Carlie Simmons (Book 1): Until Morning Comes Read Online Free PDF Page A

down the stairs to the
subterranean parking facility, Carlie double-checked the Velcro on her body-armor
vest while the other two teams of four agents were quickly tossing their gear
in the heavily armored black Suburbans. She opened the rear hatch on her
vehicle and tapped in the code on a secure weapons locker that was integrated
into the rear structural layout of the cargo area. Though each agent was
supposed to inspect the vehicle’s tactical kit after each workday, she never
cared to rely on chance.
    The spring-assisted lid popped open,
revealing an additional array of weapons similar to what they already carried on
them, along with a satellite phone, pistol suppressors, night-vision goggles, and
two canisters of smoke grenades. She slammed the lid down and walked around
front to climb into the driver’s seat, where she noticed Phillip getting in
from the opposite side.
    “This is a security detail. You’re not
authorized to…” Before she could finish she heard the bureau chief’s voice in
her earpiece.
    “Carlie, be informed that Phillip Alderman
will be accompanying you and your team as an observer for the campus link-up
with Gemini’s team.”
    She clenched her teeth and shot a
piercing gaze upward at the ceiling. “Copy that, sir.” Then she swiftly slid inside
and fired up the engine. She clamped her hands on the steering wheel and forced
herself to exhale without cussing.
    Gerald was pulling on his vest while
sliding into an identical Suburban beside her. Carlie began backing out while Gerald
motioned with a whirl of his index finger to do the same.
    As they raced along the confines of the
garage and through the retracted security gate, she tried to channel her
frustration to the white lines on the pavement ahead. Upon entering the intense
desert sunlight outside of the parking garage, everyone slid on their
sunglasses.
    Besides Phillip next to her, there were three
other agents in the back. One was in his early thirties and had a trim black
mustache, while the other was slightly older and had a neatly shaved head and massive
neck. The third man was the smallest, with a barrel chest and a boxer’s
flattened nose.
    The bureau chief’s voice, back at the
command center, came over their mics. “I just got word that the first lady is
secure in Virginia but the VP is missing. His protection detail was savagely
mauled outside of Dallas and he is presumed dead. I know you’ve all been
through countless extraction drills before but exercise extreme caution with
the attackers and don’t hesitate for a minute to drop them, regardless of
whether they look like deranged university students. The CDC is saying this is an
epidemic sweeping across the country right now.”
    “Copy that,” said Carlie. Jesus — we’re
really going to be dispatching college kids? What the hell is going on? She
thrust her mind back to the present.“Any further communication with
Gemini’s PPD at the university?”
    “They are at the same location as before—on
the fourth floor of the Keating bioresearch building where she normally does lab
work in room 48 from 1445 to 1620. They’ve been instructed to head to the roof
for helo extract on my command.”
    As the two vehicles sped along Highland
Avenue towards the university, Carlie saw dozens of people frantically running
two blocks to the east.

Chapter 8
     
    Jared was adjusting his cuffed hands
behind his back as he shimmied around on the back seat of the prisoner
containment area in the U.S. Marshal’s four-door Crown Victoria.
    The thickset, muscular driver was
tapping his fingers on the steering wheel as he listened to an Elvis tune on
the radio. “This is gonna be a good week if it starts out with us bagging our
first shitrag on Monday,” Mr. Rock-and-Roll said.
    The marshal in the passenger’s seat had
a coarse crop of short, poorly cut blond hair that caused his head to resemble
an old paintbrush. Jared still felt the sore spot in his spine where Q-Tip had
pinned