Raging Sun (A James Acton Thriller, #16) (James Acton Thrillers) Read online

  Raging Sun

  A James Acton Thriller

  by

  J. Robert Kennedy

  From the Back Cover

  WILL A SEVENTY-YEAR-OLD MATTER OF HONOR TRIGGER THE NEXT GREAT WAR?

  As Jiro Sato contemplates suicide, he receives an unexpected visit from two soldiers announcing the recovery of his grandfather’s remains. Discovered on an island claimed by the Japanese but now held by the Russians, it is the final piece of a seventy-year-old puzzle of shame.

  The Imperial Regalia have been missing since the end of World War Two, and the Japanese government, along with the new—and secretly illegitimate—emperor, have been lying to the people.

  But the truth isn’t out yet, and the Japanese will stop at nothing to secure their secret and retrieve the ancient relics confiscated by a belligerent Russian government.

  Including war.

  Join Archaeology Professors James Acton and Laura Palmer, along with Delta Team Bravo, Dylan Kane and Chris Leroux, as they try to stop a war that threatens to consume the entire Asia-Pacific region, all because one grandson, seventy years later, wanted to restore his family’s honor and turn around a life of shame and humiliation.

  If you enjoy action and intrigue, ancient conspiracies and modern geopolitics, then Raging Sun from USA Today Bestselling author J. Robert Kennedy is for you, an action packed adventure that will keep you laughing, crying and on the edge of your seat until its heart-stopping conclusion.

  About the James Acton Thrillers

  "James Acton: A little bit of Jack Bauer and Indiana Jones!"

  Though this book is part of the James Acton Thrillers series, it is written as a standalone novel and can be enjoyed without having read any of the previous installments.

  About J. Robert Kennedy

  With over 500,000 books in circulation and over 3000 five-star reviews, USA Today bestselling author J. Robert Kennedy has been ranked by Amazon as the #1 Bestselling Action Adventure novelist based upon combined sales. He is the author of over twenty-five international bestsellers including the smash hit James Acton Thrillers. He lives with his wife and daughter and writes full-time.

  "A master storyteller." — Betty Richard

  "A writer who tells what we are thinking but sometimes afraid to say." — Bruce Ford

  "Kennedy kicks ass in this genre." — David Mavity

  "One of the best writers today." — Johnny Olsen

  "If you want fast and furious, if you can cope with a high body count, most of all if you like to be hugely entertained, then you can't do much better than J Robert Kennedy." — Amazon Vine Voice Reviewer

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  Get the J. Robert Kennedy Starter Library by joining The Insider's Club and be notified when new books are released!

  Find out more at www.jrobertkennedy.com.

  Books by J. Robert Kennedy

  The James Acton Thrillers

  The Protocol

  Brass Monkey

  Broken Dove

  The Templar's Relic

  Flags of Sin

  The Arab Fall

  The Circle of Eight

  The Venice Code

  Pompeii's Ghosts

  Amazon Burning

  The Riddle

  Blood Relics

  Sins of the Titanic

  Saint Peter's Soldiers

  The Thirteenth Legion

  Raging Sun

  The Special Agent Dylan Kane Thrillers

  Rogue Operator

  Containment Failure

  Cold Warriors

  Death to America

  Black Widow

  The Delta Force Unleashed Thrillers

  Payback

  Infidels

  The Lazarus Moment

  The Detective Shakespeare Mysteries

  Depraved Difference

  Tick Tock

  The Redeemer

  Zander Varga, Vampire Detective Series

  The Turned

  Table of Contents

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  Table of Contents

  Beginning

  Preface

  1

  2

  3

  4

  5

  6

  7

  8

  9

  10

  11

  12

  13

  14

  15

  16

  17

  18

  19

  20

  21

  22

  23

  24

  25

  26

  27

  28

  29

  30

  31

  32

  33

  34

  35

  36

  37

  38

  39

  40

  41

  42

  43

  44

  45

  46

  47

  48

  49

  50

  51

  52

  53

  54

  55

  56

  57

  58

  59

  60

  61

  62

  63

  64

  65

  66

  67

  68

  69

  70

  71

  72

  73

  74

  75

  76

  77

  78

  79

  80

  81

  82

  83

  84

  85

  86

  87

  88

  89

  90

  91

  92

  93

  94

  95

  96

  97

  Acknowledgements

  Don't Miss Out!

  Thank You!

  About the Author

  Also by the Author

  In memory of the last American soldier to die in combat during World War II, PFC William C. Patrick Bates of K Company, 3rd Battalion, 3rd Regiment, 3rd Marine Division, on Dec 14, 1945. Killed while on patrol in Guam by a Japanese sniper unaware the war was over, almost four months after the surrender of Japan. He is buried in Honolulu’s Punchbowl, Section 17, Grave Number 178.

