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THE CULT OF THE LEOPARD'
sonses blood, W. Cartor. I bolievo it is your blood
he smells. That is truly unfortunate. Shall havo to 1011
h"n. No cat can remain in captivity woo has tasted
htrt'an bbod,••
"You're broakir.g my heart" I hissed.
A sadistic smile broke on his IOS. Carefully. with one
eya still the steps, he moved from the head o! the
stairway,
"Vadu has always been my favorite pet: • he spat. "Bit
Since he must die, it is only fair he get a last meal.
Please, W. Carter. I wish you to down those
answer, another rumbling roar camod up trom thn
stairwell, My belly iced over at the thought 01 facing
death at ftw locoards jaws.
NICK CARTER IS rr!
"Nick Carter out-Bonds James Bond
—Buffalo Evening News
"Nick Carter is America's 41 espionage agent."
Variety
Nick Carter is razor-sharp suspense,"
—King Features
"Nick Carter is extraordinarily big
—Bestsellers
"Nick Carter has attracted an army of addicted
readers the books are fast, have plenty of ac-
lion and just the right degree Of sex . Nick Carter
is the American James Bond. suave. sophisticated,
a killer with both the ladies and the enemy."
—The New York Times




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THE SOCIETY OF
SCR'IE"Y OV
Copyright e 1981 by Nast Publicaions.
All rights reserved) No Of this hook be reproduced in any
form by amy •nean•, except the inclusion of hnef quoGtions
a review, Without in publiSber.
All characters io this tw•ok art fictitious. Any reembIMi€e to actual
persons. or dead, is purely
A Owner (Yigin•i.
is Of Nast
tiotB, Inc.. regisgeted in the Unjted States Patent Office.
First Oartet Ponting April 1981
Published simultaneously in Canada
Manufactured in 'he Umge:d States Of AmeriG
246809531



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CHAPTER ONE
Teeming •ad Algiers. Boiling
ttnore Se Mor«co to thc
east and lubya to and s,hgNiy crazy , it
in me sun.
A.mi. it.
the sidewalk Liberatüm. Ntielding
my eyes were gl•ses Ot' darkest available. but 1
still squinted them •t the glaring sun as
danced off me uny
Hoe
Hell. yes. an aware oc my
own sweat •s it segrd *nxgh the white linen of my
shirt and painted daut slightly over-
I checked my issue •eith special
dc•xxlads special
My twenty miDiiÄes late. natis
never a Pleasant 00m. to get the
jiuers. eitt«. i few Of • sweet
mint tea, and allowed my eyes u»
sum.wnd;ings anyth4ng frightening,
ne café itself the soewa.lk cube 01
the large aV<1UO leading titc Casbir Around me
sac a t:usiÄs tyve taxriso, none Of
whom showed in A.H were
ei&et lost in their own or gaping at the
endless parade and uss•pulled
2
NRX CARTER
cans plodding up final 10 the
walls o' tie Obd City ,
In I pov
pourri of chatte SIEt'tifi,ed t.heit The
thc worid's oldest center.
" 'Would cue unre
His voice my chair,
As my eyes waiter •s puz—
*led cmvession gave way u:) g smile that re-
vcale:d rvld•cqn gaps teeth bave been
" 'More tea.
/'Oh. yes' Yes. of "hed. using Freneh€
'Ilse language lasted. even O•ough French
' • Merci, plese."
He darted of. leaving up what reqnained
or my
due
Three twenty-two.
Clever. Carter. All 4"' two Since you last
checked. When sart a minute. they
hand to
comfy eon&i in
hmpy" I was. were a of
for it. Not the ot was Algjers
My eyes rolled back to '"ty street to
wilere It das4veued in old city
'd to them Rabat. Cas*lanca,
Fez. even Qaddaffi 's strongyok:i, Tripoli.
But Algiers was
It was a City. a c—serobe Of mixed cultures
that tren b*ing in sun fcr frousands of
years, until it har&rrd imo cetunic Any•
thing that bast little bit




