The DestroyerBook 311977

The Head Men

Writer: Warren Murphy, Richard Sapir

When Ernest Walgreen, a former Secret Service agent turned Minneapolis businessman, is killed after seeking protection, Smith sends Remo and Chiun to investigate a threat against the unnamed President. Their search uncovers a protection racket tied to a planned attack at a public Capitol rally, while a congressional investigator is drawn into the case.

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A threat caller kills Mildred Walgreen and then Ernest, the former Secret Service agent who carried presidential blackmail payments. Paldor’s protective cabin measures cannot stop an explosive planted in its foundation. The new unnamed President has stopped the payments, and Smith sends Remo and Chiun to demonstrate his vulnerability and protect him. Paldor chair Montrofort controls the racket; partner Dilkes recruits Harley to stage a rally disturbance but quits when he learns Chiun is involved. Montrofort drugs unwitting salesman Pruel into killing two bystanders and attacking Remo and Chiun before suicide. Viola Poombs, a congressional investigator, supplies a recalled money-laundering clue. Montrofort fatally shoots her while Remo confronts him, and Remo kills Montrofort.

Harley’s flashes, toy guns and recordings drive the President’s detail into the prepared Capitol entrance. Chiun, reasoning from the Warren report’s evacuation protocol, shields and moves the President away before the gelignite explodes. Smith confirms the bomb was disguised as vermin paste by an extermination contractor Montrofort controlled; the President survives.

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Characters 39

Groups 10

Lore 7

Works 1

As the Planet Revolves

Chapter summaries16 chapters · spoilers

Chapter 1
Walgreen’s death threat is dismissed by local police, the Secret Service and Paldor. After Mildred is murdered, Paldor undertakes free protection at his Sun Valley cabin. An explosive planted in the foundation since spring kills him on August fifth; the U.S. President is warned that he is next.
Chapter 2
Smith tasks Remo with persuading the President to accept protection. Remo survives a police chase; Chiun misunderstands the mission as a demonstration against the President.
Chapter 3
The President privately calls Smith, then Remo and Chiun enter the White House and demonstrate its vulnerabilities; the President agrees to let them protect him.
Chapter 4
Remo and Chiun kill four street attackers, inspect the shattered foundation and recall The Fly’s Hole teaching story. In Minneapolis they question who moved Walgreen to the vulnerable cabin and meet congressional investigator Viola Poombs.
Chapter 5
Viola joins Remo and Chiun in a meeting with the Secret Service assistant director, who explains Walgreen’s role as tribute courier and the renewed threat to the President.
Chapter 6
Pruel sells a sham anti-bomb device in Umbassa and receives a sword blooded by a child’s execution. He tries to quit Paldor. Montrofort gives him drugged grapefruit-tasting liquor and directs him against Remo and Chiun. Pruel kills two bystanders, misses the pair despite imagining hits, and shoots himself.
Chapter 7
Remo fails to stop Pruel’s suicide. Chiun explains the drugged attacker’s mistaken perception; Remo smells his blood. Viola notices a car leaving smoothly, and Remo kills two handlers while leaving the hired driver alive; the driver has no useful information.
Chapter 8
The President continues the poorly rated call-in program and receives a threat from a caller introduced as Mandell: Saturday on the Capitol steps. An offer to pay is rejected. Remo and Chiun question Montrofort, who falsely excuses Pruel’s attack as pressure; Viola stays to transcribe the interview.
Chapter 9
Smith says the President refuses to stay home for the rally and that the threatening caller rejected payment. Remo has no decisive lead. Harley buys cameras without film, switches to bulk purchases despite single-store instructions, and is deliberately allowed to become traceable.
Chapter 10
The President tells the Speaker he will address the rally despite the threat. Remo enters the White House and demonstrates access by leaving the President’s daughter’s braces on his chest.
Chapter 11
Viola visits Montrofort for help with her book; he sexualizes the encounter, attempts to get her drunk, discusses offshore money laundering, and dismisses her from his apartment.
Chapter 12
Remo falsely tells Chiun that the President will publicly credit Sinanju, adding pressure to save him. The Paldor racket and Dilkes’s role are revealed. Montrofort insists on killing the President despite an offer to resume payment. Dilkes withdraws after learning Chiun protects the target.
Chapter 13
Chiun questions the Speaker and congressmen Neil and Tom about the Constitution and notes the Capitol has no cockroaches. Harley’s paid embarrassment-stunt recruitment is recalled; he completes camera purchases and receives cap-pistol and cassette-player instructions plus a key.
Chapter 14
Remo presses Smith and receives the Warren report summary but gives it to Chiun without reading it. Benson explains the Swiss-to-African tribute trail and the security sweep. Harley buys his cassette players.
Chapter 15
Harley’s network creates a simulated attack that drives the President into the Capitol; Montrofort reveals the bomb plan, shoots Viola, and is killed by Remo. Chiun redirects the President before the Capitol entrance explodes.
Chapter 16
Smith confirms Montrofort’s control of the Capitol extermination contractor and the gelignite hidden as vermin paste. The President survives; Chiun requests payment for the trip and damaged robe.

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Edition · cover shown

Hachette UK

2014-09-29

ISBN 9780751558272

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References & notes

Sources 27 references

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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.

The Head Men:

Publisher's description: After unexplained executive murders, investigators uncover a plot against the President and summon Remo as a last resort.

Story timeframe

Coarse estimate from the assumed incumbent’s historical presidency. The term range is context, not a claim that the plot spans the term or that a particular event occurs at either endpoint.

Historical term dates: Source 1

Presidential clues

Current U.S. President: retained hypothesis — Jimmy Carter.

Jimmy Carter

Very strong historical fit from the combination of Georgia origin, Annapolis graduation and naval submarine experience. Carter’s biography supports those clues; the novel’s label physicist is not promoted to a verified professional credential. The President remains unnamed in the text.

The unnamed Georgian President

Jimmy Carter

Annapolis graduate and physicist at ch01:p0195.
Old friend from Georgia and a former state trooper at ch03:p0012–p0013; incumbent explicitly Georgian at ch12:p0036–p0037.
Navy submariner at ch03:p0074; remembered submarine trips toward Sinanju over twenty years.
Wife and twelve-year-old daughter; prominent teeth, smile and religious trust are repeatedly described.
New President cancels prior protection-racket payments, refuses to hide and trusts Remo. No personal name or exact calendar year.

This is a historical comparison, not an observed personal name. The source observation and its fictional acts remain separately scoped.

Umbassa’s President for Life

President for Life of the Peoples’ Democratic Republic of Umbassa

The title is President for Life, and the country is called Umbassa.
No historical identity is established by the supplied narrative.

none for a real-world identity

The fictional country and generic title are not linked to a named historical person.