Killer Thrillers Box Set: 3 Techno-Thriller, Action/Adventure Science Fiction Thrillers Read Online Free PDF Page B

narrowed; the events that day on the battlefield coming rushing back.  
    “If you weren’t rescued, we might never have found this little gem.”  
    “So what? There’s nothing in it — it’s blank,” Bryce responded.  
    “I noticed. Lucky thing, too — the others aren’t.”
    “The others?”
    “Right. I’ve got plenty more of these little notebooks,” Whittenfield said, flipping through the blank pages. “They were my father’s — James Whittenfield, Sr., that is. He started Whittenfield Research, and these books, about thirty of them altogether, were his personal journals. Research, hypotheses, experimental results — it’s all in there. This one — the one that was stolen from my lab a few months ago — is the last notebook; one he hadn’t started writing in yet,” Whittenfield explained.  
    “What kind of research? What does the company do?”
    “Captain — Bryce —“ using his first name as he continued, “my work has always been a roller coaster ride. There’s always someone you’re pissing off one day, and the entire scientific community’s in an uproar because of you the next. We are an environmental research firm, and most of our clients are multinational corporations. Pharmaceuticals, defense systems engineers, even oil conglomerates — they’re all waiting in line to talk to us. We provide a unique form of insurance to our customers: future proofing.
    “You see, Capt. Reynolds, most companies are more afraid of the future than anything else — are they going to remain profitable? Are they going to consistently deliver on their numbers and keep their shareholders happy? Are they even going to remain solvent in this economy? These are things they’re worrying about every day, and companies like mine offer an insurance policy against these fears. We can research and deliver the next line of products that will redefine their industries, before their competitors even know they’re working on it.”
    Bryce interrupted, frowning. “So, you’re a gigantic research firm working with the world’s largest companies; why haven’t I ever heard of you?” he asked.  
    “Well, first — we’re not exactly a ‘large’ research firm. We only work with a few clients at a time, though conveniently they usually want the same thing — immunity from their competitors’ attacks. Immortality, if you will. They all want to maintain their position at the forefront of their respective marketplaces, and it turns out we can usually deliver on that wish. Due to this extremely proprietary nature of our work, we aren’t well-known outside the small circle of businesses we’ve worked with — and we intend to keep it that way.”
    “Ok, great. Makes sense,” Bryce said, finally sitting up fully on the hospital bed. “But what does this all have to do with me?”
    “I know about your mother, Bryce,” Whittenfield said, almost cutting Bryce off. “I know she’s suffering from a rare viral infection; a strain that’s rendered her mostly paralyzed.”
    Bryce’s eyes flashed in anger, then to a steely burn. “She’s not going to be able to heal. They have no idea what it is — or how to fix it.” He pictured his mother, Diana Reynolds, in bed in her Utah home. A nurse, basically a hospice worker from a local retirement community in nearby Salt Lake City, stayed with her most of the morning and evenings to provide basic care — cleaning, feeding, and the occasional one-way conversation.  
    The memory pained him, but he knew there was nothing he could do for her. He’d already spent both of their life savings on treatment, flying doctors to and from the small cottage, only to be told the viral infection wasn’t contagious. He’d run out of money, and the military’s insurance plan forced him to continue serving on active duty to continue paying for her care.  
    “How do you know about that?” Bryce asked.  
    “There was a small article about it in a medical publication not too