The Lucifer Sanction (27 page)

The man with the steel-cold eyes killed the engine
as his comrade went about maneuvering the garage door
back to a near closed position. The smaller of the two
Russians stepped from behind the wheel, opened the rear
door, dragged Craven from the car and manhandled the
American to the ground where he lay huddled on the straw
splattered surface as the two men from Moscow chatted
quietly. The largest of the pair stepped forward and in a
quick jolting move placed a boot into Craven’s rib cage.
There was a cracking sound like celery being snapped,
followed by a muffled groan as Travis Craven rolled away
from the boot, pain shooting through his body as he pleaded
to God for strength to draw breath. The smaller man moved
to the rear of the Audi, popped the trunk and pulled a few
items. Two coils of rope, duct tape, and a wheel brace. He
dropped them alongside Craven whose eyes were bulging
as breath eluded him. The big man had surely broken at
least a few of his ribs.

“Drag him to the post, cut the tape, secure his hands
in front,” the man with the steel-cold eyes said with a sneer.
“Here,” and he stooped, picked up the larger of the rope
coils and motioned at the overhead beams, “throw it over
the beam and raise him up.”

Craven entertained a quick thought of resisting,
thought of it in those few moments when the tape was cut, but
his arms were non-responsive and there were those broken
ribs. After a long silence the American finally spluttered,
“What do you people want from me? Just take the bags,
leave me be. I’m no threat to you.” But they weren’t done
with him. He was their trophy and the night was young. He
balanced on the tips of his shoes as the big man drew back
a threatening fist, readying himself to deliver another blow.
The smaller Russian held up a hand, thought about it and
faked an apologetic shrug. Mildly impressed with Craven’s
bravado, he groaned in a deep accent, “No, it will kill him,”
and he reluctantly shook his head. “We need him alive for
a while.”

Craven gasped for breath. The words ‘fuck you’
crossed his mind as his eyes raked the overhead beams. He
inhaled painfully and found a little breath. In a cathartic
moment he prayed for help.

It is common belief that the theory of relativity
disallows us the possibility of traveling through time.
Well – maybe.
However by use of the Einstein-Rosen
bridges, better known as wormholes or portals, traveling
through time is now considered by many as a possibility.
The connection of two distant points in space provide us
with a theoretical shortcut, like drilling a tunnel through a
mountain, shortening the time and distance needed to get
to the other side. A quantum vacuum known as Casimir
energy has been studied in a Pasadena institute and has been
found to possess an anti-gravitational quality, thus making
the separation of two portals a possibility. Step through one
doorway (or PORTAL) and emerge through another.

In PORTAL, the first of this writer’s Drew Blake
adventures, the villainous Travis Craven eludes his pursuers
by speeding his Porsche through coordinates of a PORTAL
and emerging in a parallel world. It’s only a matter of
time before the narrow portal connecting our world to his
becomes the subject of interest for Drew Blake and his
cohorts.

Travis Craven passes through a parallel universe
and arrives in present-day Paris, France. He carries a
deadly consignment of near perfect man-made diamonds.
Each stone contains an undetectable incendiary device.
Exposed to earth’s atmosphere triggers a countdown with
each stone, much to the chagrin of those who admire
their newly acquired gem. Blake pursues Craven, only to
find himself in a strange, white world. His task is further
burdened by the bumbling, and at times humorous French
inspector, Claude Chevalier, who, concerned for Blake’s
safety and unaware of what lay ahead, follows the Interpol
Special Agent into . . . the PORTAL.

In writing PORTAL, Denaro has skillfully developed
his characters and has also succeeded in creating an antihero of the villainous Travis Craven, so much so that it
leaves the reader pulling for Craven’s survival. PORTAL
has it all, suspense, humor, action and adventure. While
moving in several directions, Denaro succeeds in keeping
the reader locked between the covers.

“Fascinating reading. PORTAL may be science
fiction, but who knows, it could prove to be a possibility
down the road. Denaro paints a clear picture in the reader’s
mind; his characters are lovable to the end, including his
villain, a trait this writer has mastered in this Drew Blake
adventure. Not a book you can put down for too long.”

Suite 101 U.K. Book Review
Reader’s Choice:
“5 star reading.”
______________________________________________

“FIDDLER is a spine chilling read that travels
along at warp speed, taking the reader on a police chase
through Europe, into the monastery of Montecassino, and
culminating in a surprise anti-climax in Albuquerque,
New Mexico. Brilliantly written with masterly character
development. Denaro leaves the reader wanting more.”

