Tom Clancy's The Division: Hunted is a novel published by Aconyte Books. Written by Thomas Parrott, it is the third and final novel in the Operation: Crossroads trilogy. The novel focuses on Maira Kanhai, who's on the run and marked rogue.
Meanwhile, Brenda Wells and her cell discover Maira's status and assemble to intercept her and find out the truth. What they don't know is that Maira is hunted by a very dangerous enemy and a nemesis hoping to manipulate her to destroy the Division, once and for all.
Description[]
An Agent turned rogue poses an apocalyptic threat to the Division, unless her former friends can eliminate her first, in this rip-roaring installment of the Operation Crossroads series.
"Division Agent Maira Kanhai is alive. Maira Kanhai has gone rogue. When Brenda Wells learns that her old recruit’s – and close friend’s – watch has turned red, she refuses to believe it. Yet the agents sent to track Maira down have irrefutable evidence saying otherwise. With the threads holding the Division together fraying under heavy assault, Brenda desperately assembles a specialized Division cell and heads out to learn the truth. In the blistering heat of the American Southwest, they face grave danger at every turn. There they learn that other deadly parties are stalking Maira too, hoping to use her to destroy The Division once and for all."
Plot[]
Spoilers Notice: The novel have spoilers. Viewer discretion is advised
After recovering from her injuries, Maira Kanhai is welcomed into Black Tusk in their base at New Mexico, where they show her a lot of hospitality, including their founder and CEO, Natalya Sokolova. At her stay, Maira helps the organization on improving a cybersecurity program they were working on. However, she starts feeling ill and unable to continue her work
Feeling doubts, Maira secretely collected medical records behind their backs, learning a horrifying truth. Black Tusk is holding her as prisoner, using drugs and gaslighting to keep her compliant. And the program she's been helping with them is actually a cyberattack meant to jeopardize ISAC and Division tech.
Maira went with Black Tusk when they attacked the Texas Core, using the countermeasure to disable the automated defenses. However, she also disabled Black Tusk's own electronics, forcing them to retreat and allowing her the chance to escape with their aircraft. Her plane crashed afterwards and was rescued by two Division agents, Janice and Rupert. However, a Hunter sadistically kills Janice and Rupert in front of Kanhai, forcing her to use a stolen flashbang to blind him temporarily and use one of his trophy smart-watches to escape. Hoping to find shelter, Maira attempts to sync to a Division safehouse, only to find to her sorrow that she has been marked rogue. Since then, she's been on the run, trying to escape the Hunter's trail.
Two weeks later, Brenda Wells gets a call from Heather Ward, who informs that Maira Kanhai is alive and was seen with the Black Tusk during the attack on the Texas Core. Upset, she calls Thaddeus Greene, angry that she wasn't informed earlier. However, she learns from him that Maira Kanhai has been marked Rogue and is accused of killing two Division agents. Refusing to believe this, Brenda set out to track Maira's whereabouts. And despite Greene's protests, she gathered Leo Fourte, Cha Yeong-Ja, and Colin Harrison to set out for Houston with the help of Dixie Dog.
During the trip, Brenda reflects on her past and her mistakes: Her time as a Division recruiter screening Rowan O'Shea for recruitment, lying to Rowan about the circumstances of her family's death, and the decision she made to rescue the Athena community settlement.
Arriving at Houston, Brenda and her cell intercept a hidden SHD supply cache, finding it collapsed with signs of fighting and SHD tech missing. They do manage to find Maira at a roadside shopping center, but the reunion is cut short when they accidentally set off traps meant for the Hunter pursuing Maira. During the fight, the Hunter easily overpowered the five agents, only to seek cover indoors from a fire turret. Using an incendiary drone, Maira demolished the building, trapping the Hunter inside, though he would survive while suffering bad burns.
At a hideout, Maira has an emotional moment hugging Brenda after what she went through. The agents discuss their adversary, talking about the rumors about their first sighting back when New York suffered a blizzard months ago and that one Hunter was killed during that time. Regardless, Maira shares what she knows during her imprisonment. That Black Tusk and the Division share the same root network, and the whole reason Black Tusk needed her is that they can use the countermeasure without compromising their tech. Most importantly, she's set to go to the Black Tusk's base in New Mexico to delete her code and prevent any further devastating attacks on the Division.
Arriving to Alberquerque, New Mexico, Maira and her comrades assault the stronghold, fighting off Black Tusk troops. They are assisted by the Freighties, the Reborn, and the Molossi. Rogue Agent Gold and his cell also join the fight, though Brenda didn't trust them as they had their own agenda. During the assault, Brenda called Thaddeus Greeene regarding the Hunters. However, Greene dismissed the notion and demanded Wells to hand over Maira for questioning, causing Brenda to end the call. While their allies keep the hostiles busy, Maira ventured to the tower fortress to find where they're holding her codebase. She finds it and deletes it, accomplishing her mission.
Maira and her teammates alongside Gold's cell arrive at the tower fortress's penthouse in hopes to find and eliminate Natalya Sokolova. However, they find themselves ambushed by the Hunter. Gold and his cell were killed, while Maira and her comrades struggled against him. Brenda suffers a mortal wound when she shielded Maira from the Hunter's axe. Together, Maira, Leo, and Colin overpower the Hunter and kill him by slashing his throat.
In her dying breath, Brenda tells Maira to be a good leader and not make the same mistakes she did. Maira unmasks the dead Hunter, and ISAC identifies him as Thaddeus Greene, a senior Division agent. This shocks Maira and her comrades as they realize that there may be Hunters embedded in the Division and Greene's candidates may also be part of the Hunters as well, which means the Division is also compromised. With the Hunters and Black Tusk working together, Maira and her cell can only trust each other and are ready to face what's ahead of them together.
In the epilogue, Natalya Sokolova is on a private plane and conversing with Calvin McManus, the secretary of Homeland Security. Despite losing the New Mexico stronghold and several personnel, Maira's research is still alive and held in a Mobile SHD Server, albeit in a much cruder form, which would allow Black Tusk to continue working on their countermeasure. Natalya proclaims to herself that she never lost and would do whatever it takes to save the world from itself.
Trivia[]
- Maira is revealed to be the first LGBT Division protagonist, showing an attraction to Natalya Sokolova.
- The novel was released a week after Year 5 Season 2: Puppeteers Manhunt finale was released. This makes sense as both the novel and the Manhunt's Climax reveals that the Hunters are embedded in the Division.
- White Tusk, a Black Tusk sub-unit seen from Legendary Strongholds in The Division 2, is also featured in this novel, indicating they do exist canonically.