The provided text contains extensive excerpts from a novel, "The Face of the Assassin," by David Lindsey, including the acknowledgments, chapters, and a dedication. The narrative centers on Paul Bern, a forensic artist who is unexpectedly drawn into a clandestine operation after receiving the skull of his dead twin brother, Jude, who was an undercover agent. Bern is coerced by the intelligence officer Mondragón into impersonating Jude—who had infiltrated the terror network of Ghazi Baida, a major terrorist figure operating out of the South American Triple Border region—in order to keep the operation alive. A tense, high-stakes game of espionage unfolds in Mexico City, where Bern, aided by Jude's partner Susana, must convince Baida’s associates, including the double-dealing agent Mingo and the decoy Mazen Sabella (who is secretly Baida himself), that he is his brother. The climax involves Bern learning the truth about Baida's plot to unleash an aerosolized radiological weapon in the American heartland, leading to a violent confrontation where Bern kills Baida and must subsequently deal with the intelligence community's efforts to cover up the entire, highly compartmented anti-terrorist mission.

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“What did the council decide on item 42?” — answered with the speaker and the moment.