The Penetrator

With 5 million copies in print, The Penetrator novel series has thrilled readers around the world for years. The series features the action and adventures of Mark Hardin as he wages a continuing war against crime, corruption, and evil organizations from around the world in order to protect the innocent. With, "The Target Is H", find out how it all began and what events lead to Mark Hardin's quest for justice. A quest where he must not only go up against the criminals but at times law enforcement officials who wish to stop him.

Mark Hardin is known to his enemies as The Penetrator. He's part Cheyenne and he's never forgotten his past. In quest of his heritage, Mark Hardin has learned Indian skills: to track a man, but not to leave tracks; to speak his native language, in ancient dialects and sign language. His years of army service in Vietnam taught him other things. He's a sharpshooter with almost any weapon a man can hold; an expert with hand grenades, explosives, booby traps, and line mines; a black belt in karate and aikido.

When the Press Secretary to the President of the United States is killed by an unknown assailant less than a month after taking office, answers to hard questions must be found. A dying mobster has mentioned a well-known, exclusive VIP club in DC. Mark Hardin (AKA The Penetrator) follows a hunch that the club may be linked to the Mafia, and that both may have something to do with the death of his friend.

It seems that Marcel Bouchet is the powerful head of the Gulfland Fisherman's Co-Op. Bouchet and his henchmen are terrorizing the independent Gulf Coast fisherman into joining his organization so that he can corner the seafood market. But that is only a small part of his plan, for he intends to undermine the entire United States economy with a massive counterfeiting ring...with Cuba's help.

Mark Hardin (a.k.a. The Penetrator) flew to the Orient for a vacation and to recover physically and mentally from the numerous brushes with death he has had in his quest to bring down the evil individuals and organizations that he has encountered. But his visit has touched off a chain reaction of terror. First a renowned atomic scientist was kidnapped; then a madman announced he has a stockpile of thermonuclear weapons for sale.

In hot, sunny Mexico, Mark Hardin, the Penetrator, finds himself pitted against the power-mad Latin known as El Baron. And mad is the word for him...he's concocted a plot to kidnap important citizens of various countries and hold them hostage. The ransom: an entire Mexican territory. As El Baron's plan goes into action, important people begin to disappear. One of them is a friend of Mark's mentor, Professor Haskins, and the Penetrator decides to move in.

Business...is what a gang of crooked cops has been taking care of-big and dirty business. Seattle, that northwestern stronghold of law, order, and the American way, is the scene. Mark Hardin (a.k.a. The Penetrator) steps in when he finds that a former Vietnam war buddy - now a cop - has been shot to death in an apparent robbery. But who was robbing whom? Mark doesn't know for sure, but he will find out.

It was always a tactical advantage to know the enemy's intended route of march, in addition to his identity. The Penetrator knew the Shadowmen were moving their operations into the Dodge City area. After the pasting they had taken near Liberal, the Penetrator was certain they wouldn't make any further attacks until they had regrouped. But who were the Shadowmen?

Deep in the bowels of an abandoned mountain mineshaft, smack in the middle of the harsh Nevada desert, Dr. Orlando Fitzmueller has installed his computer base. The idea had first come to him when he was second in command at NASA. Then it as an impossible dream. But now, through careful planning, and sheer brilliance, it will become a reality. And he will win. Then in a few precious hours, he will be the single most powerful man the universe has ever known.

Mark Hardin is known to his enemies as The Penetrator. He penetrates in several ways: by fighting his way in, by easing in...or by dropping in via parachute. Mark Hardin is dropped through the air, scanning the desert for David Red Eagle's smoke signal, his mind flashed back to similar jumps in Vietnam.

Mark Hardin tears into the underbelly of Boston's drug racket...and the all-powerful Rossi Family, the deadliest bunch in the Mafia syndicate. No one knows who the Penetrator is or where he lives, expect for two men. But the police blotters of cities across the nation and even as far away as Japan contain evidence of Mark Hardin's handiwork - the death of corrupt hogs at the public table, deaths of men who killed, maimed, and caused suffering among the innocent.

"A weak voice, gasping with pain, came on the line. 'That thing...you asked me to look into...It's more than you thought...worse. I...think...th-they...killed...me....' There was only silence on the line---then the sound of a body collapsing." With this, Mark Hardin is on the trail of his most seductive enemy--Linda King, the Colonel.

The Penetrator was hunting for Johnny Utah, but the tables turned and Utah was offering him a sporting chance. The rules were simple: Mark Hardin was to be given an hour's head start in the Canadian wilderness. He will be naked, unarmed and without rations. His hunters, among them Johnny Utah and a German sharpshooter, will have M-16 rifles, pistols, hunting knives, and bows with wide-tipped hunting arrows...and a dozen other hunters! If Mark loses, he dies - but if he wins will they let him live?

The 23 May Liberation Front finances their terrorism by the sale of drugs in Canada and the U.S. Heroin, cocaine, hashish--the usual. Now they have their hands on a new synthetic called Ziff-a drug with an unusual side effect. It does radical and permanent damage to the genetic makeup of the user, thus effecting generations yet unborn.

Jaminson D. Hutch, archaeology professor, is "somewhere" in the Bahamas. He is in search of the fabled Spanish treasure on board the Nuestra Senora de la Concepion, which was sunk in 1641. It is believed there is a gold horde of more than 40 tons below the deck - worth 35 million dollars! Join the Penetrator as he combs the Caribbean - on land and sea - fighting modern day pirates - in order to rescue the professor and the buried treasure.

Five senior citizens are dead. They were conned out of their life's savings on phony land deals and made trouble complaining. The mob is also distributing wholesale weaponry, ammunition, and drugs to any thief or psycho with money. Tony Rossi of La Costra Nostra asks his old friend, Mark Hardin, to smash the Florida operation. And Mark is forced to help the Mafia against their non-Sicilian opponents because of their threat to innocent people....

The terrorist tactics of the Fuezas Armadas de Liberacion Nacional Puerto Riquena were being stepped up. The bombings would increase each day, culminating in the big blast, Operation Luz. Racing against the clock, Mark Hardin stalks the streets of Spanish Harlem - his quarry, El Chico, ruthless leader of the fanatic F.A.L.N. Each step brings him closer to the creations of this time table of death and destruction.

Norbert Briscoe, financial wizard, friend of presidents, and toast of the jet set, is alive and well and living in exile in Costa Rica. The proceeds of his swindles, thefts, and international money manipulation made him a wanted man in the U.S. But now he is putting together his biggest deal - one that will guarantee his own safety, grant him a complete pardon, and allow him to retain his huge fortune. He's going to buy the Panama Canal!

The information was limited. An "event" was going to take place at the Rocky Mountain Nuclear Generating Plant within three days. The attack would be coming from a terrorist group trying to get uranium to build an atomic bomb. Mark Hardin doesn't know why they have chosen this site or when they are going to strike but if there is going to be a hit, he will certainly be on hand to prevent it.