HOUSE OF WAR
Scott Mariani
Copyright
Published by AVON
A division of HarperCollinsPublishers Ltd
1 London Bridge Street
London SE1 9GF
www.harpercollins.co.uk
First published in Great Britain by HarperCollins Publishers 2019
Copyright © Scott Mariani 2019
Cover design by Henry Steadman © HarperCollinsPublishers Ltd 2019
Cover photographs: Human-headed winged bulls guarding a door in Dur-Sharrukin © Poulpy; Figure © Henry Steadman
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 authors imagination. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events or localities is entirely coincidental.
All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, down-loaded, 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.
Source ISBN: 9780008235987
Ebook Edition © October 2019 ISBN: 9780008235994
Version: 2020-03-09
Discover the series you cant put down
If you like your conspiracies twisty, your action bone-jarring, and your heroes impossibly dashing, then look no farther the Ben Hope series is exactly what you need
Mark Dawson
Deadly conspiracies, bone-crunching action and a tormented hero with a heart Scott Mariani packs a real punch
Andy McDermott
James Bond meets Jason Bourne meets The Da Vinci Code
J. L. Carrell
Non-stop action this book delivers
Steve Berry
Full of authentic detail and heart-stopping action a real thrill ride
Ed Macy
Scott Mariani is an awesome writer
Chris Kuzneski
Packed with dark intrigue, danger around every corner, bullets flying, sexual tension, and an endless assault of nasty villains everything a thriller should be and more
Joe Moore
If youve got a pulse, youll love Scott Mariani; if you havent, then maybe you crossed Ben Hope
Simon Toyne
The action comes thick and fast and is choreographed with Marianis trademark skill and authenticity. The modern master of mayhem
Shots Magazine
Fans of Dan Brown will love this
Closer
Edge-of-the-seat excitement I am hooked on this series
5* Reader Review
Gripping adventure, superbly written
5* Reader Review
Cinematic style, fast pace and, above all, fabulous characters
5* Reader Review
Contents
Cover
Title Page
Copyright
Discover the series you cant put down
Prologue
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
The Ben Hope series
Keep Reading
About the Author
By the Same Author
About the Publisher
PROLOGUE
Syria, 2015
The two men were the last ones still inside the ancient temple as the invasion force closed in. They had been racing against time in their desperate last-minute bid to rescue as many of the treasures as they could, but theyd been too slow, too late, and their efforts were futile. Nobody was there to help them. Everyone else had fled hours earlier, when the first death knell of artillery fire sounded in the distance and the terrifying rumours became reality. Now the battle was lost and the government forces trying to hold onto the ancient city in the face of withering attack had fallen into full retreat.
These preserved architectural splendours had graced the desert oasis for two thousand years, dating back to when the thriving city had been one of the major centres on the trade route linking the Roman Empire with Persia, India and China. Here the worlds of classical and Eastern culture had melded and blossomed for centuries. Right up until the present day, their noble heritage had remained as a source of beauty and wonder for the thousands of travellers who flocked there each year to marvel.
And now, on this terrible day that would be remembered for a long time, the ancient city was about to fall into the hands of the destroyers.
The two men knew the end was near. Even though their hours of labour had succeeded in moving the majority of the priceless artifacts to a nearby hiding place where they hoped they could survive, there was still so much to do, so many treasures to try to save. It seemed a hopeless task.
We must hurry, Julien, said Salim Youssef to his younger associate. Theyll be here any minute. He was trying to lift a magnificent Greco-Roman bust from its plinth to place it on a trolley and wheel it outside to the already overloaded truck. But the artifact was far too heavy for his seventy-four-year-old arms to handle. He gasped and wheezed, but he wouldnt give up. For the last forty years the Syrian had been devotedly in charge of the preservation and cataloguing of the priceless antiquities in this place, which for him was as sacred and holy as a site of religious worship.
His companion was a Frenchman named Julien Segal, twenty-five years his junior, who had been closely involved in Salims work for over a decade. He was based equally in Paris and the Middle East, and spoke Arabic fluently. A man known for his elegant dress style and cosmopolitan chic, he wasnt looking his stylish best at this moment, as he struggled and sweated to drag a six-foot Akkadian alabaster statue across the flagstone floor towards the archway near to which the truck was parked. Even inside the relative coolness of the temple, the August desert heat felt as though it could bake a man inside his skin.
Its no use, Salim. Well never make it. Everyone else has run for it, and we should do the same while we still can.
