Big Pete (Privateer Tales Book 4) Read Online Free PDF Page B

fatiguing and glad she’d found the ladder. The boots that I’d so desperately wanted were weighing me down. I found her holding onto the edge of a ladder that I knew would run the entire vertical length of the room. I locked my feet into it below hers and grabbed the edge. The water wasn’t overly cold, especially given our recent exertion, but the warmth of her body wasn’t lost on me. I don’t care how tough of a soldier you are, having company in a stressful situation can make all the difference.
    “Well, that went pretty well,” I said.
    “Where do you think this ladder goes?” she asked, ignoring my glib assessment.
    “Probably street level, I’ll go up and get an idea of where we are. You okay here?” I asked.
    I felt her body relax before she said, “Yes.”
    We shifted so that I could climb up. Forty-two rungs later I reached a small alcove I suspected was directly beneath ground level. It would be a good place for us to dry off as long as no maintenance workers showed up. I sat for a moment and regained the strength in my arms and then climbed back down.
    “There’s a dry location at the top, you good for a climb?” I asked.
    She didn’t answer but started climbing.  I followed. The alcove was a little tight for two of us, but it sure beat sitting in the water.
    “I lost my go-kit and pistol,” she said. There was no complaint in her voice, but I recognized frustration when I heard it.
    “Yeah, my blaster’s gone too,” I said. We were facing each other although there wasn’t enough light to see. It wasn’t the most comfortable position, but for now it would do just fine while we recovered.
    “You really know how to show a girl a good time,” she said.
    “Why’d you come back?” I ignored her good natured flirting. The question had been burning a hole in my mind since I’d seen her breach the room, commando style.
    “You first. Why did you come back?” she responded in a softer voice.
    “It’s what we do. We don’t leave anyone behind. There are only a few things a Marine can hold on to in a scrape, one of those things has to be that someone’s coming for him,” I answered.
    “You were ordered to evac, but you came anyway.”
    “How do you know that?”
    “I heard Lieutenant Bentrod give the order. My comm was busted, but I could hear the squad command channel. So why’d you come back? You know they could court martial you for that?” she asked.
    “The way I figured it, I had evac’d my squad, just like I’d been ordered. The thing is, I knew you were alive because the AIs have nearly a hundred percent accuracy on reporting casualties. I really didn’t have a choice. I had a Marine down behind enemy lines and there was something I could do about it. So what went through your head?”
    “Honestly, I didn’t have a plan. I saw them set the trap on the transport and I was hunkered down in a building. I wanted to warn you, but couldn’t without giving away my position,” she explained. “Once you surrendered, I followed you. You pretty much know the rest.”
    “Thanks,” I said simply.
    “Silver,” she said. I couldn’t for my life figure out what she was saying.
    “I don’t follow.”
    “My name is Silver Irawan. Thought you should know.”
    “Pete Hoffen, most people call me Big Pete.”
    “So, Pete, buy me a drink after we get out of this?”
    Straight and to the point. I knew it was probably the adrenaline talking, especially considering the problems she could get into as a Lieutenant having drinks with a Sergeant. Nothing like being knee deep in crap to bring people together though. I didn’t know where this friendship was heading, but if I wasn’t motivated to come up with an escape plan before, I certainly was now.

COMING HOME
     
    We dozed for a couple of hours, listening to the rain fall on the disc that separated us from the top side. It would be best to move while it was raining, but I had no idea where we were, so that was a real