Judgment Day -03 Read Online Free PDF Page B

Gogh.
    Bowie relaxed, letting his fur settle along his back.
    “Keep that monster away from me,” Van Gogh pleaded, his voice trembling.
    Hearing the fear in the man’s voice, Mason thought he saw his way in.
    “That depends on how cooperative you are. My dog hasn’t eaten in a couple of days, and right now, you look a lot like a ribeye steak.”
    Van Gogh bent slightly, and his gaze flicked toward his boot knife.
    Mason shook his head.
    “That’s not going to end well for you.”
    Van Gogh gently pulled the knife out with two fingers and tossed it a few feet away.
    “Smart,” said Mason. “Now, drop to your knees, and lace your fingers together on top of your head.”
    Shaking slightly, the man did as he was told, his eyes never leaving Bowie.
    Mason glanced back at the soldier he had shot. The man’s body half out of the pipe, blood dripping from his neck down into the gulley. He was definitely out for the count.
    “I assume you two were waiting for me?” he said, turning back to his prisoner.
    Van Gogh didn’t answer.
    Mason shrugged. “Okay, dinner it is.” He loosened his grip on Bowie, and the dog immediately lunged for the soldier.
    “All right, all right!” the man screamed, leaning away. “Yeah, we were waiting on you.”
    “Why?”
    “Just to find out who you were. That’s all.”
    “Uh-huh, and then put a bullet in my head, right?”
    Van Gogh started to deny it but stopped himself.
    “Hey, man, I was just following orders. This wasn’t personal.”
    “I assume you’re a private contractor?”
    He nodded. “I used to be regular army, but the pay was shit, you know?”
    “Who are you working for now?”   
    “Look, the best thing you can do is turn around and walk away from this. I’ll tell my boss that you got away. Simple as that. He’s not going to come looking for you. Why would he?”
    “He won’t need to,” Mason said calmly. “I’m going after him.”
    “That’s suicide. Nakai is—” Van Gogh caught himself. “Shit!”
    “Who’s Nakai? Another mercenary?”
    “It doesn’t matter what you know. If you go after him, he’ll kill you for sure. I’m telling you, you should let this one go.”
    “I’m touched that you’re so concerned for my wellbeing. Really, I am. Did you feel that way about the marshals you murdered back in Glynco?”
    The man’s face turned pale.
    “Listen, I had no part in that. I swear to God. That was Nakai all the way. Most of us showed up after it was already done. We were only there to pick up the guns.”
    Mason smiled. Van Gogh was a veritable gold mine of information.
    “That’s what this is about? Guns? It must have been a hell of a haul to need five tractor-trailers.”
    Van Gogh shrugged. “Not so many. A couple thousand rifles, maybe.”
    “Why did you need the guns?”
    He shrugged again. “They’re not for us. We we’re hired to deliver them to a guy named Lenny Bruce. He’s building a little army up near Lexington. It was just a job. That’s it.”
    “All right, you’re doing great. You may actually live through this.”
    “There’s no need to kill me. I’m nothing more than a grunt left behind for a little clean up. You know how it is.”
    Mason nodded. “Believe me, I do. Now tell me about your boss, Nakai.”
    “There’s not much to tell. He was Force Recon. A badass, through and through.”
    “What else?”
    Van Gogh pointed to Mason’s handgun.
    “He can pull one of those faster than Jesse James.”
    “What about with a rifle?”
    “He carries an Aug. Very skilled with that too. Like I said, it’d be better to walk away from this one.”
    “What else?”
    “He’s careful. I don’t think he trusts anyone—no one other than Jeb.”
    “Who’s Jeb?”
    “Jeb’s like his foreman, big and mean. I once saw him kill a man in the mess tent with a fork. Shoved it right through his eye.”
    Mason thought about what Van Gogh had revealed. While it could all have been carefully crafted bunk, he