  “The occupying forces of the Allies shall be withdrawn from Japan as soon as these objectives have been accomplished and there has been established, in accordance with the freely expressed will of the Japanese people, a peacefully inclined and responsible government.”

  Article 12 of the Potsdam Declaration, July 26, 1945

  “As part of such advice and consent the Senate states that nothing the treaty [San Francisco Peace Treaty] contains is deemed to diminish or prejudice, in favor of the Soviet Union, the right, title, and interest of Japan, or the Allied Powers as defined in said treaty, in and to South Sakhalin and its adjacent islands, the Kurile Islands, the Habomai Islands, the Island of Shikotan, or any other territory, rights, or interests possessed by Japan on December 7, 1941, or to confer any right, title, or benefit therein or thereto on the Soviet Union.”

  U.S. Senate Resolution, April 28, 1952

  Preface

  On both July 25 and July 31, 1945, in the dying days of World War II, Emperor Hirohito ordered the Lord K
eeper of the Privy Seal of Japan to protect the Imperial Regalia “at all costs”. These ancient relics, a sword, a bronze mirror and a jade jewel, through tradition, represent valor, wisdom and benevolence, and their possession confirms the Emperor’s claim to the throne.

  Two weeks later, at noon local time on August 15, 1945, Japanese Emperor Hirohito was heard on radio delivering what became known as the Jewel Voice Broadcast in which he announced the Japanese acceptance of the Potsdam Declaration. Without admitting defeat, it was effectively an unconditional surrender.

  Three days later the Soviet Union invaded the northern islands of Japan known as the Kuril Islands. They then proceeded to expel the 17,000 Japanese inhabitants, and in violation of the Potsdam Declaration, continue to occupy these islands. The issue remains a cause of friction between the two nations, both with significant navies in the Pacific.

  On January 7, 1989, the Imperial Regalia were presented to the new Japanese Emperor, Akihito, as part of the enthronement rituals. All were covered by red brocade, the artifacts unseen, unlike during the enthronement of Akihito’s grandfather, Hirohito, in 1926.

  To this day, many question whether the Imperial Regalia were actually lost at the end of the greatest war to have ever afflicted mankind.

  1

  Courtyard Moscow Paveletskaya Hotel, Moscow, Russian Federation

  Present Day

  Professor James Acton poked his head out of the elevator and checked both ways before stepping into the hallway, his wife’s hand gripped tightly—Professor Laura Palmer clung even tighter. Tensions were high in Moscow, and there was no way any sane person would be here right now, not with a war brewing off the coast of Japan.

  But he had never been accused of being sane.

  His life as an archaeology professor was far more exciting and far more dangerous than it should be, with more bullets, rockets, bombs, knives and vehicles thrown at him over the past few years than most soldiers experienced in a lifetime.

  And it had almost got him and Laura killed on multiple occasions.

  In fact, she was still recovering from a gunshot to the stomach about a year ago, she still winded easily.

  She should definitely not be here.

  “There it is.” He pointed at a door to their right. Room 906. He knocked and they both listened, Acton stepping back so whoever was on the other side could see his face.

  He just prayed that the person on the other side of the door was the one they were expecting.

  Professor Arseny Orlov.

  They had met only once, several years ago in Germany, to discuss how best to protect ancient ruins in warzones.

  How prophetic that turned out to be.

  At the time, no one could have conceived of an ISIS type group rampaging almost unopposed across the land, destroying priceless, irreplaceable pieces of history. It angered him to no end, and he wished a horrible, prolonged death for any involved, then an eternity of damnation in the afterlife.

  The door opened and they both breathed sighs of relief as Orlov ushered them inside, holding a finger to his lips. They had received his desperate call only that morning, the cryptic message begging them to come to Moscow on hastily arranged visas.

  A matter of life and death.

  His day never went well when that line was delivered, even by the best of friends.

  You could stop a war.

  That had piqued their interest, sending them to Laura’s private jet, the wealth left her by her late brother a blessing in times like these.

  Orlov hugged him then kissed him on both cheeks, Acton’s thoughts flashing to their crotchety old Interpol buddy, Hugh Reading.

  Hugh would have decked him.

  The greeting was repeated on Laura before the man finally spoke.

  “I cannot thank you enough for coming!”

  Acton nodded. “You made it sound like we had no choice.”

  Orlov smiled slightly, his eyes darting between the door they had just entered and one to an adjoining room. Acton glanced at it, noting the deadbolt appeared to be in the unlocked position.

  A double-knock had Acton spinning toward the sound, Orlov raising his hands. “It’s okay, it’s my son.”