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Fez. even Qaddaff' 's Trtpoli.
But Algv•ers was
It was a hÄifiting city. a c—serobe Of mixed cultures
that tren baking in sun fcr frousands of
years, it har&oed imo cetunic permanence , Any•
thing that *ast little bit
S•tEM5tY
But also myseriou:s . my•saeri«us.
I-uc the two up the av-
emue, long as they
nude thew way through hugnanity in short.
stndes. •overed. but the nash-
ing onyx oi their eyes b.ke a mueuin calling
tie faithful to
I have bec in that the
fentaje •o (he •nen sunething is
Jeh no the (h b.as. Muslu•n women
Win the men 01
have wot;nen ia a sea Of gurrnems..
allowing a cfclive skin to peel from
trhund theu veds. Ax] yet. sp.•te cf drir limited
exposure. Arab wcn:r• seem to within
thernselve;s and you usung rwU1ing more
than tb.eic eyes.
Eye.' s.o:ft up
As ne•ed thc one
to me locked bet eyes oo anne. Them curiosity in
her gaze. curiosity iXfZdiHe y«.uth. I saniled urd
gave her a bnef expecting to make an
e retreat.
She didn •t
it ber even '*isetrating.
stulfeoed 'hehdy an my •kep
Of net •ecard etrough A
charge of •dre.n•.nne bcuvng With it ute
awareness I just nugN fung my contact,
I jusn review of the agreed
upon recognition •when tie spell was
'thc intensity
of contact •o' bet compan•on.
stratghteoed up ha me young
4
girt's shouter eyes kefi cfft:red
tm,ek "nlogy to Oe and returned
g humble sa•eet her.
I settled bxk Otve rn«e consulted
the my
'[hrce
A five mtnu•e Lapse. netter. Cx•er. much better,
J trip gr•.an or
How could I m:nu.k.en eyes •nguvent
eontaet? In an my had encoun-
hundreds of taco. all wuth their own
veils Ot secrecy; eyes.
Hud eyes. never were, The eyes
lcx»ked foc were like had no
warmth.
They were me sure eyes I shaved with every n•vom-
ing-
had gid •s eyes. but
all a
disgu•se; either of m*ingc« someone else 's,
As did now. in my o•vn sweat, of Mr.
Wilie Geis, New York.
Willie had two one. a *Tist
you ccwl€Wt keep and two. •
genius for had saved my on more
thgw
With Wilie had turned my hair
from its to rusty ted it now diS-
TO be aousta«he to n•ureh.
came the ag the of my right
eyeh«ow and dogn the a
scar so real a
'Wie final veil was by AXE. My identity:
Liarn c;idzen Irish revolution.




