Some days, you could just kill your boss. Guess what? The feeling is mutual in the next thriller by the acclaimed author of The Wheelman and The Blonde . Jamie DeBroux's boss has called a special meeting for all "key personnel" at 9:00 a.m. on a hot Saturday in August. When Jamie arrives, the conference room is stocked with cookies and champagne. His boss smiles and tells his employees, "We're a cover for a branch of the intelligence community. And we're being shut down." Jamie's boss then tells everyone to drink some champagne, and in a few seconds they'll fall asleep---for good. If they refuse, they'll be shot in the head. Escape is not an option. Jamie's boss has shut down the elevators and rigged the fire towers with chemical bombs. Panic sets in, chaos erupts, and no one is sure whom to trust. Jamie quickly realizes that there's only one way he's ever going to see his family again: the hard way. Severance Package shows author Duane Swierczynski at his thrilling best. “[A] kinetic story, which never stops moving...turbocharged entertainment.” ― Marilyn Stasio, The New York Times “Swierczynski writes a brand of thriller whose pacing forces us to reexamine our casual use of the word breakneck...This is essentially one long action scene that begs for the next Tarantino to direct. But if that sounds like faint praise, it isn't: there are both enough cliche killers and comedy to make us raise two thumbs up. If you want your thrillers to be, well, thrilling, pop a big bowl of corn--you won't leave your seat until the end.” ― Booklist “The best word to describe Swierczynski's latest thriller is frenetic, and even that is likely an understatement.” ― Library Journal “Fans of crime fiction will find Swierczynski's latest offering to be a guilty pleasure of unparalleled magnitude. With pedal-to-the-metal pacing, characters who appear to be meek cubicle dwellers a la 'Office Space' but are really cold-blooded, black-ops killers, and enough gut-churning violence to make a Quentin Tarantino movie look like a Disney musical replete with singing candlesticks and teapots, the dark, twisted energy in this novel is palpable.” ― The Chicago Tribune “A hot shot of adrenaline straight to the neural plexus.” ― Joe Schreiber, author of Chasing the Dead and Eat the Dark DUANE SWIERCZYNSKI is the author of The Wheelman , The Blonde , Severance Package , and Expiration Date , and writes for Marvel Comics. The Wheelman was nominated for the Gumshoe Award. He lives in Philadelphia. Severance Package By Duane Swierczynski, Dennis Calero St. Martin's Press Copyright © 2008 Duane Swierczynski All rights reserved. ISBN: 978-0-312-34380-4 Contents WAKE-UP CALL, ARRIVALS, MEETING, AFTER THE MEETING, THE MORNING GRIND, ONE-ON-ONE, MIDMORNING BREAK (WITH PEPPERIDGE FARM COOKIES), BACK TO WORK, EARLY LUNCH, CLEANUP, CLOSING TIME, OUT OF THE OFFICE, ACKNOWLEDGMENTS, CHAPTER 1 WAKE-UP CALL Pleasure doing business with you. — ANONYMOUS His name was Paul Lewis ... ... and he didn't know he had seven minutes to live. When he opened his eyes, his wife was already in the shower. Their bedroom shared a wall with their bathroom. He could hear the water pelt the tile full-blast. Paul thought about her in there. Naked. Soapy. Suds gliding over her nipples. Maybe he should step into the shower, surprise her. He hadn't brushed his teeth, but that was fine. They wouldn't have to kiss. Then he remembered Molly's morning meeting. He glanced at the clock. 7:15. She had to be in early. So much for a reckless Saturday morning. Paul sat up and ran his tongue around his mouth. Dry and pasty. He needed a Diet Coke, stat. The central air had been running all night, so the living room was dark and cool. On top of the entertainment center sat the two DVDs they'd rented last night: two ultraviolent Bruce Willis thrillers. Surprisingly, they had been Molly's idea. She usually didn't like action movies. "But I have a crush on Bruce Willis," she'd said sweetly. "Oh you do, do you?" Paul replied, smiling. "What's he got that I don't?" His wife ran her fingernails down his chest and said, "A broken nose." That was the end of the DVD viewing for the evening, with about thirty minutes left to go on the first movie. There were two boxes on the dining room table. One, Paul knew, was for Molly's boss. What, the man couldn't pick up his own mail? The second box was white cardboard and tied with string. Probably full of vanilla muffins or chocolate-filled cannoli, picked up from Reading Terminal Market on her way home last night. Molly was way too kind to those stuck-up jerks at the office, but Paul would never tell her different. That's just who Molly was. Paul turned the corner and walked into the kitchen. For a second, he was worried that he'd left the Chinese food containers on the counter, and their leftover fried rice and lo mein and Seven Stars Around the Moon had spoiled. But Molly had taken care o