  The adjoining door opened and the young man who had driven them here stepped inside, smiling at them, his eyes lingering on Laura a little too long. She was a striking woman, and Acton sometimes forgot how he had reacted the first time he had seen her through the window of her classroom door at University College London.

  She had taken his breath away.

  Then helped save his life.

  They had been together ever since, he finally, truly, happy.

  Acton nodded at the young man who took up a position at the door, peering periodically through the peephole. Acton turned to Orlov. “Why are we here?”

  “This.” Orlov motioned toward a table, a cloth covering something whisked away in a flourish.

  Acton gasped. “Are those what I think they are?”

  “I don’t know, that’s why you’re here. I know what I think they are, but I need you to authenticate them.”

  Laura leaned in without touching. “Don’t you have people who can do that for you?”

  “None that I can trust. Not with what is happening.”

  “So these are why the Japanese are so hopping mad.” Acton picked up one of the three priceless relics sitting on the table. “I had heard rumors they had been lost during the war, but I had assumed they were just that.”

  “This is what my own research tells me,” said Orlov. “Do you think they are real?”

  “Where were they found?”

  “On one of the northern islands of Japan that my country claims as its territory.”

  Acton’s eyes narrowed. “Where they recently found the bodies of those Japanese soldiers from the war?”

  Orlov nodded. “Da.”

  “Huh. If these were with the soldiers, then that means they’ve been lost for over seventy years.”

  Laura glanced up from the relic she was examining. “Do you realize what this means?”

  Orlov shook his head. “No, what?”

  Acton placed the relic on the table. “It means that the current emperor of Japan was sworn in with fakes, and his claim to the throne is illegitimate.”

  Laura returned her relic. “Not only does it mean the Japanese government and the emperor have been lying to its people for decades, but the current emperor is technically a fraud.”

  Orlov stared at them wide-eyed. “No wonder they’re willing to go to war.”

  Laura looked at him. “One question begs to be asked. I can understand why the Japanese want them back, and are willing to risk everything, but why Russia? Why won’t your country simply return them?”

  Orlov shrugged. “Politics, I fear, but whatever the reason, they must be stopped.”

  A pit formed in Acton’s stomach. “What’s your plan?”

  Orlov looked at him then Laura. “I want the two of you to smuggle them out of the country.”

  Tires screeched on the streets below.

  2

  Palace Castle, Tokyo, Empire of Japan

  August 13, 1945

  Major Hiroshi Sato cringed as the room shook, dust floating gently down from the ceiling of the bomb shelter. The Americans so far had left their location alone after destroying much of the palace during the firebombing of their city three months ago, though that didn’t preclude a stray bomb from hitting them. But the gods would protect them, would protect their son in this realm.

  They will protect His Majesty, and through Him, us.

  He told his family every day that this was the safest place to be, though unfortunately they couldn’t be here with him. Instead, much of their days spent trying to live as normal a life as possible in the dying days of this war they should never have lost, the betrayal of His Majesty by the military and government, obvious.

  We would have won if everyone had committed to the cause as they should have.

  H
is duty was his life, and his duty was to protect His Majesty at all costs, and as the days grew more dire, the American bombing almost incessant now as more bombers came into range, it was clear the end would soon be here.

  Especially after the unbelievable massacres in Hiroshima and Nagasaki. He had only heard the reports, the devastation unlike anything imaginable. Apparently both cities were essentially flattened, as if the gods themselves had crushed everything for miles.

  And the bodies.

  Vaporized, dark outlines on buildings, charred remains frozen in time.

  And worse.

  The survivors, their flesh hanging off them, burned head to toe, many blinded by what was apparently an incredibly bright light. Even some here in Tokyo claimed to have seen it, though he didn’t believe it. Surely it couldn’t have been that massive. It would take more bombs than the entire army could muster to create something so large.

  Yet there was no denying the reports.

  Over one hundred thousand dead, mostly the elderly, women, children.

  Not soldiers.

  The soldiers were fighting.

  And not a man, woman or child that remained, went to bed at night not worrying that Tokyo, or their city, would be next.

  What kind of monsters could do such a thing?

  The war was lost. Surrender wasn’t what terrified him and his comrades.

  It was occupation.

  The government had filled the airwaves for years about the imperialist pigs that were the Americans, how they viciously massacred and desecrated the bodies of the brave fallen of the Imperial Japanese Army, and how, should the people fail their emperor and these round eyes set foot on Japanese soil, how they would rape and pillage their way across the country in a bloodlust not seen for a thousand years.

  It was his wife, son and three daughters that he feared for the most. He was perfectly willing to die, in fact, as a matter of honor, expected to. He could think of no greater shame than to survive the war, unscathed.