The First Rule

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

Pat Crais, Aaron Priest, Neil Nyren, Ivan Held, and Tim Hely Hutchinson. Jon Wood, Susan Lamb, and Malcolm Edwards. Eileen Hutton. Mark and Diane, for taking the Egg. Gregg and Delinah. Jeffrey Lane -because he’s cool. Frank, Toni. Bill Tanner, Brad Johnson, Lynne Limp. Damon and Kate, as always. The Plum Brothers: Alan “Night Train” Brennert, William F. “Slow Hand” Wu, Michael “Bardwulf” Toman, and Michael “Fastball” Cassutt. Otto. Shelby Rotolo. Eileen Bickham-because I care. Chip, Gene, Roger, and Joe-now I know. Stan Robinson. Gregory Frost. Tim Campbell. Lois, Vic, Coop, Biljon, Mike A, and Mike B. Jerry. April. Don Westlake. Betsy Little, Steve Volpe.

All of them helped.

The organized criminal gangs from the fifteen republics of the former Soviet Union are governed by what they call the “Vorovskoy Zakon”-the thieves’ code-which is comprised of eighteen written rules. The first rule is this:

A thief must forsake his mother, father, brothers, and sisters. He must not have a family-no wife, no children. We are his family.

If any of the eighteen rules are broken, the punishment is death.