CASCA 29: IMMORTAL DRAGON
Mike Goodwin's debut novel begins with Casca pulled from an obscure life in the far east and pitched into a counter-terrorist campaign that sends him from Pakistan and India to the United States.  Julius Goldman introduces Casca to a Black ops commander called Jeb Abraxxus and Casca joins the secret unit dedicated to tackling terrorism in the first decade of the 21st century.

The unit Casca is part of clashes with two super muscled terrorists called Romulus and Remus at Houston's international airport and Casca is 'killed'.  Recovering later in the HQ of the unit, the two terrorists are identified and a link to Pakistan is made where some nuclear warheads have gone missing.  Casca parachutes into the remote mountains of Pakistan to see an elite unit of that country eliminated by invisible opponents.  Casca saves the life of the last surviving man, Captain Razak, and they are rescued by Pakistani helicopters.  Casca, though, is arrested.

After doing a deal with Razak, the two men track down the missing elite unit men in the cave they were investigating and it is learned that the enemy may be a revived cell of the Cult of Kali.  The theft of the nuclear weapons is traced to the cult and, after finding out the inside man, they track the cult to a warehouse but are attacked.  Surviving the assault, after involving Pakistani general Salaam in the hunt, Razak's house is attacked.  Casca and Razak survive but learn the attackers are hired muscle from Kazakhstan.  The trail leads the two men to the north, and they are given more Pakistani hardmen including a Sergeant Ali.  They learn a drug-running gangster is behind the attack and capture him and interrogate him. 

The Cult is found to be behind his involvement, but then a rival General, under threat of death from the Cult, attacks Salaam's house where Casca and Razak are hiding.  Again, they survive after destroying the attackers, and Casca decides to bring in some of his Black Ops men to help.  Casca and Razak travel to Kashmir and survive yet another attack while the Black Ops unit have to fend off an assault from the invisible thuggees in Pakistan.  Joining his team in Islamabad, a Doctor Von Carsten arrives.  She is part of a scientific team looking into the invisible technology.  Together they work out that scientists from India may be behind the tecnhology and Casca and his team depart for India, but not before fending off yet another attack.

In India Casca meets Secret Agent Nadia Dragovic, and then kills a Cult thuggee in the airport.  Together Nadia and Casca are joined by the rest of the team in Calcutta and a few days later are attacked in their house by a mob raised by agents of the Cult.  In the fight Nadia is taken captive and indoctrinated by drugs into the cult.  When Casca rescues her he is unaware of her being turned, but later she gives Casca the drug and he fights the effects, killing a number of Cult members before rampaging through the city.  His men eventually bring him down with tranquilizers.

They learn in the meantime that the HQ of the Cult is in California and fly to the States to destroy the lair.  Nadia joins them, and Casca and Nadia fall under the influence of the drug again but are pulled out with the help of more drugs.  The giant Romulus is killed in a fight by Casca and at the end the other terrorist Remus is blown up in a helicopter by Casca. 
 
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