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came the scat, the eod oi my right
eyeh«ow and down XfO", the cteeLbone. a
scar SO real a du.ute
'Wie final veil was by AXE. My identity:
Liam McL)xucl. Bgitøh Irish revolution.
SCKIETY OF NINE
' "Your tea. memriea•
• "Metej. I the pile
on the table in
nuke j,äßt
sn.Jdied duk-skinæd face unecrtajnly.
He like •
between dans
ward my
res•gnation at mixture
he hx' two;oght. The of tea to
fill my head. akng cane an unfamiliar bite.
My palate strug@ed to i&nüfy the H.R lu:»
success, Chly ox clew
Wh•tever ge•o the t'ew. it
coholiC. and it
' •TO *tat 00 1 gasped,
His smile got irnp«gNy '"Algiers is to
relax, monsieur. it is a city of life. see you arc
relaxed. monsieur, so gy .
. 1 relax ' ' His
smile • '1 did nght, man•ieur?'
'"Yes." r did very right!"
r addCd two hb Of t*blc and
watched him away. hack - gratefully siß'i:ng
die result of my . . andeotnage.
This near Muslim. and therefore
very oon"cobOlie he if then•nm
ugcmc;nt caught hiÄ booze to natives or
Nothin€ changed. waves danced
their eran• patte,ms up y—ect. didn let them
hypoo,nrei me. beyond hem. search-
ing, looking tc« the
It was an hü"d. Of the
The
mcx CARTER
I work AXE. a tranch of United
States AXE •s whose select
members carry It's a club
you get ani you usually in a
coffin. if they to fill one up, You
spend rnny y•exs I iuve rnaintwning ya»r
, and Jean u»rely very heavily your
My instincts were va•y Clear it»ut fis
"üssion snkWed.
I sip my spiked tea. and allowed my
mind all had led me to Ove Café
h.rd mess had started
only "htee Off assigntnent
in see:n» quar•tittes Of
fimonable maten•l vete way or me
nucleu unit San (horre. arul reapvx:arine iO
Libyan Oe
go. one was but I was scill
due ior a two g a.*i g.
Pam been mine.. one of
thq.»e rue mumages of bewt"Y and trains that could
make u lma.o to serous dioughts. she
a sculpted
bones. by silky hair. hysi.
cany she was cA "kdwm elegandy
limbs that bcw&red on shght. Bug however ecmomical
mother pag:a ' s she hul more
than up it Bir ot' huge that
danced teasingly tteoe*h any thar u:ied
covet mem.
And they had dMtcing SO that after-
no«t Ihree days tx•fo«
We were midway of tennis,




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d,nnced tewingly any thar tried
cover mem.
Anci they had SO afte«-
no€r•t Ihree days &fore
We were midway afe;rnooo of tennis,
soaery OF
Whit wilh the my expec-
Of the down two
to one was g.nes to love un the
fOurth ,
I coubd not eared
Twice before I åe promises
in me loveiy bdy•seyes. twice before me anempt
disinvegr•ted i.n gurnrnons trom
But ti:ne.
She sent the my backhand , I
took a trad it. But twist of English
tunrd it back into J was regurn it
limply into
Set
I moved •o to basking in the
ruliance 'Eth so perfect you
could
I was vo. I beard acar screech to a
just beyond
•sR I knew,
Jift:ing my lip Oe hers. I rolled to
rwripheril visicn inev sure.
Se&n. Dari blue radio didn play blues
Jt played frun to a •ne that
hooked up to 'The And Wire Set-
like logo
Bur to i' AXE. 1 I
was
I muttered a to Pxn. went to meet •
me approaching I he got
it, Code Red . . . Imnædi*te.
meanr evea chthes, bat I trggeU a
- few •ecowb my to thc
No tumed than saw her
racquet •e her sweet buttoeks
CARTA
&rging out gate the chain
fence.
J "*bed. to—het we made
the silent he hoar of AXE
and •ts
Ikjectedly. I office
Hxwk 's Gi•ger over ber
Gweet as •nd as doe her
hon•r stMe But also
wore •n M'mcr over fbe• •as tar
colder i •d Se«.ed it U".d even put
cot4Ae of Oiinks in 1 'd penetrated it.
li •nvth•ns •nvo•ne than
me had Qi. it Ginger. why it
so pinful look ar me and surted
rippå•ng nose did to her
that very wiå Pxn
• 'You 're "
can •t he#' it."
• hit
in a rerun Of
Spy"
I gave a quick to tmn•i•, cn,Jtfi' J
searched a
• the test 1 could
She t'nust have sensed my her next
move was 'o •alk around me.
give peck
hooey. every oonce Of
her Soutik,rn vowe. ' 'Why i ah
declue, Ashley seem to in quite a
SCXÆTY
9




