From #1 New York Times -bestselling author W.E.B. Griffin comes a dramatic thriller in the Clandestine Operations series about the Cold War, the fledgling Central Intelligence Agency—and a new breed of warrior. January, 1946 : Two WACs leave an officers' club in Munich, and four Soviet NKGB agents kidnap them at knifepoint in the parking lot and shove them in the back of an ambulance. That is the agents' first mistake, and their last. One of the WACs, a blonde woman improbably named Claudette Colbert, works for the new Directorate of Central Intelligence, and three of the men end up dead and the fourth wounded. The “incident,” however, will send shock waves rippling up and down the line, and have major repercussions not only for Claudette, but for her boss, James Cronley, Chief DCI-Europe, and for everybody involved in their still-evolving enterprise. For, though the Germans may have been defeated, Cronley and his company are on the front lines of an entirely different kind of war now. The enemy has changed, the rules have changed—and the stakes have never been higher. Praise for Curtain of Death “Showcases the scary time period just after WWII and the beginnings of the CIA and the Cold War... Compelling.” —Booklist   “Riveting...This latest page-turner has it all: cracking realism and adventure, rich characters, and a special flair for the military heart and mind.” —Mystery Tribune “Full of complications, distress, local action and world-wide problems, with a bit of history thrown in. ”— Lincoln Journal Star “Tense, page-turning scenes pitting rival agencies against one another against the veil of secrecy in dealing with former Nazis...The book really shines in its interpretations of the power struggles that accompanied the birth of the CIA and how the United States handled both former Nazis and the rise of the KGB.”— The Historical Novels Review Praise for the Clandestine Operations Series “An incredible mix of intrigue and diplomacy from a literary team that ignites suspense lovers everywhere. Readers will be panting for the next novel.”— Suspense Magazine   “A Griffin adventure to bring out the Walter Mitty in every red-white-and-blue-blooded American male.”— Kirkus Reviews   “Engaging...It’s a testament to the authors’ skill and wide experience that the pages seem to turn themselves.”— Publishers Weekly   “An excellent series. The period between WWII and the Cold War offers raw material for several books, and as fans of Griffin’s body of work are well aware, he really sinks his teeth into politics and history.”— Booklist W.E.B. Griffin  is the author of seven bestselling series: The Corps, Brotherhood of War, Badge of Honor, Men at War, Honor Bound, Presidential Agent, and Clandestine Operations. He lives in Fairhope, Alabama, and Buenos Aires, Argentina.   William E. Butterworth IV has been a writer and editor for major newspapers and magazines for more than twenty-five years, and has worked closely with his father for several years on the editing of the Griffin books. He is the coauthor of several novels in the Badge of Honor, Men at War, Honor Bound, and Presidential Agent series. He lives in St. Petersburg, Florida. [ONE] The WAC Non-Commissioned Officer’s Club Munich Military Post Munich, American Zone of Occupied Germany 0005 24 January 1946   Two women, both wearing the olive drab uniform of an “Ike” jacket and skirt, came out of the club and started to walk through the parking lot. They had come to the club late and had had to park at just about the far end of the lot. One of the women, a somewhat stocky dark-haired thirty-five-year-old, had the chevrons of a technical sergeant on her sleeves. The other, who was a trim, twenty-nine-year-old blond, had small embroidered triangles with the letters “U.S.” in them sewn to her lapels. That insignia identified her as a civilian employee of the U.S. Army. At the extreme end of the parking lot were two ambulances parked nose out. One had large red crosses on its sides, rear doors and roof of the body. On its bumpers the white stenciled letters “98GH” and “102” identified it as the 102nd vehicle assigned to the motor pool of the 98th General Hospital, which served the Munich Area. The red crosses on the second ambulance had been painted over, and on its bumpers had been stenciled “711 MKRC” and “17” which identified it as the 17th vehicle assigned to the 711th Mobile Kitchen Renovation Company. When they reached the 711th vehicle, the WAC tech sergeant started to get in the passenger seat beside the driver, and the woman with the civilian triangles insignia started to climb in behind the wheel. Three men, all wearing dark clothing, erupted from the 98th General Hospital ambulance. One of them came out the passenger side, ran around the front of the other ambulance, where he pulled the woman with the triangles out of her ambulance, and after giving her a good look at the knife he held, placed it ac