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Hachette UK
Edition details
The Destroyer#17Last War DanceThe DestroyerBook 171974
Last War Dance
- Writer
- Warren Murphy, Richard Sapir
After Remo takes a retired general from the Bahamas to CURE, Smith reveals that the man designed a dangerous missile hidden beneath a Wounded Elk memorial. With protesters and reporters converging on the site, Remo must help the general secure the installation before its secret becomes a national crisis.
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Remo brings retired General Douglas Van Riker to CURE after Soviet Colonel Ivan Valashnikov recognizes him on television and renews his search for Cassandra, the nuclear deterrent Van Riker buried beneath Wounded Elk in 1961. A Revolutionary Indian Party led by Dennis Petty occupies the memorial and church, drawing global media attention. Brandt, an Apowa store manager, threatens to fire a cannon at the site unless Remo delivers the occupiers. Chiun opens the bronze caps so Van Riker can remove a radioactive component from the Wounded Elk device; Remo later disables the cannon. Valashnikov takes the radioactive component and tells reporters Cassandra is broken. Chiun relabels the exposed installation Cassandra 2 and argues that this will convince the Soviets another Cassandra remains hidden.
The Apowa charge drives the RIP to flee and surrender. Chiun describes his implied Cassandra 1 as a harmless but effective deterrent; no second installation is shown. Van Riker accepts Remo’s execution because he knows CURE’s secret. Chiun asks Smith to pay for his work on both Cassandras.
Characters & places
SpoilersFull articles
- As the Planet RevolvesWork
- ChiunCharacter
- CUREOrganization
- Folcroft SanatoriumPlace
- Harold W. SmithCharacter
- House of SinanjuGroup
- Remo WilliamsCharacter
- SinanjuPlace
- Sinanju (martial tradition)Lore
Characters 13
Places 24
- Apowa Indian reservation
- Apowa village
- Bahamas
- Berkshire Mountains
- Big A Plaza
- Chicago
- Episcopal church
- Folcroft Sanatorium
- Goldsboro, North Carolina
- Harlem
- Hollywood
- Kremlin
- Montana
- Moscow
- New York City
- New York State
- O’Hare International Airport
- Pittsfield, Massachusetts
- Russia
- Sinanju
- United States Embassy in Moscow
- Vladivostok
- Washington, D.C.
- Wounded Elk
Organizations 18
Groups 16
Lore 1
Works 1
Chapter summaries
Chapter 1
Workmen uncover two layers of massacre remains. Van Riker oversees the underground missile installation and later seals a guard inside the memorial after killing the supervisor. He briefs Soviet officials on Cassandra; years later, a protest occupation and media crowd gather at the site.
Chapter 2
Remo takes retired General Douglas Van Riker from the Bahamas to meet CURE. Smith explains why the secret organization knows of Cassandra and asks Van Riker to help protect it.
Chapter 3
The press gathers around the occupation. Remo approaches the Revolutionary Indian Party, meets Lynn Cosgrove/Burning Star and party members, then is brought to leader Dennis Petty after a fight.
Chapter 4
Watching television in Vladivostok, Valashnikov recognizes Van Riker and travels to Moscow to revive his search for Cassandra.
Chapter 5
Remo stops further dynamite damage, removes the explosives, and sets out with Burning Star to obtain food for the occupiers. They cross the marshals’ line using a stolen television truck; Remo returns to the motel, where Van Riker prepares to inspect Cassandra.
Chapter 6
Valashnikov persuades Soviet leaders that Cassandra is at Wounded Elk. They discuss an employment letter from the House of Sinanju and authorize Valashnikov to hire its master.
Chapter 7
Remo obtains food and bargains with the Apowa store manager Brandt, who threatens the church and monument with a howitzer unless Remo brings the RIP members to him. Chiun brings Van Riker through the federal line.
Chapter 8
Van Riker says Cassandra is near a critical point. Chiun opens the bronze access caps, Van Riker removes a radioactive component, and Chiun reseals the monument.
Chapter 9
Van Riker says the Wounded Elk device is near a critical point. Chiun opens its bronze access caps, Van Riker removes a radioactive component, and Chiun reseals the monument. The installation is later identified as Cassandra 2.
