LZR-1143: Redemption Read Online Free PDF Page A

design. Gripping it by the slightly wider forestock, he swiped it through the air in a lateral motion, demonstrating the effectiveness—and the wide range—of the bayonet axe.
    “We call it a Pathfinder. Obviously, this isn’t designed to be your primary hand-to-hand weapon. We have provided you with a much simpler, and might I add, more ‘retro’ solution.”
    He handed me the gun, which I bobbled briefly, unsure of how to hold it without hurting myself, and grabbed a long parcel from the rack and withdrew a machete that had been designed with a three foot long blade made of thick steel, a razor sharp edge, and serrated back, with a thick knuckle guard and a four inch spike on the bottom of the hilt.
    “Captain, you mentioned a newly designed type of ammunition?” Kate was examining the Pathfinder, and was expertly working the various mechanical pieces, sighting the weapon and giving it an experimental swipe. We had spent the last few weeks ensconced in training in a variety of weapons in an effort to kill the boredom—and help our chances on the outside if we were ever allowed to leave—and it really showed in her instant expertise with the new toy.
    “Yes,” he turned again, picking up a bland, Army-green box from the shelf below the rack, and gesturing toward the end of the room, where a thick iron door led into a stairwell to the basement level. We climbed down the cement block stairwell as he spoke.
    “We didn’t create these recently. They were worked up in prototype-form several years ago, designed originally for places like Baghdad and Kabul. House clearing. Street to street combat. We wanted to give our guys the ability to make an impact at close range, and with very little accuracy needed. Short of pounding through cement or brick, these do the trick.”
    We reached the bottom of the stairwell and emerged into a single lane firing range, with a simple target affixed to the wire fifty feet away.
    “You’re going to find that effectiveness with a standard shell starts to dwindle at around fifty feet,” he said, tossing each of us a pair of ear protectors and putting the gun carefully to his shoulder. After checking to ensure we were wearing the protection, he sighted and fired.
    The normal round tore through the target, leaving a scattershot of small holes and a large area of shredded paper. He pressed the button on the actuator for the target, replacing it with a new paper, and moving it back to one hundred feet.
    “These are a little different. The pellets don’t deploy from the shell until they’ve gone fifty feet, or until the round hits something, whichever comes first. Then, they release—with a little extra at the end.”
    He took the magazine from the weapon and placed a single shell from the small green box into the receiver and sighted the weapon again.
    This time, after the roar of the discharge, a small discharge of flame appeared from the muzzle, and another explosion almost immediately followed as the target simply disappeared. The paper shredded into confetti as small pieces, still flaming, drifted to the ground. Behind the target, the wall smoked from secondary impacts.
    “What the…” I began, my voice muffled in my own ears by the heavy protection.
    Those things could stop a goddamned elephant on crack.
    He continued, still clinically.
    “These rounds have explosive pellets that ignite on impact with small micro charges. They have proven quite effective on test subjects.”
    “No shit,” I said, staring at the small pieces of paper, none of which would have been large enough to stick into a growth-retarded, miniature fortune cookie.
    Beside me, Kate whistled softly, and I turned to her.
    “Well honey, what do you think? Should we get one?”

FIVE

    The day went by quickly. Between operational and flight briefings, in between which we managed to grab some food, it was afternoon before we were able to find a short time to talk. Ky was still AWOL, and we were beginning to