Opposing Force: Book 01 - The God Particle Read Online Free PDF Page A

Campion this was the objective—the target—of their mission. And that mission was to capture it alive.
    Despite the fact that it raced at him with the obvious intent to do harm, the idea of mowing the creature down with his HK MP5 never entered the captain’s thought process. Instead he immediately focused on finding a way to divert the creature west by northwest, closer to "Catcher’s Mitt" and closer to completing the mission.
    Campion squeezed the trigger on his weapon, firing shots not into the pinkish, big-eyed monster but into the mud directly in the creature’s path. Globs of soft soil sprayed like shrapnel from the impact.
    Instantly the fierce attack turned into retreat, with the devilish thing returning to the cover of the tall, prickly saw grass.
    Roberts and Wells raced to his side while the dogs held their enthusiasm in check and waited for direction.
    Campion knelt next to Sawicki. The man tried to shake away the cobwebs and sat with one hand on his ribs. He had been hit and thrown but not slashed or cut.
    Campion transmitted coolly and professionally, "We have contact with target—repeat, contact at grid reference—" he paused and flipped open the computer screen to consult the map, "—9-4 south. Target is bipedal, five feet tall, aggressive, very strong, and heading west-northwest on foot and fast."
    As Campion relayed the information he signaled for the attention of his dogs. He paused his transmission, held two fingers horizontally and wagged them in the direction their quarry had run, ordering, "Tyr, Phobos … flush, flush."
    The two shepherds did not hesitate; they pursued the creature into the grass at a brisk pace.
    Campion finished his communiqué, "Alpha team is in pursuit, target is heading straight for catcher’s mitt … repeat, target is heading straight for catcher’s mitt … ETA two minutes, tops."
    Campion followed his hounds into the brush.
    The hunt was on.
    —
    Gant received Campion’s transmission ,then sent one of his own to the circling helicopter: "Listen up, Van Buren. Get that gear working and get over to ninety-four south."
    "Roger that."
    "What about you?" the major asked Galati. "We hot yet?"
    Sal did not answer at first. He flipped a switch on the power supply and the stunner hummed to life.
    "Oh yeah, we’re hot."
    "Good, because we have company coming."
    —
    The MH-6 "Little Bird" banked again and flew fast, keeping to a higher altitude. The job was no longer to pin or scare the target. Indeed, the chopper wanted to stay out of sight yet close enough to monitor the enemy's location with the infrared tracking gear.
    "Okay … I think I’ve got it …" Van Buren spoke to himself before radioing his commanding officer. "Major, I’ve got a target—three targets. Two trailing the lead by about twenty yards. All three are moving pretty damn fast. I’m thinking the lead target is our friend, followed by the dogs."
    Gant responded, "Distance?"
    "Two hundred yards to catcher’s mitt. The guy’s headed straight for your front door."
    —
    The downdraft nearly forced Franco to his knees. The soldier walked—stooping—away from the area of effect around the gigantic HH-3E "Jolly Green Giant" helicopter’s single main rotor.
    The extraction team was a mix of green-fatigued soldiers in bio warfare gear and technicians in white HAZMAT suits. They raced around the craft in search of points to affix cables.
    Franco opened a channel to Major Gant: "Bravo here. The extraction team is on-site, expect e-vac of the property in about fifteen minutes. I’ve got the army engineers standing by. When the extraction is complete they’ll come in and doze over the skid mark. In about two hours CNN could have a picnic here and never know what happened."
    Gant’s static-distorted answer came, "Understood, good job Bravo. Keep the inner perimeter secure until the job is finished."
    Of course, I'm always left to clean up the mess.
    —
    Van Buren’s voice came over the headset: "Fifty