Chapter 10
Smith reminds Remo of his assignment concerning Van Riker. Remo learns the Apowa cannon could trigger Cassandra and agrees to bring all the RIP occupiers to Brandt by the deadline; he then makes a plan with Cosgrove.
Chapter 11
Remo warns Smith about Valashnikov. The Soviet diplomat offers Chiun a paid job, and Van Riker recognizes the man as a former intelligence officer who had been seeking Cassandra.
Chapter 12
Smith explains why killing Valashnikov could confirm the location. Valashnikov enters Van Riker’s room, says Van Riker’s presence proves Cassandra is at Wounded Elk, and threatens to move the device.
Chapter 13
Remo finds Brandt’s cannon under stock in the Big A and bends its barrel down with repeated strikes, preventing it from firing.
Chapter 14
Valashnikov refuses to leave Wounded Elk, finds the radioactive component and tells reporters the missile is broken. Chiun reveals the hidden “CASSANDRA 2” inscription. Valashnikov dies after handling the component; the source gives no medical diagnosis.
Chapter 15
The Apowa charge sends the RIP fleeing to federal marshals, where its members surrender. Chiun argues that labeling the exposed device Cassandra 2 will imply a hidden Cassandra 1 to the Soviets; a second installation is not shown. Van Riker orders Cassandra 2 dismantled, then Remo kills Van Riker because he knows CURE’s secret.
Other mentions
- .155 millimeter cannon
- Asahi Shimbun
- Attica prison riot
- Beria
- Blazing Arrows
- Captain Crunch
- Cassandra 1
- Cassandra 2
- CBS
- Chicago Tribune
- Clark
- Corby’s Whiskey
- Esquire
- Fortune
- Geiger counter
- George Armstrong Custer
- Ivan the Great
- Joseph Stalin
- Kalashnikov rifle
- Lewis
- London Daily Mail
- My Soul Rises from Wounded Elk
- New York Globe
- Newsweek
- Old Grand Dad
- Paris-Match
- Pravda
- Sacajawea
- San Francisco Chronicle
- The New York Times
- Time
- Twinkies
- Washington Post
- Wounded Elk Massacre
- Wounded Elk occupation
Editions & covers
Explore cover historyReferences & notes
Sources 26 references
- stopyourekillingme.com/D_Authors/Destroyer.html
- www.fantasticfiction.com/series/destroyer
- www.warrenmurphy.com/index.php?page=books
- sf-encyclopedia.com/entry/murphy_warren
- sf-encyclopedia.com/entry/sapir_richard_ben
- www.45cat.com/book/title/created-the-destroyer
- www.hachette.co.uk/titles/warren-murphy-5/last-war-dance/9780751558135
- spyguysandgals.com/sgShowChar.aspx?id=472
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Edition and source notes
Names are the bibliography’s title-level “written by” attribution key, not a verified edition byline. credited_authors is null because no first-edition cover/title page was checked. A creator name in the general franchise metadata must not be treated as proof of sole drafting.
Last War Dance:
Publisher's description: A small town is seized while a nearby secret nuclear installation remains unknown to the occupiers, creating a threat CURE alone understands.
Presidential clues
No current or succession assessment is available; other retained presidential references remain in context.
The unnamed President in the constitutional-assist recollection
Unnamed President in power who saw a risk of police-state rule and decided on an extra-constitutional assist. Smith later describes CURE, but the passage does not expressly say this President created CURE.
- Smith says more than a decade before, the President in power saw America as heading toward a police state.
- Smith says the President thought the Constitution needed “a little assist”; later passages describe Smith’s CURE agency.
high for narrative role; none for a named historical identity
No name or exact date is given; the passage does not expressly attribute CURE’s founding to this President. The supplied edition has no publication date; the catalog’s working original year does not establish the story year. The text does not establish whether this person is the President referenced in the later secrecy rule.
Generic President in the CURE secrecy rule
The President as an officeholder belongs to the three-person CURE secrecy circle, but no current President is individually described or identified.
- Smith says he, Remo, and “each president” are the only people who know CURE exists.
- Smith says the President may disband CURE but cannot order it.
high for the office rule; none for a specific officeholder
No President is named or placed in an identifiable scene.
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