail here today.”
Fei wiped his eyes dry as he pictured his beloved Yuan ravaged by the evil that lay before them. Fei embraced Bao for what would likely be the last time, the two of them inseparable since childhood. They were, in every sense of the word, brothers except for blood, and even there they were somewhat related, pretty much everyone in the area a distant cousin of some sort. They would fight to the death here today in a futile effort to protect those they loved, but the true horror would be saved for those who survived.
And it crushed him.
“Look!” someone shouted, and everyone spun.
Fei’s heart leaped as he grabbed Bao’s arm, shaking it in disbelief. “Please tell me my eyes don’t deceive me.”
“They don’t, my friend, for if they do, then mine lie as well.”
Cheers erupted from their small force and Fei joined in as hundreds upon hundreds of soldiers marching under the banner of the Kingdom of Han hurried to join them. Fei embraced his friend once again, both of them smiling for the first time since they had received word that the forces of Yue were marching on them.
“We might yet live to see our families again!”
3 |
Lingkana Palace Thimphu, Bhutan Present Day, One Day Earlier
“Exquisite!”
Archaeology Professor James Acton agreed with his wife’s assessment. The sword they were examining was indeed exquisite, but it was also curious. He was privileged to have seen the Sword of Goujian, an ancient Chinese blade believed to have been forged over 2500 years ago. It had been discovered 60 years ago, but it wasn’t the design of it that was of interest, it was the condition.
Several swords of this design had been discovered, and they all shared a single, remarkable trait. All were mostly bronze, and all appeared as if forged recently. There was no rust. The blades weren’t tarnished. All of them after millennia were in near-perfect condition, as was this one, previously unknown to the academic world.
Acton’s wife, Archaeology Professor Laura Palmer, turned to their host, Sonam Choden, the curator of the King of Bhutan’s private collection. “Do we know its pedigree?”
“To a point. Our records, of course, are very sketchy from back then, but the various royal families responsible for this collection over thousands of years took their duty seriously. The records have been copied by each new curator by hand as one of their first duties. It not only introduces us to the entire collection, but it preserves the records from generation to generation. This practice wasn’t begun for at least a thousand years after this particular item was collected. However, much of the initial record was preserved. Unfortunately, it didn’t tell us much. All we know is when it was added to the collection approximately 2500 years ago, and that timing, of course, is interesting.”
Acton’s head bobbed. “It’s around the time that King Goujian ruled.”
“You know your history, professor.”
Acton shrugged with a smirk. “I try.”
“Well, this you might find interesting. After the new king opened his private collection to the academic world, we’ve been identifying objects that might be of cultural significance to countries that, shall we say, it might be in our best interest to be on the good side of.”
Laura smiled as she leaned in closer to the sword. “I think if China knew you had this, you’d be praying you were on their good side. They’d do nothing to stop at getting their hands on this. These swords are a matter of national pride, and they don’t like their antiquities being taken by other countries.”
“This is true. So, when I realized what this sword actually was, I reconciled the old calendar of our region with the Chinese calendar of the time and discovered something rather remarkable.”
This piqued Acton’s interest, and he tore his eyes away from the intricately carved blade. “What did you find?”
“That this sword was gifted to our king, or rather the king of this region at the time, the same year and perhaps even the same month that King Goujian died.”
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