CIA agent John Wells refuses to let a privileged businessman walk away from a crime in this novel of modern suspense from the #1 New York Times -bestselling author.   John Wells has just barely managed to stop an operation designed to drive the United States and Iran into war, but the instigator himself disappeared behind an impenetrable war of security. Now it’s time for him to pay, and Wells has made it his personal mission. There are plenty of crosscurrents at work, though. The White House doesn’t want anybody stirring the pot; his old CIA bosses have their own agendas; other countries are starting to sniff around, sensing something unusual. It is when Russia and China enter the mix, however, that the whole affair is set to combust. With alarming speed, Wells is once again on his own...and the wolves are closing in. Praise for  The Wolves “Exhilarating...when the call of duty summons, Wells rises to the occasion; his emotions may be mixed, but he still puts on a great show for readers.”— Publishers Weekly   “[An] adrenaline-filled thriller...Fans of the John Wells series won’t be disappointed. They’ll agree with his enemies that if Wells isn’t Superman, he’s super something.”— Kirkus Reviews   “As always, Berenson brilliantly blends global politics into an adrenaline-pulsing spy novel. But, most of all, there is Wells, a stone-cold killer who nevertheless does what we all wish we could do: stand up to the powerful and make them pay.”— Booklist   “Masterful... The Wolves  is driven by a terrific and well-executed plot, but where Berenson truly shines is in his explanation of how certain parts of the world work. These would include spycraft and the dark tradeoffs made by governments at the highest and lowest levels.”—Bookreporter.com   “Berenson’s John Wells series has lost none of its power, novelty, and excitement. Wells is unique in contemporary thriller fiction [and] has become a richer character with each new story.”— Connecticut Post   “Berenson’s style is as seductive as his storytelling, and  The Wolves  has a bite that doesn’t let go from the first page straight through to the last.”— The Providence Journal Alex Berenson  is the #1  New York Times  bestselling author of the John Wells series, including  The Faithful Spy , which won the 2007 Edgar Award for best first novel. As a reporter for  The New York Times , Berenson covered topics ranging from the occupation of Iraq—where he was stationed for three months—to the flooding of New Orleans, to the world pharmaceutical industry, to the financial crimes of Bernie Madoff. He graduated from Yale University in 1994 with degrees in history and economics, and lives in New York City. Prologue WASHINGTON, D.C.   The President wanted to see John Wells. The feeling wasn’t mutual. Wells sat in the emergency room at the Virginia Hospital Center in Arlington, waiting for a doctor to set the foot he’d broken a day before on another continent, when his phone buzzed. A blocked number. “Mr. Wells?” “If you say so.” “Steve Lipsher at the White House. The President would like to invite you to a meeting in the Oval Office. Four p.m.” “Shafer gonna be there?” Ellis Shafer, a CIA lifer and Wells’s closest friend. Currently stuck inside a federal jail not five miles from this hospital, his reward for helping stop a war. “Just you, the President, and Ms. Green.” Donna Green, the National Security Advisor. “Then no. I can’t.” The silence that followed suggested that no one had ever turned Lipsher down before. “Someone will call you,” Lipsher finally said, and hung up. Wells was tempted to turn off the phone. Five minutes later, it buzzed again. “John. It’s Donna Green. Justice is drafting the release order, but we have to find a judge, and it’s Sunday, remember?” “You locked him up easy enough.” “We’ll get it done. Promise.” “What about the senator? He coming, too?” Wells meant Vinny Duto, the former CIA director, now senator from Pennsylvania. For the last month, Wells, Shafer, and Duto had secretly worked together against a billionaire casino mogul named Aaron Duberman who’d tried to trick the United States into invading Iran. Duberman’s plan had nearly succeeded. Shown false evidence that Iran wanted to smuggle a nuclear weapon into the United States, the President had set a deadline for Iran to open its borders or face invasion. But barely twelve hours before, Wells and Duto had delivered proof of Duberman’s plot to Green, forcing the President to back down. In a midnight speech from the Oval Office, he called off the attack. Wells had expected that the President’s next move would be to punish Duberman for what he’d done. Expected and hoped. Green’s tone, simultaneously wary and pleading, suggested otherwise. “No Duto,” Green said now. “And that’s not negotiable.” Wells wasn’t surprised. Green and the President had forced Duto out of the CIA two years before. Now Duto had the upper hand. He could de