Having been unjustly locked down in a brutal rendition camp for two years by NSA Director Amos, XIII is sprung in a daring escape by mysterious allies. When Ex-President Sheridan promises that if XIII retrieves the contents of a safe deposit box only he can access, Sheridan will give him information about his past life. XIII takes the deal.
XIII and Sam follow a clue from Sheridan to Green Falls, a small town where XIII may have grown up. As XIII begins to ask questions about himself and his father, who is a local reporter, XIII stirs up old secrets and modern-day violence.
Chasing another lead from Sheridan, XIII gets himself thrown into a brutal Venezuelan prison in search of a prisoner who might have worked with XIII when he was a CIA operative.
XIII follows the piece of information he learned from Sanchez in the Venezuelan prison. It leads him to Ireland in search of Seamus O’Neal, an ex-IRA operative who was inducted into the CIA at the same time XIII was.
XIII follows the trail of his identity to a paramilitary training camp in the Pacific Northwest named Bitterroot where he supposedly trained. As XIII tries to discover the nature of the secret mission he was being trained for, he runs afoul of the camp’s owner, Rech. It’s all XIII can do to stay alive though the vicious training regime...
Having learned in Bitterroot that he was trained for a corporate intrusion mission in Costa Verde, XIII and Jones head off to investigate. As they dig deeper into XIII’s possible involvement there, they make stunning discoveries. Not only might XIII have been involved in an explosion that killed hundreds of workers at a plant, but he was also involved with a revolutionary movement… and its beautiful and charismatic leader.
XIII and Jones travel to Chicago in search of Robert Simons, one of the other agents sent to break into the plant in Costa Verde. Desperate to find out what really went on there… and in search of the information hidden in the other two watches he knows about, XIII is frustrated to learn that Simons disappeared two years ago.
When Irina approaches XIII with a proposal for him to hand over one of the watches in return for the identity of the man who killed Sam, XIII makes a deal with the devil. Believing Irina has betrayed him, CIA director, Giordino, targets both Irina and XIII for capture and death. Before long, XIII and Irina, the deadliest of enemies, find themselves on the run, manacled together, having to cooperate to keep themselves alive.
XIII is hot on the trail of now-exposed CIA director Giordino and tracks him to a safe deposit box in Moscow where Giordino has secreted money, documents and blackmail materials in case of an emergency.
Following Giordino as he makes use of the mysterious information from his burn box, XIII and Jones find themselves looking for a young boy whose parents Giordino has brutally murdered.
From information XIII and Jones learned from the boy Giordino kidnapped, they travel to Montana, the site of a de-commissioned blast chamber... and potentially, the hiding place of Max Serle and the information from the final watch.
Having retrieved the final watch from Max Serle, XIII fits the pieces of the encrypted file together to find that it requires a password. As Amos and his team try to preemptively take back the information before XIII can use it, XIII and Dillon work frantically to break the password.
Gerhardt has stolen the information weapon and is bent on using it to undermine world powers to his benefit. XIII and Jones enlist Dillon to help them track Gerhardt’s operations to Paris where Gerhardt has a stronghold.
Having been betrayed by his country, XIII trusts no one. He is believed dead and lives off the grid. Stumbling upon an anti-globalization protest, he meets the beautiful Betty Barnowsky and through her reluctantly becomes involved with The Veil, a radical activist group led by the enigmatic Max Vargas. When it seems that XIII goes mad and commits heinous crimes, his old enemies train their sights on him.
Headquarters of the multi-national Synequanon are bombed, resulting in the death of innocents. Authorities and the media hold The Veil and XIII responsible and label them as terrorists. XIII is captured and tortured by a mysterious figure, who seems to know him intimately…
On the eve of the American election, XIII is hunted by powerful enemies: the Government, which now realizes he was never terminated; Synequanon, clamouring for revenge for the bombing of their headquarters; and by the mysterious figure who is after a set of equally mysterious letters. While evading these factions, XIII seeks to unravel the mystery behind the letters.
Caught in the permanent storm surrounding Ariella Island, XIII is shipwrecked. Posing as a fisherman, he is befriended by Dr. Westlund who holds critical information about the letters. The aging scientist and his daughter Gale hide XIII from the Synequanon security forces holding them prisoner. On the mainland, Harriet Traymore wins the presidential election but Carrington refuses to leave office.
XIII and Amos grapple physically and mentally, as they try to uncover the truth behind the bombing of Synequanon’s headquarters. Fueled by grief and rage, Amos tortures XIII’s body and attempts to manipulate his mind. XIII strives to prove his innocence and escape from Amos’ twisted grasp.
XIII crashes an ultra-exclusive birthday party to find the final letter. The host of the party, and the owner of the letter, is a Russian Oligarch with a penchant for collecting expensive items such as rare weapons and beautiful women, and using the former on the latter. Part of his collection includes one of the Tesla letters, and XIII finds he isn’t the only person who’s come looking for it.
XIII, Betty and Mozambique rush to free Vargas before he’s deported to Guantanamo, as they believe he must have information about the letters. Synequanon’s tests of their newest technology have unforeseen, cataclysmic results.
Betty and XIII both question the reality of their situations: concealing his true identity, XIII sails to China, searching the ship for the final letter which has been hidden somewhere on board; Betty is abducted and delivered to her father in London, who claims that her experiences with XIII and the Veil have been nothing but the narcotic-induced hallucinations of a runaway.
XIII is delivered into the hands of Xu Corporation, who believe him to be Victor Gong, also known as XIII.2. While XIII allows the deception to continue, he is plagued by memories that force him to question his true identity. President Carrington imposes a state of martial law, halting the transfer of power to Harriet Traymore.
Xu Corporation gives XIII the face of agent Victor Gong (XIII.2), which only intensifies his struggles with identity. Betty plots revenge against her father by trying to sabotage his efforts in China. Carrington watches his empire crumble around him.
XIII is thrown into The Pit, an underground dungeon where prisoners are forced to fight to the death in matches broadcast live online. XIII tries to rally the prisoners, which include Amos, Mozambique and Grier, while staying alive long enough to attempt an escape. XIII.2 and Betty mastermind a hostile takeover of Xu Corporation.
XIII, Betty and Amos escape from The Pit and into Shanghai but are trapped in a mysterious and sinister riot that has spontaneously formed around them. Thirteen-year-old Yen-Boi and his father Ping help them find and fight their way through the chaos. With access to a Navy Seal helicopter, Amos leads them towards the extraction point. Carrington is pushed further into the bunker by Traymore’s forces, and makes a last-ditch effort to rally support.
The safety of the world is at stake. The Chinese HEARPE is now fully operational. With the help of Betty and Barnabis, XIII tries to destroy HEARPE while XIII.2 attempts to unleash its destructive force – a terrifying array of natural disasters - on the United States. But only one man will triumph. Only one man will survive. Making his last stand in the bunker, Carrington contemplates extreme measures.