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give me lighl peck
sir every 'fjonce Of
her voice. ' •my. ah
declue, Ashley see,m to in quite a
SCXÆTY
9
State. Now y 'an Mah is
yours next y. hea.h!"
Jn myseu. my lips, I
stared into cleavage between
her tnasts, and felt •.r•ge fog s.hghdy in my
* 'Why. thank y'all. my to
match het syrupy cJeg»ces *Ges this n•ucan
eart ya.•r
She laughed herself even
tighter against • 'Welli nghdy know,
AAh1ey. .
anyone y'all w•nt.••
The ghnt in her eye no to her mening.,
and Pam tcok three mare giant steps toward being a
"knuvy. Once rr«e why it was that I had
Of AXE'S
As ouv mutual t thcvught coold
sense the westt•o•• hngenng in mind. It
even our
joking echc•ed reality of our
twc.hing
Pam who?
J my hands until I coold cup soft
next hot"? • '
lunch. •e of
the S ecmta.ry Snte . - after J ate
off•ce. ' •
" 'Did yen* evet it in the bKk of a Oevy when
you were a little
. Anditwas
Cadillac.
A •s so•ee barked over
' 'Baternao. get
• 'How I "ked,
10
NICK CARTü
"I she dways Ors
doesn't
" •Always ,
reucta.mjy broke away. my tiu»ghts for
Tieu entry into •s sarxtum. As I teared the
, Ginger's voice haned
I tuned.
An i:npish sroi.k xro«s lovely as she
gestured gowanl my • 'Nice tvn"" Her
eyebrows began Jc+ng gp &vwn like a man ' s
Groucho
i'Bitch." door into Hawk's I
office. my best to the on my lace.
I eoteted and wit' mree differ-
o/' leather.
mahogany. always pertneaged
Duvvd two. the ctu•elcd features •.nd
fligny eyes Of Duvid HÄ and three.
uncupecied patty.
My gloo•n qo•cv.ly turned relief pleasure as
stranger's It was Davidson Hat.
court.
ounured. Wc times
U .S..BntiSh ve.rguves, opposite euuls or
his desk. Onnyege:e I. mxted ham in field,
tradecraft movaf to and cteauve as
his Ituod.
Hucout's frail b€;dy. dirunished aen nure by the
sun he wore. r•ose geet me. Hiseycs revealei
theur own de"ght, rn•gaitkd
spectacks he always He thrust hus skn«kf
0M toward rte.
"'i say, oki mm. "Ihing
well. I see. Yes,
"Defuulely.•• 1 'iVery well inked. • '
SCCIET'Y NINE
J clasped his with one



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* •I •y.•oid mm. "I%ing
well. I se. Yes, "
"Definnely.•• 1 ' Nery well inked. • '
SCCIET'Y NINE
J Clasped his BMete•d with one
give •njured t»rd. ot things
Harcourt that •cinsw/eaged frail"
When. in reality, he could to
That ww how he
in a of
• iObvicw•ly it was
Hawk ile mewe in •Efeg-
ence to his guest than me. 1 sure. nn has
voxe let au it • arne business and
•ne three Of' us settled into c".irs. and I awaited the
st«n tones Hawk •s
It Jong
to off leave. NO arregular. I
sure you sce me necessity wc move along. '
"I sir. It mest ' '
"It is, Hawk assured. • 'I it would be best
if Harcourt filled you an first.
I *'Yes, of course. " as he shifted
in his chair and cvened *vetca« lyvng on the floor
next him.
seems then: was a in of the
shabbier ectiqms of SW'. name wus Liam
McDaniel.
over to belote
• ilo,c.l tt«ed flat. and a
routine searctl. of it possess«.i a
number of rather You'll see them
listed atout "
/ My eye. to the bncketed I"'ting. I t was
SNIPER •S
RIFLE. CUSIOM.BORED. nn-I. BREAK.
CARTA
nows CAPACITY SNIPER'S SCOPE WITH
INFRA-RED ONE RIFLE SILENCER;
EXPIXANC, SHELLS!
*'hisued softly. like awin at an
mutte«d.
"Fortunately. way. '*hat
with magmtude and the
fact that hw elqvi.ngs
temnst •tucks evreao the felt
inclined to coM•ct '
Hucourt r•used baccy KY out his Pipe and
pawe to re-ceuew the
liu tx,fore
can by of
hardwn. says volume. A sample
hnd gun Plonnfk say Of tVOüvngs their
user one, he's an cr two. he's expendable.
•me scoß implies at cerein ct:mcetn surviv.
al', it creates implies more;
distance atui secrecy. •t exnjgh confus.on as
to source and Ot esc•e.
'Dve fine pr•ifit woven the listing Mfered
even greater The rifW with eus-
tom tailoring on the qghO. Ikftnitely professional,
rifle hod a
tastes. The tnan
and was nnqnrt •o it, Very
sional,
bullets awle theil own Wtiile
we.qson,s talk •bout then [then. Shells reveai targas,
There are two ways me C*.n
suffer from use cv•wns can
hit, thereby br,rsg can
Wiiss me desared such internal shcx•k
that the target Will gens,h. Messy , effecuve„
SOCIETY
Exploding Shells
my •nd two
seveni
N. rated




