Mineola resident Robert DiBella always had Ten Names in mind as the sequel to the 2012 spy thriller Memoirs of a Variable. The espionage chronicles follow “X,” the CIA’s deadliest assassin, with his strengths and foibles as he fends off the organization who forced him to take innocent lives and turned their backs on him.
“When I was writing [Memoirs of a Variable], I knew there was more to tell,” DiBella said.
In Memoirs, the agency’s Variable unit, a group of super-assassins, treated “X” as a tool for the CIA. Outside the group, he fought for his humanity while protecting Samantha Freedman, the daughter of U.S. Senator, who he was contracted to kill.
“The story in Memoirs was, in my opinion, ground breaking,” Rainstorm Press Editor-in-Chief Lyle Perez-Tinics said. “It had every element in an action novel that you’d want. “I didn’t think that Robert would have been able to top that. Then came Ten Names, which knocked it out of the park. They both have great suspense and action, but this one takes everything to the next level.”
While the adventures of “X” could continue for quite some time, DiBella sees this tale as a trilogy. The idea for the series spawned while attending Molloy College from 2008-2012, when he received a call from his friend, Mike D’Agostino, who was attempting to enter a short film contest. DiBella was tasked to write a three-minute story about a hitman contracted to kill a woman.
What started as a three-page treatment, turned into a 45-page screenplay.
“I like writing to see how the characters grow and what works and what doesn’t,” DiBella stated. “When you start writing a novel, it’s like trying to solve a big puzzle. You’re trying to make all the pieces fit.”
Ten Names picks up in the aftermath of Memoirs, with “X” (his name had since been revealed) trying to stay low key after a major shootout, but it doesn’t last for long. However, he feels he found some stability with Freedman. “X” had secured a job working in Cameroon, West Africa.
“[“X”] gets a job protecting a U.N. clinic and he doesn’t fight anymore,” DiBella said. “He looks after people there. Everyone at the clinic learns his true identity and he finally feels like he has a family there.”
“X’s” slice of paradise goes up in smoke when his mettle is tested once more.
“He’s finally at peace with his past,” DiBella said. “Until his life is disrupted with the clinic getting attacked and Samantha kidnapped.”
Enter Luther, an atypical madman and high-level CIA operative; an evil genius. However, he’s separate from the Variable Project. He is a behind-the-scenes, policy-changing figure that serves as a puppet-master to a greater scheme, DiBella said. Luther uses “X” as a pawn.
“He works in the shadows, holding all the cards,” DiBella said. “He doesn’t get his hands dirty.”
He forces “X” to kill nine people if wants Freedman returned safely. These nine targets range from arms dealers to international bankers.
“He goes around the world and finds that all the hits are related,” DiBella said. “It’s not random.”
The caveat to all of this? Luther has a tenth victim in mind.
“That’s a big reveal,” DiBella said of the tenth name. “I wanted to challenge the character. In the first book, he had to fend off all his colleagues. In [Ten Names], he’s going up against the most protected people in the world. He’s really put to the test.”