R. Gene Heinrich
Editor
www.WritingRaw.com

To order through Amazon.com please quote
ISBN # 978-1-93510-514-9
Available on Kindle too!
______________________________________________

“Vatican File
SS
takes the reader on a thought
provoking journey that explores the origin of Nazi and
Ustasha gold hoards. It exposes the ruthless killings by
Ustasha Catholic priests in their routing of gold to Rome’s
Vatican and Swiss Banks. The search for Mussolini’s
dumped gold is accurately documented in this deeply
researched work. Exciting and revealing – Vatican File
SS
is a hard to put down novel. Find a comfortable seat, and
buckle up.”

Wayne Sherline
Editor/ CEO
Friday Flyer Publication

To order through Amazon.com please quote ISBN
# 978-1-93510-532-9
Available on Kindle too!
_______________________________________________
BLACK SABBATH

“It is worth reading through the impeccably
researched jargon and conspiracy theories, which are
seamlessly blended to make a compelling, if lengthy
plot.”

Wayne Sherline
Editor/ CEO
Weekend News Publication
*****

“A Historical Political Thriller that tells the story
of a doomsday-like Chinese military operation seeking
to control the planet’s weather, and the team of US elite
agents that are sent into the heart of China to steal a computer flash drive pivotal to stopping that plan reaching frui-
tion.

In Black Sabbath, Jason Denaro blends a story of
betrayal, death defying battles and a fast paced deception
against the complexity of American foreign policy and the
tenuous balance of peace with foreign powers such as the
Chinese and Taiwanese whilst also touching on the war in
Iraq.

Most successful are Denaro’s characterizations of
the Bush administration which he does with a subversive
wit and intelligence that is both sympathetic to the Republican cause whilst being damming at the same time.

Jason Denaro’s ability to create mercenaries that can
casually ‘kill Commies’ and yet reveal an empathy for the
plight of the Chinese and Burmese people gives a depth to
Black Sabbath that is unexpected but certainly welcome.

Black Sabbath is relevant to the Bush era political
climate and capitalizes well on the idea that, by engaging
in war, America has overstretched itself and left itself
vulnerable. The charming and at times almost satirical plot
of Black Sabbath convinces in both tension and situation.”

Suite 101
UK Book Review
To order through Amazon.com please quote
ISBN # 978-1-93510-575-6

“Jason Denaro jet-propels the reader into the historic 1356 Battle of Poitiers in which King John of France
struggles against the superior forces of England’s Prince
Edward, the Black Prince.

THE LUCIFER SANCTION delivers the fury and
splendor of medieval times, of knights on chargers, of bitter rivalries, of vividly described blood chilling battles, and
ruthless plunder.

It is a no holds barred superbly researched work
based on correct time frames and events, yet delivered with
a sci-fi touch. The horrific factual accounting of the pan-
demic known as the Black Death sets the stage for this epic
adventure.

Just as the reader believes THE LUCIFER SANCTION to be a work of fiction - the modern world is con-
fronted with a new pandemic.

As with Portal, Fiddler, Vatican FileSS, and Black
Sabbath, Jason Denaro hits a home run and beats history to
the punch.

‘Lucifer’ is a spellbinding read from beginning to
end, one that will satisfy a broad spectrum of readers, from
historical to science fiction to adventure to thriller – The
Lucifer Sanction delivers.”

“GENIUS! The format is nothing like anything
I’ve ever read. Totally BRILLIANT!!! Pulitzer !!! I loved
every sentence.”

“Excellent! I was intrigued throughout the book
and found myself wanting to keep reading on to see how it
ended! It certainly all came together in the end! ” Lucifer”
is a spellbinding read from beginning to end, one that
will satisfy a broad spectrum of readers, from historical
to science fiction to adventure to thriller - “The Lucifer
Sanction” delivers.

During the 14th century, the percentile reduction
in the world’s population due to the bubonic plague was
between twenty-five and fifty percent, around two hun-
dred million people. Long ago our scientists decoded the
genome of the bubonic bacterium known as Black Death.
Turning a blind eye to today’s burgeoning population will
result in too many mouths to feed by the year 2020. We
quite simply can’t supply sufficient food for the 200,000
humans added to this planet each day.