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

yards and closing fast."
    Gant to Galati: "Light her up."
    Sal raised the heavy weapon to his shoulder, his eyes focused on the wall of grass.
    The barks came closer. The sound of grass being trampled grew louder. And with it all was another noise; a combination of a grumble and a snort, perhaps meant as a violent warning toward its pursuers, maybe just the frightened ramblings of a trapped animal.
    "Thirty yards," came the voice on the headset.
    "Steady, Sal, nice and steady. You know what to do. Don’t think—just do it."
    Gant had insurance in the form of his baton and his rifle. He glanced over at Twiste, who stood further back, away from the heart of the action. More doctor than soldier, Twiste preferred not to carry weapons and would be defenseless if the Taser failed. That did not sit well with Major Gant. Twiste was more than one of his soldiers, he was a friend. Sooner or later he knew he had to convince his friend to be better prepared for the threats Archangel faced.
    Still, Gant hoped he did not have to use the rifle. Using the rifle meant another dead, useless carcass. Using the rifle meant another failed mission. He did not want to fail. They had come close twice before; he did not want to fail a third time.
    "Twenty yards."
    Twiste said, "Remember, this is a short range weapon but it needs a couple of yards of flight for the net to deploy."
    They saw stalks thrash about as the target closed.
    Galati gently touched the trigger. A single red laser target beam sliced forward with precision, its pencil-thin light ended at the wall of grass; a wall of grass that was like a curtain waiting to rise so as to start the show.
    "It’s all yours, Chief," came Van Buren’s last update.
    The grass parted.
    The pink-skinned alien creature stopped dead in the gun sights of the hunter. Its black eyes rolled white in surprise, its big beastly jaw dropped open, aghast.
    Galati fired.
    A thick line shot from the fancy rifle, expanding in midair from a bundle to a wide, wiry net.
    The quarry flailed its short, muscular arms in an instinctive flinch, only to be more thoroughly ensnared in the meshwork.
    An electrical jolt enveloped the beast, burning the alien’s skin and eliciting a quick, haunting squeal. Sparks flew, a puff of foul-smelling smoke drifted in the morning air.
    The shepherds emerged from the grassy curtain behind the thing but gave it a wide birth as they watched it twitch, cringe, then finally fall flat on its back.
    Galati removed his glasses and wiped the sweat from his brow. Twiste patted the soldier on his back and said, "Nice shot."
    Gant spoke into his headset as he stepped from the porch and examined the unconscious creature. Overhead the chopper hovered like a monstrous mechanical guardian angel.
    "Mission accomplished. Target has been bagged intact. Repeat, target has been bagged intact. Bring in the retrieval units and let's head for home."  

3
    Liz tightened the belt on her white robe and reached for a mug on the kitchen counter. She paused as her hands touched the porcelain handle, her eyes transfixed on the strands of steam rising and twisting from the black liquid inside. What did she see? Two entwined dancers … a pair of missile contrails?
    Is it possible to give oneself a Rorschach test?
    Sometimes a cup of coffee is just a cup of coffee.
    She grabbed the drink and forced herself to swallow a sip of the hot liquid in the hope that a little burning pain would chase away the introspection. The last thing she needed was to dive into the recesses of her own psyche.
    Her mind found a new focus on a stack of file folders piled high on the kitchen table. Liz slipped into a chair, put her coffee down, and reached for the top file. Inside she found the same thing she would find in every file in that pile: sheets of paper containing background information, various test results, and all manner of data—both numbers and language—designed to boil a person down into neat columns of information that