SEAL Team 13 (SEAL Team 13 series) Read Online Free PDF Page B

the situation.
    He opened up the VOIP software on his system, turned on the encryption package, and sat back as he fit the earpiece in place.
    “Call Rankin,” he ordered, then waited for an answer.
    A few seconds later he had one.
    “An admiral just stopped by my place, man,” he said, already wincing in anticipation of his friend’s response.
    He wasn’t disappointed. He calmed Rankin down after his explosion, then spoke again. “I know, but he sounds serious. I’m not sure I want to get involved again either. The question is, do we take the easy road…or the hard road?”
    Masters laughed bitterly when his old friend answered, but he knew he couldn’t argue.
    “Yeah, man. I know. The only easy day was yesterday. I’ll sound him out and get back to you. Keep well.”
    Masters rose up, tossing the earpiece to the desk, and shook his head. He suspected that this wouldn’t be the last time he wondered if he were completely insane. The lord above knew that it wasn’t the first.

    That night, at the hotel bar, Masters found the admiral nursing a drink and sat down on the stool next to him.
    “Change your mind?”
    Masters shook his head. “No, I still don’t think you’re ready for this.”
    “I was right, then—you’ve been conducting your own investigation.”
    It wasn’t a question, and Masters didn’t bother to interpret it as one.
    “What did you learn?”
    “More than I ever wanted to know,” Hawk Masters said tiredly. “More than you want to know.”
    “Ever since I took this job I’ve been learning things I didn’t want to know, Lieutenant,” Karson said quietly. “It’s the nature of the beast. You learn to sleep with it.”
    “I sleep in an armored safe room, Admiral, with three guns within reach and a security system so advanced that the Secret Service couldn’t get to me,” Masters told him. “I wouldn’t wish this information on my worst enemy, and there’s only one reason I’m even thinking about telling you.”
    “And that is?” Karson asked, processing the man’s words. Masters didn’t seem to be paranoid enough if what he said was true.
    “I want a shot at the thing that killed my men. If I do it alone, I’ll die alone. I figure that you might be able to give me a shot at taking that stinking thing with me.”
    “Lieutenant, if you can give me a hint about what this thing is and where we can find it, I’ll have a task force on it before the night is out.”
    “Oh no, Admiral. It’s not that easy,” Masters said with a tired smile. “Learn to crawl before you try and run a thirty-second mile.”
    Masters rose up, dropping some bills on the counter. “Drinks on me. Come by my place in the morning, and I’ll show you a few things. If you don’t think I’m completely loony when we’re done, we’ll see about learning to walk.”
    Admiral Karson half turned to watch the former navy man walk out of the hotel bar and frowned as he tried to piece together the puzzle that was Hawk Masters.

    Hawk Masters stared at the wall in his house as he considered the situation, trying to see his way through the fog. It all came down to what the government wanted, really. No, it came down to what they were willing to accept.
    Telling them everything was out. No way he was going to do that.
    It wouldn’t be a practical response, even if it was what he wanted.
    He was still trying to map a way through the fogged future when the bell rang and his time was up. He sighed and rose from his chair, walked out to the entryway, and checked who was there. It was just a reflex action, but he confirmed the admiral’s presence before even approaching the door.
    “Come in,” he said after opening it, nodding to the older man. He gestured behind him. “Down that hall, door right at the end.”
    Karson just nodded, stepping past him and into the house. He noted that he door clicked shut on an automatic lock, and looked questioningly at his host.
    “I take security seriously.”
    Without