DON’T MISS THESE GRIPPING BOOKS BY FREDERICK FORSYTH THE DAY OF THE JACKAL THE ODESSA FILE THE DOGS OF WAR THE DEVIL’S ALTERNATIVE NO COMEBACKS THE FOURTH PROTOCOL THE NEGOTIATOR THE DECEIVER THE FIST OF GOD AVAILABLE WHEREVER BANTAM BOOKS ARE SOLD Raves for the Superselling Thriller THE DEVIL’S ALTERNATIVE “An enormous plot that builds unfalteringly, a staggeringly well-detailed international thriller that shows him in blazing top form.” —Kirkus Reviews “Vintage Forsyth: an intricate story that works!” —Nashville Banner “More flips than a trapeze artist, including a final twist that left this unsuspecting reader cursing Forsyth’s cleverness—with admiration.” —Chicago Sun-Times “A by-the-lapels thriller that ... is disturbingly current, chillingly believable. ... Forsyth places a million-ton bomb in its midst and lights a fuse that crackles and races across the globe.” —Louisville Times “Brilliantly conceived, chess-game of a novel. ... You will be so spellbound that ... you cannot quit reading.” —Columbus Dispatch Bantam Books by Frederick Forsyth Ask your bookseller for the books you have missed THE DAY OF THE JACKAL THE ODESSA FILE THE DOGS OF WAR THE DEVIL’S ALTERNATIVE NO COMEBACKS THE FOURTH PROTOCOL THE NEGOTIATOR THE DECEIVER THE FIST OF GOD BANTAM BOOKS NEW YORK • TORONTO • LONDON • SYDNEY • AUCKLAND This edition contains the complete text of the original hardcover edition. NOT ONE WORD HAS BEEN OMITTED. THE DEVIL’S ALTERNATIVE A Bantam Book / published by arrangement with Viking Penguin. PUBLISHING HISTORY Viking edition published December 1979 Literary Guild edition March 1980 Serialized in PENTHOUSE; condensed by Reader’s Digest Condensed Books Bantam edition / July 1980 Bantam reissue / August 1995 All rights reserved. Copyright © 1979 by AHIARA International Corporation, S.A. Cover art copyright © 1995 by Bantam Books. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher. For information address: Viking Penguin, 375 Hudson Street, New York, N.Y. 10014. If you purchased this book without a cover you should be aware that this book is stolen property. It was reported as “unsold and destroyed” to the publisher and neither the author nor the publisher has received any payment for this “stripped book.” ISBN 0-553-26490-7 Bantam Books are published by Bantam Books, a division of Bantam Double-day Dell Publishing Group, Inc. Its trademark, consisting of the words “Bantam Books” and the portrayal of a rooster, is Registered in U.S. Patent and Trademark Office and in other countries. Marca Registrada. Bantam Books, 1540 Broadway, New York, New York 10036. PRINTED IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA RAD 24 23 FOR FREDERICK STUART, WHO DOES NOT KNOW YET Contents PROLOGUE CHAPTER ONE CHAPTER TWO CHAPTER THREE CHAPTER FOUR CHAPTER FIVE CHAPTER SIX CHAPTER SEVEN CHAPTER EIGHT CHAPTER NINE CHAPTER TEN CHAPTER ELEVEN CHAPTER TWELVE CHAPTER THIRTEEN CHAPTER FOURTEEN CHAPTER FIFTEEN CHAPTER SIXTEEN CHAPTER SEVENTEEN CHAPTER EIGHTEEN