You go, Julien, Salim wheezed, clutching his chest. Im staying. I wont abandon these treasures, no matter what. This place is all I know and care about.
But theyll kill you, Salim.
Let those lunatic butchers do their worst, the old man said. Im not afraid of them. I have lived my life and dont have many years left. But yours is still ahead of you. Go! Save yourself! He pulled the truck keys from his pocket and tossed them to Julien Segal.
The Frenchman was about to reply, I wont leave without you. But the words died in his mouth as he turned to see the sight that froze his blood.
They were here.
Nine men had come into the temples main entrance and now stood in a semicircle, watching them with detached curiosity. All were bearded and clad in dusty battledress, armed with automatic weapons. Their leader stood in the middle, with four of his soldiers each side of him. He wore black, in accordance with his rank as an ISIL commander. A holstered pistol and a long, sheathed knife hung from his belt.
That was when Julien Segal saw that three of the men were also clutching heavy iron sledgehammers in addition to their weaponry. He opened his mouth to speak, but his throat had gone dry.
Salim spoke for him. The old man stepped away from the bust hed been trying to manhandle, and advanced towards the invaders, fists clenched in anger. You are not welcome here! Leave now!
The commander in black stepped forward to meet him. He gazed around the temples interior, looking at the statues and other artifacts that Salim and his colleague hadnt yet been able to remove to safety, and the vacant plinths of those that they had. His voice echoed in the stone chamber as he spoke:
I am Nazim al-Kassar. You must be Salim Youssef, the curator. Tell me, old man. This place is looking quite empty. Where have you hidden the rest of these idolatrous pieces of trash you call art?
So you have come here to destroy them, Salim said defiantly.
This house of blasphemy, along with everything inside it and all that you have vainly tried to rescue, said Nazim al-Kassar. It shall be razed to the ground, inshallah.
You will not! You must not!
The commander smiled. These are the idols of previous centuries, which were worshipped instead of Allah. They have no place in the new Caliphate that will now rule this country for the rest of time. Allah commands that they be shattered and broken into dust.
Savages! Vandals! What gives you the right to erase history? You think youre doing Allahs bidding? Where does the Quran make such a command? Nowhere! I am also a Muslim, and I say that you bring shame and disgrace upon our religion! The old man was seething with fury. Cringing behind him, Julien Segal was too terrified to utter a word.
The commanders voice remained calm as he pointed a black-gloved finger at Salim and replied, Old man, I will ask only once. You will lead me to where you have hidden the idols of this false divinity, so that the soldiers of the Caliphate may consign them to the past, where they belong.
Then I belong there with them, Salim said. I will die before I allow you to wreak your unholy destruction in this place.
So be it, the commander said. What you ask for, you will receive. He nodded to his men. Four of them stepped forwards, seized Salim and Julien Segal each by the arms, and forced them down to their knees on the flagstone floor. The Frenchman knelt with his head bowed and shoulders sagging. Next to him, the older man refused to break eye contact with his tormentors and remained straight-backed, chin high.
The commander reached down to the hilt of the long, curved knife that hung from his belt, and drew out the blade with a sigh of steel against leather. Salim wouldnt take his eyes off him for an instant, even though he knew what was coming.
Julien Segal let out a whimper. For Gods sake, Salim. We have to tell them. Please.
Im sorry, Julien. I will not go to my grave knowing that I betrayed my lifes work to these maniacs.
The commander stepped around behind Salim.
Salim closed his eyes.
What happened next had Julien Segal burying his face in the dirt and crying in unbearable anguish. But the old man never made a sound. He faced his death with the same steely resolve that hed shown throughout his life.
Moments later, Julien Segal felt the thump of something hitting the floor beside him. Followed by a second, heavier thud as Salims decapitated body slumped forward to fall on the floor next to where the commander had tossed his severed head. Segal couldnt bring himself to look directly at it, and instead watched in horror as the blood pool spread over the floor, trickling into the cracks between the flagstones and reflecting the light from the arched window.
Now its your turn, said the man called Nazim al-Kassar.
Chapter 1
The present day
It was a cold, bright and sunny October morning in Paris, and Ben Hope was making a brief stop-off in the city on his return from a long journey. The trip to India hadnt been a scheduled event, but then few things in his life were, or ever had been, despite his best efforts to lead the kind of peaceful and stable existence he might have wished for. It seemed that fate always had other plans for him.