Matthew Reilly - Michael Bunce

Scarecrow - Scarecrow Series - Book Three
It is the greatest bounty hunt in histor. There are 15 targets, the finest warriors in the world-commandos, spies, terrorists. And they must all be dead by 12 noon, today. The price on their heads: almost $20 million each. Among the names on the target list, one stands out. An enigmatic Marine named Shane Schofield, call-sign: SCARECROW. And so Schofield is plunged into a headlong race around the world, pursued by a fearsome collection of international bounty hunters-including the 'Black Knight', a notoriously ruthless hunter who seems intent on eliminating only Schofield. The race is on and the pace is frantic as Schofield fights for survival, in the process unveiling a vast international conspiracy and the terrible reason why he cannot, under any circumstances, be allowed to live!

PROLOGUE

THE RULERS OF THE WORLD
LONDON, ENGLAND
20 OCTOBER, 1900 HOURS

There were 12 of them in total.
All men.
All billionaires.
Ten of the 12 were over 60 years of age. The other two were in their thirties, but they were the sons of former members, so their loyalty was assured. While membership of the Council was not strictly conditional on heredity, over the years it had become commonplace for sons to replace their fathers.
Otherwise membership was by invitation only and invitations were rarely given—as one would expect of such an august collection of individuals.
The co-founder of the world’s largest software company.
A Saudi oil magnate.
The patriarch of a Swiss banking family.
The owner of the world’s biggest shipping company.
The world’s most successful stock trader.
The Vice-Chairman of the US Federal Reserve.
The newly-inherited heir to a military construction empire that built missiles for the United States Government.
There were no media barons on the Council—since it was widely known that their fortunes were largely based on debt and fluctuating share prices. The Council controlled the media simply by controlling the banks that fed the media barons their money.
Likewise, there were no national leaders—as the Council well knew, politicians possess the lowest form of power: transient power. Like media barons, they are beholden to others for their influence. In any case, the Council had made and unmade presidents and dictators before.
And no women.
It was the Council’s view that there was—as yet—no woman on the planet worthy of a seat at the table. Not the Queen. Not even the French make-up heiress, Lillian Mattencourt, with her $26 billion personal fortune.
Since 1918, the Council had met twice a year, every year.
This year, however, it had been convened nine times.
This was, after all, a special year.
While the Council was a somewhat secretive group, its meetings were never held in secret. Secret meetings of powerful people create attention. No. It had always been the Council’s opinion that the best-kept secrets existed out in the open, witnessed by the world but never actually seen.
As such, Council meetings were usually held during major international gatherings—the annual World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland; various World Trade Organisation meetings; the Council had even met once at Camp David, when the President wasn’t there.

Today it met in the grand executive boardroom of the Dorchester Hotel in London.

The vote was taken and the decision was unanimous.
‘Then it is agreed,’ the Chairman said. ‘The hunt will commence tomorrow. The list of targets will be released tonight through the usual channels, and bounties will be paid to those contractors who present to Monsieur J. P. Delacroix of AGM-Suisse the accustomed form of proof that a particular target has been eliminated.
‘There are fifteen targets in total. The bounty for each has been set at US$18.6 million.’
An hour later, the meeting ended, and the members of the Council adjourned for drinks.
On the boardroom table behind them lay their meeting notes. Of the notes sitting in front of the Chairman’s seat, one page lay face-up.
On it was a list of names.

Name Nat. Org.
1.  ASHCROFT, William H. UK SAS
2.  CHRISTIE, Alec P. UK MI-6
3.  FARRELL, Gregory C. USA Delta
4.  KHALIF, Iman AFGH Al-Qaeda
5.  KINGSGATE, Nigel E. UK SAS
6.  McCABE, Dean P. USA Delta
7.  NAZZAR, Yousef M. LEBN HAMAS
8.  NICHOLSON, Francis X. USA USAMRMC
9.  OLIPHANT, Thompson J. USA USAMRMC
10.  POLANSKI, Damien G. USA ISS
11.  ROSENTHAL, Benjamin Y. ISR Mossad
12.  SCHOFIELD, Shane M. USA USMC
13.  WEITZMAN, Ronson H. USA USMC
14.  ZAWAHIRI, Hassan M. SAUDI Al-Qaeda
15.  ZEMIR, Simon B. ISR IAF

It was, to put it mildly, a singularly impressive list.
It featured members of the world’s elite military units—the British SAS, the US Army’s Delta Detachment and the Marine Corps.
The Israeli Air Force made an appearance, as did intelligence agencies like the Mossad and the ISS—the Intelligence and Security Service, the new name for the CIA. Plus members of the terrorist organisations HAMAS and Al-Qaeda.
It was a list of men—special men, brilliant at their chosen deadly professions—who had to be removed from the face of the earth by 12 noon, October 26, US Eastern Standard Time.