Hunting Will Read Online Free PDF Page A

that’s with full contact with me and the Damper for a solid thirty minutes.” He looked nervous. “Do you think all of the Alliance are like him now?”
    Athos shook his head. “No, I don’t think so. He’s going to be the exception in any group. But we do need to consider that whatever he’s doing, he’s teaching to others of his ilk. I doubt any of them are anywhere close to his development, but we probably need to assume more extensive development than we’d normally expect from a person given a specific number of years of experience.”
    “On the positive side, he’ll get easier and easier to Track,” Porthos noted.
    “I certainly hope not!” Aramis snapped. “We’d only need to Track him if he gets loose again today.”
    “Touche’.”
    “You need to start acting more like a member of this team, Porthos,” Athos said, glaring at the man. The strain of the day was leading him to lose his temper.
    “Guys?” Aramis said.
    “What, finding the bad guy and flying the getaway plane doesn’t count?”
    “Guys?” Aramis repeated.
    “Why didn’t you help us get him out of the car?”
    “I told you, you had it under control, and I would have been in the way.”
    “You could have helped. You could have been asking him to directly provide his plea to the charges against him instead of making me Read him while he was unconscious. But no, instead you stand around—”
    “Guys, he’s waking up right now !” Aramis’ final words were a scream.
    “How do I plead, Athos?” Stark said, his voice gaining strength as if he was waking from a deep sleep. “I plead…” His eyes snapped open, the jade-green color brightly illuminated by the powerful Energy coursing through him. An intense smile formed on his face. “Freedom.”
    Stark issued forth an explosive amount of Energy. The burst was so intense that Aramis, in direct contact and trying to Damper the man, screamed in agony, his mind seared in pain as if it had been ripped in half from the explosion. Stark glanced at the binding gloves, and the webbing and glue disintegrated. Stark was free, and Aramis was lying on the ground, hands holding his head, writhing in pain, screaming in agony.
    Suddenly, the two minutes remaining for the transport craft to arrive seemed an eternity away. The enemy was in their midst, fully charged up with Energy to a level neither of them could conceive. And he was angry about his rough treatment earlier. Though he could teleport away at any time, far beyond their reach, Stark elected to stay and fight with his would-be captors.
    Athos, enraged at yet another failed mission, pulled out a short sword hidden in a sheath on his back, as he and Stark circled each other. Stark eyed the weapon with interest, though nothing on his face suggested concern about possible injury.
    The circle tightened, and Athos realized that his best bet right now was to keep Stark dancing until the transport craft arrived. But Athos had ceased being worried about capturing Stark; he wanted the man maimed, injured so badly he couldn’t move, or even dead. Stark had embarrassed him for years, had made him look like a fool, and Athos meant to make him pay. Mere capture was no longer sufficient punishment.
    Enraged, Athos charged Stark, waving the blade wildly, looking to make any kind of contact and inflict pain on his nemesis. Stark watched the Hunter’s approach with measured calm, and at the last moment, he produced a blade in his own hand, a blade that swung in a controlled arc. The blade raced toward Athos’ face, and the Hunter just avoided it, falling to the ground in the process. He felt something warm running down his cheek as sharp pain seared his face. He realized in shock that Stark hadn’t missed, that he hadn’t managed to dodge the swinging blade. Rather, the leader of the Alliance had cut a six inch slit across Athos’ right cheek, just under his eye. Athos touched the injured cheek, and his hand came away sticky with his own