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that the target Will gens.h. Messy , enecuve„
SOCIETY
Exploding term&ted seveni
my friendships. •nd two N.r•ted
liinrn•stas frit I had have unjque
te human
liwid't t•ettt than I 'vd per•
Ilgma.lly watched sim afe shoald have
Oted to no mewe • Sh«lder oc leg wouml.
'Whoever Ote mm 's was obvi-
y very
M y gate to , churning out
e Needed Tutt'* and vanilla to•
baccos by *toch I Th•d to recognize his
His voice. crcqing amo« stem, was not
•thout irony.
• believe the what?'"
J only
moved •n. gave Oc a thorough
-see. They mmaeed a:' diz •.W "
Harcourt imo his trielcase
up a rat»er frayed
" •It seems geot kg:vt a düry. r•åer elunsy
. Easy eoouW) fu ches to ck'wu„
give yua a
'Ibe into triefcaseo
aid he handed o•eetto •heal of pages. i
tn.-,eny
Ihink you find bloke really quite candid
hin:xseåf. but 'o he sens (o
teen biding his time and instruc-
'We thought so at first. in (be
and wa"ed to creep •m.'t the
The tesu/%, were
pulled frc«n the case.
• 'These arrival day. by regulu post." He
handed the ova to
coasusted ci several Shipping all iO
geming €wd.ct. and a typed sheet of rnsmactjons for the
of a sma.n cf religious be
sent to Cav«own, Swth Afoca
has
the he han•
Wes. Inn nc:üiag big
'Ihe rest cd u»ounted to more t.hü a
to Alpers. •other typed sheet Of
' •once me were certain that there
no they
over to live to '*hwh the
guns •e a
take of Che con•
sttnment. Hucot"'t chair
song Rather an
that cne He Ot Anglo-Insh by
hinh. and 'O' he I.R.A.
cu•4Ee, But h" emooms seem to cEave any o'
be to bc be opvress«i
' 'A freelancer'" i
wouid .»earso, yes nod&d.
explosion of srmke hrs pwe. ' •Bui
that's the first 10 tn»ther
he pused, n*towang. ym
know. Nicholas. assassuns are really quite
identifiablc . . . execution. if
by face. i'! 's ••y of mening , Bu
SCKtFTY Of
McDaniels •a4 a pun:le. His
qu•tr as you can .
special toted rtOe. etc. Really +iite
Can




