The Doomsday Prophecy
FROM THE #1 BESTSELLING AUTHORWhen ex-SAS operative Ben Hope decided to give up rescuing kidnap victims in favour of the Theology studies he abandoned years before, he should have known that fate would decide differently.Searching for missing biblical archaeologist Zoë Bradbury, Ben finds himself embroiled in his riskiest mission yet. What is the ancient secret that Zoë uncovered? And just who is willing to do anything to protect it?The investigation leads Ben from Greece to the American Deep South and the holy city of Jerusalem, and he soon discovers that it's not just his and Zoë's lives on the line, but those of millions, threatened by a fundamentalist plot to gain ultimate power. The stakes are terrifyingly high as Ben races to prevent a disaster that could kick-start apocalyptic events as foretold by the Book of Revelation…BEN HOPE is one of the most celebrated action adventure heroes in British fiction and Scott Mariani is the author of numerous bestsellers. Join the ever-growing legion of readers who get breathless with anticipation when the countdown to the new Ben Hope thriller begins…
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SCOTT MARIANI
The Doomsday Prophecy
Avon
An imprint of HarperCollins Publishers Ltd.
1 London Bridge Street
London SE1 9GF
This ebook edition published by HarperCollins Publishers 2016
First published in paperback by HarperCollinsPublishers, 2009
Copyright © Scott Mariani 2009
Cover design © Henry Steadman 2016
Scott Mariani asserts the moral right to be identified as the author of this work
A catalogue copy of this book is available from the British Library
This novel is entirely a work of fiction. The names, characters and incidents portrayed in it are the work of the authorâs imagination. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events or localities is entirely coincidental.
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HarperCollinsPublishers has made every reasonable effort to ensure that any picture content and written content in this ebook has been included or removed in accordance with the contractual and technological constraints in operation at the time of publication
Source ISBN: 9781847560810
Ebook Edition © JANUARY 2016 ISBN: 9780007320042
Version: 2018-06-22
For Malcolm and Isabelle
âBlessed is he that readeth, and they that hear thewords of this prophecy, and keep those things whichare written therein:
For the time IS at hand.â
Book of Revelation 1:3
The Holy Bible
Contents
Corfu, Greek Islands, June 2008 The first day
It was night when they took her.
Theyâd found her living on the lush island and watched for three days in the sun before they figured out their move. She was staying in a rented villa, isolated and shaded by olive trees, high on a cliff above the crystal-clear sea.
She was living alone, and it should have been easy to snatch her. But the house was always filled with party guests, and the dancing and drinking was virtually round the clock. They watched, but they couldnât get close.
So the team planned. Right down to the last detail. Entry, acquisition, extraction. It had to be subtle and discreet. There were four of them, three men, one woman. They knew this was her last day on the island. Sheâd booked the flight from Corfu airport next morning and was flying back home â where sheâd be far, far harder to take.
So it was tonight or never. Strategically, it was the perfect time for her to disappear. Nobody would be looking for her in the morning.
They waited until evening, when they knew the farewell party would be well underway. Their car was a rental saloon, bland and inconspicuous, paid for in cash from a local hire firm. They drove in silence and parked off the road, unseen in the shade of the olive grove a hundred yards from the villa.
And watched quietly. As expected, the villa was lit up and the sound of music and laughter drifted through the trees and across the cove. The white stone house was fine and imposing, with three separate balconies where they could see couples dancing and people standing around drinking, leaning out over the railings, taking in the beauty of the evening.
Down below, the sea glittered in the moonlight. It was warm and the air was sweet with the scent of flowers, just the gentlest breeze coming in from the shore. Now and again a car would pull up outside the house as more guests arrived.
