Killer Move Read online

  Once in a while I post something on a conspiracy forum, asking if anyone knows anything. The posts seem to be removed more quickly than I would expect. But . . . I suppose I would say that, right?

  Whenever I find anything, or think I may be onto something, or come up with a new angle, I tell Stephanie about it. I tell her these things under my breath, all the time. Sometimes other people hear. They look at me strangely. That’s okay. They have no idea what I’m learning. They have no idea who I’m talking to. They have no suspicion, either, that beneath the layers of thrift store clothes and what I’ll admit is sometimes a significant layer of grime—my cabin does not have running water—my body is in the best shape it’s ever been. I spend hours every night running through the woods. I have rocks and chunks of fallen tree that I use for working out. I eat what I can catch in streams and what I shoot in the woods. I have spent many hours practicing with the gun. I am very good now.

  I feel ashamed I did not use it before, when I had the chance. And so whenever I am in a town I spend periods focusing on the backs of people’s heads, imagining myself in the position of being behind them with the gun held out, readying myself: ensuring that when the opportunity comes I will be able to kill this time, to dispatch them as they deserve. If these strangers happen to glance around—which they sometimes do, as if they have felt a light touch on the back of their neck—I look away. They don’t see me. And neither will my enemies, until it’s too late.

  They do not know how strong I am now, how developed I have become. I may be many things, but I am not crazy.

  I am modified.

  Acknowledgments

  Thanks to my editors, Jane Johnson and Jen Brehl, and also to Sarah Hodgson and Chris Smith; to my agent, Ralph Vicinanza; and to Paula and Nate.

  About the Author

  MICHAEL MARSHALL is the author of the trilogy that includes The Straw Men, The Upright Man, and Blood of Angels, as well as the stand-alone novels The Servants, The Intruders, and Bad Things. He also works as a screenwriter for clients in London and Los Angeles, and is currently writing a television pilot set in New York City. He lives in London with his wife and son.

  www.michaelmarshallsmith.com

  Visit www.AuthorTracker.com for exclusive information on your favorite HarperCollins authors.

  Also by Michael Marshall

  Bad Things

  The Intruders

  Blood of Angels

  The Upright Man

  The Straw Men

  Credits

  Jacket design by Mumtaz Mustafa

  Jacket photograph © by Paul Knight

  Copyright

  This book is a work of fiction. References to real people, events, establishments, organizations, or locales are intended only to provide a sense of authenticity, and are used fictitiously. All other characters, and all incidents and dialogue, are drawn from the author’s imagination and are not to be construed as real.

  KILLER MOVE. Copyright © 2011 by Michael Marshall. All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the nonexclusive, nontransferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, downloaded, decompiled, reverse-engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins e-books.

  EPub Edition © JULY 2011 ISBN: 9780062079329

  FIRST EDITION

  ISBN 978-0-06-143442-6

  11 12 13 14 15 OV/RRD 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

  About the Publisher

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  Table of Contents

  Cover

  Title Page

  Dedication

  Epigraph

  Contents

  Prologue

  Part I

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  Chapter Fifteen

  Part II

  Chapter Sixteen

  Chapter Seventeen

  Chapter Eighteen

  Chapter Nineteen

  Chapter Twenty

  Chapter Twenty-one

  Chapter Twenty-two

  Chapter Twenty-three

  Chapter Twenty-four

  Chapter Twenty-five

  Chapter Twenty-six

  Chapter Twenty-seven

  Chapter Twenty-eight

  Chapter Twenty-nine

  Chapter Thirty

  Chapter Thirty-one

  Chapter Thirty-two

  Chapter Thirty-three

  Part III

  Chapter Thirty-four

  Chapter Thirty-five

  Chapter Thirty-six

  Chapter Thirty-seven

  Chapter Thirty-eight

  Chapter Thirty-nine

  Chapter Forty

  Chapter Forty-one

  Chapter Forty-two

  Chapter Forty-three

  Chapter Forty-four

  Chapter Forty-five

  Chapter Forty-six

  Chapter Forty-seven

  Chapter Forty-eight

  Chapter Forty-nine

  Chapter Fifty

  Chapter Fifty-one

  Chapter Fifty-two

  Acknowledgments

  About the Author

  Also by Michael Marshall

  Credits

  Copyright

  About the Publisher