Her Brother's Keeper - eARC Read Online Free PDF Page B

driver’s side window as fast as it could. The video feeds went dead as it smashed right into the cyborg’s head. Marcus looked up from his handheld just in time to see the truck swerve, then cut sharply to the left. Wade hit the brakes as the ten-ton vehicle, which had been barreling along at a hundred and twenty kilometers per hour, came off its wheels and flipped over. The massive truck rolled off the road and down a small hill, ripping a swath through the desert vegetation and kicking up a huge cloud of dust that obscured the wreck from view.
    Wade pulled the marshals’ vehicle to a stop at the edge of the road. “God damn,” he said, still grinning.
    Marcus was talking rapidly into his headset, requesting backup and medical support. The office was undoubtedly already vectoring those things to his position, having witnessed the crash in real time through the on-board cameras of the marshals’ vehicle. “Let’s go,” Marcus said to Wade, retrieving his carbine from its mount in the cabin. “Grab your rifle, he’s armed.” Wade nodded and followed him out of their vehicle.
    Weapons shouldered, the marshals cautiously made their way down the hill toward the wrecked truck. There was no cover on the approach, so they went in guns up and ready to fire. Marcus used a hand signal to tell Wade to swing wide to the left, spreading out while still being able to see each other. The suspect was dangerous and they weren’t going to give him any more advantages.
    “Colonial marshals!” Marcus announced. “Come out of the vehicle with your hands in the air or we will open fire!” The truck was on its side. Marcus could see the battered undercarriage, but had no visibility on the cabin. He moved to the right, hoping to get eyes on the suspect. Wade circled to the left, around the truck. They were coming at the suspect from two directions.
    “Marshal, you see anything?” Wade asked.
    Marcus advanced through the cloud of dust, trying to see into the truck’s cabin through the windshield. “I see him! He’s not moving! Wasn’t wearing his restraints!”
    “Be careful, Boss!” Wade warned. The cyborg had fooled them once before.
    “Hey, tin-man!” Marcus said. “Dead or alive, you’re coming with me!” No response. He looked up at Wade and shook his head.
    “Medical support is inbound,” Wade said. “We have to disarm him before they get here.”
    Marcus nodded. “Okay, I’m going to—” He was cut off as the safety transparency windshield smashed into him, knocking him into the dirt. The augmented suspect had kicked it out with both feet. Before the marshal knew what was happening, the murderous cyborg was on top of him. Marcus tried to bring his carbine up, struggling under the transparent sheet, but his attacker was too fast. The cyborg stepped on the weapon just as Marcus got it out from under the windshield, pinning it to the ground. He picked up the dislodged window, spun around, and hurled it like a discus. It spun through the air and smacked into Wade, knocking him off his feet. Turning back to Marcus, the cyborg clamped a massive synthetic hand onto Marshal’s throat and hoisted him off the ground with one arm. The emergency release on Marcus’ carbine sling gave way, leaving the rifle out of reach under the criminal’s boot.
    A steely hand wrapped around his neck, Marcus was eye-to-artificial-eye with the cyborg. The cyborg’s eye lenses irised as he spoke. “Well, well, well,” the he said, a metallic tang in his voice. “Not how you expected this to turn out, neh?” He let out a rumbling chuckle and squeezed Marcus’ neck even tighter.
    Marcus tried to speak, but couldn’t get the words out.
    “What’s that? You got words for me, you backwater colony pig?” The cyborg relaxed his grip slightly.
    Marcus gasped for air. “You…are…under arrest…”
    An evil grin split the cyborg’s face. Even his teeth were artificial, glinting silver in the afternoon sun. “Haw. How you—