Enemy Mine (The Base Branch Series Book 1) Read Online Free PDF Page A

thirty five with three left to search. We’re not going to make it.“ The irritation of knowing they were nearly out of time slipped down the length of Sloan's spine, cooling her like a dip in an ice bath.
    Her partner’s jaw clenched. “Mother—”
    Before he could finish the expletive, Sloan fist-bumped his deltoid and took off toward the next building. He followed suit, big boots thunking along.
    “We’ve been looking from highest probability down, based on clinical numbers.” Sloan stopped behind a service road dumpster. When Ryan did the same, she pointed to the three remaining structures. “What do you see?”
    “More damned piles of brick.”
    “Noble,” she warned.
    “I know. I know,” he said, as he raked a hand through his wet hair. A spray of sweat fanned the air. “It’s all air and opportunity for this fuck to take the shot.” He expanded his chest in a deep breath and let it out in a rush. “There are people coming and going at all three buildings. The first two, A8 and 9 on our grid, are twins. Same height and width. Window sizes are comparable in all three. Twins are the same height as the last building, A10.”
    Sloan saw it an instant before Ryan breathed, “Domed roofs. The twins are domed.”
    They took off together in a dead sprint. Ever the good boy, Ryan radioed, “Alpha team, requesting permission to break protocol. A8 and A9 are twin buildings measuring taller than A10, but have domed roofs. A10 has higher elevation making it the most likely shot origin of the three remaining.”
    Tucker’s voice answered, “Are you two in agreement?”
    When they rounded the corner and saw that the tree in front of the building had been recently cut for the construction of street lights and a bus stop, they both barked, “Yes, sir!”
    “Permission granted. Proceed with caution.”
    Ryan replied, “Yes, sir.”
    They stuck close to the brick, trying to stay out of sight. Neither wanted the type of greeting forewarning brought. They kept the MP5‘s slung across their chest tucked under their wall-side arms and their badges dangling in plain view, to keep pedestrians from panicking. Maybe, because it was D.C. and it was only the two of them, they’d only garnered mild curiosity all morning. And even that had been from small, wide-eyed children.
    No sooner had the thoughts run through her mind, than an old lady, complete with leashed grey poodle and poodle-poofed hair, shrieked as they entered the lobby of A10. She scooped the dog into her arms. Her floral print muumuu billowed around stark white calves and knee-highs crinkling at her ankles. Four other people in the lobby stilled, as though suddenly rooted in place. A mother clutched her young son to her chest, shielding him with a half turned back. Two large black men in business suits surveyed them, expressions wary.
    Sure, the women’s reactions were understandable given the way she and Ryan looked, bodies armored and armed for battle. The men’s wary expressions would have been justifiable, if it were not for two things that calmed Sloan’s strumming heart instantly.
    One, this was a low rent building in a high rent district. The men wore designer shoes worth more than she made in two weeks, and she didn’t make chump change. Two, Sloan knew how to read expressions. In her line of work expressions told more than words ever did. Translating them correctly often meant the difference between success and failure. Life or death. Their wariness didn’t contain an ounce of fear, as it rightly should, given their situation.
    The dog barked, and the men flinched, ever so lightly moving meaty hands toward guns concealed beneath pricey suits. Now that she looked, the impression of their machine guns was clear.
    Ryan spoke, “Everybody, stay…”
    He paused as Sloan flung thin blades through the air. They flashed in the fluorescent light then stabbed into the mens’ bellies. Before the first dropped to the linoleum tile, Sloan closed the gap,