Grunt Traitor Read Online Free PDF

couldn’t tell if he was kidding or not, but I was struck enough by the odd childish threat to shut up.
    Mr. Pink gestured to Malrimple.
    He glanced at me, but when he spoke, it was to his hands, clasped on the table. “Fauna. So far two distinct alien species have been identified—the Sirens and the Cray. These seem to be pre-invasion species designed to do what they did... reinvent the Dark Ages. There have been reports of something gigantic in the oceans, bigger than whales, purposes unknown. No further information. There are also reports of abnormal human activity in urban areas. Also NFI.” He glanced at me to see if I was paying attention, then returned his gaze to his hands. “My climatologist has also indicated that in the last six months, the Earth has warmed by three degrees. Ham radio operators have reported sea rise by ten feet in Florida, Oregon, California, and South America, which suggests the ice caps are melting. There are also reports of fast growing flora in urban areas.”
    “Thank you, Malrimple.”
    “Am I done here?” he said, not bothering to look up.
    I noted the man’s impatience and wondered what his reluctance stemmed from. After all, he wasn’t the one going out on a mission.
    “Not yet. Wait for questions.”
    Malrimple sighed heavily.
    Mr. Pink turned to me. “This is where you come in, Mason.”
    I could have left it alone. Maybe I should have left it alone. A good soldier would have behaved better. Then again, I never was much of a good soldier. So ignoring Mr. Pink, I spoke directly to Malrimple.
    “Do you have a problem with me?” I figured blunt was the best method.
    He looked up, his eyes wide at first, then narrowed. “No, not at all.”
    “I’m asking because you’ve barely made eye contact and your entire effort seems forced. You do realize I’m going out on the mission, Malrimple? You do know that it’s going to be dangerous and your thumbnail sketch of the information is hardly adequate? I could have gotten this information in the mess hall just by talking to a few grunts.”
    Mr. Pink held up a hand. “Hold on now, Mason.”
    Malrimple squirmed like a bug at the end of a needle. “Can I go now?”
    Mr. Pink nodded.
    I rolled my eyes. Once Malrimple was out of the room, I leveled my gaze at Mr. Pink. “Seriously? Chief of Science?”
    Mr. Pink hesitated, then said, “He has a lot on his mind. But that’s okay. Mr. Dupree is going to brief you after this. Lt. Ohirra?”
    “Okay, Ben. Here’s your mission. We’re going to infil you into Crestline via helicopter at 0200. We can’t get you any closer to Los Angeles because of the twin hives. You’ll be escorting Mr. Dupree. It’s your responsibility to get him to where he’s going and return him without harm.”
    I glanced at Dupree, who was smiling as if this was all a great adventure.
    Ohirra added, “We’re looking for the smallest possible footprint. There are too many unknowns out there at this time.”
    “Commo?”
    “Prick-77.”
    I raised my eyebrows. The prick-77 was Vietnam era.
    “It’s okay. We have retransmitters in Crestline and Yermo with ground plane antennas. We’ve also attached an extender which will enable an additional fifteen miles.”
    “So that’s twenty mile range. We’re talking Rialto, which isn’t anywhere near L.A.”
    She shrugged. “It’s the best we can do.”
    Dupree spoke for the first time. “We might not have to get all the way into Los Angeles. There’s a plant—a vine—that I need samples of. One of my counterparts in Argentina says that it is the locus for spores that may have deleterious effects.”
    I turned to Mr. Pink. “I’m on escort duty to get a vine using Vietnam-era equipment?”
    Dupree sat forward. “You don’t understand, Mr. Mason. This isn’t a terrestrial vine. It grows impossibly fast. This is the next species. This could be a different form of attack, or it could be terraforming.”
    “Or both,” Mr. Pink added.
    The rise in