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SCKtFTY Of
McDaniels a puzzle. Hi'
eqw•pmeot qu•tt you can see .
special toted rifle. etc. Really +iite xn
assemblage lar •e can no record
I myself bis '"No on
him ai all? ' •
i Not Ot. any of oor gister
intelligence the is Kittle
that sud&aiy upen *N." Shores. And
that is the ses:cmd 11k. Widi SO
on the '*ivy go a rookie?
• i Anything
' te hexn
• 'Our only ch4' do•ng the
us
was that were ±rough some
black fellow . . be•vÜy ud by sound
of as Swül Africu. as stupgng Ä/dcess,
had to agree was many Icose
eods io
est knots
"'But why cour to I like a
colonial to
"Two Etuany. Fist get
a bit ee:sty When we unto Ettie show
•t WC
iggu»te •t. of •c to dncteet
However. in rue 'mis l:atle mystery
hints that
Y anks had Wtere. Sotne-
thing big, by
}'larcourt's over to Hawk '4 If
hovea to a disap•
"'A1 any to if
CARTER
it mtght than and we
thought we td yaw ab•u.t it.
Jt. Hueort " It *'as the sound
Hawk began.
• We bave out
otttet.
Hawk
"And the I asied.
te«bed o»ce 'MO hg beomless
he Chuco
ling slightly ova a ph.0ü' to
say. old toy*"
I lo«Aed at nun in it ww
lying in me street, oi death on
his face. it. Tb,e on my own face
eouid have ten any less surpnged,
• 'McDan»el?" 1
'Indeed. my carr Hucourt•s reply.
"Uncnny. *'Ot!' •
I hxi reply. of the hair,
and the scat his I looking at
a perfect «.het thu:w yours truly,
A Nick Cuter!
1
CHAVIYR TWO









TWO
could only io If Mama Carter
a baby me t staring at
him , was eerie. eerie by
lying awd iO a
1 was luardly awæe of Hatcgn.rt 's from the
, I were a few grunting
his pl.ue reaeat. tt Hawk •s
own voice. now ret'.ÆTRd hö pzswoo behüxi die
. that finally bÄk to reality.
• 'SINNI'ky. 't it?' • HO, were over a
y cigu
h to catch my story?
Hawi smiled slightly. 'I news. and bad
I nodded. • 'In's 1
the of gc«fies Hanc.:ut 'üd on picture nd
all. 0010 desk and for the briefng.
place. there is
indeed a going in Smth Atne•. a real sweet
dol. if we can (WII itoff. As i 'm sure 'reaware. die
representation iswe is South Africa's bigget
Again i n«ided,
Hawk leaned bxk into h • 'And, 1'iVi
're awu•c. the Naci issue has been Rus-
inv•nuoo fO;r in Attica 'g souttetn
Another
18
I'm sue yt:e that recent]}
we-ve made "ogress; covert. Of
very sebsunu•.l ir&ed. As Hgca.art SO
subdely implied. things •e cooking for us.
'"Big?" 1 asked
His ww infectiws. i felt my*lf sanilirtg even
thß'kighthe huge bru.n. " I get
leaned paned the pile of raper•q I had
hiS you be guest
Of honor.
better know the liw
• iExcelIetA. He ro« began the office.
"Are With Joseph Nikumba?"
I the in my bank.
or, ' " in lhe
does Ctteep in the
*'He's • that," said. "At the-
mowve;nt. at •east of new, he's probably
the only key gax to South
Africa.
"'He sure keeps 1
• "We like it that
way. Actually, Leeprvg ot' the has been
reluuvely ewy, He wave gun. hc•s oeve.r
kilied any Angkt*. and be look ridiculous [n
bartle fatigues. Fvfess•or, As •result.
Scwth Afttc:an him 't
scat* Wh'tes. and wit* are
he'd toe:ars, He 's not
Ove stuff that ra.•es ute made of. '
"Pity," I chi}rd.
hintseif onto
SOCIETY
end 01 his He w•iuew the frorn his
p•cied lightly of tobacco that
were creep•ng ib shed•.hd end. He was
mos• nonchünt he ccntinæ&
' 'Wluat he is. however. biggest hcve we've
ever had 01 seeing Africa,

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