Jericho 3 Read Online Free PDF Page A

it’s a fabulous BSL-4 but –“
    “Colonel, you’re going to Detrick. The animal rights groups are still trying to shut down our chemical weapons research at Aberdeen Proving Grounds, even though the president lifted the Executive Order. They’re after Detrick as well. If we get some Jihadists hell-bent on weaponizing Marburg, smallpox, Crimean-Congo or any other God-forsaken hemorrhagic diseases, then I’ll need you in place. We need your expertise with non-human primates.”
    “Yes, sir, but I’m good to go. I’m ready to travel now.”
    “We’ll keep you busy, colonel, not to worry. Camp, I assume you still have a ‘go bag’? Well, we go at 0400 from Andrews. Better let your parents know.”
    “Actually general, my mom and dad are inside enjoying Eileen’s freshly baked blueberry muffins. I’m sure they’d love to hear the good news first-hand from my boss.”
    Ferguson raised his eyebrow and snarled his lip. A sarcastic smile lit his face as he took another pull on his cigar.
    “Have I ever told you that you’re an ass, Campbell?”
    “Every day, sir, every day.”
    Ferguson led the way back to the lodge steadily working down to the last draw on the Belicoso before going inside the lodge. Camp and Raines looked at each other as a million unspoken words were said in one long glance. He reached out softly and caressed the side of her face. She closed her eyes and printed his touch to her heart.
    Old Town Alexandria
    Virginia
    C amp lathered his face with shaving cream the old fashioned way with a silver tipped pure badger brush, just like his father had taught him to do so many years before.
    Shaving wasn’t a chore or a task. It was an event. A perfect symphony of precision with each instrument conducted to perform in harmony with the others.
    The glycerin got down to the roots of his morning beard. The coconut oil aroma filled his senses more than his first cup of coffee would before he headed out the townhouse for Andrews. The iPhone was docked, and Mumford and Sons split the morning haze.
    With the gentle, calculated strokes of a trauma surgeon, Camp contorted his face to the proper angles as he pulled and pushed the French Thiers-Issard straight-edge razor along the contours of his reflection in the mirror.
    The pounding at the front door interrupted his singular moment of self-indulgence. He wasn’t happy as he stomped to the door in boxers and shaving cream.
    “Leslie?”
    Raines was out of uniform, dressed in a tight pair of Levis and an oversized Army sweatshirt. Her long brown hair was pulled back in a ponytail.
    “Morning, sailor.”
    “What the hell? You drove all the way down here from Gettysburg for a booty call before wheels-up at 0400?”
    “Booty call? You’re nasty!” Raines said laughing. “I thought you could use a ride to Andrews so you don’t have to park your girlfriend in the elements for six months.”
    “Hey, that’s a great call. I’d rather leave my Defender 90 in the garage here. But you didn’t need to do that.”
    “Nice boxers.”
    “Let me finish shaving. You wanna brew some coffee?” Camp walked into the kitchen and pulled some beans out and set them next to the grinder.
    Raines walked past him and into his bathroom, grabbed the straight-edge and a towel.
    “Sit down, sailor.”
    Camp sat down in a kitchen chair as Raines wrapped his shoulders with the white cotton towel. She tilted his head back slightly. As the blade touched his skin a subtle hint of Leslie’s perfume blended with the coconut from the cream and filled his senses as he closed his eyes. With each stroke she wiped the razor clean on the towel until his face was fresh, smooth and ready to fly. She held his face in her hands and wiped away the last remnants of cream with her finger. He opened his eyes as she brought her face against his, first the left side, then the right.
    Camp’s mind was racing and his emotions were out of control. He felt guilty. Camp had never been in love until he